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<img src="http://parcom.pro-networks.org/PROneT-News/linux.gif" align="right" alt="Top Linux programmers pan GPLv3">Top Linux programmers pan GPLv3
By Stephen Shankland
September 25, 2006, 4:32 PM PT

More than two dozen of the most prolific Linux kernel programmers dislike a proposed update to the General Public License, which governs many open-source projects. Out of 29 kernel coders, 28 rated GPL version 3 as worse than the current GPL version 2, according to results of a survey released Friday.

On a scale of -3 to 3, the highest mark was a neutral 0, and the average was -2, according to a posting on the Linux kernel mailing list by Linux programmer and SteelEye employee James Bottomley. The survey was set up by Linux leader Linus Torvalds, who has come out against the GPL update.

The Free Software Foundation is seeking to modernize the GPL with the proposed version 3, but it is running into some resistance over changes that deal with patents and digital rights management. Indeed, prominent opponents' resolve could effectively make the GPLv3 obsolete before it arrives, some say. "I have to believe GPLv3 is all but dead as a general license at this point," said Illuminata analyst Gordon Haff.

Numerous open-source projects are under the purview of the GPL, including the MySQL database and the Samba file-server software, but the Linux kernel is arguably the most successful and influential. The Linux kernel project is the heart of the open-source operating system, which includes numerous other components.

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