In comp.os.linux.advocacy, [H]omer
<spam@xxxxxxx>
wrote
on Tue, 15 Jan 2008 18:51:01 +0000
<mtbv55-vvg.ln1@xxxxxxxxxx>:
> Verily I say unto thee, that Roy Schestowitz spake thusly:
>
>> Novell is not Linux.
>
> Pretty soon Novell won't even *sell* Linux, or anything else.
>
> Of course SuSE itself won't die, since there's OpenSUSE.
>
> Damn, there jist ain't no way to kill that pesky Free Software.
>
There is one possibility:
[1] Legally ban all freeware outright by requiring all
software, no matter how petty, to charge a "usage fee",
per execution and/or API call. (The API calls would be
app-to-kernel, and the kernel would be legally mandated to
trap these and send an occasional report to the government,
who would then calculate the bill for you.) This is somewhat
akin to the "penny-a-page" Web royalties proposal.
[2] Legally tax all usage of software using similar conditions.
Fortunately, a ban is very unlikely to pass; unfortunately,
I can't say it's impossible. (Not that it would work all
that well anyway; the free stuff would probably just go
underground anyway, or be restructured somewhat along
the lines of Tupperware parties, small raves, illegal
immigration "coyotes", and homebrew computer user group
meetings.)
And then there's the EU... ;-)
--
#191, ewill3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
New Technology? Not There. No Thanks.
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