= FSFE FSFE in battle for European interoperability =
[Permanent URL: http://fsfe.org/news/2009/news-20091109-02.en.html ]
9 November 2009, 16:30 CEST, Berlin, Germany
FSFE has unleashed an advocacy push in order to prevent the European
Commission from hollowing out an important European reference document
on interoperability. A draft for a new version of the European
Interoperability Framework (EIF) leaked to the press last week.
Where the current version strongly encourages the public sector to use
Free Software and Open Standards, the draft threatens to replace this
with meaningless statements which leave the European public sector at
the mercy of proprietary software vendors.
As the EC was gathering comments from Member States, FSFE contacted
senior government staff across Europe, emphasising the danger posed by
the new text and asking them to reject the draft. FSFE's President
Karsten Gerloff explained the importance of the document, the problems
in the draft, and the total failure of transparency in the processes
which led up to the current text.
Karsten Gerloff says: "FSFE will keep its eye on the ball as the
situation develops over the coming days and weeks. With the help of our
friends and supporters, we will work hard to fight off the current
threat to interoperability in the public sector. We will seek the best
possible result through constructive dialogue with Member States and the
European Commission."
[1] http://blogs.fsfe.org/gerloff/?p=285
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, 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 FSFE.
http://fsfe.org
= FSFE to award 36 Fellowship grants over the next 12 months! =
[Permanent URL: http://www.fsfe.org/news/2009/news-20091109-01.en.html ]
Starting in November 2009, Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) will
award three people with a Fellowship grant every month for the coming
year. Everybody who is actively working for Free Software but cannot
afford the Fellowship contribution can apply for the grant.
Despite financial constraints many people in the Free Software community
devote a great deal of their time to Free Software activities. For
example programming, translating, administrating, organising events,
giving talks or advocating Free Software principles at public events.
FSFE has now found a way to recognise their efforts and let them become
part of the Fellowship.
Matthias Kirschner, FSFE's Fellowship coordinator, says: "The Fellowship
is the primary way people can identify with and support FSFE. It has
always consisted of three aspects: financial support, political weight,
and active engagement. We are offering the Fellowship grant for people
who have shown their dedication to the cause of Free Software. We won't
allow financial problems to hold anyone back from becoming part of the
Fellowship community."
The Fellowship grant is made possible by FSFE's supporters. Thanks to a
generous donation from tarent GmbH, FSFE is finally able to offer the
Fellowship grant to Free Software activists as a reward for exceptional
work. Thanks to these donations, 36 new Fellows will be joining the
Fellowship over the next 12 months.
Elmar Geese, CEO at tarent GmbH says: "We grew closer to the Fellowship
of FSFE since some of our employees are already Fellows. We know that
being a Fellow is a great way to become involved with FSFE and make a
real difference for Free Software. We are glad that our contribution
will allow other enthusiastic people to become part of the Fellowship."
Dedicated Free Software supporters can apply for a Fellowship grant by
writing an e-mail to fellowship(a)fsfeurope.org, explaining what they are
doing to promote Free Software. Each month, FSFE will select outstanding
candidates and announce the decisions at the beginning of the following
month.
More information about the Fellowship grant
http://fellowship.fsfe.org/grant.en.html
Join the Fellowship here!
http://fellowship.fsfe.org/login/join.php
FSFE thanks its supporters!
http://www.fsfe.org/donate/thankgnus.en.html
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, 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 FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
= Solution for Oracle/Sun deal: Make MySQL independent =
[Permanent URL: http://www.fsfe.org/news/2009/news-20091023-02.en.html ]
23 October 2009, 11:00 CEST, Berlin, Germany
Oracle should agree to put MySQL in the hands of an independent
non-profit guardian, proposes the Free Software Foundation Europe. The
Free Software community could develop MySQL to its full potential, while
Oracle would not have to worry that a competitor could take over the
database project.
"Competition in the software market is very important, because it
drives innovation", says Karsten Gerloff, President of the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE). "The fate of a project like
MySQL should not depend on a single company."
By moving the MySQL issue out of the way, this would make it possible
for Oracle to quickly complete the acquisition of Sun Microsystems and
prevent further losses.
FSFE has published a detailed analysis of the problem that MySQL poses
for Oracle, and for competition in the database market:
http://blogs.fsfe.org/gerloff/?p=274
MySQL is the stumbling block in Oracle's acquisition of Sun
Microsystems. With this deal, the biggest maker of proprietary databases
would gain control of MySQL, a large Free Software database project. The
European Commission is so far refusing to approve the deal because it is
worried about its effects on competition. At the same time, Sun is
quickly shedding money and jobs.
