Linux founder and developer-in-chief Linus Torvalds met the hot-seat in the first of the Linux Foundation's new OpenVoices podcasts, and he used the opportunity to expound on why Linux is sticking with GPL2.

In the interview — which are somewhat rare for Torvalds — Linus describes the GNU General Public License Version 3, which was released last year by the Free Software Foundation as an update to the widely-popular GPL2, as meeting the FSF's goals, but not those of Linux developers. He spoke about his pre-release opposition to the license, and his characterization of some provisions, especially restrictions on Digital Rights Management, as "burdensome." He continued, however, by saying that he could change his mind if large amounts of desirable code are released under the license, while noting that he believes he has an ethical and perhaps legal responsibility to maintain the GPL2 licensing of code submitted over the years.

The interview is the first in a series of interviews sponsored by the Linux Foundation and released as OpenVoices. The OpenVoices podcasts can be downloaded from the Foundation's OpenVoices page, and transcripts are also available.

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