Linux-based HP Thin Client With XFce 4

[Brian J. Tarricone]

On 09/29/04 20:54, Olivier Fourdan wrote:
> On Wed, 2004-09-29 at 20:22, Brian J. Tarricone wrote:
> > from a quick look at the relevant COPYING files, xfce-mcs-manager and
> > libxfce4mcs are licensd under the LGPL, so if all they're doing is making
> > extra modules, they're ok.  if they've modified the mcs manager or the
> > library, they owe us patches.
> 
> 1) They add modules, so it's perfectly fine.
> 2) The GPL doesn't force anybody to send back the changes. The GNU GPL
> states that the source must be available to the ones who receive the
> binary packages. HP provides a link on their site to ask for the sources
> of the GNU GPL covered portions of the code, so they also comply to the
> GNU GPL (for the GNU GPL portions of the code)

yeah, i know.  i meant "they owe us" in a purely tongue-in-cheek sense.

on the other hand, if they did need to release changes back because of their
modifications, i would _expect_ them to drop us a line and let us know
where we could pick up the changes.  not because they have a legal obligation
to do so, but because it's the Right Thing To Do[tm] (and i would think a
large company like HP would want to show their goodwill to the OSS
community if they were interested in using our stuff for more than just a
one-off thing).  then again, i tend to be an idealistic fool on those rare
occasions i'm not clouded with bitter cynicism.

	-b