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Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
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Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?

By | February 21, 2011, 7:12am PST

Summary: Microsoft has banned GPLv3 software from the Windows Phone and Xbox apps … but should Apple do the same in the App Store?

Microsoft has banned GPLv3 software from the Windows Phone and Xbox apps … but should Apple do the same in the App Store?

Ars Technica’s Peter Bright thinks so:

Apple faces a similar problem, although Apple’s terms don’t explicitly ban the GPL, and GPL-licensed applications have been placed in the App Store. However, Apple equally fails to honour the terms of the GPL: the company provides no way to download source code to applications distributed in the store.

…

But as things stand, one thing is clear: Apple should do the decent thing and ban GPL software, too. The company presently reaps rewards from allowing GPL-licensed software in the App Store, even though the company has no intention of complying with the terms of that license. Microsoft’s stance may not be the pragmatic one. But it’s the right one.

 

Poll

Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?

Do you think that banning GPL open source software is the right thing to do? What alternatives would you suggest?

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Topics

GPL, Apple Inc., Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Open Source

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Disclosure

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

All opinions expressed on Hardware 2.0 are those of Adrian Kingsley-Hughes. Every effort is made to ensure that the information posted is accurate. If you have any comments, queries or corrections, please contact Adrian via the email link here. Any possible conflicts of interest will be posted below. [Updated: February 23, 2010] - Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other actual/potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted so far on this blog.

Biography

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology -- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera.

Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include "Build the Ultimate Custom PC", "Beginning Programming" and "The PC Doctor's Fix It Yourself Guide". He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Adrian also runs a popular blog under the name The PC Doctor, where he covers a range of computer-related topics -- from security to repairing and upgrading.

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I hate Apple
kevintheophile 19th Dec
It's why I hate Apple and Apple products. They are sh*t. I hate Steve JObs too. I was very happy with Steve Jobs' death and he deserved to die. He made his employees suffering a lot and a lot and humillated them. He ill-treated a lot the clients and teh consumers. He had false smile and false friendleyness. He privated everybody from the freedom. Mac users are smugs, arrogant, unbereable, perfeccionist and egoists. And they are suc-kers.

Long live Linux and GPL!

I wish the new law Sopa be approved, making the suc-king people to migrate to Linux.

Kevin
View in thread
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Wrong
Michael Alan Goff 21st Feb 2011
"Microsoft?s stance may not be the pragmatic one. But it?s the right one."

Didn't you hear? Banning GPL is akin to bashing a cat against the wall. It's evil, wrong, and they should change the way their app center works to comply with GPL licenses.

Same with Apple.

*sarcastic tone*
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GPL should ban Apple TOS within GPL Terms
Uralbas 21st Feb 2011
It guarantees that IOs TOS will eventually have to fit GPS terms.

What Apple does, has no relevance, as in time its market share will dwindle, while GPL will live on.
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
Loverock Davidson 21st Feb 2011
Yes.
0 Votes
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No, Apple never signed/agreed to GPL rules; it should not care at all
DeRSSS 21st Feb 2011
@Loverock Davidson: this is only problem of application's publishers, not Apple.
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
Rubberduck Rabidson 21st Feb 2011
@Loverock Davidson

Completely agree,

who want's third rate communist software that reports straight back to Stalin, no only good closed source will do that Mr & Mrs Eisenhower would be proud of.
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
choyongpil 21st Feb 2011
@Rubberduck Rabidson
Loverock is agreeing with himself, Puppet!
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So Lovey Dovey...
search & destroy 21st Feb 2011
...is now Rubby Rabby.

Well now isn't that just ducky

lol... grin
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Yes they should - Apple knows best!!
Ron Burgundey Updated - 21st Feb 2011
Trust me when I say that Apple knows best - All the proof you need is reported in Apple's Quarterly Reports!!

