[gNewSense-users] GLX is now Free (Fwd: [FSF] Thank you SGI, for freeing the GNU/Linux 3D desktop!)

[Brian Kemp]

Remember all that work we did getting rid of GLX?

It's time to undo that. :)

(This probably warrants a respin of the CD too.)

Feature article also available here: http://www.linux.com/feature/148339

For the few of you who haven't seen this pasted all over the place,
I've enclosed a forward of the message, cut for brevity.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Sullivan <address@hidden>
Date: Fri, Sep 19, 2008 at 12:05 PM
Subject: [FSF] Thank you SGI, for freeing the GNU/Linux 3D desktop!
To: address@hidden


In January of 2008, software code at the heart of GNU/Linux 3D
applications was discovered to be non-free -- a potential disaster
for free software advocates hoping to see advanced graphical
acceleration now common on modern operating systems.

The code, licensed by Silicon Graphics (SGI), was distributed under
the SGI Free License B and the GLX Public License. These licenses,
although permissive, contained three sets of terms which created
significant burdens for all users and developers and a particular
problem for the free software community because they made the code
non-free (see the Free Software Definition at
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html).

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Free Software Compliance Lab's
Brett Smith explained, "We discovered that these licenses covered
contributions that SGI had made to the X.Org Project and the Mesa 3D
Graphics Library. These projects, including SGI's code, are an
important and familiar part of modern GNU/Linux desktop systems. The
FSF Compliance Lab then worked with SGI towards today's
announcement."

You can read SGI's press release here:
http://www.sgi.com/company_info/newsroom/press_releases/2008/september/opengl.html

*snip*

--BK