Re: "The Free software Movement is a Scam" -Alfred Szmidt GNU.org

[Colin Day]

Karen Hill wrote:
> Bobbie Gill wrote:
>
> > Karen Hill wrote:
> >
> > > I checked my inbox and look what I found:
> > >
> > >
> > > From:   "Alfred M. Szmidt" <ams@gnu.org>
> > > To:     "Karen Hill" <karen_hill22@yahoo.com>
> > > CC:     gnu-misc-discuss@gnu.org
> > > Subject:         Re: Linus CHARGING $5,000 to use Linux name!!!!!
> > > Date:    Fri, 19 Aug 2005 18:56:53 +0200
> > >
> > > The free software movement is a scam.
> > >
> > > The Free software movement is about freedom, not price.  Charging
> > > money for a copy of a program is perfectly OK, and has always been.
> >
> >
> > Yeah, sometime when I check my inbox I get invitations to re-input my
> > personal information for my ebay account (never have had an ebay
> > account, but I guess the phishers don't care). I also seem to win quite
> > a few lotteries in the U.K. And I've also been solicited to help some
> > poor chap get his father's millions out of Nigeria.
> >
> > The point I'm trying to make is that there often is quite a bit of B.S.
> > to be found in the typical inbox.
>
>
> Except this is the real deal.  I have the headers to prove it (If you
> press me I will post the message with the headers).   He responded to
> me privately by email in response to a usenet post I made about Linus
> charging 5 grand to use the linux name.  Alfred's  point I guess is
> that the source code is important and the freedom to modify it and not
> the price of that source code.  But here is that catch...what good is
> freedom if I can't afford it?  Isn't non-free software that I can use
> MORE important than expensive GPL software like Redhat Linux?

And how much would Microsoft charge you to use "Microsoft" in a product?

> A box license from MS is a one time purchase for a reasonable price,
> redhat you must pay every year.  MS gives you security updates via
> windows update for free.  Not so with Linux in terms of redhat.  Like I
> said before what good is freedom if I can't afford it?

Colin Day