Linus Torvalds, the founder of the Linux operating system, threw a curve ball into the open-source programming community Thursday. In a posting sent to a key Linux-focused e-mail list, he outlined a controversial proposal: Nothing in the basic rules for the Linux operating system should block developers from using digital rights management (DRM) technology.. . .

Linus Torvalds, the founder of the Linux operating system, threw a curve ball into the open-source programming community Thursday. In a posting sent to a key Linux-focused e-mail list, he outlined a controversial proposal: Nothing in the basic rules for the Linux operating system should block developers from using digital rights management (DRM) technology. DRM tools are technological locks or identification measures that range from ensuring a software program is genuine to protecting a movie against unauthorized copying.

In some open-source and "free software" circles, such technological locks and authentication measures are seen as infringements on their freedom. In his posting, Torvalds took a more pragmatic approach--Linux is an operating system, not a political movement, and people should ultimately be able to do what they want with it, he said.

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