ANNOUNCEMENT
AGNULA: A GNU/Linux Audio distribution
(IST-2001-34879)
The AGNULA (A GNU/Linux Audio distribution, acronym pronounced
with a strong g) project, supported by the European Commission
under the Key Action IV.3.3 (Free Software towards the Critical
Mass) has started on April 1st and will last for 24 months
up to March 2004. The project is coordinated by the Centro
Tempo Reale in Firenze (http://www.centrotemporeale.it)
and has the following partners:
* IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique),
Paris (http://www.ircam.fr)
* Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Music Technology Group, Barcelona
(http://www.iua.upf.es/mtg)
* Kung Tekniska Högskolan (KTH), Music Acoustics Group,
Stockholm (http://www.speech.kth.se/music/)
* Free Software Foundation Europe (http://fsfeurope.org)
* Red Hat France (http://www.redhat.fr)
AGNULA's main goal will be the development of two reference
distributions for the GNU/Linux operating system completely
based on Free Software (i.e. under a FSF approved Free Software
license) and dedicated to audio and multimedia. One distribution
will be Debian-based (DeMuDi) and the other will be Red
Hat-based (ReHMuDi). Both will be available on the network
for download and on CD. In the second year the project will
also extend to hardware platforms other than PCs (e.g. PowerPCs,
64-bit architectures).
A new website (http://www.agnula.org) is available with further
information on the project. Other announcements will be
posted on relevant mailing lists.
Nicola Bernardini - Centro Tempo Reale, via Pisana 77 Firenze ITALY
email: info(a)agnula.org
(C) Copyright the AGNULA consortium 2002, All Rights Reserved.
AGNULA is a registered trademark of the AGNULA consortium.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Press-release of the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSF Europe)
For immediate release
FSF Europe completes successful first year
(Paris) On May 26th 2002, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSF
Europe) finishes its second general assembly, completing the first
year of activities. Members from Sweden, Italy, Germany and France
drew a summary of last years activities, analyzed the current
situation of Free Software and exchanged plans and visions for the
upcoming year.
"The past year has been a difficult one for the IT industry, but a
very successful one for the FSF Europe." says Jonas Oberg,
Vice-President of the FSF Europe. "Following our plans last year, we
were able to establish good connections with the Free Software
community throughout Europe and the world, bringing the number of
associates of the FSF Europe up to seven organizations in six
countries."
In the political field, the FSF Europe has been able to deliver
serious impulses for Free Software. Its recommendation for the
upcoming 6th framework programme of the European Commission was backed
by over 50 companies, associations, research institutes and
consortiums. Also the FSF Europe participated in making Free Software
a topic during the French presidential elections.
"The FSF Europe established a well-working cooperation with the Free
Software community and organizations in France. Together we approached
politicians from the big parties." says Frederic Couchet, French
chancellor of the FSF Europe. "As a result, all major candidates
issued statements about their position on Free Software and software
patents."
"The fear of software patents getting established in Europe is casting
a shadow at all Free Software activity right now, our assembly not
being an exception." explains Bernhard Reiter, German chancellor of
the FSF Europe. "It is clear that the FSF-Europe will stay engaged to
ensure that the position of the Free Software community on this and
other political topics is heard."
To ensure the persistance and continuity of Free Software is another
seminal topic on the agenda of the FSF Europe for the next year.
"Most Free Software developers and many companies are not yet aware
that legal maintainability can be as important as technical
maintainability for software." says Georg C. F. Greve, President of
the FSF Europe. "Raising awareness for these issues and offering a
solution to this problem will be an important step to secure the
long-term future of Free Software."
These two areas of interest are supplemented by the activites of the
FSF Europe in the 5th European framework programme within the AGNULA
project, which aims to provide an entirely Free Software GNU/Linux
distribution for professional audio users and will be announced
shortly.
"The words of the Mayor of Florence and the President of Tuscany at
the press conference following the kick-off meeting in April have shown
that Free Software is becoming part of the political agenda for
parties in Italy." says Stefano Maffulli, new member of the FSF Europe
and designated Italian chancellor. "We are glad that the Centro Tempo
Reale initiated this project and asked the FSF Europe to provide Free
Software competence, vision and also legal maintainability for it."
About the FSF Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSF Europe) is a charitable
non-governmental organization dedicated to all aspects of Free
Software in Europe. Access to software determines who may participate
in a digital society. Therefore the freedoms to use, copy, modify and
redistribute software - as described in the Free Software definition -
allow equal participation in the information age. Creating awareness
for these issues, securing Free Software politically and legally, and
giving people freedom by supporting development of Free Software are
central issues of the FSF Europe, which was founded in 2001 as the
European sister organization of the Free Software Foundation in the
United States.
More information: http://fsfeurope.org/
Contact:
Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +49-40-23809080
Fax: +49-40-23809081
Further press contact information is available at
http://fsfeurope.org/press/.