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, 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 FSFE.
http://fsfe.org
== Contact ==
Karsten Gerloff
President
Free Software Foundation Europe
e-mail: press at fsfeurope.org
mobile: +49-176-96904298
= Windows 7 to hit consumers with known security problem =
[Permanent URL: http://www.fsfe.org/news/2009/news-20091019-01.en.html]
19 October 2009, 13:30 CEST, Berlin, Germany
Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 7, is currently shipping
with a potentially serious defect. Ahead of the product's global
launch on Thursday, Germany's federal IT security agency (BSI) has
issued a warning [1] about a high-risk vulnerability in the SMB2
protocol. This can be exploited over the network to shut down a
computer with a Denial of Service (DoS) attack.
This incident illustrates how proprietary software often poses a
security risk. "Only Microsoft can fix the problem. But they have
apparently closed their eyes to this vulnerability for a long time,
hoping that it wouldn't spoil the retail launch of Windows 7 this
Thursday," says Karsten Gerloff, President of the Free Software
Foundation Europe (FSFE).
Following responsible disclosure practices, the BSI has not published
details in its announcement (English translation below) from October 6.
While it is generally a good strategy to give vendors time to repair
vulnerabilities before announcing them publicly, in this case the BSI
should consider publishing the full details of the problem to put more
pressure on Microsoft. The agency says that the security hole affects
Windows 7 and Windows Vista in both their 32-bit and 64-bit versions, as
well as Windows Server 2008. This vulnerability is different from an
earlier SMB2 issue [2] for which Microsoft published the patch MS09-050
in September.
FSFE's Gerloff explains: "Microsoft's software locks its users in, so
they have to stay even if the company knowingly exposes them to a
security risk like this. With Free Software like GNU/Linux - software
that you can study, share and improve - several independent entities can
fix the problem. Consumers should not support Microsoft's negligent
behaviour by buying its products. Free Software offers an alternative,
and is available from many independent vendors."
Microsoft has not yet responded to the BSI's warning. There is no
indication that the company will manage to fix the gaping hole in its
flagship operating system before the global launch of Windows 7 this
Thursday. The vulnerability remains open even after Microsoft's October
patch day.
The company's security practices have long been a cause for concern. In
just one recent incident [3], Microsoft knew about another vulnerability
in SMB2 since July 2009. While it did fix the problem in the final
version of Windows 7 in early August, it did nothing to repair the same
problem in Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 until an independent
security researcher went public about the issue. German IT news site
Heise speculates that the issue ended up on a Microsoft-internal list of
low-priority bugs which the company tries to fix silently, in order to
avoid negative publicity.
[1] https://www.cert-bund.de/advisoryshort/CB-K09-0315%20UPDATE%201
[2] http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/975497.mspx
[3] http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Microsoft-has-known-of-the-SMB2-…
== Translation of the BSI's security advisory: ==
Threat level: "4 high risk" (out of 1-5, with 5 being "very high").
Title: Microsoft Windows SMB2-Protocol: Another vulnerability allows denial
of service (Windows Vista and Windows 7 vulnerable).
Date: 2009-10-06
Software: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows 7 x64 Edition, Microsoft
Windows Vista / SP1 / SP2, Microsoft Windows Vista x64 Edition / SP1 / SP2,
Microsoft Windows Server 2008
Platform: Windows
Effect: Denial-of-Service
Remoteexploitable: Yes
Risk: high
Reference: internal research
Description:
Server Message Block (SMB) is a protocol which enables shared access to
printers and files. SMB2 is a new version of this protocol, which was
introduced with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, and which is also
available on Windows 7. Current implementations of SMB2 are affected by
this vulnerability. This is a new vulnerability, not the one described
in Microsoft Security Advisory 975497. The listed operating systems can
therefore still be successfully attacked even after installation of the
updates of Microsoft's October patchday (MS09-050).
Currently there is no update or patch available from the vendor. The
only recommended actions are to be aware of and track the vulnerability.
As a workaround it can only be recommended to limit access to SMB2
servers to trusted systems by firewalls, or to disable the SMB2 service.
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, 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 FSFE.
http://fsfe.org
== Contact ==
Karsten Gerloff
President
Free Software Foundation Europe
e-mail: press at fsfeurope.org
mobile: +49-176-96904298
Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) Newsletter - September 2009
The Software Freedom Day is one of the main events in the Free Software
community in September, and it is an event we never miss: this year FSFE
celebrated in Leipzig, Vienna and Hamburg with the help of our Fellows.
Thanks to them, the campaign "Ask your candidate about Free Software!" for
the German elections became a great success.
FSFE's president commented on the possible settlement in the Microsoft
"browser case"; we started using Identi.ca as a micro-blogging platform
and we also took on board two new interns. Read on to get to know them!
