FSFE: "Microsoft offers poisoned apple" - "Praises premature in hindsight"
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) critically reviews
Microsoft's offer to publish source code instead of protocols.
Georg Greve, President of FSFE explains: "The European Commission
asked Microsoft to publish their protocols to allow others to write
interoperable software and to re-establish competition. That does not
appear to have happened, at least the terms under which the protocols
are supposedly available are not clear. What they have done instead is
publish source code, which they weren't asked to do."
In a press release [1] Microsoft announced yesterday "to license all
the Windows Server source code". This would underscore Microsoft's
"commitment to resolve compliance issues".
According to FSFE this would not be of any help, but would cause
additional troubles. Carlo Piana, FSFE's lawyer explains: "This
'commitment' is poisoned - they do it in a way that worsens the
situation for Free Software: Because that source code is under
Microsoft copyright, developers who have seen the source code cannot
reimplement it in Free Software for fear of copyright violation."
Even worse, "Microsoft might try to shut down competition by making
claims of copyright infringement based on the argument that the
developer 'could' have looked at the source code", Piana forecasts.
Georg Greve adds: "Indeed. How exactly are developers supposed to
write interoperable software without looking at the source code if the
specifications are not available? If you eat from that apple, you find
yourself poisoned by their copyright."
After their welcoming of Microsoft's new 'Shared Source' Licences [2]
which were substantially improved over their previous licensing
proposals, FSFE was willing to give Microsoft the benefit of the
doubt.
"It now seems clear this was just another marketing ploy: Yesterday
Microsoft acted like a robber that, when asked to please put away the
gun, tosses you a grenade. Our praise seemed premature in hindsight",
Greve finishes.
[1]
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/jan06/01-25EUSourceCodePR.mspx
[2] http://mail.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release/2005q4/000120.html
About the Free Software Foundation Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), founded 2001, 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. The 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. Further
information about FSFE's work can be found at http://fsfeurope.org,
--
Joachim Jakobs <jj(a)office.fsfeurope.org>
Media Relations - FSF Europe (http://fsfeurope.org)
mobile: +49-179-6919565
Join the Fellowship and protect your freedom! (http://www.fsfe.org)
1. Celebrating the 20th newsletter
2. Georg Greve at LACFREE in Recife in Brazil
3. Henrik Sandklef at Chalmers University in Gothenburg
4. Karsten Gerloff at the 22nd CCC in Berlin
5. Voicing security concerns against personal pressure
6. Free Software energy in Northern Ireland
1. Celebrating the 20th newsletter
This is the 20th edition of the Free Software Foundation Europe's
monthly newsletter. Written by the FSFE team for the community, the
newsletter has become an important means to inform interested people
about FSFE's activities. Thanks to the excellent work of the FSFE
translators team, the newsletter is available in at least 4 languages
every month, most of the time even 5 or 6 languages.
2. Georg Greve at LACFREE in Recife, Brazil
While Brazil generally has a reputation as one of the leading Free
Software nations, the Brazilian Northeast has had very little activity
in this area. That is why UNESCO supported the Latin American and
Caribbean Conference on Free Software Development and Usage (LACFREE)
in Recife, the capital of Pernambuco, a city with social inequality
statistics comparable to Namibia. FSFE's president Georg Greve
participated in no less than four workshops: one about the Free
Software Foundations and our international network, one about Free
Software in Education and Culture, one about Legal issues of Free
Software and one about Free Software and eGovernance, totalling in no
less than four speeches and 12 hours of panel time in just three
days. Additionally, he gave interviews for a state newspaper and a
community radio.
http://www.fsfe.org/fellows/greve/freedom_bits/lacfree_2005
3. Henrik Sandklef at Chalmers University in Gothenburg
Henrik Sandklef held a presentation at the Chalmers University of
Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. The topic he talked about included
the concept of Free Software, the Free Software Foundations, the GNU
project, and current threats to software freedom like IPRED or DRM.
