Dont u love the open source community?

[ryan27968]

I just want to say that i am still amazed that a average user can have an open conversation with the main person behind it all if u know wat i mean. i would like to see a average microsoft user have a casual comversation with bill gates. u all agree?

 

[sswam]

have you been talking to RMS or who?


and yea, I do love open source software and the community!

 

[TrashyMG]

Well I have daily conversations with Bill Gates, always asking me how to do things..


Just this William Gates isn't the Microsoft Millionaire..

 

[Linux-SWAT]

I'd personally see absolutely no interest in talking to this guy:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/e8M6S8EKbnU?feature=oembed

Also, i lost ten years of my IT life before switching to Linux.

 

[diligentcircle]

have you been talking to RMS or who?

RMS would get pretty upset at this question, I imagine.


As to the question of this thread, no, I don't love the open source community.


The way OpenPandora GmbH and OpenPandora Ltd act isn't "open source", though, it's just open. A company could easily be open about what it does and still be focused on proprietary ("closed source") programs. Let's remember the distinction here. The companies are "open" (transparent) because they share what's going on (the opposite would be "secretive"). The community is "open source" because the open source model is championed for software improvement on the Pandora.


For the record, while, like I said, I don't love the open source culture here, I do love the open nature of the companies.

 

[_wb_]

I nowadays prefer the term "Free and Open source Software" (e.g. like in FOSDEM). There is a distinction in philosophy between the Free Software movement and the Open Source movement, and it's useful to point that out, but broadly speaking, they have a lot of common ground and it's not always necessary to emphasize the differences between them.


I do sympathize more with the Free software movement than with the Open source movement, but I respect both of them a lot.


I don't think the Pandora community is particularly Open source oriented (versus Free software oriented), e.g. most of the software on the repo is GPL'ed or using some other Free software license - while there are also licenses that are Open source but not Free (e.g. the Artistic License 1.0 or the RPL) that could have been used.

 

[diligentcircle]

I don't think the Pandora community is particularly Open source oriented (versus Free software oriented), e.g. most of the software on the repo is GPL'ed or using some other Free software license - while there are also licenses that are Open source but not Free (e.g. the Artistic License 1.0 or the RPL) that could have been used.

I don't see how that makes this more of a free software community. The GPL is also an extremely common open source license. Linus Torvalds' philosophy is much more like open source than free software, and he put Linux, the kernel under the GPL.


What matters is, as you know, whether the reason for the software being free is for ethical reasons or practical ones, and I would argue that it is used in this community for practical reasons, mostly because nonfree software is not only accepted, it is welcomed and actively encouraged. For example:

• Lots of programs, mostly games, are nonfree, including Super Geometry Dust, Paperwars, Kami Retro, Pandora Clock, CromoZome, Audiorace, and many others
  
• Oracle's nonfree version of Java is recommended by quite a few people, including the maintainer of the Java PND IIRC
  
• A noticeable number of people have mentioned a desire to run Opera in the past
  
• Android is a testament to this community's willingness to abandon freedom; the entire OS is loaded in nonfree software, some of it included by default in CyanogenMod. The Google Play Store, which is nonfree, is also recommended, with detailed instructions included in a stickied post by ED explaining how to get it working.
  
• The default Pandora OS includes a nonfree driver for 3D acceleration and, if I'm not mistaken, nonfree firmware for both the WiFi and video card. Someone can correct me on the details, but the fact remains that no one bats an eye at this. ED even said explicitly that nonfree firmware is OK as long as the drivers are free ("open source"), since it means you can still compile any OS for the Pandora and have it able to use the component.
  

 

[Linux-SWAT]

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/12/10/18/1759218/eben-moglen-explains-freedom-and-free-software-in-two-video-interviews

 

[TrashyMG]

Oracle's nonfree version of Java is recommended by quite a few people, including the maintainer of the Java PND IIRC

Well until OpenJDK can run heavier java applications on ARM at a decent speed and doesn't crash all the time I would still recommend Oracle's Java.. Hell you can run Netbeans with Oracle java on the Pandora..

 

[Lao Rebel]

yes i love open source and linux. i hate microsoft! don't even mention them. did you check out their new OS? Windows Bullshit edition?