Giacomo Poderi
1. FSFE to EC: Don't waste an opportunity with a hasty deal
2. The Fellowship interviews: Andreas Tolf Tolfsen
3. The Second Fellowship Jabber meeting, 22 September
4. Celebrating the Software Freedom Day, 19 September
5. FSFE uses Free Software micro-blogging on Identi.ca
6. Welcome to Hugo Roy and Lena Simon: new Berlin interns
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
7. Free Software hits German election campaigns
IT HAPPENED IN THE PAST
8. European Union versus Microsoft: A victory for Free Software
UPCOMING EVENTS
9. Commercial packages: a new way to support FSFE
1. FSFE to EC: Don't waste an opportunity with a hasty deal
Karsten Gerloff, FSFE's president, commented on recent news that European
Commissioner for Antitrust Neelie Kroes, is working to close all the major
cases on her desk before the end of her mandate in November. Two of these
cases concern Microsoft's anti-competitive behaviour in the browser
market, and the company's practice of preventing others from
interoperating with many of its desktop applications. Karsten's article
highlights why Microsoft's offer for a settlement is too weak, lists what
Free Software needs from any settlement, and asks Commissioner Kroes not
to waste the opportunity to establish real competition in the European IT
market with a hasty deal.
http://blogs.fsfe.org/gerloff/?p=263
2. The Fellowship interviews: Andreas Tolf Tolfsen
Andreas Tolf Tolfsen is the Fellow interviewed by Stian Rødven Eide this
September. Andreas is a web technologist, developer and aspiring
musicologist. He works at Opera Software, and regularly fights for
digital freedoms. In the interview, Andreas tells us a lot about HTML5,
Electronic Frontier Norway and music.
http://blogs.fsfe.org/fellowship-interviews/andreas-tolf-tolfsen/
3. The Second Fellowship Jabber meeting, 22 September
On the 22 September, from 19:00 until 20:30 we held a new jabber meeting,
to repeat the positive experience of the one organised during the
Fellowship election. Many Fellows showed up in our virtual room:
conference.jabber.fsfe.org, and asked questions to Matthias Kirschner,
Fellowship coordinator, and Torsten Grote, Fellowship representative at
the GA. The main topics of the meeting were the role of the FSFE's GA
and the procedure to take part in it. Free Software in Education was
also discussed as an interesting topic for the next Fellowship Jabber
meeting. More information about the next meeting will be published soon!
4. Celebrating the Software Freedom Day, 19 September
For five years, the Software Freedom Day (SFD) has been the perfect
chance for 'hacktivists' to gather together in different place around
the world to celebrate Free Software and its principles. More than 500
teams worldwide registered for the event and celebrated on Saturday 19
September SFD 2009. FSFE's local Fellowship groups participated in the
events in Vienna and Leipzig, and we manned a booth at the SFD in
Hamburg.
http://blogs.fsfe.org/mk/?p=354http://blogs.fsfe.org/gollo/2009/09/23/software-freedom-party-in-vienna/http://softwarefreedomday.org/
5. FSFE uses Free Software micro-blogging on Identi.ca
Many key people in our organisation have started using the Free Software
micro-blogging service Identi.ca to share status updates and interesting
links. On Identi.ca it exists now a group "fsfe" which is possible to
subscribe to if you would like to stay informed on our activities.
We also started adopting some common tags such as #fellowship,
#pdfreaders and #dfd which we encourage you to use. Read Matthias
Kirschner's blog post to know more about it:
http://blogs.fsfe.org/mk/?p=327http://identi.ca/group/fsfe
6. Welcome to Hugo Roy and Lena Simon: new Berlin interns
Starting from the 1 September, FSFE took on board two new, young and
motivated interns: Hugo Roy and Lena Simon. Hugo is from France and will
work with us until May 2010, focusing on policy and legal aspects. Lena
is from Germany, and will stay with us for one month to help in the
setting of the new Berlin office. She also provided valuable help during
the campain "Ask your candidate about Free Software!". We are happy to
have them with us and we are sure they will add value to our work.
Welcome Hugo and Lena!
http://blogs.fsfe.org/hugo/http://blogs.fsfe.org/lsimon/
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
7. Free Software hits German election campaigns
Ahead of the German elections 2009, FSFE's German chapter with the help
of many Fellows and volunteers brought the issue of Free Software in the
political debate. The campaign "Ask your candidate about Free Software!"
questioned politicians of different parties about their visions on Free
Software principles, Open Standards and their diffusion. Matthias
Kirschner said: "We want politicians to get in contact with these
topics, and to motivate people from the Free Software community to start
a dialogue with their politicians."
