DRM.info: Informing about the dangers of controlling private media use
Early this morning, a group of contributing organisations and authors
launched DRM.info, [1] a collaborative information platform about the
potential dangers of Digital Restriction Management (DRM) initiated by
the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE).
"'Your devices don't trust you!' is the basic message of DRM. In fact
they trust you so little that they will not even tell you that they
put you under surveillance," says Joachim Jakobs, FSFE's media
coordinator. "The SONY rootkit case has shown that software was
secretly installed without the users consent, reported back to SONY,
and even damaged the Windows installation when being removed." [2]
Given the political implications of putting the owners of computers,
media players, mobile phones and other devices under the control of
the vendors of the devices, it is no wonder people would prefer if
noone knew of DRM: A Disney executive told the 'Economist' [3] one
year ago: "If consumers even know there's a DRM, what it is, and how
it works, we've already failed."
In contrast, DRM.info is based on the idea that people should be
informed and involved in decisions that will affect them on a very
personal level.
"DRM technologies are based on the principle that a third party has
more influence over your devices than you, and that their interests
will override yours when they come in conflict. That is even true
where your interest is perfectly legitimate and legal, and possibly
also for your own data," explains Georg Greve, FSFE's president.
Libraries are also concerned about the impact of DRM on their ability to
preserve our cultural heritage, to provide future access to public
domain material and to exercise user priviledges under copyright law.
"Libraries see DRM as a threat to our activities because it can
undermine or even prevent legitimate access to and use of digital
content", said Teresa Hackett, eIFL.net. "We welcome DRM.info as a
platform for public debate on these important issues for society".
Georg Greve finishes: "DRM.info is about to end the silence on DRM and
you can help us with that task: Download a DRM.info web button today
and link to it." [4]
[1] http://drm.info
[2] http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/11/sonys_drm_rootk.html
[3] http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=4342418
[4] http://drm.info/artworks/drm-button
About DRM.info
DRM.info is a collaboration between several independent
organisations and individuals. The views expressed reflect those of
the organisation in question and, unless otherwise stated, are not
made on behalf of the other contributors. All the contributors have
a shared concern about the lack of an informed social debate on
issues surrounding DRM technologies.
Contributors:
Consumer Project on Technology (CPTech)
Electronic Frontier Finland (EFFI)
Electronic Information for Libraries (eIFL.net)
Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE)
iCommons (iCommons)
International Federation of Library Associations and
Institutions (IFLA)
netzpolitik.org (netzpolitik.org)
and independent author Cory Doctorow.
DRM.info media partners:
Linux Magazine Brasil, Brazil
Linux Magazine Espana, Spain
PC World.cz, Czech
Punto Informatico, Italy:
"DRM is a crucial issue when we look at the effects of those
technologies on innovation and freedom of access. Punto Informatico
believes that any such issue as DRM, which is already producing an
outstanding impact on the development of the Information Society,
must be put on the table of a large and partecipated debate. Our
mission after more than ten years is still to contribute to inform
Italian Internet users about the chances each one of us has in
order to play a role in the shaping of our digital future"
Paolo De Andreis, Punto Informatico main editor
VNU Business Publications Deutschland, Germany
"VNU germany is going to join the DRM info-campaign as we have
experienced in the past and strongly believe that DRM is not adding value
to our business, benefitting our customers or creating new opportunities
on the marketplace."
Christian Miessner, Associate Publisher Online
About the Free Software Foundation Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) 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 FSFE. The
FSFE was founded in 2001 as the European sister organisation of the
Free Software Foundation in the United States.
Further information: http://fsfeurope.org
--
Joachim Jakobs <jj(a)office.fsfeurope.org
Media Relations - FSF Europe (http://fsfeurope.org)
Tel: +49 700 - 373387673, Ext.: 404
Mobile: +49-179-6919565
BOSTON, September 26, 2006--The Free Software Foundation
(FSF) today released the first discussion draft for version
2 of the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL). In addition
to being the official documentation license of the GNU
Project, the GFDL is used by many other free documentation
projects, including Wikipedia.
Accompanying this revision release of the GFDL is a new
companion license, called the GNU Simpler Free Documentation
License (GSFDL).
This release marks the beginning of a public discussion and
review process, with the goal being the production of the
best free documentation licenses possible. The FSF has
invited everyone to read the new drafts and contribute
comments at http://gplv3.fsf.org/doclic-dd1-guide.html.
