sweden June 2011

sweden@lists.fsfe.org

10 participants
4 discussions

[Sweden] FSFE fellowship kort och kortläsare
by Mikael Metz 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

Hej alla. Jag är en ny medlem av FSFE, och jag undrar vad för kortläsare som fungerar till det gröna "smarta" kortet? Det finns en lista på http://www.gnupg.org/howtos/card-howto/en/ch02s02.html, men vet ej om den är så värst uppdaterad? Jag har ett par olika Nordea kortläsare, och jag lyckades aldrig ens få e-legitimation att fungera när jag försökte för rätt länge sedan. Jag använder Debian Squeeze/stable. Några förslag och/eller tips? :) hälsningar Mikael

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[Sweden] [FSFE PR][SV] AVM violating license of the Linux kernel
by press 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

= AVM violating license of the Linux kernel = [Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2011/news-20110620-01.sv.html ] == Linux kernel at centre of battle for control of embedded devices == Berlin, 20th June - Tomorrow on June 21st a legal case will be heard before the District Court of Berlin which may have enormous consequences for the way that software is developed and distributed. The adversaries in the case are the manufacturer and distributor of DSL routers AVM Computersysteme Vertriebs GmbH (AVM), and Cybits AG (Cybits) which produces children's web-filtering software. Both companies use the Linux kernel, which is licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2 (GNU GPL); a Free Software license permitting everyone to use, study, share, and improve works which use it. The case was brought to court by AVM with the aim of preventing Cybits from changing any parts of the firmware used in AVM's routers, including the Linux kernel. The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) and gpl- violations.org consider AVM's action as a broad attack against the principles of Free Software, and thus against the thousands of individuals and companies developinging, improving and distributing Free Software. "I decided to contribute my work to the Linux kernel under the GNU GPL, and let others benefit from it. I'm happy if companies make a lot of money with software written by me and thousands of others. But in return, when they distribute our software I want them to give others the same rights they received from me", said Harald Welte, founder of gpl- violations.org and copyright holder of several parts of the Linux kernel. This is however exactly what AVM tried to avoid when in 2010 they filed two actions against Cybits. AVM claimed that when their customers install Cybits' filtering software on AVM routers it changes the routers' firmware and consequently infringes on AVM's copyright. In the opinion of AVM, even changing the Linux kernel components of the firmware is not allowed. The Court of Appeals of Berlin rejected this argument in its decision on the request for a preliminary injunction in September 2010, after Mr. Welte intervened in the case. Now, the District Court of Berlin will have to decide on the issue again, this time in the main proceedings. "This case has far reaching consequences for the future of Free Software and the GNU GPL. The GNU GPL is a legal license set by the original authors of the software. These terms are not optional" said Till Jaeger from JBB Rechtsanwälte who represents Mr. Welte in this case. If AVM succeeds in forbidding others from exercising the freedoms explicitly granted by the GNU General Public License terms, it will directly contravene the legal rights of the original authors of the programs, who decided that software freedom and cooperation is more important to them than directly receiving license fees. Moreover, there are also significant economic and business implications. First, it will give device manufacturers the chance to veto software from third parties on their products, resulting in worse products for the user and them being locked-in to purchasing future products from a particular vendor. Second, it will give companies like AVM an unfair advantage over their competitors who are in compliance with the Free Software licenses which they use. Third, it will threaten the cooperative software development model, which has been successfully used by many companies worldwide for three decades. "AVM is attacking the very foundations of Free Software: They want to take away freedom from others. We have to act when a company sues others for executing their right to modify Free Software. AVM's behaviour must not be tolerated. If they are successful in court it will be disastrous for the global market for embedded devices, which includes mobile phones, network hardware, and other Linux based products" says Matthias Kirschner, FSFE's German Coordinator. "Ironically, by preventing others from enacting the rights granted by the GNU GPL, AVM itself is in violation of the license terms. Therefore they have no right to distribute the software" says Till Jaeger. FSFE and gpl-violations.org are committed to encouraging the use of Free Software by companies and developers by making licensing and compliance as easy as possible. Generally it is considerably easier to comply with Free Software licenses than with EULAs and other license agreements for non-Free software. Often it is only necessary to add a copy of the GNU GPL license text to documentation, and add an offer to provide the software source code (see FSFE's compliance tips[1]). 1. http://fsfe.org/projects/ftf/useful-tips-for-vendors.sv.html - Link to Background Information[2] - Court decision 2nd instance (pdf, German)[3] - Intervention by Harald Welte (pdf, German)[4] - FSFE's legal page[5] - FSFE's legal team maintains a collection of documentation on Free Software Legal and Licensing topics. It also produces guides and handbooks.[6] - Frequently Asked Questions about the GNU Licenses[7] - GNU GPL version 2[8] and unofficial translations[9] 2. http://fsfe.org/projects/ftf/avm-gpl-violation.sv.html 3. http://fsfe.org/projects/ftf/kg-avm-vs-cybits.pdf 4. http://fsfe.org/projects/ftf/avm-nebenintervention.pdf 5. http://fsfe.org/projects/ftf/ftf.sv.html 6. http://fsfe.org/projects/ftf/documentation.sv.html 7. http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html 8. http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html 9. http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0-translations.html == Press contacts == Matthias Kirschner <mk at fsfe.org>, Free Software Foundation Europe Linienstraße 141, 10115 Berlin Phone: +49-30-275 95 290 Mobile: +49-1577-178 000 3 == gpl-violations.org == The gpl-violations.org project is taking legal and other means to make sure commercial users of Free Software are adhering to the GNU General Public License. gpl-violations.org has enforced the GNU GPL in hundreds of cases, most of them amicably and out of court. However, if neccessary, legal means such as warning notices, preliminary injunctions and civil copyright lawsuits are used in order to ensure companies are following-up with their obligations under the GNU GPL. gpl-violations.org was started by Free Software developer Harald Welte, who has received multiple awards in recognition of his legal efforts on enforcing the GNU GPL. == 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/ _______________________________________________ Press-release-sv mailing list Press-release-sv(a)fsfeurope.org https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/press-release-sv