During the political campaign, the questions prepared by the Fellows and
other volunteers were forwarded to representatives of various political
parties. We collected their answers in the Fellowship wiki, ordered and
summarised them. With the help and coordination of Matthias and Lena the
project collected 26 answers (to 35 forwarded questions), and a lot of
media coverage during and after the German elections. FSFE's associate
organisation ANSOL ran a similar campaign in Portugal, where national
elections took place at the same time. We exchanged links and looked to
each other for inspiration.
http://www.fsfe.org/projects/btw09/btw09.html
Relevant Links:
http://www.fsfe.org/news/2009/news-20090921-01.htmlhttp://www.fsfe.org/news/2009/news-20090908-01.htmlhttp://wiki.fsfe.org/Bundestagswahl2009http://ansol.org/politica/legislativas2009
IT HAPPENED IN THE PAST
8. European Union versus Microsoft: A victory for Free Software
In September 2007, the European Union versus Microsoft antitrust case
was finally closed. The European Court of First Instance found Microsoft
guilty of deliberate obstruction of interoperability and upheld the
obligation for Microsoft to share its protocol information. This
information has now been published and is being used by the developers
of Samba and many other projects. FSFE and the Samba team participated in
the case as an interested third party. Our work was crucial in bringing
about such a decisive victory. Today, the judgement in the case serves
as a landmark for the fight against monopolies in the software market.
http://mail.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release/2007q4/000187.html
UPCOMING EVENTS
9. Commercial packages: a new way to support FSFE
In order to make it easier for companies who care about Free
Software to support our work, we have assembled a set of
commercial service offerings services related to Free Software.
They include services such as a Free Software Hotline,
personalized workshops, bi-monthly update calls, annual
networking dinners and more. More information about these packages will
be published soon on our website. Keep an eye on:
http://fsfe.org/news/
You can find a list of all FSFE newsletters on
http://fsfe.org/news/newsletter.html
You can join the Fellowship or find how to support us on
http://fellowship.fsfe.org/joinhttp://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute.html
You can order our merchandise at
http://fsfe.org/order/order.html
Copyright 2009, Free Software Foundation Europe <pr(a)fsfeurope.org>.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in
any medium, provided this notice is preserved.
= Microsoft settlement leaves Free Software in the cold =
[Permanent URL: http://www.fsfe.org/news/2009/news-20091008-01.en.html]
8 October 2009, 11:45 am, Berlin, Germany
The European Commission yesterday announced a preliminary agreement
with Microsoft. The deal is supposed to settle an antitrust
investigation about the company's dominant position in the web browser
market. The Commission is also ready to strike a deal on
interoperability. The goal is to allow rival products to work with
Microsoft's applications on the desktop.
FSFE commends Commissioner Neelie Kroes and the European Commission on
their effort to bring more competition to the European software market.
Though clearly negotiated under some time pressure, parts of the
agreement are better than Microsoft's previous proposals.
While FSFE's input as a steadfast defender of software freedom over the
past seven years has helped to bring about some improvements on details
of the browser selection screen, the updated agreement proposed by
Microsoft does not address the legitimate concerns of the Free Software
community.
Karsten Gerloff, FSFE's President, says: "In its current form,
Microsoft's proposal has many loopholes for the convicted monopolist to
slip through. The lack of a monitoring system leaves Free Software
projects out in the cold. There is no clear commitment from Microsoft to
adhere to web standards in the future, nor to end the company's habit of
adding proprietary extensions to standards."
In order to fend off another possible investigation by the European
Commission, Microsoft is also offering a set of promises to let rival
programs work with some of its desktop applications such as Outlook and
Sharepoint. Yet Free Software projects, which are often the strongest
competitors to the company's offerings, will not be able to use the
patent licence proposed by Microsoft.
FSFE's legal counsel Carlo Piana says: "We are disappointed that major
issues for Free Software and other small, innovative players remain
unaddressed. Private enforcement is out of reach for them. This is a
missed opportunity to break new ground in antitrust enforcement."
FSFE will analyse Microsoft's proposed commitment in detail in the
coming weeks and provide feedback to the Commission. Our goal is to help
shape a deal for a sustainable, interoperable and competitive future.
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, 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 FSFE.
http://fsfe.org
== Contact ==
Karsten Gerloff
President
Free Software Foundation Europe
e-mail: press at fsfeurope.org
mobile: +49-176-96904298
= Microsoft antitrust case: FSFE offers analysis to European Commission =
[Permanent URL: http://www.fsfe.org/news/2009/news-20091006-01.en.html]
6 October 2009, 12:15 pm, Berlin, Germany
The European Commission is on the verge of settling two antitrust
cases against Microsoft. The details of this settlement will determine
how much competition there can be in Europe's software market for
years to come.
The Free Software Foundation Europe has analysed the most important
elements that a settlement should contain to allow real competition in
the European software market. It has summarised those key points in a
letter sent to Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes:
http://www.fsfe.org/projects/browserbundling/letter-20091005.en.html
(The full text of the letter is enclosed below for your convenience.)
