Doesn't this defeat the point of Linux. I mean the two best thing about the OS is its FREE and Open Source. Personally im waiting for them to start charging people to unlock there bootloaders.
Now an unlocked bootloader is something I would pay the $10 for. Kind of like a free app with some features, compared to the pro version, with ALL the features. Android and Linux are the same essentially, so there should never be a price tag on it, no matter where its coming from. However, if I'm not mistaken, Linux can be sold, but doing so is seriously frowned upon by the Linux community.
Below are two bits of info I found that should shed some light on this issue... From a free vs. paid standpoint that is.
Are "Open Source" and "Free Software" the same thing?
Yes and no.
Technically, the great majority of open source programs are free software and vice-versa.
In terms of philosophy, things are quite different. The term "open source" was coined to make "free software" more attractive, its supporters see open source software as a better way to make software.
Supporters of the "free software" term value the freedom, not merely the way software is made, and thus argue that the term "open source" Please Login or Register to see this Hidden Content
.
Which term you employ simply depends on your vision of software.Please Login or Register to see this Hidden Content
Why are some Linux distributions sold, not given away? Some websites actually sell distributions of Linux. So, why do you write it is "free as speech and available at no charge"?The concept of Please Login or Register to see this Hidden Content
, refers to freedom, not price. You have the freedom to copy, study, modify, and give free software away.Most companies developing free software make money by selling services around their software, rather than the software itself. This is sometimes done by selling everything as a package: the customer buys the CD, book, and support contract at once. The software can still guarantee your freedoms. I would be surprised if Google made the customers pay, I think they're smarter than that. I also don't expect them to give the carriers incentive to do what they were supposed to do from the get go. That's like me asking for money because I took a shower or because I opened a door for a stranger. Carriers need to be taken out of the equation to let Google pump out the updates... I doubt that would take care of the bloatware, but at least we would see the updates.