Re: giving money to gnome

[Benedikt Eric Heinen <beh@icemark.ch>]

> > Supporting GNOME primarily means, supporting a replacement to KDE. Only
> > part of the money will help replacing Qt. But - this replacing Qt will be
> > done by replacing a Qt based product (KDE).
> The problem is that from all the reports we've had, there is no
> intention to replace Qt by the KDE folks. If that is the case,
> then we do need to replace KDE as well, unless we somehow
> come up with a free Qt, which Bruce suggests is dangerous
> from a legal point of view anyway.

OTOH if you spend money for GNOME instead of giving it to GTK directly,
then you'll support a free desktop, but not replacing Qt. Unless gtk
becomes REALLY popular and gets more help, more projects will be done
making Qt. So - what comes after Gnome? Once Gnome can take on KDE, what
will happen? Debian will go and finance a free QWeb? And then a free
Q<whatever>? 

This plan will only help eliminating the symptoms of Qts presence, but it
won't help replacing Qt.

> >    talk to the KDE people about them replacing their use of Qt by using
> > GTK. If they can agree to that - give the money to KDE to help exactly
> > that purpose. If they won't like to change over to GTK, then give the
> > money to GTK, so that all projects using GTK will benefit from this by
> > aiding their central GUI toolkit.
> I would agree with this.

I forwarded a request to Andreas Jellinghaus to ask whether KDE would
change to GTK if Debian would give them money *specifically* for that
purpose. I'd even be ahp[py to donate one or two Swiss Francs into that,
if they do.


> > But - is that all that it takes? Don't you think - supporting GTK to
> > mature wouldn't be better - as this would help all kinds of people to
> > maybe consider GTK instead of Qt.
> Fine, giving the money to GTK will help GNOME, and help
> KDE if they switch. That is, if GTK needs the help. But giving
> the money direct to KDE doesn't help produce a free desktop
> OR a free toolkit.

Just a sec, I never suggested to unconditionally hand money to KDE. I
said, hand it to GTK to help it mature even more (maybe even to help GTK
supporting further GTK related projects, if they don't need it
themselves). I followed the suggestion, to let KDE have money for changing
to GTK *IF* they agree to changing to GTK. If they don't - fine. But I
also strongly oppose the idea of giving that money to GNOME.

Imagine - if we give the money to GNOME - don't you think, that jfl might
deicde not to give money to us next time or even replace Debian, since
Debian is so obviously fighting KDE? If the KDE people start gnawing on
the ears of JFL people, I am not sure what will happen. I don't think,
that they'll just cheerfully replace KDE as an easy to use GUI is the main
pice of software to get new people interested in Linux. But they can still
change the distribution below, if this will be causing trouble to them. 
In this case, Debian wouldn't even get any more money - just because we
can't behave somewhat ethically. It's JFLs choice to support KDE with
DM2.50 per sold CD, and we're publicly stating that JFL made a BAD choice
by supporting a competitor to the KDE with the other DM2.50 per sold CD.

This is not good.


  Benedikt

Windows 95: n.
    32-bit extensions and a graphical shell for a 16-bit patch to an 8-bit
    operating system originally coded for a 4-bit microprocessor,  written
         by a 2-bit company that can't stand for 1 bit of competition.


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