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I have been watching the evolution of the Ubuntu Software Center for quite a while now. I had doubts about its interface and its speed, but I liked the fact that it offered an easy, down-to-earth interface that allowed users to install software easily. However, I have to say that the way the Ubuntu Software Center has evolved is worrying me -- a lot. I am not against the idea of selling software. What I am against, is confusing proprietary software with non-proprietary software, The Ubuntu Software Center seems to be doing just that.
[ Editor's Note: The submission appears to have come directly from the author of the original article. ]
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Ubuntu Software Center is Mixing Proprietary and Free Software in a Dangerous Way
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Can anyone remember when the times were not hard, and money not scarce?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Monday June 08 2015, @07:45AM
Correction:
Using GPL
is limiting your right to close source free software,
to protect everyone's rights.
I take issue with "encroach" because if an author wants to release software under the GPL, that is wholly his or her right to do so. The GPL doesn't encroach on that author's rights in any way -- the author embraced the terms of the license but could have chosen any other license or even made a custom license for the software. As an affirmative choice then, the GPL can in no way be an encroachment.
As for all the not-original-authors who want to copy the work, they have total freedom to ignore the GPL'ed software and use something else, or write their own from scratch, but to look a gift horse in the mouth like that is really dismissive of the original author's intentions. If you don't like those intentions you have total freedom to not use the software and thus there is no encroachment on your rights either.
Last, I understand that your rights to modify and close source some piece of software is limited by the GPL, but it's more than a little presumptuous to think you should have any rights you want over someone else's work.
(Score: 3, Informative) by urza9814 on Monday June 08 2015, @07:31PM
Furthermore, in many jurisdictions the default copyright automatically granted upon writing the code is far more restrictive than the GPL. The GPL restores rights that are taken away by copyright. It doesn't restore *all* those rights, but it is still copyright laws that are limiting the rights, not the GPL.