Re: ICE: Re: Piecepack Pyramids

[Joshua Kronengold <mneme@...>]

Ron Hale-Evans writes:
>In case I need to spell it out, the answer is simple: in each case,
>one is free (as in freedom: GNU/Linux or piecepack pyramids); the
>other is not (Microsoft Windows or Icehouse).

While I can certainly see why people might want to have their own
pyramids, this is -also- fairly disingenuous -- Icehouse -is- free (as
in freedom); it's not free (as in beer); you don't have compatability,
innovation, interoperability, or other restrictions when using the
Icehouse pieces, nor is your actual real-world use of the objects in
question curtailed by either their commercial nature or Andy's patent.

Basically, the freedoms Stallman talks about -- to share information
with your collegues and friends; to improve on other's ideas and
modify them and discard the ones that suck, etc, aren't really at
issue.  Part of this is that while I -could- see freedom issues
(significant ones, even) with a propietary game with unique components
(which restricted use of the components and restricted use of their
components, and others from either duplicating or using them in
certain ways), this clearly isn't the case here -- icehouse pieces are
free to be used in any games that aren't against state or federal
statutes.

-- 
         Joshua Kronengold (mneme@...)           |\      _,,,--,,_  ,)
---^----                                           /,`.-'`'   -,  ;-;;'
  /\\    "What part of "Prhrhrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"   |,4-  ) )-,_ ) /\
-/-\\\-- didn't you understand?"                  '---''(_/--' (_/-'