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[Bradley Hook]

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Jeffrey Watts wrote:
| On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 2:40 PM, Luke -Jr <luke at dashjr.org> wrote:
|>  Again, the GPL applies to source releases just as much as binary
releases.
|>  Whether they distribute binary or source, they still need to abide
by the law.
|
| You sir confuse "law" with "copyright".  Any infringement nVidia does
| is a civil matter, not a criminal one.  Your choice of words is
| probably unintentional, though I suggest you be more precise as the
| ones you choose are much more sensational.

Copyright is controlled by codified law in the U.S. (Title 17 of the
United States Code). Both civil and criminal matters are covered by law,
the difference is in how they are processed and what the penalties may be.

| As far as your point goes, I do not disagree with you.  There are
| valid arguments on both sides, though.  However, I would argue that
| the community has much bigger fish to fry and that perhaps we ought to
| deal with more important issues first.
|
|>  A proprietary driver is useless.
|>  It would be better to have nothing for nVidia than their blobs.
|>  At least then there would be enough interest in the community to
either put
|>  them out of business or create reverse engineered support.
|
| To clarify, it is useless _to you_.  You seem to have a romanticized
| view of the Free Software community - that we somehow all live by the
| mantra "give me liberty or give me death".

What about the "liberty" of nVidia to not choose an Open Source model?
(Directed at Luke-Jr, not Jeffrey).

|  Perhaps you're just new to
| the movement, as if you check your history you'd find that in the past
| these kinds of compromises were made all the time.  Do you think that
| GCC was developed on a Free Unix?  Do you think that Linux was
| originally developed on a Free Unix?  There are many other examples.
|
| I agree that the ultimate goal should be a fully functional and open
| nVidia driver.  I disagree with you that we ought to cut off our nose
| to spite our face.
|
| Jeffrey~
|

- --
~Bradley Hook
Education Systems Administrator
Kansas State School for the Blind
1100 State Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66102
Voice: (913) 281-3308 ext. 363
Mobile: (913) 645-9958
Facsimile: (913) 281-3104
http://www.kssb.net

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