Kroes is looking at Microsoft's practice of tying its Internet
Explorer browser to its Windows operating systems, excluding rival
browser makers. She is also trying to persuade Microsoft to release
enough information so that competitors can make their desktop software
work with the company's dominant operating system. This is something
that Microsoft has refused to do in the past.
FSFE believes that a settlement on the browser case needs to put rival
browsers on an equal footing with Microsoft's Internet Explorer by
pre-installing them. Fast-growing browsers need to be included in an
unbiased selection screen.
For desktop applications, FSFE argues that the software monopolist
must release interoperability information in such a way that it can be
used in Free Software. The company must also make a binding commitment
not to enforce its patents against Free Software. That would prevent
Microsoft from using Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) to keep rivals
from making use of the information.
(253 words / 1665 characters)
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, 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 FSFE.
http://fsfe.org
== Contact ==
Karsten Gerloff
President
Free Software Foundation Europe
e-mail: press at fsfeurope.org
mobile: +49-176-96904298
== FSFE's letter to Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes ==
Dear Commissioner Kroes,
regarding the antitrust investigations led by DG COMP against
Microsoft, you have let it be known [1] that you would like to
close a number of open cases very soon. This includes an ongoing
investigation into Microsoft's practice of tying its Internet Explorer
Browser to its Windows operating systems, and a pending complaint
about Microsoft's consistent failure to share interoperability
information for its desktop programs with competitors.
At the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), we have long
followed your Directorate's excellent work in ensuring competition
in Europe. We participated as an interested third party in the
Commission's case against Microsoft about interoperability in the
workgroup server market. Today, FSFE is an interested third party
in the Commission's proceedings against Microsoft based on Opera's
complaint about the company's practice of tying Internet Explorer
to its Windows operating system. We also follow closely any
progress regarding the complaint filed by ECIS on Microsoft's
refusal to share interoperability information for a number of its
desktop applications.
It is our view that DG Competition has done splendid work in all
these cases. We are writing to you today to express our concerns
about the consequences that an insufficiently strong settlement in
those cases would have on the European software market. In our
view, the terms for a settlement which Microsoft offered in July
of this year are not an effective remedy against the company's
dominant position in the European market for desktop software.
We have published an analysis of the most important points for
effective antitrust measures. I would like to draw your attention to
this publication:
FSFE to EC: Don't waste an opportunity with a hasty deal
http://blogs.fsfe.org/gerloff/?p=263
As stated there, our core concerns in the browser case are the
following:
- Both Microsoft and OEMs must be required pre-install competing
browsers on desktop computers, if their manufacturers request it
- The proposed ballot screen should be a native Windows application,
should not give preference to Internet Explorer either implicitly
or explicitly, and must provide an easy way to remove Internet
Explorer from the system. Alternative browsers chosen by the user
must be integrated into Windows to the same degree as Internet
Explorer.
- The selection of browsers on the ballot screen must use clear and
transparent criteria. Market share cannot be the only criterion, as
that would effectively freeze today's market situation in
place. Instead, the *rate of growth in market share* and
availability across different platforms should be key criteria.
While the Commission has not yet issued a statement of objections
regarding Microsoft's failure to share interoperability information
with competitors, a settlement is being sought on this issue as
well. Again, FSFE has analysed Microsoft's proposed interoperability
undertaking, and has found it insufficient to establish competition in
the European market for desktop software.
It is worth noting that in many cases, the strongest competitors with
Microsoft's desktop applications are Free Software. OpenOffice is a
case in point, constituting as it does the most widely used
alternative to Microsoft Office. We therefore consider it essential
that any settlement on interoperability ensures that Free Software can
use the information provided by Microsoft to compete on an equal footing.
Regarding interoperability, our core concerns are:
- Microsoft must be required to provide interoperability information
either royalty-free or in return for a one-time payment. Running
royalties are incompatible with Free Software. The PFIF agreement [2],
which resulted from the Samba case [3], provides a tested and working
instance of such an agreement.
- Microsoft must provide a legally binding assurance that it will not
assert those of its patents which relate to the interoperability
information against Free Software. The lack of such assurance would
let the company use Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) to discourage
competitors from making use of the interoperability information,
leaving the remedy ineffective.
In both cases, we consider that an effective settlement is much
preferable to one that is quickly achieved, but lacks the power to
establish competition in the European market for desktop software.
We would like to thank you for considering these points, and hope that
you find our analysis helpful. We of course remain available to
provide further input.
Kind regards,
Karsten Gerloff
President, Free Software Foundation Europe
[1] http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/23/antitrust-chief-in-europe-
seeks-to-close-cases/
[2] http://www.protocolfreedom.org/PFIF_agreement.pdf
[3] http://fsfe.org/projects/ms-vs-eu/ms-vs-eu.en.html
= Free Software hits German election campaigns =
[Permanent URL: http://www.fsfe.org/news/2009/news-20090921-01.de.html]
21 September 2009, 11:00 am, Berlin
The issue of Free Software has hit the run-up to the German elections.
