Return to BSD News archive
Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!news.rmit.EDU.AU!news.unimelb.EDU.AU!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!feed1.news.erols.com!arclight.uoregon.edu!newsfeed.uk.ibm.net!news-m01.ny.us.ibm.net!news-s01.ny.us.ibm.net!not-for-mail From: mouth@ibm.net (Mouth of the South) Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,comp.unix.bsd.misc,comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy,comp.os.os2.advocacy Subject: Re: Linux vs whatever Date: Tue, 28 Jan 1997 17:48:09 -0500 Lines: 20 Message-ID: <pIo7y0gTz7PD091yn@ibm.net> References: <32DFFEAB.7704@usa.net> <m23evrulla.fsf@desk.crynwr.com> <32EA25AB.41C67EA6@freebsd.org> <5qC7y0gTzDLB091yn@ibm.net> <5ck1ht$ovm@junkie.gnofn.org> NNTP-Posting-Host: slip129-37-195-110.nc.us.ibm.net Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.misc:154641 comp.unix.bsd.misc:2064 comp.os.ms-windows.nt.advocacy:51167 comp.os.os2.advocacy:263887 In article <5ck1ht$ovm@junkie.gnofn.org>, craig@gnofn.org (Craig Johnston) wrote: >Um, I really hate to point this out to you, but perhaps one in a >million people cares about having the source code to their applications. >Sure, it'd be a great thing, but the market isn't giving them any >reason to do it. Whether non-programming users have access to source code is not at all the point. The fact that source code is available to anyone who wants to try their hand at programming IS the point. For that audience, the choice is clear: IBM/Microsoft object-code-only policy bad; Linux freely available source code good. How many aspiring systems programmers will be attracted to a product where source code is not available? None. How many will be attracted to Linux because it is available? Many. And every one of them has the potential to add value to Linux. That's an advantage the greedy corporate executives will never have.