[ILUG] [OT] OS must be free!

[Jeremy Smyth]

Larry Lart uttered:
>
>   What if ... the hardware will actually suppose to pay for
> our operating
> system ? I mean after all they suppose to provide us not just
> a machinery
> but one which is actually working properly ?!

Er - isn't that what they already do? Up until recently it was IMPOSSIBLE to
buy an off-the-shelf system WITHOUT an OS pre-installed....

> And maybe they
> are the best to
> decide which operating system will mach the best their hardware
> configuration ...

Hrm. Sun OS, RS/6000. NT with their HCL. Plug and Play. PC "Clones"... At
least two manufacturers I know of are shipping Linux (just to bring this on
topic ;-) with their "off the shelf" boxes, and I know of a manufacturer
that is actively pursuing the idea of "geek boxes" - cut-price linux box
WITHOUT a built in support warranty.

>  How ? Just like that . just like government's law make ?!!!
> There must be
> illegal to sell an operating system ...

If governments did this there would be UPROAR! How can you legislate to turn
a whole industry into a charity? M$ have their wallets siphoning into waaay
too many of Dubya's buddies for that.... it would be considered
"un-american" to block "free enterprise" and "innovation" to force such a
change.

Didn't we just have a discussion on this?

/jer