Baslinux mailing list

[Ian Scott <mriscott AT yahoo.co.uk>]

> 
> PS On using the FAT16/32 filesystem: one thing
that's recently been in the
> news is how M$ is starting to file patents for
things like xml and the FAT
> filesystem.  It looks like they're going to try to 
try generating revenue
> by an intellectual property royalties maneuver -
like what SCO is trying
> to do with Linux.  In other words, one of the
strategies they may use to
> stymie open source efforts and keep people locked
into their toll system
> will be to restrict use to some very commonly used
standards like the FAT
> filesystem (by requiring people to license it). 
Couldn't this be a reason
> to consider moving the BL line away from the DOS
filesystem, or at least
> making it more portable to a pure Linux environment?


Point 1: fat and vfat are not standards, as I
understand it - they are just what DOS/windows use.

Point 2: If you have a legal licensed copy of DOS, you
have a right to use the filesystem - either directly
in DOS or indirectly by mounting on linux.  I don't
know what the situation is with FreeDOS, DR-DOS, etc
but I presume that they also have legal rights to use
the filesystem (or MS would have sued them by now!)

POint 3: Isn't the whole point of BL that it is easy
to run for someone who is used to DOS.   If you have a
PC without DOS on it already, you are probably much
better going with another distro that will install directly.


        
        
                
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