From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,ac39a12d5faf5b14 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-04-20 09:07:57 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!postnews1.google.com!not-for-mail From: dewar@gnat.com (Robert Dewar) Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Open Source: in conflict with the development process in the Ada community? Date: 20 Apr 2002 09:07:56 -0700 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Message-ID: <5ee5b646.0204200807.2f56b547@posting.google.com> References: <5ee5b646.0204190620.1902ede@posting.google.com> <87lmbidfny.fsf@deneb.enyo.de> NNTP-Posting-Host: 205.232.38.244 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: posting.google.com 1019318877 4349 127.0.0.1 (20 Apr 2002 16:07:57 GMT) X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com NNTP-Posting-Date: 20 Apr 2002 16:07:57 GMT Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:22817 Date: 2002-04-20T16:07:57+00:00 List-Id: Florian Weimer wrote in message news:<87lmbidfny.fsf@deneb.enyo.de>... > tmoran@acm.org writes: > > >> What we provide most importantly is consulting and help on the use of Ada, > > > So ACT should be thought of as a software consulting company that > > happens to also maintain a compiler? No. That's quite incorrect. Just like Microsoft (for instance) we provide licensed copyrighted software with support for a fee. What distinguishes us from Microsoft in this regard is two things 1. Our software license is much more advantageous to users 2. We provide much more extensive support. > Yes, probably. If they were a compiler company, they wouldn't be > permitted to give GNAT away for free (at least in Germany, but I think > U.S. law is similar). Please don't play amateur lawyer, the above statement is nonsense! And in any case we are a compiler company, and we do NOT give GNAT Pro (the name of our commercial product) away for free! Robert Dewar Ada Core Technologies P.S. how anyone even a little remotely aware of current events could think that there was a law against giving software away free is surprising to me. Florian, don't you follow current events (e.g. Netscape vs Microsoft, at all?) Bundling of software can in some cases have Sherman act implications, but no, there is no law per se against giving things away free :-) However, don't expect ACT to be in that business :-)