Operating Systems > Linux and UNIX
Apparently no XF86 4.4 for Linux
mobrien_12:
http://developers.slashdot.org/developers/04/02/16/2030207.shtml?tid=106&tid=147&tid=185&tid=187
Apparently, the XF86 team's new licence is incompatible with the GPL, so we cannot look forward to XF86 4.4 in Linux Distributions.
According to the discussions on slashdot, this also screws BSD distribuitons because GPL'd software can't be linked to XF86 4.4 (no gnome, kde, etc.)
restin256:
Gimmie an F.
This is going to set back Linux's growth at least a little. If someone else modified and re-released the code for XFree86 4.3 and modified/rewrote it, and copywrighted it to the GPL, they could probably include it in future distros. But, so many people would do it that there would be no organization of it.
mobrien_12:
"F."
I really don't know what the XF86 group is thinking. Why would they want to make good free software, then change the licence to force most distributors to avoid their new stuff?
BTW, I should clarify something in my earlier post. People can compile GPL code against the new XF86 libraries, but they can't distribute binaries.
That means if BSD users want GPLd GUI software, each individual user will have to compile every single GPLd GUI library (like Qt) and every single gpl app from source. This would take a lot of time.
So we have Linux distributors who can't use XF86 4.4 and BSD distributors who won't want to. And for what? The XF86 team gets their precious advertising clause and nobody uses their work.
BLEAH.
[ February 17, 2004: Message edited by: M. O'Brien ]
SAJChurchey:
The only distro to officially announce their NON-use of XFree86 4.4 is Mandrake, and I doubt that all of the distros will follow suit. I'm betting that RH will keep using it regardless of the license change, and SuSE has been known to offer packages with various types of licenses. So I'm not sure if they will quit implementing it either.
As long as the source code is available, I really don't see a problem w/ it.
flap:
Because it has an obnoxious and petty licensing clause that's so inconvenient it may as well be proprietary. You don't see the problem in not being able to distribute pre-compiled software linking to X?
I hope all the other distros follow suit and they're forced to change the licence back. This (from RH) was linked to on /.:
http://freedesktop.org/pipermail/x-packagers/2004-February/000004.html
[ February 17, 2004: Message edited by: flap ]
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