All those sales show that Apple isn't wrong!!!
0 Votes
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Well, since
Economister 21st Feb 2011
Apple does not comply with the GPL, we do not need to abide by Apple licenses either.
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
meelder 21st Feb 2011
Does apple need to comply with GPL3 or does whomever wrote the app need to? Apple didn't write the app they're just providing a place for it to be sold. Not sure this is a big deal.
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
NotTellinYou 21st Feb 2011
This is just more silliness from a vocal minority in the open source community. The fact is GPL should be updated to come into the 21st Century and allow software to be distributed through consumer channels with links to the code, attribution and in app links to the Open Source project/repository, or something similar. Already I can go to macUpdate and click a link to download evil VLC binary.

It's all just stupid and at a time when the open source community should be looking for ways to increase distribution instead they are being nothing more than posers in some Don Quixote quest to slay the big corporations. Don?t worry though 2011 is the year of Linux and Open Source!
0 Votes
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you can
30otnix 21st Feb 2011
@NotTellinYou
a) Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,

b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or,
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"Don't worry though 2011 is the year of Linux and Open Source!"
nix_hed 22nd Feb 2011
@NotTellinYou Just like how 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, and 2004 were also the years of Linux and Open Source? While Linux runs the web and BSD and Linux make the majority of smart phones what they are today, many consumer apps are going to remain closed-source, because consumers are more concerned with getting stuff done than if the developer shares code or not.
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GPL or GPLv3?
30otnix 21st Feb 2011
Adrian,
You open your article with GPLv3 and then use the general term GPL. GPLv3 has some major changes involving "tivoization" & DMR which are not in the GPLv2. Even Linux hasn't moved to v3.

So which are you asking about?
0 Votes
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No need for Apple to ban GPL from the app store. The
fr_gough 21st Feb 2011
open source zealots will throw a riot and get it removed all on their own. Slitting their wrists and shouting out their moral superiority as the blood gushes from their arteries.
0 Votes
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Dude...
search & destroy 21st Feb 2011
...lay off the slasher movies. K?
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An alternative
Steve Webb 21st Feb 2011
Let the App developer comply with the terms of the GPL! There is no part of the GPL that requires any action on Apple's part, because the developer can meet compliance without assistance from Apple.

(Unless the developer is lazy or has an agenda....)
0 Votes
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I saw a sign at a parking structure the other day
oncall 21st Feb 2011
That said "Violating federal, state and local laws is prohibited." and I thought to myself "Wow people need a sign for this?"
0 Votes
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Was the sign..
Economister Updated - 21st Feb 2011
@oncall

violating any laws? wink
0 Votes
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Good question
oncall 21st Feb 2011
@Economister

I'm kind of weak on "sign laws". Probably someone thought it might be a good idea otherwise people might start to assume they were in a "law free" zone if they were not continually reminded that the regular ones were still in effect.
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That little green guy
Robert Hahn 21st Feb 2011
I do not have an Android phone. If anyone here has one, does it come with the source code to Android? If not, why not?
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
30otnix 21st Feb 2011
@Robert Hahn
Because its not required.
0 Votes
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NO BAN on GPL
jameskatt 21st Feb 2011
It would be extremely difficult to track if an app uses GPL'd code.

The copyright holder can simply tell Apple to drop an app - which Apple has done - if the copyright holder finds the app violates their copyright (GPL or NOT).
0 Votes
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
ebernet 21st Feb 2011
Apple should instead require that all GPL apps include a link to download all the source.
0 Votes
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Why should any software be BANNED
kevlar700 21st Feb 2011
And why should they have the right to ban it. The authors should hold that power.

Apples OS is based on the same source code that freebsd, OpenBSD (old timers and still the best and allow you to do anything with the code as long as you respect the authors and credit them) and Linux are based upon. Apple seem to forget their heritage at times. Of course microsoft would do anything to forget illegally stealing dos from Gary Kildall (Ballmer basically admitted this on film) and then making it worse and also making it throw errors to keep competitors out (Caldera Court Case). Seriously look them both up.
0 Votes
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
nickmcel 22nd Feb 2011
@kevlar700
Look up Tim Paterson. He is the one that originally wrote DOS and later sold it to MS. He is the only one that has been "accused" of that theft on that front. If you're looking for evidence of Microsoft thievery there are plenty of other places to start.
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
howting@... 22nd Feb 2011
Should Starbucks ban hot cocoa? Should Facebook ban dimwits? Who cares?
0 Votes
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That Would Totally Kill Their Business
CFWhitman 22nd Feb 2011
@howting@...
"Should Facebook ban dimwits?"

