Open Source Licenses (WAS: Advice for starting a new project?)

[Dave Cramer]

On 17-Sep-07, at 4:42 PM, Kareem Shehata wrote:

>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: owner-tlug-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org [mailto:owner-tlug-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org] On Behalf Of Dave
>> Cramer
>> Sent: Monday 17 September 2007 16:18
>> To: tlug-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org
>> Subject: Re: [TLUG]: Open Source Licenses (WAS: Advice for  
>> starting a new
>> project?)
>>
>>
>> Well, I'm biased. I'm not a big fan of the GPL. So I tend to avoid
>> doing anything with projects which are GPL'd.
>>
>> so when I am looking for a project to use, I parse out everything
>> that is GPL like.
>>
>> Dave
>
> Ok, I'm not familiar with your bias, though everyone does have  
> their own.
> Mind explaining the choice to a curious mind?  I've heard of people  
> avoiding
> the GPL, but never quite understood why.
>
My reasons are for avoiding it are mostly business.

We don't want to  have to give away our product, but we want to use  
open source.

  I would think that one the  reasons more effort is expended is due  
to companies like IBM hiring people to work on it. They use apache  
internally so they tend to spend money on apache. Others use  
postgresql internally (Nokia for one) so they will spend money on  
developers to work on pg. The fact that a project is GPL excludes the  
project from being used in a product ( without giving away the  
source ). So projects are chosen based on their ability to be used in  
a commercial product. Another one that comes to mind is postgresql  
used in Apple's remote desktop.

Dave


> -kms
>
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