Linked by Thom Holwerda on Thu 6th May 2010 21:48 UTC
Canonical has explained why it has licensed H264. As it turns out, the license does not cover the distribution as a whole - since Ubuntu is entirely Free software, the license cannot be included. Canonical has licensed H264 so that it can offer it as an option to OEMs, just as it does with Flash, Fluendo, and some others. Since this is just an option for OEMs, it does not mean that every pre-installed Ubuntu system comes with the H264 license - it depends on whether or not your OEM decided to include it (good luck finding that out). And people actually promote this complicated spaghetti licensing situation.
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RE[2]: Comment by gnufreex
by lemur2 on Fri 7th May 2010 02:12
in reply to "RE: Comment by gnufreex"
Member since:2007-02-17
In effect the cd can then no longer be (re)distributed. Let just say a GPL code is pressed on a cd and a completely unrelated proprietary code is also pressed on the same cd. The effective (re)distributivity of the cd will fall on the more restrictive license(the proprietary one) and GPL does not allow any further restrictions to be added, right?can someone just take one of these images, make copies and start distributing them to anybody who cares to have one? i think not. If the aggregate work can not be (re)distributed, the aggregate work violates the terms of GPL(me think).
The aggregate (the cd) is not distributed under the GPL. Some of the packages on the CD are distributed under the GPL. Distribution under the GPL requires that the GPL components are re-distributable. They are.
Most distributions even provide users with a tool to re-master CDs for the purposes of re-distribution. This is how a whole batch of spin-off Linux distributions are "born".
Here is an example of a fairly popular spin-off re-distribution:
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=mint
and here is an example of an obscure spin-off re-distribution:
http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=deft
These are both examples of re-distribution of Ubuntu/Debian.
Edited 2010-05-07 02:14 UTC
RE[2]: Comment by gnufreex
by nt_jerkface on Fri 7th May 2010 03:25
in reply to "RE: Comment by gnufreex"
Member since:2009-08-26
Features
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At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
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"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/18/13 11:21 UTC
Nokia has posted its quarterly results for the first quarter of 2013, and just like the quarters that came before, there's not a whole lot of good news in there. The rise in Lumia sales still can't even dream of making up for the sales drop in Symbian phones, and when broken down in versions, the sales figures for Windows Phone 8 Lumias in particular are very disappointing. In North America, Nokia is getting slaughtered.More Features »
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ok ..lets say this "aggregate work" is pressed on a cd made up of two components. GPL component and a proprietary component.
GPL component allows the cd to be (re)distributed. Proprietary component does not allow it. In effect the cd can then no longer be (re)distributed.
Let just say a GPL code is pressed on a cd and a completely unrelated proprietary code is also pressed on the same cd. The effective (re)distributivity of the cd will fall on the more restrictive license(the proprietary one) and GPL does not allow any further restrictions to be added, right?
can someone just take one of these images, make copies and start distributing them to anybody who cares to have one? i think not.
If the aggregate work can not be (re)distributed, the aggregate work violates the terms of GPL(me think).