4. Karsten Gerloff at the 22nd CCC in Berlin
At the Chaos Computer Club's 22nd Chaos Communication Congress in
Berlin, Germany, Karsten Gerloff gave a talk on Free Software, Access to
Knowledge and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). At
the center of the talk was the importance of Access to Knowledge for
culture and development.
5. Voicing security concerns against personal pressure
Thomas Maus, a German IT security consultant, gave a talk at the Chaos
Communication Congress in which he raised concerns about electronic
health file systems as planned in Germany and possibly other countries.
Last year he did a talk about examining one test system finding major
security problems. Subsequently there have been various attempts to
suppress his questions. The 2005 talk included some details how this was
done. While the problems of the planned health system are a scandal in
itself, this is also a major example that legislation forbidding reverse
engineering or examining digital restriction systems can be and will be
used to make it practially impossible for a public to inspect and
criticise large and vital computer systems. Single experts like Mr. Maus
can be pressured too easily. This is why the FSFE supported him and made
it possible that this information is public now.
One of our press release is available in German:
http://mail.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release-de/2005q4/000081.html
You will find the two talks online at (in German):
http://events.ccc.de/congress/2005/fahrplan/events/546.en.html
The one from 2004 had not been available for almost a year.
6. Free Software energy in Northern Ireland
There has been a recent flurry of interest in Free Software in Northern
Ireland, both within industry associations and GNU/Linux users. During
December, Ciaran O'Riordan was in contact with many individuals and
organisations, and took part in a Free Software workshop in Newry. Lack
of central communication points was highlighted as a core problem, so,
to assist coordination of Free Software activities, FSFE is pleased to
announce the launch of the fsfe-ni mailing list:
http://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/fsfe-ni
You can find a list of all FSF Europe newsletters on
http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/newsletter.en.html
1. First Austrian Fellowship meeting
2. Tweakfest in Zürich
3. UN World Summit on Information Society
4. LinuxWorld Expo in Frankfurt/Main
5. Seminar in Dublin about preventing software patentability
6. Jornadas Regionales de Software Libre in Rosario (Argentinia)
7. LinuxDay in Italy
8. Removal of Free Software from WSIS "Vienna Conclusions"
9. Welcoming the Free Software Foundation Latin America
1. First Austrian Fellowship meeting
Karin Kosina and Reinhard Müller organized the first Austrian Fellowship
meeting, where Fellows and other people interested in the work of the
FSFE could meet, get information about the FSFE and share experiences
and opinions about Free Software. Due to the positive feedback from the
participants, such meetings will be organized about bi-monthly in
Vienna, and other members of the FSFE are starting to organize similar
events in other cities. All these events will, as usual, be announced on
the Fellowship website.
http://www.fsfe.org/
2. Tweakfest in Zürich
The Zürich Academy of Design and Art was the location for the two-day
digital media and arts conference "Tweakfest 2005 - Visions of Digital
Life Style". Georg Greve gave a keynote about the significance of
digital freedom, the global situation of knowledge regulation and
afterwards participated in a panel discussion titled "Copy Right". He
also enjoyed seeing dancing robots, which you can read about on his
blog:
http://www.fsfe.org/fellows/greve/freedom_bits/back_from_tweakfest_ch_2005
3. UN World Summit on Information Society (WSIS)
The UN World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) has seen an impressing
amount of media coverage during the last month; mainly because of the
discussions within the Working Group on Internet Governance (WGIG). The
FSFE, however, has been involved in the WSIS process since its start,
and much of the work involved over the last years has remained largely
unrecognized by the public, even though it now turned out to be very
valuable.
In Bilbao in Spain, there was a Summit of Cities and Local Authorities
in preparation of the WSIS in Tunis. Around 2000 local representatives
from all over the world attended, and Jonas Öberg represented the FSFE.
He made a presentation on freedom of information laws and how it relates
to Free Software.