During a campaign launched by Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE)
politicians from many parties have recognised the potential of Free
Software and Open Standards for Germany. In response to questions from
supporters of FSFE, they explain that Free Software equals more
competition, promotes innovation and provides cost savings.
Free Software - such as the GNU/Linux operating system or the web
browser Mozilla Firefox - can be used without restrictions, studied by
anyone, be modified and passed on. "Free Software brings significant
benefits for the economy" says Karsten Gerloff, president of FSFE. "On
that basis Germany's small and medium enterprises are able to offer high
quality services and create lasting value for our country. We are
delighted that candidates are aware of this opportunity."
Free Software is also an important prerequisite for equal opportunities
in education. "Software is the cultural technique of the 21st century,
"says Matthias Kirschner, Germany Coordinator of FSFE. "Everyone should
have the opportunity to gain a basic understanding of this. It's good to
see that FSFE's persistent work on this issue is paying off."
Nevertheless, the parties lack a comprehensive approach for making the
best of Free Software for Germany's economy and society. FSFE provides
an analysis [http://wiki.fsfe.org/Bundestagswahl2009] of the parties'
programmes, along with the questions answered by the candidates. FSFE
will continue to serve as a competent partner of politicians and
everybody interested in the potential of Free Software.
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit
non-governmental organisation active in many European countries and
involved in many global activities. Access to software determines
participation in a digital society. To secure equal participation in
the information age, as well as freedom of competition, the Free
Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is dedicated to the
furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use, study,
modify and copy. Founded in 2001, 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 FSFE.
http://fsfe.org/
== Contact ==
Matthias Kirschner
German country coordinator
Free Software Foundation Europe
e-mail: press(a)germany.fsfeurope.org
mobile: +49-1577-1780003
Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) Newsletter - August 2009
August traditionally is a month with a lower level of activity due to
holidays. Still, a lot of things happened under FSFE's and the
Fellowship's roofs.
Fellowship groups met in Zurich and Stuttgart, other Fellows and
volunteers manned a booth at the FrOSCon, our website now benefits from
an improved contact page, Karsten Gerloff commented on the ruling about
software patent infringement against Microsoft, and Thomas Jensch took
on the role of coordinator for our edu-team.
Giacomo Poderi
1. Fellowship meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, 26 August
2. 4th FrOSCon in St. Augustin, Germany, 22-23 August
3. Software patent infringed: Microsoft barred from selling Word
4. New overview on our community contacts
5. Fellowship meeting and KDE 4.3 release party in Stuttgart, Germany, 01 August
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
6. Thomas Jensch takes on coordination for FSFE's edu-team
IT HAPPENED IN THE PAST
7. Karsten Gerloff at the ATTAC Germany summer academy
UPCOMING EVENTS
8. Fellowship's booth at the Braderie de Lille, France, 05-06 September
1. Fellowship meeting in Zurich, Switzerland, 26 August
On 26 August the Fellowship group of Zurich met for their traditional
Free Software summer barbecue. About 13 Fellows and other interested
people participated. Christian Holz, FSFE's Executive Director, also
joined them meeting to discuss our potential participation in
OpenExpo, the consolidation of the Swiss Fellowship group, and the
philosophical differences between Free and proprietary Software.
http://wiki.fsfe.org/groups/Zuerich
2. 4th FrOSCon in St. Augustin, Germany, 22-23 August
We participated with a lively and highly populated booth at the 4th
FrOSCon in St. Augustin, Germany. Ten of our Fellows and volunteers were
present at the booth during the two days event to explain our work and
our projects. As a result new people will join the Fellowship. Matthias
Kirschner, Fellowship coordinator, and Michael Kesper, our team member,
were also interviewed by a local radio station. Michael wrote a short
post on his blog with a couple of pictures taken at FrOSCon.
http://blogs.fsfe.org/mkesper/?p=44http://wiki.fsfe.org/Froscon-2009
3. Software patent infringed: Microsoft barred from selling Word
On Tuesday 11 August, Microsoft received an injunction for patent
infringement concerning an XML-related patent held by Canadian XML
specialist i4i. The injunction prevents Microsoft from selling the
2003 and 2007 versions of Word in the United States and requires the
company to pay US$ 290 million in damages. Karsten Gerloff, FSFE's
president, commented the news on his blog and focused on how damaging
software patents can be even for the biggest corporation.
http://blogs.fsfe.org/gerloff/?p=251
4. New overview on our community contacts
After some redesign work, our contact page is now available with a new
section providing a better overview of our Community contacts. We
hope that these improvements will make it easier for people get in
touch with the right groups and to start becoming involved in our
community of Free Software supporters.
http://www.fsfe.org/contact/community.html
5. Fellowship meeting and KDE 4.3 release party in Stuttgart, Germany,
01 August
The Fellowship group in Stuttgart gathered together with some KDE people
to celebrate the release of KDE 4.3. The meeting started at 19:00 on
1 August and went on until midnight with about ten people discussing
about the new improvements of KDE and Free Software in general.