The new license texts have wording intended to improve
internationalization, to allow for easier excerpting and
distribution, and to be more clear about their application
to media formats other than text.
Documentation licenses exist because free manuals are
essential for free software. But the GFDL and GSFDL are not
limited to software documentation. While the FSF recommends
these licenses "principally for works whose purpose is
instruction or reference," they state clearly in Section 0
of each license that each can be used for "any work of
authorship meant for human appreciation, rather than machine
execution."
The GFDL 1.1 was released in 2000. It was revised and
released in 2002 as version 1.2.
Media contact:
Brett Smith
Compliance Engineer
Free Software Foundation
617-542-5942
brett(a)fsf.org
About the FSF
The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated
to promoting computer users' right to use, study, copy,
modify, and redistribute computer programs. The 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. The FSF also helps to spread awareness of the
ethical and political issues of freedom in the use of
software. Their Web site, located at www.fsf.org, is an
important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations
to support their work can be made at http://donate.fsf.org.
Their headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA
--
John Sullivan
Program Administrator | Phone: (617)542-5942 x23
51 Franklin Street, 5th Fl. | Fax: (617)542-2652
Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA | GPG: AE8600B6
_______________________________________________
FSF And GNU Press mailing list <info-press(a)gnu.org>
http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-press
Nominations are requested by October 31 2006.
BOSTON, September 21, 2006 — The Free Software Foundation (FSF)
announces a request for nominations for the 2006 Free Software Award for
Projects of Social Benefit.
This award is presented to the project or team responsible for applying
free software, or the ideas of the free software movement, in a project
that intentionally and significantly benefits society in other aspects
of life. We look to recognize projects or teams that encourage
collaboration to accomplish social tasks. A long-term commitment to
one's project (or the potential for a long-term commitment) is crucial
to this end.
Last years winner Wikipedia was recognized for creating a free, online,
collaborative, encyclopedia utilizing free software and free document
licensing. As a collaborative project it has achieved enormous success
and given free access to knowledge, which is fundamentally important to
the advancement and freedom of any society.
The Free Software Award for Projects of Social Benefit stresses the use
of free software in the service of humanity. We have deliberately chosen
this broad criterion so that many different areas of activity can be
considered. However, one area that is not included is that of free
software development itself. Projects with a primary goal of promoting
or advancing free software are not eligible for this award (we honor
those projects with our annual Award for the Advancement of Free
Software).
To qualify, a project must use free software, produce free
documentation, or use the idea of free software as defined in the Free
Software Definition. Work done commercially is eligible, but we will
give this award to the project or team that best utilizes resources for
society's greater benefit.
Please send your nominations to <award-nominations(a)gnu.org>, on or
before 31 October 2006. Please submit nominations in the following
format:
- Put the name of the project or team you are nominating in the email
message subject line.
- Please include, in the body of your message, an explanation (40 lines
or less) of the project, how it uses free software or free software
ideas, and why you think it is especially important to society.
- Please state, in the body of your message, where to find the
materials (e.g., software, manuals, or writing) which your nomination
is based on.
The 2005 award committee was composed of: Peter H. Salus (chair),
Richard Stallman, Alan Cox, Lawrence Lessig, Guido van Rossum, Frederic
Couchet, Jonas Oberg, Hong Feng, Bruce Perens, Raju Mathur, Suresh
Ramasubramanian, Enrique A. Chaparro, and Ian Murdock.
Members of the 2006 award committee will shortly be announced.
About The 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. The 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. The 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.fsf.org, is an important source of information about
GNU/Linux. Donations to support their work can be made at
http://donate.fsf.org. Their headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.
_______________________________________________
FSF And GNU Press mailing list <info-press(a)gnu.org>
http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-press
First International Meeting of the Fellowship of FSFE in Bolzano, Italy
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is delighted to announce
the first international Meeting of the Fellowship of FSFE. [1]
Following up on an idea proposed by the Fellows themselves, and
organised in part by the Fellowship of FSFE, Fellows from all over
Europe will be coming together in the afternoon of 11 November 2006 in
Bolzano, Italy, to discuss issues of digital freedom in general, and
the work of FSFE [2] and the Fellowship in particular.
This meeting will provide an excellent opportunity to meet other
Fellows in person, collect ideas, and plan for the next yet of Free
Software agenda setting in Europe. It will also be a unique chance to
get first hand information from all the people working for FSFE
internationally, and ask for the information you always wanted to
know. Fellows will also be the first to know about FSFE's plans for
the next months and year, including a very special announcement.
