Today the GNU General Public License version 3, the preeminent free software license, and the GNU LGPL were released today at noon Eastern Daylight Time. Read the press release about the announcement events or go directly to the Free Software Foundation’s website for live streaming coverage of the events. Here are the official recordings, most [...]
It’s nice to see software patents getting mainstream criticism. You as a computer user, regardless of what you do with the computer, are adversely affected by software patents—patents on algorithms used in computer software. The op-ed rightly points out the solution: end software patents. We don’t need them and they chiefly serve to give control [...]
Luis Villa writes that one should not “be afraid to embrace freedom”. don’t be afraid to embrace freedom: open source businesses tend to be allergic to the word ‘free’. That is a mistake. Say ‘freedom’ a lot. Love freedom. Embrace freedom. Your community likes freedom. It differentiates you from the proprietary competition, and if you [...]
Coltan is a metallic ore which is refined into a power that is used in computers. Coltan production doesn’t get much public attention, just the things it helps make possible. John Perkins touched on the subject in his interview on today’s Democracy Now! (losslessly compressed audio, audio, video, transcript). Here’s an excerpt of what Perkins [...]
There’s more to the Apple-EMI deal than the mainstream press cares to tell. Background EMI is a record label. Apple Computer, a nascent audio distributor, wants to compete in EMI’s market via the iPod, iTunes music program, and iTunes Music Service (iTMS). iTMS only works with the iPod. EMI recently agreed to distribute tracks via [...]
The Free Software Foundation has started a new campaign to convince people to support Ogg Vorbis with PlayOgg.org. Other formats (such as MP3, AAC, and many others) are patent-encumbered or only available with proprietary software. You shouldn’t have to lose your freedom to control your computer just to play audio and video. Long-time readers of [...]
AMD owns ATI, a computer videocard manufacturer. Recent ATI videocards have no free software drivers. The proprietary ATI driver which works with a typical GNU/Linux system is poor quality and as a result many users have problems with it. At the Red Hat summit going on right now, an AMD representative discussed the situation and [...]
One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is progressing and the folks at OLPC have put together another video with interviews of the people behind the project. If you’re unfamiliar with their work, you can search for “OLPC” on this blog and find their other video. As before, the new video is licensed to to share under [...]
Nate first pointed me to the latest University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign mass mailing. Since then, the letter has been posted online in a publicly-accessible fashion. In case you wondered why doing business with the RIAA is troublesome, check out what their supporters in the University of Illinois have sent to everyone in the University: [...]
One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is an important project which makes and distributes inexpensive laptop computers for children in poor countries. The machines run a GNU/Linux operating system and use free software for almost everything. The machines require very little power (no more than a child can generate through a crank, as I understand it) [...]
GNU Software Freedom Law Center FSF blogs Electronic Frontier Foundation Nina Paley Richard Stallman