MESSAGE
| DATE | 2004-07-15 |
| FROM | Adam Kosmin
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [hangout] Re: Since I haven't contributed in a while...
|
"
" You might argue that by using Flash, critical mass is such that there's
" no incentive to create a free alternative, or that if there were, less
" folks would use it. Flash is golden handcuffs in a way.
"
" You might also argue though, that since the Flash player if freely
" available, is not bundled with a dominate OS in such a way as to
" prohibit use of another player, and is at this point peerless in amount
" of folks creating content using it, that it's good enough that it runs
" on Linux. And by installing the Flash player for Linux, you are sending
" a signal to Macromedia (and others) that we're out here, and we want
" applications of all sorts to run on the platform of our choosing.
"
I would not argue either point (although each is certainly very
interesting). I would however, argue that the freedoms provided by the
kernel/OS and associated bits are being undermined by this proprietary
content decryptor. That's reason enough to not use it. I view the use of
flash as an obvious admission that free beer wins over free software.
Contrary to what most people in this industry believe, the simple truth
is that there can be no "truce" between free and non-free wares. I don't
mean that the two camps can not interact on a technical level, but
rather, that the forces which drive non-free stacks are obligated to try
and destroy any and all competition in order to achieve their mission.
Years ago when I was just starting to step out from the shadows of the
start menu, I did not see the relevance in GNU/Linux being successful on
the desktop. I argued that as long as the OS controlled the "back end",
we'd be in good shape. I'll give credit to Ruben Safir of NYLXS for
enlightening me and showing me the true power of the desktop as being
the virtual "freedom toll booth" that most people use to negotiate their
freedoms through.
Flash (being a content channel) is just another toll booth. In order to
play my logic out, just imagine a world where all content was served via
this channel. In this world, the power of the GPL is completely bypassed
and sent to /dev/null.
Best,
Adam
" --jeremy
"
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"
--
"Yes, Your Honor. Now, where we are so far, in at least my
line of reasoning, is I want to walk the Court through enough of our
complaint to help the Court understand that IBM clearly did contribute a
lot of the Unix-related information into Linux. We just don't know what
it is."
-- Kevin McBride SCO vs. IBM 12/05/03
____________________________
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