"FSFE is a very busy organisation that has grown a lot in the past
years. Although I work full-time for FSFE, it is not always easy to
keep track of all the things that are going on," says Stefano
Maffulli, Italian representative and Fellowship coordinator of
FSFE. "I believe this event will be a unique opportunity for people to
get first-hand information and participate in the intellectual
environment of FSFE."
He concludes: "If you haven't joined the Fellowship so far, this event
is a very good reason to do so immediately. [3]"
"The Fellowship is an integral part of FSFE's work, it has made much
possible that we otherwise could not have done," explains Georg
Greve, FSFE's president. "We believe this meeting will also be an
excellent way for us to say thanks by reporting back to the people who
made much of our work possible and taking their input into the next
round."
In order to accomodate the busy agendas of the Free Software community
and to allow people to make more efficient use of their travel
expense, FSFE has dedided to co-locate the first International Meeting
of the Fellowship of FSFE with the South Tyrol Free Software
Conference (SFSCon) [4], the annual fall gathering hosted by the Free
Software Community in Bolzano. [5]
There is much to be seen: The Plone Sprint [6] from 6th through 9th of
November, the actual SFSCon on 10th and the morning of the 11th, and
then the Fellowship meeting for all Fellows of FSFE on the afternoon
of the 11th. Entrance to the SFSCon event is free and open to the
public, but registration is required. Please visit the web site of the
SFSCon [4] and select "registration". The Fellowship Meeting is for
Fellows only, but it will be possible to sign up to the Fellowship
during the conference.
[1] http://www.fsfe.org/events/
[2] http://www.fsfeurope.org/
[3] http://www.fsfe.org/join/
[4] http://www.sfscon.it/
[5] http://www.sfscon.it/where
[6] http://sfscon.it/data/plone-sprint
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
of 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.
www.fsfeurope.org
1. Moving forward in the GPLv3 public consultation process
2. SELF project issues call for material
3. New office in Sweden
4. School of Art and Design Zürich donates hosting services to FSFE
5. Giacomo Poderi ends his internship
6. Alex Antener joins the core team
1. Moving forward in the GPLv3 public consultation process
On 23 and 24 August, the 4th international GPLv3 conference took place
in Bangalore, India. The event was organised by FSFE's sister
organisation, the Free Software Foundation India, and FSFE helped the
organisers by sharing their experiences from the 3rd conference in
Barcelona.
Regarding Europe, the FSFE still keeps a high level of public appearance
to inform people about the essence and the backgrounds of the proposed
changes in GPLv3. Most notably, Jonas Öberg presented the GPLv3 at one
of the regular meetings of Dataföreningen, the Swedish computer
association, and Ciarán O'Riordan did a presentation at the Danish Unix
User Group DKUUG.
http://www.fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/gplv3.en.html
2. SELF project issues call for material
SELF (Science Education and Learning in Freedom), an EU funded project
to create and collect educational material about Free Software and open
standards, issued a call for material. Everybody who knows of existing
material that might be interesting to the SELF project is encouraged to
register it online so that it can be evaluated and considered for the
SELF platform.
http://www.selfproject.eu/repository/submit
3. New office in Sweden
Thanks to a cooperation with the Göteborg University, the FSFE has been
able to start an office in Sweden. This will help the FSFE to build up an
even stronger presence in the nordic region and give the volunteers and
employees of the FSFE in Sweden a permanent place to work from.
4. School of Art and Design Zürich provides home for new FSFE server
The School of Art and Design Zürich (HGKZ, "Hochschule für Gestaltung
und Kunst Zürich") supports the FSFE by donating rack space and
bandwidth for a new server. This is an important and valuable
contribution to FSFE, which took the summer break opportunity to further
consolidate and improve its server infrastructure.
5. Giacomo Poderi ends his internship
August was the last month of Giacomo Poderi's internship. The FSFE
thanks him for his valuable and reliable work. Giacomo found his
internship a really formative experience, where he also got the chance
of seeing how a lively and active organization like FSFE works to try
ensuring that rights in the 'digital age' are not disregarded. He
remains an active member of the FSFE and will continue to contribute in
the Italian team.
6. Alex Antener joins the core team
Alex Antener from Zürich joined the FSFE core team as the first Swiss
member. The focus of his work with FSFE is building up a strong team
to support Free Software in Switzerland, in cooperation with FSFE's
associate organisations. Having attended a school of arts rather than a
technical school, he also aims to provide a bridge between Free Software
issues on the one side and education and culture on the other.