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[Sweden] Proposing Patrik Willard as Deputy
by Henrik Sandklef 15 Jun '11

15 Jun '11

Hi all, I believe it's about time we get things started (so we get some things done before summer). Before Patrik and I do some work in trying to find a good working balance between us regarding collecting news for us from EU and spreading new about us all to EU, I would like to retire from my role as Deputy Coordinator Sweden and propose to have Patrik Willard (aka wildcard) to take over my job. So now, we have Sweden coordinators as follows: Coordinator Sweden: Marcus Rejås Deputy Coordinator Sweden: Patrik Willard Since Sweden is not a "real/legal organisation" here we don't need to vote following a certain procedure, but I would like to give everyone a chance to scream out loud. Hey Henrik, why English? - ...helt enkelt ett misstag, ledsen :( /h

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[Sweden] [FSFE PR][SV] FSFE Newsletter - June 2011
by press＠fsfeurope.org 04 Jun '11

04 Jun '11

= FSFE Newsletter - June 2011 = [Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/nl/nl-201106.sv.html ] == The 899 Million question: Microsoft, European Commission, and Free Software == What would you do with a monopolist, who uses his dominant position in one area to create monopolies in other areas as well? The European Commission has decided in 2004 that Microsoft has to provide competitors with information how to connect a workgroup server with computers running Microsoft Windows. Since the main competitor to Microsoft’s workgroup server is the Free Software Samba project, the Commission made it clear that Microsoft had to release interoperability information in a way that is compatible with Free Software licenses like the GNU GPL. The Commission's 2004 decision did not require Microsoft to publish innovative information, it asked for simple information how Microsoft computers talk to each other. But Microsoft played for time, even when the Commission imposed a fine of two million Euro for every day that Microsoft did not make the required interoperability information and documentation available in a way that the Samba team could make use of it. That gave Microsoft three more years to gain profit from its monopoly position. After losing an appeal in October 2007[1], Microsoft finally made the required interoperability information available for a one-time fee of EUR 10,000. This gives Free Software groups access to Microsoft’s protocol specifications, but does not give them a license to the patents that Microsoft holds in this area. Microsoft only offers patent licenses under conditions that are fundamentally incompatible with the GNU GPL. So the Samba team has a license to use Microsoft’s protocol specifications, but not its patented technologies. At least those patents are identified, and the Samba team can work around them with considerable effort until we fix the problem of software patents as a whole. 1. http://fsfe.org/projects/ms-vs-eu/timeline.sv.html Microsoft appealed the fine. On the 24th of May another hearing took place. Like in the rest of the process, FSFE was again present, together with the Samba team, giving crucial input to ensure that Free Software can compete on market. Karsten Gerloff wrote about the hearing in his blog article"Samba case hearing: How Microsoft’s gamble backfired"[2], and you can also read Groklaw interview with Karsten Gerloff and Carlo Piana[3]. A ruling on the Microsoft’s appeal is expected in the second half of the year. 2. http://blogs.fsfe.org/gerloff/2011/05/27/samba-case-hearing-how-microsofts-… 3. http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20110530202005299 == Antifeatures + DRM == How many times have you been forced to watch those copyright notices at the beginning of a DVD, without the chance to fast-forward? Or would you miss it, if no mobile phone would have a SIM lock? On the 4th of May our American sister organisation organised the "Day Against DRM". There were several articles, events, and radio shows about this topic[4]. Your editor was interviewed by Dradio Wissen on the subject of Antifeatures, which also includes digitial restriction management (DRM). 