From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1D0CkH-0002F8-Id for qemu-devel@nongnu.org; Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:56:37 -0500 Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1D0Cjr-00022d-20 for qemu-devel@nongnu.org; Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:56:17 -0500 Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1D0Cji-00021X-Ve for qemu-devel@nongnu.org; Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:56:02 -0500 Received: from [128.8.10.164] (helo=po2.wam.umd.edu) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.34) id 1D0CH8-00078t-Tm for qemu-devel@nongnu.org; Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:26:31 -0500 Received: from jbrown.mylinuxbox.org (jma-box.student.umd.edu [129.2.237.180]) by po2.wam.umd.edu (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id j1D5QTZX007933 for ; Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:26:30 -0500 (EST) Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:26:29 -0500 From: "Jim C. Brown" Subject: Re: [Qemu-devel] FreeOSZoo will stop March 1, 2005 Message-ID: <20050213052629.GA23176@jbrown.mylinuxbox.org> References: <200502121018.09039.jm@poure.com> <420DD7F8.5080805@wasp.net.au> <20050213001845.GA19429@jbrown.mylinuxbox.org> <420EDABF.1090203@mastros.biz> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <420EDABF.1090203@mastros.biz> Reply-To: qemu-devel@nongnu.org List-Id: qemu-devel.nongnu.org List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , To: qemu-devel@nongnu.org On Sun, Feb 13, 2005 at 05:42:39AM +0100, James Mastros wrote: > Jim C. Brown wrote: > >1) There are those that use qemu without giving Fabrice any money or credit > >(such as iEmulator). This is best resolved by legal action, but it may be > >difficult for a single person to fight against an entire company, > >financial-wise. > If this is the reason, and I think it is part of it, then it is a bad > reason. > > a) iEmulator wouldn't use kqemu anyway. kqemu is for running > x86-on-x86. iEmulator is for x86-on-PowerPC. Thus, the iEmulator > people aren't loosing anything. But they are using qemu. If qemu was closed source, then iEmulator wouldn't have been able to do that. > > b) A far more effective way would be to first verify that they are > actually breaking the GPL -- when you purchase iEmulator, do they give > you a copy of the qemu source with it? Are you given all rights to the > qemu source you get as you would under the GPL? Do they link code > licensed GPL-incompatabiliy with qemu code? Of course qemu isnt under the GPL at all, so that is impossible. Only qemu-user code uses the GPL license, and that is probably due to the fact that it uses linux kernel code. qemu system emulation is under the BSD license iirc. > > If iEmulator is not breaking the GPL, then put the code into the qemu > CVS. If they are, then start making quiet threats. If they don't open > up, then talk to GNU, http://www.softwarefreedom.org/. If they still > don't, then it's time to make loud threats -- post to /., etc. > > Don't punish everybody because a few folks aren't playing by the rules. I agree, but the main problem would be legal. If you can't get the courts to side with you, then you're sunk. > > >2) Fabrice wants to hold on to the source in order to make revenue from it > >in > >the future. > This is really a much more reasonable position, but if this is his > position, he should probably state what it would take to open the > current source for kqemu, and set up a way to take donations for the > fund. If he gets to his target, then do it again when he's ready to > make the next big leap forward -- assuming, that is, that it isn't based > upon GPL code from other parties. (There's nothing illegal about basing > it on your own GPL'd code.) Presumably he's going to sell kqemu, and he is using this as a test run before he tries to sell the code to the big companies and get the megabucks. (At least that is what I would do.) > > Since he hasn't responded to any of the several attempts to give him > money, I rather doubt money is his primary concern, but rather respect > and credit, which I can certainly understand -- but making kqemu > closed-source isn't a good way to cause this to happen. > > Despite this, I will probably be making several code contributions to > qemu in the nearish future. (PC speaker support, and possibly faster > graphics code.) I probably won't be contributing money, as it's rather > tight for me -- sorry, Fabrice. > > -=- James Mastros > -- Infinite complexity begets infinite beauty. Infinite precision begets infinite perfection.