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Re: [ProgSoc] Text editors/Web dev apps for the Mac



On Sun, 2007-09-23 at 18:34 +1000, Nicholas FitzRoy-Dale wrote:

> started the GNU project to produce a libre (in the FSF sense) Unix 
> replacement. The file utilities, compiler, kitchen sink, etc, were 
> developed using non-libre tools without any ethical concerns, because 
> there was no alternative.
> 
> The trouble with this is, of course, that there *is* an alternative, but 
> RMS was unwilling to build his own computer from the ground up, or (for 

It's not a practical alternative. RMS's hardline isn't puritanism; it's
a solid focus on retaining freedom.

> RMS has stated, for example, that people should not play console games 
> because there is (little to) no support for free software on consoles. 
> Apparently it's easier to take a hardline moral stance on entertainment.

No; the console games depend upon a business model that's abhorrent to
Free Software in particular and freedom in general. Not only is it not
easy to run FL/OSS on a gaming console, the manufacturers go out of
their way to prevent it because the manufacturers depend upon extracting
a royalty from application developers. (This is different to the PC
market to date, in which manufacturers make at least some profit from
the sale of PCs.) Further, success in this market is fueling pressure to
place owners of computing devices generally under the corporate thumb.

This is _very_ different to the situation with "open" platforms (e.g.
PCs). Sadly, it is conceivable that open platforms will eventually
become the exception rather than the norm and, conceivably, contraband
in the US and [closely-]allied nations like Australia.

The stakes are higher than they look.

- Raz


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