OSI enforcement?

[John Cowan]

Rick Moen scripsit:

> Whether you _can_ get what you want from somewhere else for less is
> situation-dependent.  For example, the binary RPM of gcc shipped with
> RHEL5 Update 1 Server Edition is GNU GPL-licensed, right?  Red Hat, Inc.
> will gladly furnish that copylefted file to you for the price of an
> RHEL5 licence including service agreement.  
> 
> You say I "don't have to pay" for that?  OK, please point me to where I
> can get that particular binary RPM for free.

I haven't actually verified this, but I strongly suspect that the
self-same bucket of bits is available at centos.org.

> Interestingly, FSF has sold a rather massive amount of copies of copylefted 
> GNU software over the years, always at pretty hefty prices.

Indeed.  The FSF's GNU distro, which provides sources and binaries
plus all the FSF's printed manuals, weighs in at a hefty US$5000,
and you have to supply the kernel yourself!

-- 
And it was said that ever after, if any                 John Cowan
man looked in that Stone, unless he had a               cowan at ccil.org
great strength of will to turn it to other              http://ccil.org/~cowan
purpose, he saw only two aged hands withering
in flame.   --"The Pyre of Denethor"