You can find a list of all FSFE newsletters on
http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/newsletter.en.html
FREE SOFTWARE DIRECTORY NEARS 5000 ENTRIES. The Free Software Foundation
announces contest in celebration.
----BOSTON, August 22, 2006
The Free Software Foundation announces details of a contest to celebrate
the milestone of reaching 5000 free software packages listed in the Free
Software Directory http://directory.fsf.org
The Free Software Directory, a project of the Free Software Foundation
(FSF), is the largest single catalog of completely free software, and
has over two million visitors a month. Directory entries are submitted
by the public, then checked by the FSF before inclusion.
To mark the milestone of reaching 5000 entries, the FSF is holding a
"D5000 contest" the winner of which will be rewarded for submitting the
five thousandth entry. From now, 2006-08-21, until 2006-09-21, each new,
valid and completed directory entry that is submitted will count as one
chit in the raffle for the prize. The winner will receive a thank you on
the front page of gnu.org and directory.fsf.org. Further details of the
competition are available at
http://www.fsf.org/news/directory-contest.html
According to Peter Brown, Executive Director of the Free Software
Foundation, "the free software directory demonstrates that usable,
productive free software exists for an exhaustive range of personal,
artistic and business uses. With its increasing size and usage, the
directory has become a vital tool for a worldwide community of free
software users."
----30----
About the 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. The 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. The FSF
also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of
freedom in the use of software. Their Web site, located at www.fsf.org,
is an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to
support their work can be made at http://fsf.org/join They are
headquartered in Boston, MA, USA.
Media contacts:
Peter Brown
Free Software Foundation
Tel. 617-542-5942 ext.13
peterb(a)fsf.org
_______________________________________________
FSF And GNU Press mailing list <info-press(a)gnu.org>
http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-press
1. SELF project officially launched
2. Second draft of the GPLv3 presented
3. Bernhard Reiter spoke at University of Bayreuth (Germany)
4. Free Software at Campus Party in Valencia (Spain)
5. Experts Meeting on Internet Governance Forum
6. Microsoft fined another 1.5m EUR per day, 280.5m EUR total
7. FSFE servers moved
1. SELF project officially launched
The SELF project has been officially launched with a kick-off meeting in
Amsterdam followed by a one day conference at The Hague. SELF
stands for Scientific Education and Learning in Freedom and will set
up a platform for Free educational materials about Free Software and
Open Standards. The project is funded by the sixth framework programme
of the European Commission and includes partners from Bulgaria, Spain,
Sweden, Germany, India, Argentina and the Netherlands. FSFE is
participating with Georg Greve and Jonas Öberg in all areas of the
project and is responsible for the coordination of all legal issues.
More information is available at
http://www.selfproject.eu
Georg Greve has blogged about the kick off conference:
http://www.fsfe.org/fellows/greve/freedom_bits/self_kick_off_conference_in_…
2. Second draft of the GPLv3 presented
After seven months of discussion and more than 1000 comments made
through the public consultation process, the Free Software Foundation
has published the second draft for the GNU General Public License
(GPL) Version 3 and the first draft for the GNU Lesser General Public
License (LGPL) Version 3 which is now designed as a set of permissive
exceptions to GPLv3.
Ciarán O'Riordan has prepared a list of changes between the first and
the second draft for GPLv3 as well as a list of changes between the
second draft for GPLv3 and the GPLv2. Both are available via FSFE's
GPLv3 project page:
http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3/gplv3.en.html
3. Bernhard Reiter spoke at University of Bayreuth (Germany)
Bernhard Reiter was invited by the economics department of the
University of Bayreuth (Germany) to speak about software patents. After
two other speakers gave a general introduction into the topic, he
focused his presentation on the practical implications of software
patentability.
4. Free Software at Campus Party in Valencia (Spain)
The FSFE participated actively in the 10th edition of Campus Party in
Valencia. Stefano Maffulli gave three speeches, talking about FSFE,
the Fellowship program and the threat of DRM. The presentations will be
published shortly on the new Advocacy section of www.fsfe.org.
5. Experts Meeting on Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
One of the outcomes of the United Nations World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS) was the establishment of an Internet
Governance Form (IGF). This forum plans to provide room for discussion
and potential consensus building on various forms of regulation
concerning the Internet. In preparation for this year's first IGF, in
Athens, Greece, FSFE's president Georg Greve participated in a two day
expert meeting to discuss possibilities and challenges that the IGF
creates.