There was also space for a small tournament of Ksquares played on the
touch screen of a tablet PC.
http://wiki.fsfe.org/groups/Stuttgarthttp://blogs.fsfe.org/gladhorn/2009/08/08/taking-a-walk/
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
6. Thomas Jensch takes on coordination for FSFE's edu-team
FSFE's Education project aims at furthering Free Software in all
education related activities and institutions, such as kindergartens,
schools and universities. In recent years the project had been
inactive due to lack of a coordinator and workforce. Now, thanks
to Thomas Jensch, our current intern in Zurich, we will be able to
revive this important project.
Thomas accepted the role of coordinator for the edu-team as a part of
his internship and he is already working to reorganise the activities of
the project. Thomas also agreed to continue coordinating the team
after his intership ends in November.
To receive information about the progresses and news of the edu-team, it
is possible to register to the edu-eu(a)gnu.org mailing list, to get
in contact with the team you can send an e-mail to
edu-team <AT> fsfeurope <DOT> org
http://www.fsfe.org/news/2009/news-20090831-01.html
Relevant links:
http://www.fsfe.org/projects/education/education.htmlhttp://wiki.fsfe.org/Educationhttp://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/edu-eu/
IT HAPPENED IN THE PAST
7. Karsten Gerloff at the ATTAC Germany summer academy
In August 2005, Karsten Gerloff, now FSFE's president, was invited to
give a speech at ATTAC Germany's summer academy in Goettingen about
the developments within the World Intellectual Property Organisation
(WIPO) and the A2K (Access To Knowledge) Treaty. At that time, Karsten
had just finished his internship with FSFE.
http://mail.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release/2005q3/000115.html
UPCOMING EVENTS
8. Fellowship's booth at the Braderie de Lille, France, 05-06 September
The Fellowship will take part with a booth to the "Braderie de Lille"
(Lille's flea market) in Lille, France. FSFE and, in particular, the
Fellowship booth, will get a lot of visibility, since millions of
people from different nations take a walk on Lille's streets during
the event. The booth will be located on Place du Vieux Marché aux
chevaux. If you would like more information about this event please
send an e-mail to Benjamin Morant:
morant <AT> fsfeurope <DOT> org
You can find a list of all FSFE newsletters on
http://fsfe.org/news/newsletter.html
You can join the Fellowship or find how to support us on
http://fellowship.fsfe.org/joinhttp://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute.html
You can order our merchandise at
http://fsfe.org/order/order.html
Copyright 2009, Free Software Foundation Europe <pr(a)fsfeurope.org>.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in
any medium, provided this notice is preserved.
Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) Newsletter - July 2009
This month has been full of activity, but one bit of news has cast a
shadow over it all. We have learned of the death of Richard Rothwell,
who was a prominent and respected advocate for Free Software in
education and a Fellow. We are saying farewell to him below.
Major activities of the month were: the support of our German Chapter
to OpenRuhr initiative, the participation to a Conference hosted by
the WIPO, an interesting Fellowship meeting in Berlin, our presence to
RMLL in Nantes, and the publishing of our statement about the latest
developments in the EU browser case.
Giacomo Poderi
1. Fresh air at WIPO, but old habits die hard
2. A farewell to Richard Rothwell
3. FSFE supports OpenRuhr
4. FSFE booth at RMLL Nantes, France, 07-11 July
5. Fellowship Meeting in Berlin, 09 July
6. The Fellowship interviews: Smári McCarthy
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
7. EU browser case: FSFE says details of settlement will be crucial
IT HAPPENED IN THE PAST
8. FSFE supporting European Commission in their case against Microsoft
UPCOMING EVENTS
9. 4th Froscon, St. Augustin, Germany, 22-23 August
1. Fresh air at WIPO, but old habits die hard
On the 13 and 14 July, in Geneva, the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) hosted the Conference "Intellectual Property and
Public Policy Issues" with the aim of reflecting on the consequences of
the policies that WIPO promotes. Karsten Gerloff, FSFE's president,
attended the event and wrote an extensive report: "Fresh air at WIPO,
but old habits die hard". He highlights that the event in itself was a
very positive step for the organisation, which is starting to pay
attention to the real-world impact of the policies it develops. Still,
some troubling old mistakes remain.
http://blogs.fsfe.org/gerloff/?p=241
2. A farewell to Richard Rothwell
It is with sorrow that we pay our respect to Richard Rothwell. A
Fellow, a brilliant activist and a key figure in the UK Free Software
community. On 17 July, Richard passed away, tearing a hole in the
network of the Free Software movement which will be difficult to
fill. We want to remember him here, and to offer our condolences to
Richard's family and closest friends.
http://tributestorichardrothwell.net/http://www.richardrothwell.com/
3. FSFE supports OpenRuhr
Our German chapter has decided to support the OpenRuhr initiative.
