Hi all, In Friday's Irish Times there was an article on page 4 of the business section titled "Linux popularity is swelling but advocates must spread the word".
It was a journalists account of a "Linux" press conference chaired by Linus Torvalds, John Hall, and spokesmen from Oracle, SuSE, RedHat, and VA Software.
I mailed the following response to the author, the jist of it is that it's the GNU project and the Free Software movement that really needs advocates. I thought I'd forward it here in case anyones interested. I'll let the list know if I get a response.
My comments near the end about an Irish Free Software organisation are hopeful guesses. I made no reference to this list so I'm representing myself alone. I'd like to see such an organisation emerge from this list, I have some ideas which I'll mail to the list later.
Ciaran.
----- Forwarded message from Ciaran O'Riordan ciaran@member.fsf.org -----
Date: Sat, 26 Jul 2003 22:23:31 +0100 From: Ciaran O'Riordan ciaran@member.fsf.org To: klillington@irish-times.ie Subject: July 25th article, Linux needs advocates...
Dear Ms. LIllington, I read your July 25th article "Linux polularity swells but..." with great interest. The semi-uncomfortable interaction that you noted between the press and the panel was interesting but it hides a deeper issue.
The operating system that is commonly called "Linux", began development in 1984 and initially had nothing to do with Linus Torvalds or Linux. In 1984, Richard Stallman began a project to write a completely free operating system called GNU, free in every sense, as Stallman says "think free speech, not free beer". Starting with nothing, Stallman spent years hacking away, building component after component and gathering more developers has he went. Along the way, he established the Free Software Foundation (FSF) to help coordinate and fund the GNU project. The FSF created the Free Software Definition, a set of criteria that software must fulfill in order to be Free Software. A brief summary is that software users must be given the freedom to use, alter, and distribute the software they receive. Permissions to do these things must not be charged for but people can charge for related services such as distribution or technical support.
At the start of the nineties, some of the GNU components had become industry leaders due to their stability and completeness (examples: GCC, GDB, Emacs). The most notable missing component was a kernel, the piece of software that lies at the heart of an operating system to take care of the hardware and share resources. Enter Linux.
In 1991, Torvalds began working on a kernel out of his own interest, his kernel became known as Linux. Without applications, Linux systems were useless though, so the Linux developers looked around for other software they could use and found the GNU software. They continued to use the name "Linux" for what they were using.
When the GNU developers noticed this, they asked that the operating system should be called "GNU/Linux" on the grounds that they had written the great majority of the code and if people didn't know that it was the GNU projects that created it, they would not find out that all the software is completely free, as in speech.
In the late nineties, Big Business began to take notice of GNU/Linux. For them it represented liberation from the desktop dictator role that Microsoft had. Using GNU/Linux could save them millions in licensing fees and advocating the use of GNU/Linux would give them a platform for their software that didn't required Microsofts permission or help.
But there was an issue. If they released their own software as Free Software they would lose revenue because their business models relied on users having to pay for permission to use, copy, or distribute it. They decided it would be best to keep quite about Free Software, and to cut off the information pathway they decided they'd just call it "Linux".
It is hard for a panel to discuss the interests of GNU/Linux users at a press conference because they differ so greatly from company to company. Torvalds prefers coding to politics so he likes to stay outside of the issue of software freedom. Companies such as Oracle and VA Software are users that don't want to contribute, SuSE contributes but doesn't want to commit, and RedHat contributes greatly but say they have to use the term "Linux" because it's the most recognisable to other businesses.
The GNU project is going from strength to strength but keeping up with Big Business takes a lot of work from mostly unpaid people. The FSF has spread and now has chapters in America, Europe, India, and China. Most european countries also have national Free Software organisations. France has APRIL, UK has AFFS, Italy has ASL, Portugal has ANSOL. Ireland is on the verge of having it's own Free Software coordination organisation, I am working on it along with many interested comrades. We hope to have this organisation established before October of this year.
Free Software has the potential to cut goverment spending on software, right now the Irish goverment is Microsofts largest Irish customer. It will also cut educational spending on software and decrease the cost of computing for the general public. GNU/Linux has a Free Software desktop, office suite, and all the applications people expect with a modern desktop computer. What it needs is that, as the end of your article title says, "...advocates must spread the word".
Before the end of the year, we hope to have a press pack and a website for information about Free Software and GNU/Linux. Until then, please feel free to email me with any questions you have about Free Software, GNU, Linux, "Linux", or similar topics.
Thanks. Ciaran O'Riordan
Related documents: Free Software Foundation : www.fsf.org FSF, European chapter : www.fsfeurope.org
About the name "GNU/Linux" Vs. "Linux": http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html
The Free Software Definition: http://www.fsfeurope.org/documents/freesoftware.en.html
----- End forwarded message -----