6. Microsoft fined another 1.5m EUR per day, 280.5m EUR total
Due to Microsoft's continued refusal to make its interoperability
information available to competitors, the European Commission fined
Microsoft 1.5m EUR per day retroactively from 16th December 2005. FSFE
has been active in this case since the original investigation in 2001,
working to represent and protect the interests of the Samba Project,
which is by now more than 10 years behind in their implementation of
interoperable software due to Microsoft's protocol manipulation games.
More information available at
http://mail.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release/2006q3/000147.html
7. FSFE servers moved
On the 20th and 21st of July, the servers hosting most of the FSFE
infrastructure were moved to Örebro University in Sweden who graciously
has donated rack space and bandwidth for the servers. The FSFE would
like to express our thanks to Örebro University for providing these
facilities, as well as our deepest thanks to Göteborg University, who
previously provided the bandwidth and rack space.
You can find a list of all FSFE newsletters on
http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/newsletter.en.html
Nominations are requested by 31 October 2006.
BOSTON, August 8, 2006 -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the GNU
Project announce the request for nominations for the 2006 Award for the
Advancement of Free Software. This annual award is presented to a person
who has made a great contribution to the progress and development of
free software, through activities that accord with the spirit of
software freedom (as defined in the Free Software Definition).
Last year's winner Andrew Tridgell was recognized for his work as
originator and developer of the Samba project, and for his
contributions to the Linux kernel. Tridgell joined a prestigious list
of previous winners including Theo de Raadt, Alan Cox, Miguel de
Icaza, Larry Lessig, Brian Paul, Guido van Rossum, and Larry Wall.
Any kind of activity could be eligible for the award -- writing
software, writing documentation, publishing software, journalism -- but
whatever the activity, we want to recognize long-term central
contributions to the development of the world of software freedom.
"Accord with the spirit" means, for example, that software, manuals, or
collections of them (online or on CD), must be entirely free. Work done
commercially is eligible, but we give this award to individuals, not to
companies, organizations, or teams.
Previous winners of this award are not eligible for nomination, but
renomination of other previous nominees is encouraged. From those who are
eligible, the award committee will try to choose the person who has made the
greatest contribution.
The 2005 award committee was composed of: Peter H. Salus (chair), Richard
Stallman, Alan Cox (winner 2003), Lawrence Lessig (winner 2002), Guido van
Rossum (winner 2001), Frederic Couchet, Jonas Oberg, Hong Feng, Bruce Perens,
Raju Mathur, Suresh Ramasubramanian, Enrique A. Chaparro, and Ian Murdock.
Please send your nominations to award-nominations(a)gnu.org, on or before Monday
31 October 2006. Please submit nominations in the following format:
- Put the name of the person you are nominating in the email message
subject line.
- Please include, in the body of your message, an explanation (40
lines or less) of the work the person has done and why you think
it is especially important to software freedom.
- Please state, in the body of your message, where to find the
materials (e.g., software, manuals, or writing) which your
nomination is based on.
Information about the previous awards can be found at
http://www.fsf.org/fs-award.
*** About The 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. The 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. The 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.fsf.org, is an important source
of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support their work can be made at
http://donate.fsf.org. Their headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.
--
John Sullivan
Program Administrator | Phone: (617)542-5942 x23
51 Franklin Street, 5th Fl. | Fax: (617)542-2652
Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA | GPG: AE8600B6
_______________________________________________
FSF And GNU Press mailing list <info-press(a)gnu.org>
http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-press
GPL Version 3, Draft #2 Published Today
Updating Free Software's Top Licence
After six months of public comment, the second public discussion draft of
GPLv3 is now online - responding to public input about patents, Digital
Restrictions Management, and global enforceability among other things.
Version 2 of the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL), published in 1991,
is the most widely used Free Software licence, and possibly the most
widely used single licence in the World.
The public process for drafting version 3 began on January 16th when a first
discussion draft was published. The final, official version 3 is slated for
release in early 2007. Today, the 2nd public discussion draft has gone
online.
To explain the proposed changes, and to raise awareness of the
process, members of Free Software Foundation Europe have been
travelling around Europe, and to the international GPLv3 conferences
in Boston, Brazil, and Barcelona.