FSFE's president Georg Greve participated in the second phase of the
summit in Tunis, Tunisia, coordinating the drafting of the Patents,
Copyrights and Trademarks (PCT) working group of Civil Society for the
final Civil Society declaration, as well as documenting various of the
interesting projects in his blog and having interesting discussions
with many people. He also participated in a side event on the future
of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), including WIPO
deputy director-general Philippe Petit, which received much attention.
http://www.fsfe.org/fellows/greve/freedom_bits/off_to_tunis
4. LinuxWorld Expo in Frankfurt/Main
The FSFE was present with a booth at the LinuxWorld Expo in
Frankfurt/Main, Germany. Volker Dormeyer, Joachim Jakobs, Myriam
Schweingruber, Michael Kallas, Bernhard Reiter, Reinhard Müller,
Cornelius Wasmund, and Matthias Kirschner were able to answer a lot of
questions about Free Software on the booth. Again, Volker did a great
job organizing FSFE's appearance at this event.
5. Seminar in Dublin about preventing software patentability
Ciaran O'Riordan gave the keynote and participated in a lively questions
and answers session, along with Gareth Bowker, in a seminar organised by
O'Riordan with Irish Free Software Organisation. The audience included
journalists, policy setters, and the largest of Ireland's pro software
patent lobby groups. A transcript of the Questions and Answers session
is online, and audio and video recordings should be online in the near
future:
http://ifso.ie/events/2005-11-18/
6. 5th Jornadas Regionales de Software Libre in Rosario (Argentina)
The Jornadas Regionales de Software Libre are a wandering event in
Argentina, and the 5th edition was organised by a very dedicated group
of Free Software activists in Rosario. Georg Greve gave a keynote
titled "Digital Freedom - why it matters and how to protect it" and
used the opportunity to spend some time with the Latin American Free
Software community. Also, after most of the event had been spent
peer-reviewing the statutes and giving all conference participants the
chance to comment, it then saw the official launch of FSFE's new sister
organisation, the Free Software Foundation Latin America (FSFLA). In
the name of the FSFE, Georg Greve participated as a guest to the
official introduction and welcomed the FSFLA in the global network of
Free Software Foundations.
7. LinuxDay in Italy
The LinuxDay is a group of Free Software events all over Italy which
is coordinated by the Italian Linux Society and organised by local
user groups. FSFE participated for the first time this year at the
national level sending a video message from Stefano Maffulli, wishing
everybody a great day for the Italian Free Software community. The 8
minute video covered the history of the Free Software movement, the
successes and the future battles, including IPRED2 and the fight against
the infamous Legge Urbani.
The video, only in Italian, is available at
http://www.italy.fsfeurope.org/it/events/2005/linuxday/linuxday.en.html
8. Removal of Free Software from WSIS "Vienna Conclusions"
In June 2005, FSFE members Georg Greve and Karin Kosina participated
in the "ICT & Creativity" conference in Vienna. The outcome of this
conference were the "Vienna Conclusions", which were substantially
different from the text that the working group had concluded in Vienna:
All references to Free Software had been removed, promotion of Digital
Restriction Management (DRM) had been added, and statements about the
central role of software for the digital society had been watered down
-- apparently on request of Microsoft and IFPI.
A more extensive summary about the entire proceedings can be found in
a groklaw article written by Georg Greve:
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20051130185547876
9. Welcoming the Free Software Foundation Latin America
With its involvement in UN Organisations like WSIS or WIPO, the Free
Software Foundation Europe has extended its work beyond the borders of
Europe. Looking at these experiences, the FSFE is more than ever
committed to the concept of a world wide network of equal Free Software
Foundations working together in intense cooperation.
The entire Free Software Foundation Europe is proud and happy for its
new sister organisation and is glad that it could do its part in
helping to bring it about. The FSFE warmly welcome the FSFLA in the
network of Free Software Foundations and looks forward to fruitful
cooperation.
You can find a list of all FSF Europe newsletters on
http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/newsletter.en.html
[ for immediate release and distribution ]
Fellow Me: No more Vienna Manipulations!
When FSFE's president first brought attention to the manipulation of
the "Vienna Conclusions" published by the Austrian government for the
United Nation World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) as part
of the World Summit Award (WSA) in his blog, many people were shocked.
