DRDOS INC. INCLUDES FREEDOS AND OTHER SOFTWARE IN DR-DOS 8.1 FOR $45 10/25/2005 DR-DOS 8.1 no longer exists, so the problem appears to have been solved. All the links on DRDOS.com now point to DR-DOS 7.03 when you try to click on DR-DOS. Looks like they've pulled DR-DOS 8.1 completely and rolled back to their old version. 10/20/2005 Lucho and other developers have made a shocking discovery. Lucho writes: DR-DOS Inc. (formerly DeviceLogics) released DR-DOS 8.1 in the beginning of this month. But instead of an upgrade of the previous DR-DOS 8.0 released last year based on the old Caldera DR-DOS 7.03 code, as one would expect, it's something completely different: 1. The kernel is a badly patched copy of the Enhanced DR-DOS kernel old version 7.01.06 without any credit to its author Udo Kuhnt who added LBA and FAT32 support and many other features to the old OpenDOS 7.01 source code and turned it into what it's now. A NEWFUNCT.TXT file taken from Udo's later version (7.01.07) is included, which doesn't correspond to the included kernel. This kernel (unlike the later 7.01.07) can't even boot off a FAT32 partition, contrary to their claim that FAT32 is supported! 2. The utilities are the same revisions as the old version 7.03 utilities with just changed copyright year and company name. Even worse, many of them that were included in version 8.0 are now removed. Only DELWATCH and SHARE are actually updated. (Contrary to what one would expect, there are no other FAT32-enabled DR-DOS utilities there!) And TASKMGR is the same that Udo patched to work with his kernel... The other programs and drivers included are old versions of some popular open source, freeware and shareware products without licenses, documentation or even credit to their authors, namely: 1. SYS 2.6 from the FreeDOS package (GNU GPL) 2. FDXXMS 0.92, again from FreeDOS (GNU GPL) 3. UMBPCI 3.63 by Uwe Sieber (Freeware) 4. LOWDMA 10/01 by Henrik Haftmann (Freeware) 5. Ranish Partition Manager 2.44 (Shareware) 6. PKZIP 2.04g (1993) by PKWARE (Shareware) 7. SSCDROM M2.31 CD/DVD-ROM driver (Samsung) 8. ESSOLO 2.10H sound driver (ESS Technology) 9. ESSOLO 2.11M setup utility (ESS Technology) All the above 9 can freely be downloaded from the Internet. This means that the so-called "DR-DOS 8.1" is just a bunch of old tools plus a compilation of others' works, obviously sold without permission and in violation of their license terms. And they dare to sell this for as much as $45! I think that this is so shameless that I'm out of words to describe it. Especially the stolen work of Udo Kuhnt which they now sell as theirs! 10/20/2005 This is not good. Of course, the copyright holders need to respond to these - while I am the coordinator for the FreeDOS Project (and I certainly shall contact DRDOS about it) only the copyright holder can respond to a copyright / GPL violation. The copyright holder is the one who is legally authorized to take action to enforce the license. We support the FreeDOS developers! Below is an email I sent to sales@drdos.com on 10/20/2005 @ 11:38am. I have not yet received a reply: Hi. It has come to my attention that DRDOS 8.1 includes several programs from the FreeDOS Project. While normally it is okay for commercial software projects to include FreeDOS software, please note that you must follow the terms of the GNU GPL under which the FreeDOS software was licensed. Specifically, these 2 programs were identified to me: FreeDOS SYS 2.6 FreeDOS FDXXMS version 0.82 I understand these are provided in BINARY FORM ONLY without source code provided. To my knowledge, DRDOS does NOT include a copy of the GNU GPL for these 2 programs, nor does it state that the GNU GPL applies to these 2 programs. In addition, source code for SYS & FDXXMS is not included, nor is a written offer made to provide source code upon request. Please see http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html which lists the terms under which FreeDOS SYS and FreeDOS FDXXMS were distributed. I would appreciate a response from you on this, as this matter is quite serious. Thank you. -Jim Hall coordinator/founder, the FreeDOS Project 10/20/2005 I mis-typed a version number in my email. Here is a followup I sent to sales@drdos.com on 10/20/2005 @ 1:56pm. Again, there has been no reply yet: Hi. Just a correction: FDXXMS version 0.92, not 0.82. That's a typo. Please reply. Thanks. -jh 10/25/2005 Looks like someone noticed this item on our site yesterday and posted an item to Slashdot. We seem to have survived the slashdotting. Anyway, I'm glad to see that DRDOS has taken a step in the right direction. On http://www.drdos.com/products/drdos81.htm they now state "Portions are licensed under GPL (SYS v2.6 and FDXXMS v.92) or other licenses." So that's good. However, DRDOS still has not met the conditions of the GNU GPL (section 3) relating to redistribution: 3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it, under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following: