Skype telephone giveaway- but not for Linux users

[manchicken]

On Wednesday 13 June 2007 10:01:52 Bruce Marshall wrote:
> On Wednesday 13 June 2007, manchicken wrote:
> > You're intentionally missing the point.  It's not about giving things
> > away, it's about not restricting people.
>
> No, I don't think I'm missing the point.  (but I am quickly losing interest
> in this discussion)
>
> How can you modify  Skype's code if they don't "give it to you"????
>
> If you don't have the code, you can't modify it!
>
> Did I miss something here?
>
> > This practice of "competition" is inhibiting our ability to develop and
> > distribute the software that we want in the manner we want to do so.
> >  We'd love to distribute DVD players, but thanks to proprietary codecs
> > we're not able to.  We'd love to have free software 3D drivers for video
> > cards so that we can reliably use compositing and develop 3D video games,
> > but thanks to this competition that you are praising these things are not
> > possible right now.
> >
> > You're using flawwed arguments to support unjust practices.
>
> And you are asking companies to "give away" their  hardware specs, such as
> NVidia.  Those specs are PROPRIETARY and they have every right to keep them
> that way.
>
> Just where is the flaw in my argument??     You are free to write your own
> NVidia driver... just as someone already has.   Just don't expect NVidia to
> give you all the details of their PROPRIETARY hardware.

No, they don't have the right to keep them proprietary.  Where does it say 
they have such a right?  Certainly not the US constitution.  Certainly not 
the Bible.  Could you cite one document other than laws that states that 
people should have the right to give or sell you something, and then use it 
to control you?

I wouldn't argue that they can't make money.  People sell Free Software all 
the time.  Nothing wrong with it at all.

The problem is with the restrictive licensing.  People have a right to control 
their own computer.  Proprietary software and hardware violates this right.  
People pay for it, they have a right to control it.

-- 
~ manchicken <><
(A)bort, (R)etry, (I)nfluence with large hammer.
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