When details of how Microsoft and IFPI managed to remove Free Software
and insert promotion of Digital Restriction Management (DRM) in its
stead became known, more media took notice.
On Friday, 2 December 2005, GROKLAW now published [1] the entire story
and its evolution, causing many people to voice their frustration and
anger in the comments about this obvious disrespect for democratic
procedures and the blatant way in which it was conducted.
Several people have expressed their desire to do something against
such conduct and let others know how much they are disgusted by it. So
Georg Greve, president of FSFE, has provided [2] a way in which you
can let everyone know what YOU think about this, a button saying
"Fellow Me: No more Vienna Manipulations!" to link to the story and/or
Fellowship site at http://www.fsfe.org. This button has already been
picked up by a couple of companies and individuals.
Help to make others aware of what happened to this prestigious United
Nations document! Express your feelings about the way the Vienna
Conclusions were turned into the "Vienna Manipulations," let everyone
know this is NOT the way you want politics to be done, and help make
sure to prevent this kind of manipulation in the future by joining the
Fellowship of FSFE [3] and encouraging others to do the same.
Please help us make sure this will not be accepted by silent consent,
and that our disagreement will not be forgotten!
[1] http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20051130185547876
[2] http://www.fsfe.org/fellows/greve/freedom_bits/fellow_me_say_no_to_vienna_m…
[3] https://fsfe.org/en/fsfeuser/register
About the Free Software Foundation Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), founded 2001, 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. The 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.
Further information about FSFE's work can be found at
http://fsfeurope.org, get active yourself at
http://fsfeurope.org/contribute/
FSFE files application for leave to intervene in antitrust suit against
Microsoft
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) today filed an application
for leave to intervene in the antitrust suit against Microsoft. Georg
Greve, President of FSFE said: "The more Microsoft is able to purchase
its opponents' solidarity, the more important FSFE's commitment to
freedom and interoperability is."
According to Greve, FSFE meets Microsoft and other adversaries of
freedom in various venues these days: "Yesterday there was a hearing
in Brussels regarding the 'Intellectual Property Rights European
Enforcement Directive' (IPRED2) - a directive pushed by the
rights-holding industry to raise the barriers around their
distribution monopolies. Last week we discovered how Microsoft was
able to rewrite the Vienna Conclusions on ICT and Creativity for the
World Summit on Information Society (WSIS). Earlier this summer we
helped save Europe from the serious troubles caused by software
patents."
He continues: "All these initiatives aim at limiting the freedom of
software developers and normal people in their everyday life
alike. But many people don't realise how their freedom is being
threatened. If they want to keep it, they need to stand up and defend
it. One way of doing that is by joining The Fellowship of FSFE today,
and by encouraging others to join."
About the Free Software Foundation Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), founded 2001, 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. The 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. Further
information about FSFE's work can be found at http://fsfeurope.org,
get active yourself at http://fsfeurope.org/contribute/.
--
Joachim Jakobs <jj(a)office.fsfeurope.org>
Media Relations - FSF Europe (http://fsfeurope.org)
fixed line: +49 700 - 373387673, Ext.: 4004
mobile: +49-179-6919565
Join the Fellowship and protect your freedom! (http://www.fsfe.org)
1. Fellowship portal migrated to eZ publish
2. Joint Statement of FSFE and FSF Latin America to WIPO GA
3. WSIS workshop on internet governance and human rights
4. Workshop about Free Software in Austrian schools
5. Internet Hungary 2005
6. Valtellinux in Caiolo (Italy)
7. Internetdagarna in Stockholm (Sweden)
8. FSFE's political message in Ireland
9. Georg Greve in Brazil
10. Real Networks leaves antitrust EU case
11. Microsoft's new "shared source" licenses
1. Fellowship portal migrated to eZ publish
After the Fellowship portal has been online with basic functionality for
several months, it was becoming clear that the FSFE does not have enough
manpower available to stabilize and extend it further as planned.
