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 -----
Hi Ciaran,
Karlin will likely reply by telling you that she understands a lot of what you're saying - I've discussed the Microsoft contracts with Gov.ie in the past - but that she has to play to the lowest common denominator in her audience, which means sometimes leaving out intracacies in order to get her story across. Sometimes I disagree with her, because on occasion she twists the story to make it sit better, but this can be deceptive. Most of the time I can see her point though. I believe Karlin's running Red Hat at the moment by the way. :)
adam
-----Original Message----- From: fsfe-ie-bounces@fsfeurope.org [mailto:fsfe-ie-bounces@fsfeurope.org]On Behalf Of Ciaran O'Riordan Sent: 26 July 2003 23:05 To: fsfe-ie@fsfeurope.org Subject: [Fsfe-ie] Irish Times article, my feedback
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 ----- _______________________________________________ Fsfe-ie mailing list Fsfe-ie@fsfeurope.org https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/fsfe-ie
Hi Adam, I'm expecting a response much like the one you predict.
Another newspaper (the Independent?) had a full page about "Linux" and Gu4dec last month with just one mention of GNU. I thought that was pretty shoddy but maybe next time Karlin writes a "Linux" article there will be just mention of GNU or the free-speech side of the OS. It would still be shoddy but it's a start. (that's my motivation)
ciaran
Hi Ciaran,
Karlin will likely reply by telling you that she understands a lot of what you're saying - I've discussed the Microsoft contracts with Gov.ie in the past - but that she has to play to the lowest common denominator in her audience, which means sometimes leaving out intracacies in order to get her story across. Sometimes I disagree with her, because on occasion she twists the story to make it sit better, but this can be deceptive. Most of the time I can see her point though. I believe Karlin's running Red Hat at the moment by the way. :)
adam
-----Original Message----- From: fsfe-ie-bounces@fsfeurope.org [mailto:fsfe-ie-bounces@fsfeurope.org]On Behalf Of Ciaran O'Riordan Sent: 26 July 2003 23:05 To: fsfe-ie@fsfeurope.org Subject: [Fsfe-ie] Irish Times article, my feedback
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
[snip]
Hi Ciaran -
Nice work. I didn't see the article, but I usually check out Karlin Lillington because she's better informed than most journos who write for the business or technology sections of their respective newspapers.
We've got to be absolutely rigourous regarding any facts we wish to use - I've heard that quote before about the Government being Microsoft's largest Irish customer - what's the source of that quote? (Please don't say "the FSF" - I mean /independent/ source.)
You say Free Software "represented liberation from the desktop dictator role that Microsoft had." I think a quick explanation of "vendor lock-in" would be less strident. (If 92% of people were using Linux on their desktop, would you consider that be dictatorship too?) I'm not sure how helpful terms like "comrade" are, either, in terms of getting our point of view across to a mainstream press journo.
regards Ben
Ciaran O'Riordan wrote:
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.
Hi Ben, I'm afraid you've called my bluff on the "irlgov is Microsofts biggest customer" bit. I reckon it's true simply because I can't think of a larger employer of office staff. I'll try to dig up a decent reference for this. (does anyone have any they know of?)
I agree with your comments about my dictator/comrade terminology, I'll use your vendor lock-in and associates (or similar) in future.
(If 92% of desktops only used Free Software Linux-based OSs, would I call it a dictatorship? Well, who would be the dictator? How would the rule of the dictator be enforced?)
You're right about needing to be rigourous regarding facts. I gave myself a bit of slack since the mail was from me as an individual, but if/when "we, the list" get organised, we will need internal reviews of statements before they get sent.
Thanks for the feedback. ciaran.
On Mon, Jul 28, 2003 at 09:50:16AM +0100, Ben Klaasen wrote:
Hi Ciaran -
Nice work. I didn't see the article, but I usually check out Karlin Lillington because she's better informed than most journos who write for the business or technology sections of their respective newspapers.
We've got to be absolutely rigourous regarding any facts we wish to use
- I've heard that quote before about the Government being Microsoft's
largest Irish customer - what's the source of that quote? (Please don't say "the FSF" - I mean /independent/ source.)
You say Free Software "represented liberation from the desktop dictator role that Microsoft had." I think a quick explanation of "vendor lock-in" would be less strident. (If 92% of people were using Linux on their desktop, would you consider that be dictatorship too?) I'm not sure how helpful terms like "comrade" are, either, in terms of getting our point of view across to a mainstream press journo.
regards Ben