[for immediate release]
London/Hamburg, May 22nd 2002
"Association For Free Software (AFFS) becomes associate of the
Free Software Foundation Europe (FSF Europe)"
The FSF Europe proudly announces that the UK based "Association For
Free Software" (AFFS) is now an associate organisation of the "Free
Software Foundation Europe" (FSF Europe).
AFFS has joined with the FSF Europe to actively support its
activities, to work for Free Software in Europe and to facilitate
cooperation with organisations in other countries.
The AFFS currently focuses on the preparation of PR material to
inform the public and to lobby politicians in the UK. Part of this
effort is drafting an introduction to Free Software for
non-specialists and to prepare demo versions of the Debian GNU/Linux
operating system for live demonstrations.
Through various liaisons the AFFS is actively involved in bringing
the benefits of Free Software especially to schools, other educational
institutions, politicians and - of course - the public in the UK, to
help create a critical mass of people using Free Software.
Members of the AFFS also engage themselves in attending fairs,
exhibitions and relevant public and non-public meetings of UK
governmental institutions. The aim is to provide a recognised point
of contact in the UK for information about Free Software. This is
achieved by simultaneously establishing links with the press, MEPs,
MPs and local politicians throughout the UK.
"Although the AFFS is based in the UK, it fully recognises and
appreciates that Free Software is a world wide effort to bring the
benefits of the information age to everyone on this planet. This
requires international cooperation and coordination. The association
with the FSF Europe is probably the most important step yet for the
AFFS to achieve this goal." said Dr. Marc Eberhard, a committee
member and one of the founders of the AFFS.
"Experience indicates that it is crucial for the adoption and
understanding of Free Software within a country to have the community
of that country organise itself in competent local organisations."
said Georg Greve, President of the FSF Europe. "Therefore we were very
happy to see the UK community taking the big step forward with the
creation of the AFFS and we gladly welcomed them in our network of
associate organisations. This brings UK people, press and politics the
chance to interface with Free Software and the FSF in a more immediate
way than ever before."
About the Association for Free Software:
The Association for Free Software is a non-profit association with the
primary goal of promoting the adoption of Free Software in the UK.
More information: http://www.affs.org.uk
Contact: AFFS
c/o Luminas Ltd
7 Webster Close
Norwich NR5 9DF
UK
Phone: 0709 2312239
About the Free Software Foundation Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSF Europe) is a charitable
non-governmental organisation dedicated to all aspects of Free
Software in Europe. Access to software determines who may participate
in a digital society. Therefore the freedoms to use, copy, modify and
redistribute software - as described in the Free Software definition -
allow equal participation in the information age. Creating awareness
for these issues, securing Free Software politically and legally, and
giving people freedom by supporting development of Free Software are
central issues of the FSF Europe, which was founded in 2001 as the
European sister organisation of the Free Software Foundation in the
United States.
More information: http://fsfeurope.org/
Contact:
Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +49-40-23809080
Fax: +49-40-23809081
Further press contact information is available at http://fsfeurope.org/press/.
[ This release is also available at
http://www.fsf.org/press/2002-05-21-eldred-brief.html ]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Free Software Foundation
Bradley M. Kuhn <pr(a)fsf.org>
Phone: +1-617-542-5942
Free Software Foundation Files Brief Amicus Curiae
in Eldred v. Aschroft Supreme Court Case
Boston, Massachusetts, USA - Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - Yesterday,
the Free Software Foundation (FSF) filed a Brief Amicus Curiae in the
pending Supreme Court case, Eldred v. Aschroft. The future of copyright
law in the digital age is at issue in this case. For decades, the US
Congress has been retroactively extending copyright protection, directly
harming the public good by withholding material from the public domain.
FSF strongly supports the rights of the public to benefit from useful
intellectual works.
In our brief, Eben Moglen, FSF Board Member and General Counsel, wrote:
"The constitutional importance of the 'limited Times' restriction
cannot be vitiated ... by affording Congress the opportunity to
create perpetuities on the installment plan, any more than Congress can
eliminate the constitutional requirement of originality". He continues:
"To turn the system of free expression into a series of private fiefdoms
for the benefit of monopolists ... is forbidden to Congress by the
plain wording of the Copyright Clause and by the First Amendment".
While nearly all of the Free Software code base at the core of the
popular GNU/Linux operating system is copyrighted--much of it protected
by FSF's GNU General Public License (GPL)--FSF promotes a healthy and
vibrant public domain. Copyright is a government-granted, limited time,
monopolistic control that has run amok. FSF filed this amicus brief
to stand with those who fight for the public's freedom to build on the
intellectual works of the past.
The full brief is available at
http://www.fsf.org/philosophy/eldred-amicus.html.
About Free Software Foundation:
The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting
computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute
computer programs. FSF promotes the development and use of free (as
in freedom) software--particularly the GNU operating system and its
GNU/Linux variants--and free documentation for free software. FSF also
helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of freedom
in the use of software. Their web site, located at http://www.gnu.org,
is an important source of information about GNU/Linux. They are
headquartered in Boston, MA, USA.
Copyright (C) 2002, Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is
permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.