Richard M Stallman <rms@gnu.org> writes:

quoted text
> Freedom means having control of your own life.  Using a proprietary
> program means giving the developer power over you.  "More choice" in
> surrendering your freedom is not more freedom, and it does not make a
> better world.

"Breathing the air means giving anyone else power over you."

Even with proprietary programs you still have the control of
your life: noone forces you to use this or that program.

quoted text
>     It will just result in him producing a poorer, more expensive, less
>     compatible product -- or none at all.
>
> Ideally, it will be none at all.  A proprietary program is a negative
> contribution to society.

Oh, really.  Programs are dearer to your heart than people.

What you say sounds luddist: it is better to force everyone to
perform routine tasks manually instead of saving time by minor
investment in development of tools.

quoted text
> One less proprietary program means one less
> job of replacement on our list, and it could leave the field open for
> a free program to succeed.

You speculate on what it could or could not, yet many people
prefer to look at what is and what is not.

quoted text
> Just think how much better off we would be
> if Microsoft Windows had never been developed.

How?  How exactly?  I don't believe you, show me facts.

quoted text
> But suppose he does it anyway, without using our code.  That could be
> just the handicap that enables a competing free program to be superior
> in convenience, just as it always is in ethics.

Put ethics aside, it is subjective and differs from place to place.

In which way your "free" "replacement" is more convenient than Adobe Photoshop?
How do you explain simple fact, that photographers prefer the latter,
even when they tried your so-called "free" so-called "replacement".

--
unsubscribe notice
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
Please read the FAQ at  http://www.tux.org/lkml/