Linked by Thom Holwerda on Wed 12th Sep 2007 11:51 UTC
QNX has announced that they are going to open up the source code to their QNX microkernel operating system. The press release reads: "Effective immediately, QNX will make source code for its award-winning, microkernel-based OS available for free download. The first source release includes the code to the QNX Neutrino microkernel, the base C library, and a variety of board support packages for popular embedded and computing hardware." Read on for more information, as well as an interview with Dan Dodge, CEO of QNX.
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Member since:
2006-09-27
"You can do whatever the hell you want with the code - you just can't commercially exploit it."
What's exactly to "commercially exploit it"? Can you set up a business with 100 workstations running QNX without their permission? I don't think so. What sets Free Sofware apart from other licensing models is that you can effectively avoid vendor lock-in. I couldn't find their exact licensing terms in their website, but it seem to be designed to keep vendor lock-in as a business model. Hence, it's fundamentally different from Free Sofware as defined by FSF, which is by far the most widely accepted definition, and calling it the same is arguably misleading. "free for personal use" would be acceptable, but in any case it's a VERY different licensing model.