When I see "Free Software", I see two great concepts "Free" and "Software". I love freedom. I love software. I also love chocolate, and when I go and buy a box of chocolate in my local supermarket I'm not denying my taste for it due to the fact that the box doesn't contain any recipe.. hence denying me the freedom to make these chocolates myself !!It is getting the whole question wrong. When people say: "could we make more proprietary software or could we make more Free Software", they're getting the whole question wrong. The best thing is if you can make some Free Software, the next best thing is if you don't make any software, and the worst thing is if you make some proprietary software.
Of course, if there was such thing as chocolate boxes WITH recipe, then it'd be great. But it wouldn't mean that all of sudden I wouldn't like eating "closed-source" chocolates, right? Because in the end of the day.. as much as I like having the freedom of making the chocolates myself, WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT I LOVE CHOCOLATE.
Richard Stallman is overlooking a very important thing: People love Software. Yes, they love Freedom as well.. but as much as he wants to make us believe that we have to choose between one and the other, I'm sorry to say: NO. You can love your Freedom, you can love your Software.. that doesn't mean you should HATE proprietary Software, it means you should simply PREFER open-source equivalents.
In the end of the day, what you love is Software and Freedom. Proprietary software gives you Software. Open Source Software gives you Software AND Freedom.
In that regard they're both great and they both give you something. If you like Software you should like both. And if you like freedom you should like open source software a bit more than you already like proprietary software.
We're not in a war against proprietary software, we're in a World where new software means new solutions. If these solutions are open-source, then even better. What we are focusing on here in Linux Mint is Software. We're not saying vote Democrats, we're not saying don't sleep with your girlfriend before you get married, and we're not going to contribute to some anti-proprietary software campaign. This is politics, not technology. When making an operating system, I believe it is important than technology itself become the central part.
Just so that this is clear.
In regards to Linux Mint, you'll appreciate the following facts:
- all the software written by us is open-source (mintDesktop, mintDisk..etc)
- when we include something in Linux Mint our first concern is whether it's the best option for the user.
So yes, let's make more open-source software, but also keep in mind that more proprietary software ALSO is a good thing for IT in general.
Clem