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Solve : The Linux TAX on handheld devices? |
Answer» The Linux TAX is already in effect for at least one major hand held product. The end-user is not aware of the tax, rather than agreement was made by the principal parties interested in the development of new devices that would use the Linux operating system along with proprietary software. So what do you think? Will this bring in new and better products to the marketplace? Or will it have the opposite effect by discouraging smaller companies from entering into the embedded Linux market? So far, the tax is not really on the operating system itself, but rather on a device that uses Linux along with proprietary software. Any remarks are welcome. This is a very serious issue. This poll runs for 7 days. Cast you vote NOW! what are you talking about?With regard to the question. On Linux forums the issue of "Linux Tax' has been a hot topic. The term tax can have a basic meaning with broad application. 1. A tax on anything might be a fair charge to support a product or service received. 2. A tax, says a dictionary, can also mean any heavy burden that holds men in submission and impends their freedom. Even if a obligatory transaction is not called a tax, it might fit either of the two above definitions. Such a transaction may not involve the actual exchange of money. It may require some other form of compensation to the one who levees the tax. In some cases it is not possible to meet the obligation because the method of payment is not withing the means of the prospective tax payer. The Linux Tax is being used to retard the growth of devices from upstart companies that would compete with smart phones, netooks, PDAs, digital video cameras and similar mobile or hand held devices. This is a deliberate action that claims to be a protection of intellectual property. This burden is very real, but its legality may not yet be established by a court of law. A big corporation may make private agreements where the details are not openly disclosed. Thais might be a violation of anti-trust laws in the USA. Some experts say this is a common business practice and there is nothing to worry about. Now the question remains - Will this be in the best interest of the consumer who does not understand the price of his new gadget is higher than it could be if there was no hidden tax? This is not a personal ant. It is an echo of what many others have said about the Linux Tax. After all, I am like a parrot. You realize that if a company wants to put a windows variant on a handheld device, they have to pay a "windows tax"? and (if apple allowed it) if they wanted to put a mac OS version odd they'd have to pay for that as well? If the person who is paying the "linux tax" doesn't want to pay the "linux tax" it's as simple as removing those parts of the software that use patented technologies such as VFAT. Why did they choose VFAT? is there something wrong with the Linux filesystems that would require no "tax"? It doesn't matter how MUCH "cheaper" something might be without some "tax" as you say- by the same token one could say there is a case tax for having a case on the device, or a "screen tax" for having a screen, or a colour tax for havign a colour display. It all comes into the final price of the component and that price is repaid and a profit made when the device is sold. The freedom given to people in the various free countries of the world extends to companies as well- if a company wants to put linux on a handheld device, they choose to use a patented technology (such as VFAT) that is there perogative. if the price increase from such a decision makes the product unattainable to most consumers it will not succeed. It's curious to note that a lot of the implementations of VFAT were not conceived of independently, but drawn on from patents made by microsoft on the technique, which is basically the addition of Long file names to files by using separate directory entries. Nobody forced them to use VFAT- if they wanted, they could have created their own variant of FAT (which is not patented) or simply used a Linux filesystem.Please provide proof of this so called tax. I am a member of quite a few Linux forums and there is no mention of tax. Quite a number of people would say que você fala merda. There is no charge for people to get the source code of any Linux distribution. Wherever you read this it's false information. Tell you what, go ask this at the debian forums and see what replies you get. Linux tax, MINHA bunda. Você chegou com bobagem. Porra! Que um cabeçudo. Get your facts straight and stop spreading lies.Quote from: Geek-9pm on April 30, 2010, 01:16:18 AM On Linux forums the issue of "Linux Tax' has been a hot topic.I am on at least 3 Linux forums and I've never heard of this "tax". Please explain more about it.Quote Linux tax, minha bunda. Good idea! But that only applies to individuals - Right? Big companies can lie and lie and we have to prove they are lying and maybe in 3 or 4 years the law might slap they with a fine. The Big Companies get to say anything they want. But if an individual questions their motives he is labeled a rumor spreader. Here is a recent article from a good sauce. Dell’s “Linux Tax” is outrageous * 14 Comments by John Biggs on March 1, 2010 http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/03/01/dells-linux-tax-is-outrageous/ Now please prove to us this is a lie. Quote victor - March 1st, 2010 at 11:43 pm EST http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/linux_3x?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs Don't you ever bother to read an entire thread? There is such a thing as a misprint. There, I have proven your statement false. Seems the price went up $20 from the time victor posted until now. Thank you for proving my statement false. I have learned from that. Here is some more information from Dell: Quote Ubuntu 9.04 Moblin Remix Developer Edition I wish something similar would come out for iphone but I doubt that would ever happenQuote from: Wefro_froyas on May 02, 2010, 07:23:03 PM I wish something similar would come out for iphone but I doubt that would ever happenNever happen! BTW, Apple is coming down on near copies of the iPhone. But it does not involve Linux. Not yet. EDIT: Oops! Maybe I was wrong about that. Please take a look at this: http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/iPhonelike-Linux-phone-delayed/ |
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