[ILUG] name that appliance OS (again)

[Paul O'Malley]

Peter McEvoy wrote:

>In a somewhat similar vein, has anyone used one of these:
>
>http://www.citrix.com/English/PS/products/feature.asp?familyID=13991&productID=15005&featureID=15162
>
>It's an authentication gateway for pretty much anything, it seems.
>Plainly says it runs linux, cant seem to find much googling, other than
>this interview with the ceo, in which he says they've "licensed some
>technology that's the basis for this"
>
>http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/story/0,10801,86098,00.html
>
>Which, to me, is fairly nebulous.
>  
>
Hi Pete,

They say they have Linux in their kit. If and only if you buy kit from
them then the GPL kicks in, so (A) they must provide the source to a
person they supplied it to if they are requested to do so, (B) they must
tell every customer that they are entitled to the source of the GPLed
material that they use.
Sorry I can't see how is that nebulous? If it is the CEO piece of that
article maybe as I am about to speculate maybe they had someone write
stuff for them who knows, it is a $741 turn over company, they could
have bought closed source BSD build materials and put them in there and
don't have to tell you all that much about them :)

Sorry if I got the wrong end of the stick but this is my understanding
of the GPL, as I step into this mine field but after reading some of the
stuff here over the last while, maybe I should share _my_ understanding
with you all and ask you to remember that IANAL or the brightest candle
on the cake.

Remember that the GPL does not say at any point that one should not make
money from GPLed materials.

I can write software and charge you €5M for it, and release it under the
GPL. You do not have to get the source at that time, I must make it
available for you in the next three years should you request it. I do
not have to make the software or source available to anyone else.
However and this is rather important, you have the rights to pass on the
software with or without the source, so if you choose at the end of year
1 to pass on the binaries, you still do not have the source, you have
two more years to get the source just in case one of the people who went
to you for the binaries wants the source toward the end of their
contact, you better have it available. You would not like to loose your
access to the the GPLed materials you passed on, now would you?

That is my understanding, and if it a case that I am wrong then I am
open to correction.

Cheers,

Paul O'Malley