[cairo] Re: License for cairo changed to LGPL

[M. P. Dickens]

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Hello,

Typically, I lurk on this list. With that said, I've been following this
debate with great interest... It seems to me that the license that
attracts the greatest following wins (Whatever license that is...). The
reality is that software doesn't make money like it used to - services
for software do. Further, this trend will continue for the foreseeable
future (Anyone who thinks differently should take a close look at IBM's
current business model or for that matter, the business model of any
major player).

Also, IMHO, applications developed in house that never see the light of
day outside of a business are irrelevant to open source. I've worked on
several through the years and when open source code is used, no one
really knows or even if they do, the application is irrelevant because:

~ **the application stays in-house**

Now, this is not to say that open source is irrelevant to businesses or
their in-house applications. In fact, open source is important to all
but the most antiquated IT departments. Apache, PHP, perl, wx, python,
imagemagick and soon, fltk - are all great successes in their own
right(s). They do not all share a common license - their commonality is
limited solely to the fact that each one is a success. But, they are all
~ successful because their different licenses positioned them to attract
the widest audience.

Restrictive licenses, whether proprietary or public are no damn good.


Best regards


Marvin Dickens
Alpharetta, Georgia  USA