Re: GPL vs. sweatshops (was Re: Bias)

Am Fre, 2002-06-14 um 17.35 schrieb Deven T. Corzine:
> > a 1:1 translation. Winsock is 100% I think, but Winsock2 isn't.
> 
> Any idea what's missing?  Is it complex or difficult, or just stuff nobody 
> ever got around to working on?

For most of it it's number 2.
A few things can't possibly be implemented without adding system calls
to the kernel. 

> On the one hand, you need the coding work of the wizards because they're in 
> short supply.  On the other hand, if they took some time from that work to 
> help create new wizards, they might not be in such short supply.  It's a 
> bit of a Catch-22, indeed.  Still, it argues against 100% focus on coding.

If you had spent the time with studying the code that you spent lately
on wine-license postings, you would now be able to write the beginnings
of a newbies guide. The same holds for me, therefore this will be my
last posting.

> That may be true, but I'd rather you didn't tar (and feather) me with the 
> same brush...

I didn't.

> Well, I think a big part of the problem here is simply that most of the 
> software companies seem to follow Microsoft's lead and target those wealthy 
> customers who can afford their outrageous prices.

That's just how they are.

> If proprietary offshoots from free projects are generally only incremental 
> improvements and the free project remains mostly competitive, it keeps the 
> playing field level and makes it harder for proprietary companies to charge 
> excessive prices without making substantial improvements.

Everybody is served best by those companies who develop in the open.
Fortunately we have a few of these. 

> As for poor countries, they may have limited resources, but does that mean 
> they can contribute NOTHING to the cost of developing the software they'd 
> like to use?  Somehow I doubt that's the limit of their capabilities...

Many of these countries seem to realize that free software is a chance 
(if not the only chance) for them to catch up. They do already
contribute quite a bit in terms of code generation.

Martin
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