However, eZ systems generously offered the migration of the portal to
eZ publish and its maintenance as a contribution to the Free Software
community. Now, after the migration is complete, the portal is already
faster and more functional, even though it is still under development.
https://www.fsfe.org/
2. Joint Statement of FSFE and FSF Latin America to WIPO GA
The Free Software Foundation Europe and its sister organisation, the
Free Software Foundation Latin America, issued a statement towards the
2005 WIPO general assemblies in which they strongly criticise current
plans about the Broadcasting Treaty. The Broadcasting Treaty would
create another layer of monopolisation on material that is transmitted
in various forms, including the Internet: broadcasting companies would
get a prohibitive privilege lasting for 50 years on all broadcasted
images and sounds without any gain by society.
In the same statement, the Free Software Foundations in Europe and
Latin America emphasise that to promote creativity, WIPO should seek
to support new and alternative means of fostering creativity in the
interest of humankind, not add more layers of monopolisation.
http://www.fsfeurope.org/projects/wipo/statement-20050930.en.html
3. WSIS workshop on internet governance and human rights
Jonas Öberg participated in the WSIS workshop on internet governance and
human rights at Uppsala University in Sweden. The workshop was focused
on the human rights issues in relation to the WGIG (UN Working Group
for Internet Governance). Besides taking part in the discussions, Jonas
also managed to establish some interesting contacts.
4. Workshop about Free Software in Austrian schools
The Danube University Krems in Austria organised a workshop about Free
Software in Austrian schools. Karin Kosina opened the workshop with a
general introduction to Free Software and its relevance for the
educational sector.
The general consensus after the meeting was that while there are many
strong local groups, there should be more focus on working together and
coordinating the activities in the future. The initiators are planning
to organise a follow-up event.
5. Internet Hungary 2005
Stefano Maffulli held a speech at Internet Hungary 2005, Hungary's
biggest professional conference for internet users. The focus of the
conference was on possible business activities for communication and
media industry. Stefano's speech was about software freedom and
business freedom.
6. Valtellinux in Caiolo (Italy)
FSFE participated to the annual meeting of Free Software users in the
beautiful valley Valtellina, in the Italian Alps. Stefano Maffulli
presented the Fellowship, and Alessandro Rubini gave a speech about
embedded GNU/Linux.
7. Internetdagarna in Stockholm (Sweden)
The Swedish Internet infrastructure foundation organised the conference
"Internetdagarna 2005" in Stockholm, Sweden. Several issues were
discussed during the conference, including a discussion on Sweden's IT
policy and the dangers of a digital divide. Jonas Öberg participated
throughout the conference.
8. FSFE's political message in Ireland
FSFE's Brussels Representative, Ciaran O'Riordan, gave the opening talk
at this year's annual general meeting of the Irish Linux User Group.
O'Riordan spoke of the recent software patents legislation, the new
IPRED2 legislation, the unseen work of FSFE, and how to support FSFE and
national Free Software organisations.
9. Georg Greve in Brazil
During a trip that brought him to Sao Paulo, Campinas and Manaus,
Georg Greve participated in the III Encontro de Software Livre do
Amazonas (ESLAM) in the north of Brazil: Giving two speeches on Free
Software and the dangers to freedom in software he greatly enjoyed the
opportunity to participate in this exceptional conference and meet
many old and new friends in the local Free Software community.
10. Real Networks leaves antitrust EU case
As part of their USD 761 Million deal with Microsoft, Real Networks
has now left the antitrust case against Microsoft. After the record
fine of EUR 500 Million, Microsoft has now spent roughly six times
that amount to solicit support away from the European Commission: This
brings the number of parties in support of the EC down to two,
including the Free Software Foundation Europe. This case increasingly
turns into an impressive demonstration why it is so important that
FSFE is independent and its positions are incorruptible.
http://mail.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release/2005q4/000118.html
11. Microsoft's new "shared source" licenses
For some time now Microsoft has tried to play on the common confusion
around "Open Source" with its "Shared Source" program. Now they released
five simplified licenses, two of which are being thoroughly screened by
the FSF Licensing Committee: they might turn out to be Free Software
compliant, one of them mildly Copyleft, even. Given previous Microsoft
statements about the Copyleft approach and in particular the GNU GPL as
"viral", "cancerous" and "communist", seeing Microsoft now publish
licenses applying the very same principles came as quite a surprise.
