[Fsf-india] DEBATE: Why Linux... why GNU/Linux
Raghavendra Bhat
ragu@vsnl.com
Mon, 18 Mar 2002 10:21:22 +0530
Frederick Noronha posts :
> See the views of Atul Chtinis and RMS below...
You cannot compare a rotten lemon with a crunchy apple ! Atul Chitnis
is an ordinary hack like anyone of us whereas RMS is a charismatic
hacker figure-head who has sacrificed his life to the betterment of
Society.
Atul Chitnis: A person who has no original work to his credit other than
bringing us, first RedHat Linux and later PCQuest Linux via a magazine
called PC Quest. (This was brought out at a time when our Net
connectivity was very poor.) He has made no great sacrifice by this
other than promoting his consultancy firm called Exocore Consulting,
thereby enriching himself. He alongwith PC Quest have shown us that
there is a good business model in selling GNU/Linux CDS and that one can
make good money by providing services using *free* software.
RMS: A person with an original idea in that he started the GNU Project
at a time when everyone was beholden to the *proprietary* model of
software development. It was RMS who all these years has been telling
us the values of ethical computing and of a software sharing
community. Again you see RMS pleading that scientific development can
move forward only if we share and re-use resources, build upon the
shoulders of the giants before us. Above all it was RMS who
single-handedly drafted the GNU GPL for the protection of the software
developer/consumer. RMS has inducted a value based approach to the
development and deployment of software.
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