Hi all, <quote who="Przemysław Kulczycki">
Hiren's BootCD contains unlicensed proprietary software, therefore it cannot and shouldn't be recommended by free/open source software users because its use is illegal in most countries.
There is also a difference between using and distributing something. It is illegal to distribute the libdvdcss in Australia but does that mean I should do without dVDs in my house if I use Linux? It is technically illegal to distribute something with mp3 support already set up (unless the distributer has paid the mp3 fee), so how does that affect non-technical recipients of Free Software? Most non-technical people don't know (or care) why their default Linux installation doesn't support DVD or MP3, it is a problem. Software Freedom International couldn't distribute something that is illegal, however I personally recognise that some laws would render us unable to do many things with our own technology, and where is the software freedom in that? There is legal revolution in the process as well as a technology one, with constructs like GPL and Creative Commons leading the charge. We need to be ensuring that the legal systems we participate in also reflect the principles of Software Freedom in order to ensure that it isn't just freedom for geeks, but freedom for everyone. Just my 2c. Cheers, Pia -- OLPC Australia http://olpc.org.au/ Linux Australia http://linux.org.au/ Open Source Industry Australia http://osia.net.au/ Software Freedom Day http://softwarefreedomday.org/