 

[_wb_]

Nonfree firmware is not that unusual, and as long as there's no free alternative, there's not much you can do about it except not using your GPU, Wifi and nubs. Even RMS does accept nonfree software in ROM-like situations like nub firmware.


Obviously many people in this community have no issue with using non-free software, but that's not very strange for a community with a lot of gamers.

 

[diligentcircle]

Well until OpenJDK can run heavier java applications on ARM at a decent speed and doesn't crash all the time I would still recommend Oracle's Java.. Hell you can run Netbeans with Oracle java on the Pandora..

Exactly my point. Oracle's nonfree version of Java is better than OpenJDK, so you sacrifice freedom for the function of Oracle's Java.


EDIT:

Nonfree firmware is not that unusual, and as long as there's no free alternative, there's not much you can do about it except not using your GPU, Wifi and nubs. Even RMS does accept nonfree software in ROM-like situations like nub firmware.

Nubs are one thing, but there is plenty of free software compatible hardware for computers. Of course, the Pandora's situation is more unique since it's an SoC, but my main point is no one seems to care about it here. RMS does care about this situation, and even Fedora is denied endorsement by the GNU Project and the Free Software Foundation because it includes such nonfree software.

Obviously many people in this community have no issue with using non-free software, but that's not very strange for a community with a lot of gamers.

I don't see how that makes this community qualify any more as a free software community. Yes, it's unsurprising that a community of gamers would not be made up of free software supporters.

 

[TrashyMG]

Well sure, but I wouldn't call it loosing my freedom, I'm still free to not use it.


I'd still prefer not to use Oracle Java, just because we can't re-distribute it in a nice PND. but I suppose like everything it's just weighing the pro's vs con's and the pro's of the functionality out weighs the con's of it not being open source.


But that said, I really like open source for my own work I produce.. but not overly concerned that everything I use isn't.

 

[Linux-SWAT]

Java is blehhhhh. ^^

 

[dgame]

• Android is a testament to this community's willingness to abandon freedom; the entire OS is loaded in nonfree software, some of it included by default in CyanogenMod. The Google Play Store, which is nonfree, is also recommended, with detailed instructions included in a stickied post by ED explaining how to get it working.
  

Dude, WTF? Are you serious? Get off your high horse buddy. This is ridiculous.

 

[diligentcircle]

• Android is a testament to this community's willingness to abandon freedom; the entire OS is loaded in nonfree software, some of it included by default in CyanogenMod. The Google Play Store, which is nonfree, is also recommended, with detailed instructions included in a stickied post by ED explaining how to get it working.
  

Dude, WTF? Are you serious? Get off your high horse buddy. This is ridiculous.

Sounds like you're saying I'm incorrect. Do you care to explain?

 

[Wally]

Can we please stick to the topic in question? Otherwise we may not end up loving the Open Source community mods so much for closing this topic

 

[pmprog]

TBH, I'm not really bothered about "Open Source" as a philosophy. I'm not really for or against it, it's just another option.


The only thing I'm bothered about, is if I'm allowed to develop and "publish" (distribute maybe a better term) for a platform I use. Whether they provide me the source code to the OS or whatnot means nothing to me, I am rarely modifying the O/S or the library code, and the only compilation I do is so that I've got something to link to my project.


I will contribute from time to time - I fixed a bug in SDL_gfx, and I've sent requests to Sparrow3D - but these are rare occurances.

 

[Christoph.Krn]

Can we please stick to the topic in question? Otherwise we may not end up loving the Open Source community mods so much for closing this topic

I don't see this topic going off-topic. I mean, what are you expecting people to write in a topic called "Dont u love the open source community?" -- 'Yes.' or 'No.'?

 

[moxie]

We must cleanse ourselves, to be pure of body and soul, mind and software. Only the holiest of holy, who has forsaken the lecherous company of the unfree packages, and who resists the temptation of power from the Dark Side, may walk with his head held high in these end times. We shall pity and despise the weak fools who fail in the quest for purity, and we shall revile and cast out the false prophets! And those of us who prevail will reign in the kingdom of the Free, as RMS himself has taught us, and our kingdom shall be holy and free, free from impure thoughts and non-GPL software, and nowhere in our land shall those of weak minds and impure desires be safe from our questing eyes! Yes, we shall all be free to do the right thing, and nothing else!!!