a) Accompany it with the complete corresponding machine-readable source code, which must be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or, b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or, c) Accompany it with the information you received as to the offer to distribute corresponding source code. (This alternative is allowed only for noncommercial distribution and only if you received the program in object code or executable form with such an offer, in accord with Subsection b above.) They've acknowledged that FreeDOS SYS and FDXXMS are distributed under the GNU GPL, but to my knowledge they have not (a) included the complete source code to both SYS and FDXXMS, or (b) included a written offer to provide source code for same. Option (3c) is not open to DRDOS, since this is a commercial distribution. I'll still email them again anyway, and see if they can at least change the wording on their page to be something like we mention in our FAQ. Currently, their wording says: "Portions are licensed under GPL (SYS v2.6 and FDXXMS v.92) or other licenses." If they were to change this to be similar to the following, I'd be happy: "SYS v2.6 and FDXXMS v.92 are distributed under the GNU GPL. These are from the FreeDOS Project, and you may download the latest versions from www.freedos.org. Or, purchase our DRDOS Open Source Code CD to obtain the version of the source code included in DRDOS 8.1." I guess I'm implying that DRDOS would need to create a new product (another sale!) of a 'DRDOS Open Source Code CD' that includes just the source code for the open source software products included in DRDOS. Since it's another sale to them, I imagine that will make it easier for DRDOS to accept. 10/25/2005 Below is an email followup I sent to sales@drdos.com on 10/25/2005 @ 8:50am. Yes, it's an almost-duplicate copy of the above: Hi. I'm glad to see that on http://www.drdos.com/products/drdos81.htm you now state "Portions are licensed under GPL (SYS v2.6 and FDXXMS v.92) or other licenses." So that's good. However, DRDOS still has not met the conditions of the GNU GPL (section 3) relating to redistribution: 3. You may copy and distribute the Program (or a work based on it, under Section 2) in object code or executable form under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above provided that you also do one of the following: a) Accompany itcustomarily used for software interchange; or, b) Accompany it with a written offer, valid for at least three years, to give any third party, for a charge no more than your cost of physically performing source distribution, a complete machine-readable copy of the corresponding source code, to be distributed under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 above on a medium customarily used for software interchange; or, c) Accompany it with the information you received as to the offer to distribute corresponding source code. (This alternative is allowed only for noncommercial distribution and only if you received the program in object code or executable form with such an offer, in accord with Subsection b above.) You've acknowledged that FreeDOS SYS and FDXXMS are distributed under the GNU GPL, but to my knowledge you have not (a) included the complete source code to both SYS and FDXXMS, or (b) included a written offer to provide source code for same. Option (3c) is not open to DRDOS, since this is a commercial distribution. You do sell a separate Source Code CD, but I don't believe this meets the conditions of (3b) since the cost is so high (so I presume - no price is quoted) and no mention is made that FreeDOS SYS and FDXXMS source codes would be available on your Source Code CD. If you included the source code to FreeDOS SYS and FDXXMS on the DRDOS 8.1 CD, then you will have satisfied (3a) of the GNU GPL. I believe this to be the last discrepancy with the GNU GPL regarding FreeDOS SYS and FDXXMS. If you are unable to include the source code on your DRDOS 8.1 CD, I suggest you modify the wording on http://www.drdos.com/products/drdos81.htm to something like the following: "SYS v2.6 and FDXXMS v.92 are distributed under the GNU GPL. These are from the FreeDOS Project, and you may download the latest versions from www.freedos.org. Or, purchase our DRDOS Open Source Code CD to obtain the version of the source code included in DRDOS 8.1." By this, I guess I'm implying that DRDOS would need to create a new low-cost (less than $45) product of a 'DRDOS Open Source Code CD' that includes just the source code for the open source software products included in DRDOS. Since it's another sale to you, I imagine this will not be a hindrance for you. Please reply to this email with your intended remedy. Thank you. -Jim Hall coordinator/founder, the FreeDOS Project >> While I would have preferred this work out another way, DRDOS has solved the problem by taking down DR-DOS 8.1. See update (top of page).