VLC and GPL and LC on iOS (was: Re: MergEXT now included with Indy/Business IDE)

[John Dixon]

Yes , the devil is in the detail... 'leery', is the word you were looking for ?... :-)

> From: bobsneidar at iotecdigital.com
> To: use-livecode at lists.runrev.com
> Subject: Re: VLC and GPL and LC on iOS (was: Re: MergEXT now included with	Indy/Business IDE)
> Date: Fri, 6 May 2016 14:56:54 +0000
> 
> This is why I am always leary of people who want to change the world. The devil is always in the details.
> 
> Bob S
> 
> 
> On May 5, 2016, at 21:33 , Kay C Lan <lan.kc.macmail at gmail.com<mailto:lan.kc.macmail at gmail.com>> wrote:
> 
> On Thu, May 5, 2016 at 1:34 PM, Monte Goulding <monte at appisle.net<mailto:monte at appisle.net>> wrote:
> 
> 
> We worked hard with all major copyright holders to not repeat history and
> we are confident to have achieved this goal.
> 
> My understanding of the situation is that many contributors to VLC were
> opposed to the stance of a few zealots at FOSS and were of a similar
> opinion to Linus Torvalds:
> 
> www.cnet.com/news/torvalds-lambasts<http://www.cnet.com/news/torvalds-lambasts>
> -free-software-foundation/?_escaped_fragment_=#!
> 
> These people appreciated that Apple's code neither added to or detracted
> from VLC and was simply a distribution system - (not unlike a newsagency or
> bookshop). Links to the developers website on the App Store ensured anyone
> and everyone could have unlimited access to the source code of VLC. The
> zealots took Apple to court, although some VLC contributors argued in
> support of Apple. Apple lost, so took the easiest path and simply removed
> all GPL software from the App Store - the only people hurt that day were GPL
> contributors.
> 
> So in a classic paradox, to fulfil their desire to distribute VLC free and
> open to the World, a band of contributors freed themselves of the
> restrictions placed on them by the FOSS zealots, by rewriting VLC under a
> less restrictive open software license, returned it to the Apple Store who
> were more than willing to distribute their work as far and as wide as they
> could.
> 
> Pick your license carefully - you should ALWAYS read the fine print.
> 
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