RE: [Plib-devel] Licensing for Console Applications.

[Dave M. <Dav...@dy...>]

> So I take that as a "No" vote?

Actually, I'm working on a PS2 console game right now using
PLIB.  I'm just not sure the license needs to change.
Our company lawyer [cough] is looking over the LGPL
which is more like a manifesto than a legal document BTW.

I'm not a lawyer but it seems like if I put *ALL* my
changes back into the public domain, keep all the NDA'ed
api calls in my client code, and provide all my object
files, then I am legal with respect to the LGPL and the
Sony NDA.  I also feel like I am in keeping with the spirit
of the LGPL.   Money issues aside, I'd rather help develop
opensource with PLIB than buy proprietary Renderware for the PS2.

Isn't the customer responsible for buying a $5000 metrowerks
compiler and getting the PS2 SDKs?  :) Must I be responsible for
providing the end-user with *ALL* the tools and NDA'ed libraries
he/she needs to re-link?  For example, say I am doing a
WIN32 app with PLIB and using VISUALC V6.  Do I need to
buy the end-user a copy of VISUALC?  Does the LGPL say the tools
need to be available to everyone.  What if you don't have
money to buy VISUALC.  Does that mean you could sue?

If someone has been though this before, let me know.
Console games account for more than 50% of industry revenue
and it is expected to increase its percentage significantly
in the next few years.  Seems like we need a universal
solution for using LGPL libs on the PS2 and not just something
that patches the PLIB licensing situation.

I'm also planning on using SDL_net, OpenAL, and FREEGLUT.
I wouldn't enjoy trying to convince the maintainers of
all those projects to switch their licenses.  They probably
wouldn't anyway.

-- Dave McClurg