sane-project-website/old-archive/1998-11/0179.html

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<title>sane-devel: Re: forwarded message from Richard Stallman</title>
<h1>Re: forwarded message from Richard Stallman</h1>
<b>Henry Miller</b> (<a href="mailto:hank@black-hole.com"><i>hank@black-hole.com</i></a>)<br>
<i>Sat, 21 Nov 1998 00:17:59 -0600 (CST)</i>
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On Fri, 20 Nov 1998, Oliver Rauch wrote:<br>
<p>
<i>&gt; hank wrote:</i><br>
<i>&gt; &gt; What I'm trying to propose is that assuming someday we have a working MAC</i><br>
<i>&gt; &gt; and Windows frontend, a manufacture can take our stuff, compile a backend</i><br>
<i>&gt; &gt; for their new scanner, put their name on it (with credit to us in the</i><br>
<i>&gt; &gt; about box) and ship drivers for all operating systems easially.  If our</i><br>
<i>&gt; &gt; backend is good enough, it would save them significant effort, while also</i><br>
<i>&gt; &gt; giving them the ability to put "Network compatable" on the box.</i><br>
<i>&gt; tahts what they can do today, the only thing they have to do is make their</i><br>
<i>&gt; backend GPL!</i><br>
<i>&gt; So where is the problem?</i><br>
<p>
See the discussion on parrell port scanners, that happened today.  (more<br>
or less)  Some companies belive they ahve done something specail that they<br>
don't want to tell us about.  They won't release a GPL backend.  I'd like<br>
a backend of some sort at least, even if it is under a less then ideal<br>
license.  <br>
<p>
Remember we are dealing on several levels, there is a place for idealism,<br>
but remember the real world is different.  What it comes down to is<br>
ultimatly, is where people want to take SANE.  Where I would like to see<br>
Sane go, is a eventially document the net part of it, submit it to the<br>
IETF to become a RFC.<br>
<p>
To do that, we need some support in the form of multipul implimentations<br>
(I'm not sure exactly what is invloved, so I might not have the details<br>
right)  One way to encourage this is to get comercial venders to support<br>
Sane.  <br>
The other thing I'd like to see Sane do is have lots of drivers for Unix.<br>
We are close to a stanard for Unix (by default if nothing else, I'm not<br>
aware of anything that supports as much as Sane) but we lack a lot of<br>
drivers.  Therefore I think we should consider the needs of the comercial<br>
world with Sane.  Again, this doen'st leave a perfect situation to the<br>
license purists.  <br>
<p>
There are other ideas.  Sane won't go away (and it might become what I<br>
want it to do anyway, the spec is free)  with a GNU license, but it will<br>
discourage comercial devolpment, if big companies think they will be<br>
forced to release information they consider private to support Sane.<br>
<p>
A Gnu license does have advantages.  Being distributed by teh Free<br>
software foundation is one.  Anouther is that we are not giving away our<br>
work, letting unknowns modify it just enough that we are not compatable,<br>
and putting their name on it.  (if we can enfource that clause)  There<br>
are probably others.<br>
<p>
In the end it comes down to the people who contributed.  There are<br>
advantages to everything, but if you didn't write the code you don't have<br>
much a right to complain about the wrong decision.  You can of course<br>
comment on it, as I'm doing.<br>
<p>
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      <a href="mailto:hank@black-hole.com">hank@black-hole.com</a>
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<li> <b>Next message:</b> <a href="0180.html">Dieter Lange: "Re: News from Minolta"</a>
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