Of course there are two large caveats before starting to celebrate
Microsoft as a Free Software company: Publishing a license does not
mean much before significant software is released under that license,
and it would have been preferable to use directly the most successful
Copyleft licenses, the GNU General Public License (GPL) and Lesser
General Public License (LGPL) for its "Shared Source" program.
http://mail.fsfeurope.org/pipermail/press-release/2005q4/000120.html
You can find a list of all FSF Europe newsletters on
http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/newsletter.en.html
[for immediate release]
FSFE: Early comment on new Microsoft Shared Source Licenses
"Since we so rarely have opportunity to say something positive about
Microsoft, let me begin by congratulating them", says Georg Greve,
president of Free Software Foundation Europe. "Microsoft finally seems
to have made a step forward on their long march towards giving their
users freedom: of the five licenses published, our cursory first
analysis suggests that two of them indeed fulfill the Free Software
Definition."
According to FSFEs first glance, the "Microsoft Permissive License"
(Ms-PL) and "Microsoft Community License" (Ms-CL) both appear to
satisfy the four freedoms that define Free Software. In particular:
The Ms-CL also appears to implement a variation of the Copyleft idea,
which was first implemented by the GNU General Public License (GPL).
Given previous Microsoft statements about the Copyleft approach and in
particular the GNU GPL as 'viral', 'cancerous' and 'communist', seeing
Microsoft now publish licenses applying the very same principles seems
quite an evolution.
Naturally, it is not the publication of licenses, but the publication
of software under a Free Software license, that gives people freedom:
It is indeed not very useful if every company, administration or
author publishes their own license; so it would have been preferrable
if Microsoft had made the decision to use the GNU General Public
License (GPL) and Lesser General Public License (LGPL) for its Shared
Source program.
Far more than 50% of Free Software worldwide is published under these
licenses, they are very well-known and people trust them for good
reason.
"Microsoft has walked a mile and is now standing mere inches from the
GNU (L)GPL: We fully understand that Microsoft is first trying to get
the nail of its little toe wet in the Free Software community, and we
welcome that," continues Greve. "But in the course of time we would
prefer to see Microsoft join the large global community of commercial
GNU (L)GPL vendors."
"For now it will be good if Microsoft starts relicensing its portfolio
under the Ms-PL or Ms-CL; but we still have to warn people to be
careful about the 'Shared Source' label and look at the specific
licenses: The other three licenses of the Shared Source program are
clearly proprietary and obviously do not qualify as Free Software."
Greve finishes.
The Free Software Foundations will need more time to study all these
licenses and their interactions with other licenses in depth, so this
is not a final evaluation -- and the final evaluation may as well
reveal problems that were not visible at first sight.
Microsoft still has a long way to go, but for now it seems they made a
step in the right direction, and the Free Software Foundation Europe
hopes they will keep it up.
About the Free Software Foundation Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), founded 2001, 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. The 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.
Further information about FSFE's work can be found at
http://fsfeurope.org, get active yourself at
http://fsfeurope.org/contribute/.
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) announces the creation of a new
annual award, and a call for nominations:
"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.
This award 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 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
<http://www.fsf.org/news/fs-award-2005.html>).
We will consider any project or team that uses free software or its
philosophy to address a goal important to society. 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
<http://www.fsf.org/licensing/essays/free-sw.html>. Work done
commercially is eligible, but we will give this award to the project
or team who best utilizes resources for society's greater benefit.
Please send your nominations to <award-nominations(a)gnu.org>, on or
before Monday 30 November 2005. 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.
We will announce the members of the 2005 award committee shortly.
--
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
FSFE urges European Commission to keep defending European economic interests
"We congratulate Microsoft on effective use of their considerable
financial resources: First they manage to pay off Sun, then Novell and
the CCIA. Now they convinced Real Networks to serve their own head on
a silver platter for just US $761 Million," comments Georg
Greve, president of the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) on the
recent agreement between Real Networks and Microsoft. "Given that
people were stunned by the apparently large antitrust fine of 500
Million EUR, it is interesting to see how Microsoft has now spent six
to seven times that amount on the case just to make sure they won't
have to compete in an open market."
