non-free should just work

[Matt Zimmerman]

On Fri, Oct 29, 2004 at 03:39:15PM +0200, Soren Hauberg wrote:

> Java is often found on different cd's here in denmark.
> I know the danish OpenOffice.org team puts java on the OOo cd they create.
> 
> I also believe I have seen different plugins, but it's been a while 
> since i purchased i magazine, so I can't remember which ones...

OK, that's quite different from MP3 encoders and the like, which require
that patent royalties be paid for each copy.  Even if you paid this cost
somehow, it would make it illegal for you to give a copy of Ubuntu to
someone else for free, which runs entirely contrary to its spirit.

The catch with Java is that if you ship one of the proprietary Java
implementations, it (indirectly) prohibits you from shipping an open source
Java implementation as well.  This might be OK for a CD with a few
applications on it, but it is out of the question for an open source Linux
distribution.

-- 
 - mdz