Windows Phone Marketplace bans the GPL, and the App Store should too

#1

Post by soofaloofa » Mon, Feb 21, 2011, 3:04 PM UTC

Windows Phone Marketplace bans the GPL, and the App Store should too
arstechnica.com

Re: Windows Phone Marketplace bans the GPL, and the App Store should too

#2

Post by gte910h » Mon, Feb 21, 2011, 3:16 PM UTC

Apple should ban explicitly GPLv3 software. v2 is likely compatible with the idea of an appstore with some tweaks to the license agreement.

Re: Windows Phone Marketplace bans the GPL, and the App Store should too

#3

Post by DjDarkman » Mon, Feb 21, 2011, 3:34 PM UTC

I find the story like this: Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot.

Open source software is something both Microsoft and Apple should embrace. If I were them, I would devise a way to enable even GPLv3 apps to coexist.

Re: Windows Phone Marketplace bans the GPL, and the App Store should too

#4

Post by rimantas » Mon, Feb 21, 2011, 3:49 PM UTC

DjDarkman wrote: post #3

I find the story like this: Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot. Open source software is something both Microsoft and Apple should embrace. If I were them, I would devise a way to enable even GPLv3 apps to coexist.

Open source != GPL licensed apps. I know little about MS embracing open source, but regarding Apple check out these: http://www.apple.com/opensource/ , http://opensource.apple.com/ If I got it right Apple has little problems with GPL apps on App store, GPL proponents have.

Re: Windows Phone Marketplace bans the GPL, and the App Store should too

#5

Post by technomancy » Mon, Feb 21, 2011, 4:24 PM UTC

rimantas wrote: post #4

DjDarkman wrote: post #3

I find the story like this: Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot. Open source software is something both Microsoft and Apple should embrace. If I were them, I would devise a way to enable even GPLv3 apps to coexist.

Open source != GPL licensed apps. I know little about MS embracing open source, but regarding Apple check out these: http://www.apple.com/opensource/ , http://opensource.apple.com/ If I got it right Apple has little problems with GPL apps on App store, GPL proponents have.

By enforcing user-hostile policies, Apple has aligned themselves as an enemy of the GPL, even if they want to pretend they are still cozy with open source.

Re: Windows Phone Marketplace bans the GPL, and the App Store should too

#6

Post by technomancy » Mon, Feb 21, 2011, 4:26 PM UTC

DjDarkman wrote: post #3

I find the story like this: Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot. Open source software is something both Microsoft and Apple should embrace. If I were them, I would devise a way to enable even GPLv3 apps to coexist.

This has very little to do with open source and everything to do with Free Software. I get that you can normally conflate the two, but in this case the distinction is crucial.

Re: Windows Phone Marketplace bans the GPL, and the App Store should too

#7

Post by darklajid » Mon, Feb 21, 2011, 4:40 PM UTC

DjDarkman wrote: post #3

I find the story like this: Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot. Open source software is something both Microsoft and Apple should embrace. If I were them, I would devise a way to enable even GPLv3 apps to coexist.

The article claims that this is irrelevant and that you cannot distribute a GPLv3 app for iPhone/Windows Phones anyway (read "tivoization"), because of the license restrictions itself. Whatever Microsoft says.

Re: Windows Phone Marketplace bans the GPL, and the App Store should too

#8

Post by uygtfrgtyjuhk » Mon, Feb 21, 2011, 4:44 PM UTC

technomancy wrote: post #6

DjDarkman wrote: post #3

I find the story like this: Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot. Open source software is something both Microsoft and Apple should embrace. If I were them, I would devise a way to enable even GPLv3 apps to coexist.

This has very little to do with open source and everything to do with Free Software. I get that you can normally conflate the two, but in this case the distinction is crucial.

MSFT is totally happy to use BSD licensed code in it's own products - but GPL code might compete with it's products.

Re: Windows Phone Marketplace bans the GPL, and the App Store should too

#9

Post by jarin » Mon, Feb 21, 2011, 4:57 PM UTC

I don't see why anyone should have a problem with this. Microsoft is well within their rights to disallow software with certain licenses in their store, just as developers are well within their rights to not use the GPL in their libraries. If it's really so egregious and untenable, developers will go elsewhere.

It's just another case of Free Software advocates trying to push their philosophy on consumer-facing software by sensationalizing the "bad guys" policies (i.e. Apple and Microsoft). Free Software != Open Source.

Re: Windows Phone Marketplace bans the GPL, and the App Store should too

#10

Post by marshray » Mon, Feb 21, 2011, 5:20 PM UTC

jarin wrote: post #9

I don't see why anyone should have a problem with this. Microsoft is well within their rights to disallow software with certain licenses in their store, just as developers are well within their rights to not use the GPL in their libraries. If it's really so egregious and untenable, developers will go elsewhere. It's just another case of Free Software advocates trying to push their philosophy on consumer-facing softwa…

"It's just another case" of very complex software licenses which depend on nontrivial assumptions about distribution and runtime architecture meeting up with equally complex business requirements and legal agreements.

It's so weird how so many comments are from people completely convinced that this a result of some grand scheme by MS to destroy "Open Source".