Comments for Digital Citizen

Comment on Remote control of your computer with non-free software is unwise by J.B. Nicholson-Owens

J.B. Nicholson-Owens — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:04:03 +0000

Thanks for the pointer. Unfortunately this does not satisfactorily address any of the points I have raised. In that FAQ you see how a programmer describes how their program works. We have no way to verify most of how uTorrent works; that FAQ is not information from someone you have reason to trust telling you how the program actually works.

Checking the Javascript running in your browser isn’t enough because that only covers what your browser does and some of what the uTorrent program does working with your browser. As with all proprietary software, without complete source code we can’t know what the program does and what the program is capable of doing. Therefore proprietary programs are all untrustworthy by default.

This isn’t just a security and privacy problem. This problem is fundamentally a software freedom problem. You deserve the freedom to inspect, share, and modify published software. You should choose software that respects your software freedom. There is no substitute for letting someone you trust inspect a program’s source code, modify that program to suit your needs, and distribute improved versions of the program.

Comment on Remote control of your computer with non-free software is unwise by Fwip

Fwip — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:55:47 +0000

I’d invite you to check out Falcon’s page titled “Falcon Beta Privacy FAQ.” It seems to address most of your concerns.

http://falcon.utorrent.com/srp/privacy

Comment on Remote control of your computer with non-free software is unwise by home furniture

home furniture — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:23:54 +0000

Very informative article. The points you’ve made regarding proprietary programs make sense. By not having access to the code, the public would not be able to know what’s really happening behind the software. This is very risky with using these types of software. I would be more comfortable using a torrent app which is open source so the community can see if there’s any malicious code embedded.

Comment on Remote control of your computer with non-free software is unwise by remote access

remote access — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:59:54 +0000

People need to be very careful with torrent programs in general, and with falcon spcifically. I use utorrent exclusively but I will not be using this one.

Comment on A free software conference or an open source conference? by Nate

Nate — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 03:04:52 +0000

In regards to the preceding post, my opinion is that the FSF is, in fact, primarily concerned with software freedom. The misunderstanding stems from how this freedom is practically derived: distribution (i.e., sharing). It is through the GPL, the mechanism which promotes share and share alike, that software users and developers can use and modify software in any way they like. Ironically, nothing in the GPL actually forces anyone to share their modifications of GPLed software, it is just that if they do, they must provide the source code, thereby ensuring the freedom to make further modifications. Finally, if you consider how easy it is to comply with the GPL (Eben Moglen would call it making ice in the winter time), it is clear that it is truly about freedom. If its authors were more concerned about sharing, they could have imposed other strictures which would have made sharing more likely (but these would have come at the expense of freedom).

Comment on A free software conference or an open source conference? by Donald Duck

Donald Duck — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:51:29 +0000

I wouldn’t draw so strict a line between the two camps. There’s no reason why open source people couldn’t behave just like free software people in the described example case, they just don’t want to make a black-and-white ideology out of it. They respect people’s ability and freedom, as adults, to choose for themselves how and what kind of software they want to use instead of trying to tell everyone how they should behave.

It doesn’t benefit the free software movement to alienate more and more users and developers if free software promoters don’t paint a balanced picture of their closest allies in the OSS camp.

Besides, the basic ideas of the FSF, like the GPL, are not actuallu so much about freedom but about cooperation and sharing. I suppose, all the talk about freedom is supposed to convince Americans who are obsessed with the concept of freedom in all their talksm and culture. Everybody is supposed to be defending freedom in the USA, although they might be fighting for totally opposite causes…

But what’s wrong with the concept of cooperation? I hope the FSF and Stallman wouldn’t be so stuck in their abstract freedom-this freedom-that discourse but could emphasize the practical benefits of sharing and cooperation as that is what the GPL is really all about too.

Comment on A free software conference or an open source conference? by sillyxone

sillyxone — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:15:17 +0000

“Open source” is the exact term Microsoft wants people to call FOSS, as it obfuscates the true and ultimate goal of FOSS that Microsoft fears the most: software freedom.

I always have the impression that Australia is basically in bed with Microsoft (government are on long-term contracts with MS, all of my relatives over there only use and praise MS products). I still had some hope when hearing about FOSS news over there occasionally, but this is just confirming my feelings.

Thanks for bringing up this issue, we should always emphasize freedom as our guiding star.

Comment on The Free Software Foundation shows us how to handle copyright infringement by Nate

Nate — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 02:18:11 +0000

And you know that the FSF doesn’t bring legal action unless they are nearly certain of the outcome. It’s a shame that Cisco let it come to this, when compliance is extremeley easy. As Eben Moglen is fond of saying: “Now I will show you how to make that ice in the winter time.”

Comment on Congratulations Randall! by Dawn

Dawn — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 19:35:33 +0000

I agree. It’s about time one of Champaign-Urbana’s finest citizens was recognized for his good work in the community.

Comment on What Do They Have to Do to Lose Your Vote? by Political “Refutability” » A Division by Zer0

Political “Refutability” » A Division by Zer0 — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:05:27 +0000

[...] with it no matter what. I have very rarely seen people seriously considering the question “What would they have to do to lose my vote?“. People simply choose one party and make excuses on why they need to keep supporting them. [...]