Submission + - SourceForge assumes ownership of GIMP For Win, wraps installer in adware (arstechnica.com)
SourceForge is now offering "to establish a program to enable users and developers to help us remove misleading and confusing ads."
SourceForge, the code repository site owned by Slashdot Media, has apparently seized control of the account hosting GIMP for Windows on the service, according to e-mails and discussions amongst members of the GIMP community—locking out GIMP's lead Windows developer. And now anyone downloading the Windows version of the open source image editing tool from SourceForge gets the software wrapped in an installer replete with advertisements.
In cases where a project is no longer actively being maintained, SourceForge has in some cases established a mirror of releases that are hosted elsewhere. This was done for GIMP-Win.
Editor's note: Gimp is actively being maintained and the definition of "mirror" is quite misleading here as a modified binary is no longer a verbatim copy. Download statistics for Gimp on Windows show SourceForge as offering over 1,000 downloads per day of the Gimp software. In an official response to this incident, the official Gimp project team reminds users to use official download methods. Slashdotters may remember the last time news like this surfaced (2013) when the Gimp team decided to move downloads from SourceForge to their own FTP service.
Therefore, we remind you again that GIMP only provides builds for Windows via its official Downloads page.
Note: SourceForge and Slashdot share a corporate parent.
Their job is hard (and quoting stats comparing cops to fisherman is pointless,
Why is using actual data on how dangerous the job is compared to other jobs pointless? Because it doesn't support your argument?
... fish don't have shotguns in the back seat)
Neither do the vast, vast majority of people.
Clem responded, "Money isn't a primary concern. Although the original fee was in the hundreds of thousands pounds, it was easily reduced to a single digit figure. The licensing aims at restricting what Mint can and cannot do, mostly in relation to the OEM market, to prevent Mint from competing with Canonical in front of the same commercial partners."
Go look it up, OpenGL isn't a free "do whatever you like" setup. There is licensing for it for companies like nVidia.
I decided to do exactly that. This is from their licensing website.
The following are the currently available licenses:
Open source license, for use of the S.I.. This is a Free Software License B closely modeled on BSD, X, and Mozilla licenses.
Trademark License. for new licensees who want to use the OpenGL trademark and logo and claim conformance. This license is available free of charge if you are developing open source implementations on open source platforms. For closed source licenses or licenses on proprietary platforms, a charge will be associated with a trademark license.
Emphasis mine. There's also a note on the page that former licensees can open source their code and no longer need a license. If you're making an open source implementation, OpenGL seems pretty open.
Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage. -- Ambrose Bierce