I do not plan to use the the Haiku name, marks, or logos in the name of the company or distribution ?
I wasnât saying you were going to use the Haiku logo, name, etc. â I was clarifying and condensing all the main points from the guidelines for anyone now or in the future who might search for this topic.
That said, once again, the code for Haiku (OS) is open and freely redistributable, as long as anyone wanting to work with it follows the open license and proper credit is given to the authors in the source.
So the Q I have is the term they use ânew distributionâ means if you great a hole new version of Haiku OS not just try to get the bugs out of the existing Haiku OS.
It all depends. If you are interested in fixing bugs, etc. maybe consider joining the Haiku team. This would be the best way to contribute if you know where the bugs are at and how to fix them. From there, I should maybe think you will be able to get permission to put the official Haiku with the fixes on your custom computers. But Iâm not Haiku, Inc. and canât speak for them, so please be aware of that. Iâm just another guy on the Haiku forum.
The big Q let alone the company will not use the name Haiku. The OS its self will be Haiku. so I suppose it would ok to say that in any business document or ad that the OS is Haiku ?
From what I gather, it appears you want to make changes and apply patches solo, while still calling the system Haiku.
If you donât want to become a Haiku project developer and plan to fix bugs on your own or with an outside team (i.e. independently), and want to market that, even if you donât change the look, feel, etc. of the Haiku OS, you are still creating an unofficial distribution, and in that case, will simply need to follow the distribution guidelines â which are very easy and reasonable. Yes, youâre using Haiku OS from Haiku, and yes, your work will be on 100% Haiku software, but if youâre planning to make changes to the system, you will need to do it the right way.
Haiku is free, open source software and youâre welcome to make changes to it at any time and publish your new, modified version around the world â as long as the distribution guidelines are followed. In other words, you donât need permission to start a modified or derivative work of the system, or publish or sell it, so long as you do not use the name Haiku on it. In other words, you canât call the new system âenhanced Haikuâ or âAutumn Haikuâ or âLibreHaikuâ, etc. Itâd have to be different, like for instance, âSonnetâ. From there, you could say it is a modified version of Haiku, distribution of Haiku, enhanced version of Haiku, or whatever. Please understand the guidelines are just to shield the main project, so people around the Web/world wonât get anyone elseâs code confused with the official code from the main project.
Other possibilities�
All this said, overall, since Haiku has a way to go to reach Version 1, I agree with the previous suggestion from dwt â why not use something like Elementary OS until Haiku reaches that point? You could even install Wine and allow your customers to run basic Windows programs on it. Or why not follow another (my) earlier suggestion and start a BSD or Gnu/Linux powered system with Haiku inside it?
But in the end, it is all up to you. Itâs your dream, your company, your system, and Iâve said all I can say to help out, including giving tips on how to go about making a distribution if you want to do so. That said, thereâs nothing more I can really help you with or say regarding this.
I wish you the best of luck with it all and success to you.
Note: Edited for readability and added quotes I was replying toâŚ