lowell wrote:

>keep your creations hidden, if you wished, a la linksys (and qmail?)   
>  
>
Not that I disagree with you but for the sake of the argument, I should 
point out that your Linksys example is a bad one. Linksys must release 
the source code to their routers because they are distributing the 
binaries. If, OTOH, they had kept whatever GPL software they were using 
in-house to accomplish their goals, in-house, then they could keep those 
changes "hidden" as you said.

The GPL establishes a distiction between modification for private use 
and modification for public dissemination. Modification for public 
dissemination is the only thing that the GPL has power over.