4. http://www.defectivebydesign.org/highlights-2011-day-against-drm An antifeature is a feature, which is implemented by the developer on purpose, but which user does not want. So, it is not about bugs or missing functionality, but about functions which the vendor added intentionally to restrict the user. Your editor's interview and corresponding article[5] explain some examples, like how printer vendors prevent others from producing printers' cartridges, the sim lock in mobile phones, the option to get rid of additional software commercials on laptops, or the copyright notices and the region code for DVDs. 5. http://blogs.fsfe.org/mk/?p=797 With Free Software adding antifeatures simply isn't lucrative. Every user has the freedom to change the software and to share those changes with others. So when one person removes an antifeature, all other users will benefit from this work. In Free Software new features are implemented either if someone pays for them, or if someone is convinced that this is an important feature and s/he has spent spare time on it. Therewith Free Software is more honest and more transparent towards users. Benjamin Mako Hill wrote more about antifeatures[6] and also gave several talks about it, e.g. at Linux Conf Australia 2010 (Ogg- Theora)[7], or FrosCon (Ogg-Theora)[8]. 6. http://www.fsf.org/bulletin/2007/fall/antifeatures/ 7. http://projects.mako.cc/media/revealing_errors_lca2010.ogv 8. http://ftp.stw-bonn.de/froscon/2010/hs12/theora/hs12_-_2010-08-22_12:45_-_e… == Something completely different == - As British Telecom plan to roll out new music subscription service to their 5.5 million broadband customers, our UK Team has asked BT to make user freedom one of the product's key features.[9] - The German Foreign Office is turning away from Free Software, and the German Government is entangling itself in contradictions. The assessment of our German team is,[10] that the reaction of the Government to an inquiry by "Bündnis 90/Grüne" shows that the government either does not understand important aspects of Free Software or is deliberately offending Free Software in general as well as Free Software companies in particular. We set up a public comment plattform[11], and ask you to participate. - The Free Software in Education update is out for March/April 2011[12]. Besides, there is an education survey in the UK.[13] - The German team commented the replies to our question to the political parties in Bremen.[14] - From the planet aggregation[15]: - This month's Fellowship interview with Florian Effenberger[16], is out. He was the previous Marketing Project Lead for OpenOffice.org and now founding member and part of the Steering Committee at The Document Foundation. - There are again new issues of Free Software and law related links for 30.4.-6.5.[17] 7.5.-22.5.[18], and 23.5.-29.5.[19]. - Fellow Jan-Christoph Borchardt wrote about Free(ing) web games.[20] 9. http://fsfe.org/projects/os/bt-open-letter.sv.html 10. http://fsfe.org/news/2011/news-20110511-01.sv.html 11. http://etherpad.fsfe.org/1TyQlboVdF 12. http://blogs.fsfe.org/guido/2011/04/free-software-in-education-marchapril-2… 13. http://blogs.fsfe.org/guido/2011/05/free-software-in-education-survey-in-uk/ 14. http://fsfe.org/news/2011/news-20110520-01.sv.html 15. http://planet.fsfe.org 16. http://blogs.fsfe.org/fellowship-interviews/?p=308 17. http://matija.suklje.name/?q=node/245 18. http://matija.suklje.name/?q=node/246 19. http://matija.suklje.name/?q=node/247 20. https://jancborchardt.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/freeing-web-games/ == Get active: Translate our Ask your Candidates page == In the coming month we will do more in our"Ask Your Candidates"[21] activity. You can already help us by translating this page into your native language. Like on all pages click on the source code link[22] at the buttom of the page. Translate the page and then send it to translators fsfeurope.org. If you are interested to help us more regularly with translations, please take a look at our translator page[23]. 21. http://fsfe.org/campaigns/askyourcandidates/askyourcandidates.sv.html 22. http://fsfe.org/source/campaigns/askyourcandidates/askyourcandidates.xhtml 23. http://fsfe.org/contribute/translators/translators.sv.html Regards, Matthias Kirschner- FSFE -- Free Software Foundation Europe <http://fsfe.org> FSFE News <http://fsfe.org/news/news.sv.rss> Upcoming FSFE Events <http://fsfe.org/events/events.sv.rss> Fellowship Blog Aggregation <http://planet.fsfe.org/en/rss20.xml> Free Software Discussions <http://fsfe.org/contact/community.sv.html> _______________________________________________ Press-release-sv mailing list Press-release-sv(a)fsfeurope.org https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/press-release-sv

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sweden June 2011