The GNU GPL aims to ensure that everyone that receives a copy of the
software, also receives permission to study it, to change it, and to
distribute modified or unmodified copies. The GNU GPL is the real world
implementation of this ideal, and not only has the tactic proved practical,
but the GNU GPL has also been so-far found enforceable World-wide. Version
3 is an evolution - and upgrade, not a rewrite - on the current licence.
Georg Greve, President of FSFE commented: "People sometimes have the
feeling that the GNU GPL has been around forever, and they would not be
entirely wrong. Published in 1991, the GNU GPL has proven to be
exceptionally successful throughout the past fifteen years." Greve
continued, "with such an exceptional success, one will change as little as
possible. But there are changes in the legal and technical environment, as
well as the position of Free Software and its community, that made some
changes advisable. The process to update the licence is aiming at a global
GPLv3 drafting team, and everyone is invited to participate."
Ciaran O'Riordan added: "This is a new type of project for the Free
Software community, so we're pleased it's going so well. The GPL lays
down the terms under which people can distribute free software. It
requires that everyone respect certain freedoms for others, and this
applies the same for individuals, project teams, networks, right the way
up to multinationals. There will be no change in these goals of the GPL -
the freedoms to help yourself and for everyone to help each other are
ethical imperatives and won't be compromised. The added value of version
3 is being created by everyone working together to preserve freedom
against problems that didn't exist in 1991, and to make it as solid and
unambiguous as possible - the World over."
More information about the draft and how the public participates is at:
http://fsfeurope.org/projects/gplv3
And the official GPLv3 website is at:
http://gplv3.fsf.org
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
of 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.
www.fsfeurope.org
Commission to Microsoft: Preventing interoperability has a price
FSFE welcomes the decision by the European Commission.
"Microsoft is still as far from allowing competition as it was on the
day of the original Commission ruling in 2004. All proposals made by
Microsoft were deliberately exclusive of Samba, the major remaining
competitor. In that light, the fines do not seem to come early, and
they do not seem high," comments Carlo Piana, Milano based lawyer of
the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) regarding the decision of
the European Commission to fine Microsoft 1.5 million Euro per day
retroactively from 16. December 2005, totalling 280.5 million Euro.
Should Microsoft not come into compliance until the end of July 2006,
the daily fines could be doubled.
These fines are a reaction to Microsofts continued lack of compliance
with the European Commission decision to make interoperability
information available to competitors as a necessary precondition to
allow fair competition. FSFE has supported the European Commission
>From the start of the suit in 2001.
Having made similar statements during the hearing, Microsoft commented
to the press last week [1] that 300 engineers are currently working
"day and night" to fulfill the request of the public authorities.
"If we are to believe Microsofts numbers, it appears that 120.000
person days are not enough to document its own software. This is a
task that good software developers do during the development of
software, and a hallmark of bad engineering," comments Georg Greve,
president of the FSFE. "For users, this should be a shock: Microsoft
apparently does not know the software that controls 95% of all desktop
computers on this planet. Imagine General Motors releasing a press
statement to the extent that even though they had 300 of their best
engineers work on this for two years, they cannot provide
specifications for the cars they built."
Many companies run a mixed network of Windows, GNU/Linux, Unix and
other operating systems (OS). The Windows products understand each
other, and all the other operating systems can talk to each other. It
is the connection between the two worlds that was deliberatly
obfuscated a few years ago by Microsoft, and that the Samba project is
working on.
During the main hearing at the European Court of Justice toward the
end of April, the president and founder of Samba Dr. Andrew Tridgell
presented the work of the Samba Team work. Among other things, he
demonstrated a box for roughly 100 EUR. If Microsoft did not hide its
interoperability information, that box would already be capable of
administrating hundreds of users. A small 100 EUR box could do the
same task that is currently done by an entire PC for 1.000,- EUR.
"Dr. Tridgell demonstrated easily what kind of innovation is locked
out of the market by Microsofts refusal to interoperate with other
vendors. In this case, the price of that refusal are domain
controllers that are ten times more expensive than necessary, and the
price is paid by everyone: private businesses, public authorities and
society as a whole," Georg Greve summarises.
He concludes: "When will society refuse to legitimise such business
practices by buying from companies that exhibit such behaviour?"
[1] http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2006/07/04/216779/Microsoft+working+…
About the Free Software Foundation Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) 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 FSFE. The
FSFE was founded in 2001 as the European sister organisation of the
Free Software Foundation in the United States.
Further information: http://fsfeurope.org