Richard Stallman and GPLv3

I'd heard of Richard Stallman before, but never really looked into it. Seems that he's stirring up some really good stew lately.

For those of you who don't know, Stallman is the founder of the Free Software Foundation (FSF). This group oversees the General Public License under which most free software is distributed. If you need to know more about Dick, consult Wikipedia.

A little trivia: the TiVo runs Linux. The source code to the TiVo software, in accordance with the GPL, is available free of charge, but TiVo says it's illegal to alter the code and then run it on their hardware. Perfectly fine. The license only covers the software. Stallman's GPL, version 3, suggests that anyone should be able to do anything they want with the TiVo, and other devices which depend on Linux and other open-source code. Therein lies the problem. If the GPL makes the hardware basically open-source, who's gonna buy another TiVo when the kid down the street can build you one in 30 minutes out of spare parts?

This would drive TiVo and the others to move to a closed-source structure, slamming the door in nerds' faces. It will also cost many companies a lot of money, namely Red Hat, TiVo, and Novell. You might ask: “Why do you care?”

I care because, well, I don't know. This just struck me as a bit weird. Daniel Lyons in this Forbes article was pretty hard on Stallman, making several references to radical behavior and likening the FSF to jihadists. I think Lyons and Stallman are having issues, though. Who knows? The public may not see a thing. It just may be slightly more expensive or a bit longer wait to get Grandma using Linux. That's what bites.