What? and lose 90% of their clientele? happy
0 Votes
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
cmwade1977 22nd Feb 2011
The right thing to do is to require that the publishers of GPL software provide a direct link in their description to download the source code.

This is the correct course of action and Microsoft should do it as well, if you ban GPL software, you seriously cripple the store.
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I don't care is missing from poll.
zclayton2 22nd Feb 2011
I have android. I won't be using those stores.
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
miked@... 22nd Feb 2011
Software should be like Art - it should stand or fall on its merits. I don't want to be told its good because it falls into one camp or another. If it works for me then its good. Looks like Microsoft will be losing out on some good art.
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
schmandel@... 22nd Feb 2011
Yes, the more Microsoft-like Apple becomes the sooner the proprietary premium in their pricing shrinks to zero. This will happen anyway, I would just like to see them hasten the process.
0 Votes
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
sparky209 7th Mar 2011
IF YOU LOOK AT A LOT OF CONSUMER ELECTRONICS FROM ROUTERS TO A LOT OF DIFFERENT DEVICES HAVE GPL INSIDE HARD AT WORK. WHY? BECAUSE WHY HAVE A HANDFULL OF PROGRAMERS DESIGN SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE AND PAY A CRAPLOAD OF MONEY OUT MAKING IT WORK WHEN YOU CAN TAKE THE KNOWLAGE OF PROGRAMERS FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD WHO CONTENUE THE EFFORTS OF ONES BEFORE THEM AND MAKE AN EFFORT TO MAKE IT EVEN BETTER THEN BEFORE..BECAUSE IT MEANS MS CANT TAKE CREDIT FOR ALL OF IT..IT MEANS THEY WONT MAKE MONEY IF SOMETHINGS OUT THERE FOR FREE IS BETTER THEN THERE CRAP... I MEAN IF SOME WANT TO SPEND $$$ ON SOFTEWARE OR OS THAT IS CRAP AND HAS MORE BRAIN FARTS THEN MOST PEOPLE DO, DESERVE TO GET RAPED BY THE COST OF THE CRAPPY SOFTWARE THEY PUT OUT....ME ILL STAY WITH GPL SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE AND OS AND SAVE MY $$$ TO GIVE SOME DONATIONS TO DEVELOPERS OF GPL WHEN I CAN AND SAVE ACTUALLY THE HEADACHES AND TIME OF MY COMPUTER FREZZING UP RESTARTS AND THE COST OF HARDWARE BECAUSE BY THE 10 FREEZE UP THE COMPUTER GETS TOSSED ACROSS THE OFFICE...I DONT CARE WHAT ANY ONE SAYS EVEN PEOPLE WHO USE MS USERS CAN SAY THEY HAVE THOUGHT OF DOING THAT BEFORE LOL
0 Votes
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RE: Should Apple ban GPL from the App Store?
chinoto 20th May 2011
@sparky209 When I used Notepad++ to convert your post to sentence case, it seemed pretty good, why did you screw it up by doing all caps?
0 Votes
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I hate Apple
kevintheophile 19th Dec
It's why I hate Apple and Apple products. They are sh*t. I hate Steve JObs too. I was very happy with Steve Jobs' death and he deserved to die. He made his employees suffering a lot and a lot and humillated them. He ill-treated a lot the clients and teh consumers. He had false smile and false friendleyness. He privated everybody from the freedom. Mac users are smugs, arrogant, unbereable, perfeccionist and egoists. And they are suc-kers.

Long live Linux and GPL!

I wish the new law Sopa be approved, making the suc-king people to migrate to Linux.

Kevin

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