Re: [Fsuk-manchester] Talking about non-free software on the list

[MJ Ray]

Bob Ham <address@hidden>
> On Wed, 2013-03-20 at 19:12 +0000, MJ Ray wrote:
> > Quiliro Ordóñez wrote:
> > > By the way of your reasoning, would it be OK to explain how to edit the
> > > registry of Microsoft Windows on Debian as long as it was installed in a
> > > VirtualBox instance?
> 
> > why not, if it's necessary to get/change something
> > there to make Debian work?
> 
> Suppose there are two pieces of software, A and B.  If A depends on B
> and B is non-free then A is not free.

Like the saying goes: for every problem, there is a solution that is
simple, plausible AND WRONG.

Suppose there is a piece of hardware with two pieces of software, MS
and D.  If MS is non-free and D cannot run on that hardware until MS
is used to change some setting back, is D free or not?

I notice the crude edit out of the other Windows-related questions.  I
guess that's because Bob knows and dislikes FSF's answers: that it's
OK to tell people how to install software on Microsoft Windows and to
list those instructions above those for GNU-using systems.

Regards,
-- 
MJ Ray (slef), member of www.software.coop, a for-more-than-profit co-op.
http://koha-community.org supporter, web and library systems developer.
In My Opinion Only: see http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html
Available for hire (including development) at http://www.software.coop/