bucy wrote:
] ]
] ] Since that time, the situation has changed. Today the
] ] BIOS is no longer burned in ROM; it is stored in
] ] nonvolatile writable memory that users can rewrite. Today
] ] the BIOS sits square on the edge of the line. It comes
] ] prewritten in our computers, and normally we never
] ] install another. So far, that is just barely enough to
] ] excuse treating it as hardware. But once in a while the
] ] manufacturer suggests installing another BIOS, which is
] ] available only as an executable. This, clearly, is
] ] installing a non-free program--it is just as bad as
] ] installing Microsoft Windows, or Adobe Photoshop, or
] ] Sun's Java Platform. As the unethical practice of
] ] installing another BIOS executable becomes common, the
] ] version delivered inside the computer starts to raise an
] ] ethical problem issue as well.
]
] FSF is starting to make a stink about BIOS now.

Ok, so I've never claimed to think properly -- can anyone explain why this matters?

Why is closed source software inherently evil? Why am I inherently evil for not wanting to give away what I write (which is not to say anything I've written is worth giving away, let alone buying). FSF argues the rights of the users to fiddle with the code; do the coders get no rights to decide, "Hey, I don't want this screwed with" ?

Additionaly, what thought process says that using closed source software is unethical? What ethical theory does that comes from?

I just don't understand.

*shrugs*

Anyway -- I poked around on the FSF site but didn't find any immediate answers and I'm more than happy to continue being a tool of the evil empire because it makes my life much simpler.

Right. So, comments? Links? Anything?

RE: FSF - Campaign for Free BIOS