Idea for expanded support of some non-free software

[Petri Pennanen]

On Wed, 2004-12-08 at 23:23 -0500, thully at umich.edu wrote:
> I know that in many cases it isn't legally possible to include non-free software
> (like MP3 and DVD).  In these cases, I realize the legal limitations they are
> under, and I don't expect them to break the law.  The only additional thing I
> would suggest in these cases is 1)Try everything possible to at least integrate
> some support for these formats (maybe Wine could be utilized, or MP3 playback
> but not recording could be added to restricted - it is already in universe,
> after all).

Wine doesn't solve licensing issues. Wine solves win32 compatibility
issues. Ubuntu couldn't distribute windows versions of mp3-decoders or
decss for windows either. The reason? You guessed it: The license does
not permit it!

Having wrapper scripts to pull down the needed scripts from another
source is pretty dubious as well. A court could regard it as
distributing as well.

There are three ways to make these applications legally available:
     1. License them. This is what software vendors usually do. However
        these licenses typically have a set cost for a certain amount of
        users. Ubuntu can't include software licensed under these
        conditions on the CD (even if Canonical coughed up the license
        money) since it would disallow free distribution of the CD:s.
     2. Convince the license holders to change the license. This would
        probably require a hideous amount of money. Since there are free
        alternatives I think it is better to focus on them. If you
        disagree you can set up an webpage with a donation account, hire
        a lawyer and enter negotiations with Frauenhoffer, Macromedia
        and their ilk. 
     3. Change the law.

The developers have made a decision on what software Ubuntu will
support. They have explained why several times and the premises for
their arguments have not changed. 

If you feel like continuing this thread I suggest we do so on the
sounder list (where I'm CC:ing this message). We are dealing with a
social/political problem rather than a technical one. 

- Petri