SCO offers UnixWare licenses for Linux

Well, certain countries give free health care, and eventually the United States will probably have to approach that due to the baby boom and the medicare problems currently. However, a hospital in the United States cannot deny medical attention to someone in need, regardless if they can pay for it or not.

I think there is a difference between everyone getting everything free, and some people in need getting what they need to survive. Government subsidized housing is nothing new for low income families. The same goes for food. You can then argue that in Africa, people starve. However, you would have to look at the relief aid organizations that are trying to change that.

The problem that arises is that not everyone has the MEANS to be able to afford the fundamentals that are required to live. Many human beings feel it is necessary to help those in need since many of us (myself included) have much more then the average person.

Larry, I may only be 22, but I recommend you travel to some places like Egypt (and yes, I have been there) or parts of Eastern Europe, or even Mexico (and not Cancun or any beach front for tourists, I mean Mexico City). You may disagree that humans should help out other humans in need, but you would at least realize how fortunate the majority of us are. I would say that anyone who can afford to own a computer, be online, and all that jazz that goes along with being a geek, are quite fortunate indeed. Sure, everyone has their problems, but you never grew up knitting rugs so that you could afford a menial meal each day.

I think Linux and free software in general have an idea of this, and that is why many people feel that software should be free. Computers are becoming a fundamental need in life to survive in an increasingly competitive world. I would argue that they are becoming more fundamental to everyday life then a car is. Not only can it be considered as a method of economic survival, but also a tool for cultural understanding and communication. Communication is probably the most fundamental human need (after life sustaining needs), and computers allow that to happen at a level no one imagined.

This is all a philosophical argument with very real applications to the everyday life of most people. To get back to the topic of IP, overall IP creates scenarios where corporations impede on the progress of human beings. For an extreme scenario, what if someone could patent a new method for food production that could eliminate starvation worldwide. Would that be right to not allow it to be utilized for the betterment of society, or should one corporation, knowing its value, rule over the world and force its will upon humanity?

Another scenario (totally hypothetical, IBM is only an example with a huge patents collection!), much less extreme, which in all reality would hurt your livelihood as well. What if a corporation like IBM pulled out a patent which gives them the right to all the work you have done. You as the engineer who designed Bitkeeper are entitled to certain rights. You developed an implementation of a system independently of anyone else's source control system. However, one corporation that really didn't have a great interest in it pulled out a patent which basically destroys your current method of livelihood, regardless of the fact that you independently implemented it. How would you feel? What would this do?

If IBM had no product anywhere close to the functionality of Bitkeeper, the world would be forced to use inferior source control products because of the whim of one corporation. Is that right? IBM would be in fact stifling not only competition in the source control world, but progress as well.

Think about all of this, travel around, see the world. It will make you a better person. This isn't about a person's right to sell things, a person's right to own things, or the dissolution of the capitalistic state. It's about fundamental humanity.

Michael Bernstein
[email protected]

Hey, Michael, I replied privately because the list is sick of this. How about you do the list a favor and keep it private?

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Larry McVoy              lm at bitmover.com          http://www.bitmover.com/lm

Who is "the list"?

As a long-time subscriber, I quite enjoyed reading Michael's thoughts.

If you want to say the discussion is off-topic, fine. It is. But please do not ascribe views to some mythical majority of members, who have not in fact expressed the view you would like them to.

We have quite enough problems with that sort of thing in the real world.

-- Jamie

Me, now stop talking it as Larry suggests.

People who start off-topic discussions are going to get yanked from vger, and there are no discussions about this.

Hi !

So, please, point _me_ to ml where people could discuss this and related topics. Or suggest a way to be included in respective parties' CC list. "Stop annoying me, and I don't care why you're annoying me" is somewhat selfish, IMHO.

With all the best, yarick at relex dot ru.

Try "gnu.misc.discuss", people love to talk about these issues there.

gnu.misc.discuss is a good idea.

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Larry McVoy              lm at bitmover.com          http://www.bitmover.com/lm