[ILUG] Novell A Linux Leader? GPL 3 and

[AJ McKee]

Hi All,

Well I knew the second part of my email would get some type of
conversation, but I did not see this thread coming.

On my first part, Novell. Novell look as if they could become leaders
in the SMB Linux area. The acquisition of Suse coupled together with
the Ximian team have made for quite a strong powerhouse in terms of
end user desktop. This is one area, that Red hat are not so great at.
Either they lack the expertise, will or something, but I always found
I was wanting in terms of a Desktop from Red Hat. That being said,
don't get me wrong, I am not knocking them, I love Red Hat and have
been an avid end user since release 2.  Both companies can do very
well out of Linux.

I would love Novell's management team to get real and face the
realities that in front of them. Actually I'd be inclined to become a
shareholder (had I sufficient funds)  just to aid in the process.
Perhaps this is one way Linux users could help. You can become part of
a community company. A novell idea I think. A linux company being
owned by the community.

Now, onto the second part of my mail. Its important that the GPL v3 is
in Draft format at present. Therefore its up for discussion, and a
vibrant one at that this one has been. Personally myself I disk like
DRM but I can see a business case for it. DRM is a reaction to a
problem, it may not be the best reaction, but at least its one.

However I am concerned about Linus's mailings on the topic recently.
Its not really in relation to the GPL, but its more in relation to the
man himself. Couple this together with the bitkeeper saga and I am
beginning to get a little concerned. Don't get me wrong, I am not
slating the guy for his opinions, or the excellent work he does. I
would never dare, but I am concerned about the ego.

In my professional capacity, should I ever be worried about Linus
deciding he's had enough, wants to cash in on the Linux name and
prohibits its use? Will I ever see a split in the lead development
teams and a splinter project begun? TLINUX (This is not Linux) :)
perhaps.... starting at the words on my screen I would imagine never,
however stranger things can happen in life. I am think that really as
someone the community looks to for leadership, he should respond in a
more thoughtful manner. You can bet I have though of such things (and
I have a lot of experience with linux and its communities), some IT
manager somewhere with lesser experience has, and that may be a reason
he/she is not going Linux today.

But the reality is, big money is behind Linux. its not just the one
person, it is the community and business. Its a wonderous thing when
you think about it... My fears are however that the GPLv3 will be
adopted without due consideration by members of the community without
due consideration. If some guy, just a developer, builds a cool web
app and releases it under V3, is he doing so because he wants to have
an open source project and has seen GPL3 licences over everything he
downloads and runs so adds it without consideration, or does he/she
actually read and understand it? My impression is at present, the the
GPLv3 while well meaning and comprehensive, is a protest licence in
its current form, a reaction to a reaction in places, which in my
humble opinion has the potential to  cause more problems than it
actually solves.

Thanks to all for contributing to my questions today
AJ