Semi-OT: Database for "average" users

[David J Patrick]

Christopher Browne wrote:

>On 5/1/05, David J Patrick <davidjpatrick-rieW9WUcm8FFJ04o6PK0Fg at public.gmane.org> wrote:
>
>>I understand your argument re: non-free, but Suns JRE has been quite
>>good to me.
>>    
>>
>
>How do you get a copy included on an installation CD?
>  
>
you don't

>For it to be treated as "infrastructure," you have to be able to
>include it on a Debian CD, a Fedora CD, a SuSE CD.
>
>As far as I can tell, that can't be done without violating licensing
>agreeements.
>  
>
you can't

>I have a problem with the notion of making otherwise free software
>decidedly unfree by virtue of such requirements.
>  
>
OK, I agree, it's a problem. We're up against the RMS double edged sword.
How do we move away from a totally proprietary software environment, to
a pure FLOSS environment without using cross platform stepping-stones
that may be free, but not open source ? If we shun the (transitional)
restricted-license tools, our FLOSS environment can be decidedly less
functional, and as a result there is an argument for Just Using Windows.
After all, most computer users are using it as a means to and end; run a
business & survive. Personally,  I'll accept the cross platform non-GPL
solutions that make the FLOSS environment viable, while waiting for the
all-GPL solutions to mature. Is that wrong ? The alternative is to
simply accept that (as of yet) there are things that you can do in
Windoze that you can't in linux, like run openoffice.org-base.
djp

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