A few months ago, I made a review of Bayanihan Linux, and a recent comment made by a guy named Maccess caught my attention. He wrote:I was wondering about the Bayanihan Linux licensing claim that it is free only for educational and Non-profit use, but a license in required for commercial use.
As a Debian based distribution, they are bound by the Debian social contract, and should be free.
As a product of a government institution paid for by taxpayer’s money, it should be free.
Even if we push aside those issues, if it wants to be the "national Linux," then it should be free so it can be adopted by Internet Cafes so they would have the same Linux in Cafes as they would have in schools.
Also, making it free also means that business would be more willing to adopt it, creating a justification for schools to use it because that is what businesses use.
By insisting on a "commercial" license, Bayanihan Linux is just killing itself and preventing the adoption of what could be a "National Linux".
I totally agree with Maccess' comments here. As a government funded project and as a Free and Open Source software, Bayanihan Linux should be made available to anyone without a price tag, even for those who want to use it for profit or to make money out of it.
I can’t seem to find a logical reason why there’s a need for licensing for it to be used commercially. In my own opinion, the business licensing is completely useless and will only cripple and prevent a quality desktop operating system like Bayanihan Linux from becoming popular among Filipinos. I hope someone from Bayanihan will be able to comment regarding this matter.
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