In article <1992Aug11.152247.5160@cs.wisc.edu> djansa@aphrodite.cs.wisc.edu (Dean Jansa) writes:
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>I have to agree 100% with you.  The main reason I am so excited about
>Linux is thats is free, and the best damn OS I have ever used on a PC!!
>Linus and Co. worked hard to get this project going, and it has lit
>a fire under me!!  I tell everyone about it, and help them get it if
>needed.

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>Being a student, I know money is not that easy to come up with.  I would
>hate to see a student not be able to get linux because they can't come
>up with 60 bucks.  19 disks??  What on earth are you giving them?  I got
>the mcc release on 4!  5 more for X!!  I _know_ that doesn't cost
> bucks.  Any student would be willing to pay for the disks, but 60 
>bucks??

        As long as you have net access, it is true.  You can get linux without
having to pay a dime.  But let us say that you wanted to distribute linux and
sell it at cost.  To start with, you would need to buy floppy discs.  I think
that the 1.44 probably go for around 1$ right now, but you might do a little
better than that.  Next each of these need to be formatted.  That is not a fun
job and no one is going to do it for free just because linux is so great.
Ditto for copying the distribution to the discs and printing labels for the
discs.  Let us assume that you hire someone at minimum wage to do these tasks.
You would also need to buy a couple of PC's to be used for duplicating discs
(let us assume that you are running this out of your basement so you do not
have to pay for electricity and rent).  Finally, you will need to buy boxes of
some kind, and pay for postage.  Standing in line at the post office is about
as much fun as formatting diskettes, so you would probably have your minimum
wage person doing this as well, or you would have to buy a postage meter.  You
would also have your hired grunt open the mail, process orders, take checks to
the bank, fill out the paperwork for Mastercard/Visa, and order supplies
(discs, labels, boxes, etc).  (Given these tasks I doubt that a minimum
wage-type person would be suitable).  $60 for 19 discs works out to about 3$ a
disc.  This does not strike me as being that unreasonable.

        The GPL requires that you receive the source code for each program in
addition to the binaries.  It is true that you could pack most of the binaries
on 4 or 5 discs, but this would not be "free" in the sense that you would not
have source code.  There are frequent discussions on some of the gnu.* lists as
to exactly what "free" means, but the point of the GPL is that you should be
free to make modifications to the program, and you should be free to distribute
the source code and binaries to other people.  (I should also point out that
RMS and co. charges about 200$ per tape with Emacs or GCC on it, and no one
feels that this is unreasonable).  From the "copying file":

          When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not
        price.  Specifically, the General Public License is designed to make
        sure that you have the freedom to give away or sell copies of free
        software, that you receive source code or can get it if you want it,
        that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free
        programs; and that you know you can do these things.


        One of the freedoms that you do have with the GPL is that you can get
together with some friends and buy one set of diskettes and then pass them
around, and not break the law.  If you do this, then your costs are quite a bit
less than 60$.

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>
>Let's keep Linux alive and well, and FREE!!
>
>Dean Jansa

-Eric
--
Eric Youngdale
eric@tantalus.nrl.navy.mil