During 2010 in the Ruhr area the 'cultural cities' will set facilities
and plan events which will promote Free Software as a cultural technique
for creative people in their works. Our German chapter aims at
developing informative material to portray Free Software as a cultural
technique.
http://www.openruhr.dehttp://openruhr.de/2009/07/23/fsfe-unterstuetzung-openruhr
4. FSFE booth at RMLL Nantes, France, 07-11 July
Rainer Karsten and Michel Roche manned our booth at the 10th
"Rencontres Mondiales du Logiciel Libres" (RMLL), which took place in
Nantes. RMLL is the most important Free Software event in France with
some 5000 visitors. Rainer and Michel had a very busy four days
explaining the basics of Free Software, and telling a large number of
people about FSFE's work.
http://2009.rmll.info/
5. Fellowship Meeting in Berlin, 09 July
The Berlin Fellowship group met on 9 July at the Newthinking Store, at
Tucholskystrasse 48. On the meeting's agenda was an interesting debate
with representatives of youth organisations of various political
parties. Members of the Junge Union Brandenburg, Jungen Liberalen
Brandenburg, Grüne Jugend, Piratenpartei, and SDS.Berlin presented
their views about Free Software issues and answered questions from
other participants. Lena Simon recorded the event, which we will
publish shortly on our Fellowship platform.
http://blogs.fsfe.org/mk/?p=301http://wiki.fsfe.org/groups/Berlin
6. The Fellowship interviews: Smári McCarthy
This month, Stian Rødven Eide interviewed Smári McCarthy: a thoughtful
anarchist and practical chaos technician with a deep interest in Free
Software and democracy. The interview addressed various aspects of
Smári's life from his work at the Fab Lab, to the Icelandic Society for
Digital Freedoms, concluding with his views on a "crowdsourced
democracy".
http://blogs.fsfe.org/fellowship-interviews/?p=72
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
7. EU browser case: FSFE says details of settlement will be crucial
In 2007, Opera Software presented the European Commission with a formal
complaint regarding Microsoft's tying of Internet Explorer (IE) to its
operating systems. We decided to follow the development of this issue
and we officially offered our help as interested third party to the
Directorate General for Competition.
On January 2009, the European Commission DG Competition issued a
statement of objections against Microsoft which recently led the
company to consider a settlement. While the offer of a settlement is
an important achievement for the European Commission, we believe that
it is the details which will make all the difference. A settlement
that simply looks good will not be enough. We need to be sure that any
agreement between Microsoft and the Commission really puts Free
Software on an equal footing with proprietary competitors, and allows
for free competition in the web browser market.
Our press release, which outlines some details of the settlement that
should be carefully considered, is available here:
http://fsfe.org/news/2009/news-20090728-01.html
Relevant links:
http://mailman.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release/2009q1/000231.htmlhttp://mailman.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release/2009q1/000228.htmlhttp://fsfe.org/documents/20071219-opera-antitrust.pdf
IT HAPPENED IN THE PAST
8. FSFE supporting European Commission in their case against Microsoft
Five years ago, Microsoft appealed against the European Commission
antitrust decision. The Directorate General for Competition called for
cooperation upon FSFE and Samba. A call that we did not miss: on 27
July 2004 we had already participated to the preliminary hearing of
the appeal in Luxembourg. That was the beginning of what would become
the greatest success for FSFE and for Free Software in the legal field
in 2007, when Microsoft was ordered by the European Court of First
Instance to share interoperability information with the Samba team.
http://mailman.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release/2004q3/000069.html
UPCOMING EVENTS
9. 4th Froscon, St. Augustin, Germany, 22-23 August
We will be present with a booth at the 4th Froscon in St. Augustin,
Germany. The conference is organised by the Department of Computer
Science of the University of Applied Sciences Bonn-Rhein-Sieg, with the
help of Fachschaft of Computer Science, LUUSA and FrOSCon e.V.
For coordination we will use the booth@ mailing list and the Fellowship
Wiki.
http://wiki.fsfe.org/Froscon-2009http://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/booth
You can find a list of all FSFE newsletters on
http://fsfe.org/news/newsletter.html
You can join the Fellowship or find how to support us on
http://fellowship.fsfe.org/joinhttp://fsfe.org/contribute/contribute.html
You can order our merchandise at
http://fsfe.org/order/order.html
Copyright (C) FSFE. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire
article is permitted in any medium, provided this notice is preserved.