"Apple turned down an offer for cooperation from Real Networks in
April 2004; teaming up with Microsoft in response is a classic
tactical mistake. If they successfully push Apple out of the market,
Real Networks will be at the mercy of Microsoft; and if they fail it
leaves them out of business. Either way, RealNetworks loses: How long
will they survive a full Microsoft onslaught once they are the only
two remaining players?" Greve concludes.
"Microsoft is the clear winner in this situation: they convinced Sun,
Novell, CCIA and Real Networks to desert the only protection they
could turn to now and in the future", Carlo Piana, Milano based lawyer
of FSFE says and concludes: "This shows how serious Microsoft takes
this case, how much the Commission investigation means to them. At the
same time they keep making billions of money by not changing the very
same practices that earned them an antitrust case in the first place."
"We have to ask ourselves who is going to pay those billions", asks
Piana and immediately gives the answer: "All of you, the customers,
pay that money in higher fees and more monopolies. That is why we urge
the Commission to keep the case up."
Greve summarises: "FSFE will not stop defending everyones freedom in our
digital society, in addition we are not for sale. We have discovered we
may be the only party that will see this case through to the end,
standing by the side of the Commission. You can help us do that job by
supporting our work and you can achieve something yourself by replacing
the proprietary software on your computers today."
About the Free Software Foundation Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), founded 2001, 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. The 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. Further
information about FSFE's work can be found at http://fsfeurope.org,
get active yourself at http://fsfeurope.org/contribute/.
1. IPRED2 - the new attack against freedom
2. Stichting NLnet donate 150,000 EUR to support GPLv3 activities
3. Alessandro Rubini in Slovenia
4. Stefano Maffulli at the OpenOffice.org Conference in Slovenia
1. IPRED2 - the new attack against freedom
The European Commission has recently published it's draft for a second
directive on the enforcement of "intellectual property rights." The
text proposes criminalising most infringements of patents, copyrights,
and trademarks, and also criminalising the aiding, abetting, or
inciting of such an infringement. By requiring that jail sentences,
large fines, and other harsh punishments be available for these new
crimes, this directive could create enough fear to prevent citizens
and companies from participating in the production and distribution of
software, and to an extent, the use of software and the publication of
information. It would also turn patent, trademark, and copyright laws
into affordable weapons for well-funded companies to use on
competitors.
Ciaran O'Rioran has put together a page in which he explains how this
directive could be abused to harm Free Software and what can be done
against it.
http://www.fsfeurope.org/projects/ipred2/
2. Stichting NLnet donate 150,000 EUR to support GPLv3 activities
Stichting NLnet, a non-profit foundation based in The Netherlands,
announced to donate 150,000 EUR to support the GPLv3 activities of the
Free Software Foundation and the Free Software Foundation Europe. This
is an important contribution, and NLnet hopes to encourage other
grant-making organisations to help fund this unique project.
3. Alessandro Rubini in Slovenia
In Portoroz in Slovenia, Alessandro Rubini participated in a business
conference about Free Software. He gave a talk about the the use of
Free Software in business and participated in a round table discussion
about how the government should help Free Software companies grow. Apart
from these official appearances, he spent most of the time in Slovenia
establishing contacts with other Free Software advocates from both
Slovenia and Croatia.
4. Stefano Maffulli at the OpenOffice.org Conference in Slovenia
At the OpenOffice.org Conference in Koper - Capodistria, Stefano
Maffulli spoke at the round table that closed OOoConf2005. The debate
ranged from the decision of Massachusetts to use OpenDocument Format to
the next advancements in OpenOffice.org. The Conference was very well
managed and the hospitality of LUG Trieste and LUGOS (Slovenia) was
wonderful.
You can find a list of all FSF Europe newsletters on
http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/newsletter.en.html