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What has FLOSS done for us?!
07/09/2011 @ 7:30 pm - 11:00 pm
Or, to paraphrase a certain famous quote:
“What has the GPL ever done for us?”
After the recent highly focused talk to the group by Dr Richard Stallman (FSF) highlighting some aspects of our freedoms and the compromises compromising those freedoms, this meeting is a chance to discuss what we think… And also to see what all this means for the world of software and IT and people in general.
On the night, there was just far too much thoughtfulness to take in, all in one gulp, for just one night!
Like it or not, anyone who uses, develops, or otherwise depends upon ‘high tech’, we are all embroiled in a fiendish game and contest. The current news listed here gives just a very small sample:
- Lawsuit alleges that Windows Phone 7 tracks users
- Haiti study: Mass mobile phone tracking can be laudable
- Google+ is an identity service, Schmidt says
- Most Android vendors lost their Linux distribution rights, could face shakedown or shutdown
- A recent article by Dr Stallman in The Guardian: Beware: Europe’s ‘unitary patent’ could mean unlimited software patents
- US has another stab at patent reform
- It’s Not About Apple vs. Microsoft, Or Apple vs. Google. It’s About Freedom
- Open-source Clouds vs. Proprietary Clouds: The Truth Is Out
- Cloud.com goes open source
- Open source: Driving change in the software industry
- For our own UK government: Open Source & the Intelligent Customer
- And a killer for something startling, unbelievable: YouTube: OSCON 2011: Karen Sandler
And that’s just a very small selection for the last few days!
And then there is that little something that most people seem to blindly accept without any appreciation of the consequences:
So… Free/Libre is a lot more than just the GPL. Is there really only Dr Richard Stallman shouting for our freedoms?
What do you all think?
All at our discussion meeting at:
Fellows Morton and Clayton54 Canal Street
Nottingham, NG1 7EH
Telephone: 0115 9506795
To find us, go through to the back of the pub and we’re up the spiral staircase in the restaurant. Just ask one of the friendly bar staff for NLUG if lost.
Food is also served through into the evening.
Wednesday 07/09/2011:
- 7:30pm: Meet
- 8:00pm: Talk
- 9:00pm: General discussions
Cuddly Gnus, Penguins, and All welcome!
Cheers,
Martin
See:
5 comments to What has FLOSS done for us?!
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Looking around the web for “Software Freedom” news, there’s lots about the upcoming “Software Freedom Day”, but the main splash seems to be only from the FSF and Dr Richard Stallman. Are we all going to become unstuck when he eventually retires from the scene?
Here’s a few more links that give a good reading for where we are in the FLOSS world:
Two sets of observations for how corporations approach ‘Open Source’:
The Long Road To (Software) Freedom;
Models of corporate open source;
This article gives a good summary of the rise and fall of how FLOSS and Linux appear in the public eye:
Software Freedom Perspective: 2006-2011;
This briefly highlights perhaps the foremost concern for an entrepreneur going the FLOSS route. Note the comment about business being the business of restricting supply:
The Entrepreneur’s Dilemma
And perhaps the best of the articles is this summary about Dr Richard Stallman:
Free software guru sanctifies Brussels bruiser
That last article sums up nicely some of what we saw for ourselves.
So how does, and how can, all that fit together?…
For discussion!
Cheers,
Martin
There was much good discussion and some good strong opinion!
Firstly, there was the view that as a figure-head and ‘ambassador’ for the Free/Libre Open Source Software ‘movement’, rms (Dr Richard Stallman) was a “very bad example” and “far too extreme and political” to be readily accepted by anyone unaware of the subject and history. Unfortunately, a very few from his recent talk found him to be too abrupt and brusque, such that they felt him to be rude. However, he has also got to be admired for his attempt at what he sees to be the ‘pure’ way to go for software and hardware freedoms.
As for his message and his talk, all but the most die-hard users of proprietary systems were impressed for the energy and clarity of message of his talk. For all questions given to him, he had clear if sometimes harsh and uncompromising answers, or he would immediately admit if there wasn’t an answer. He takes a very academic and direct approach to argument and discussion that can be disconcerting to those unaccustomed to the enthusiastic exploration of ideas.
As to whether his views are possible and workable…
Comments during our discussion in this follow-on meeting included:
Freely given away games do not pay and FLOSS games are never finished or polished or adequately maintained by the gamers;
FLOSS development of “megabucks” BIG games involving actors and special effects is just not possible;
Also, game engines that have been freely released for general use tend to remain minimally modified, and continue to be used only in their original roles;
Some big examples of FLOSS undoubtedly do work well, but how can more widespread/general take-up be realised or funded, promoted, encouraged?
Can FLOSS projects be funded/sponsored in a similar way to that of academic research via grants?…
I think we agreed that the ‘purity’ espoused by rms is good and needed, even if there were also reservations that a ‘real world’ compromise was sometimes more practical.
We ran out of time to discuss far enough for how “Free/Libre” can be applied to the arts.
One aspect that struck me is that the ideas and ideals behind FLOSS run parallel to the (philosophical) academic ideals of the freedom of knowledge for all for the good of all, but also that some aspects can easily get entangled with various political ideologies. Indeed, some aspects of the ideas/ideals can appear to be radically extreme in political terms. Or should it be that, it is the business and political practices restricting people’s freedoms that should be seen as being extreme?
All who had the book “Free Software, Free Society” by rms agreed that it made for a very good read. Highly recommended to anyone who cares about freedoms.
rms is always in a nervous rush. So much so I’m not sure he sleeps during his lecture tours and travels. He is already elsewhere around the world promoting his message, and follows a punishingly hectic schedule. I just hope he doesn’t burn himself out!
Is there enough honesty and enough of a sense of community in the world to allow FLOSS to financially be viable? Perhaps so, considering some (very) successful examples where artists or developers have made their work freely available and left themselves at the mercy of freely given donations or honesty payment. But perhaps not always…
Are most people unaware, so few know to care?
Further comment here or on the maillist welcomed!
Cheers,
Martin
“El Reg” has picked up on a bit of recent media news on the ‘morals’ of software:
Memo to open source moralists: Put a sock in it
The main point of the article appears to hinge on the contrast of the quote … North Carolina pastor Don Parris argues that “proprietary software limits my ability to help my neighbor, one of the cornerstones of the Christian faith.”… against certain highly profitable software companies having donated a little of their accrued wealth to charity.
One apt comment:
What the hell have you been smoking?
All a philosophical question of viewpoint? Or a clash of power and freedoms?
Cheers,
Martin
A good comment here nicely summarises some of the ‘business models’ around FLOSS:
I would also describe FLOSS as effective for promoting openly innovation for new ideas and methods and developments.
Also note how such as IBM and Google and many network suppliers and operators have very successfully built their business upon the versatility, freedom, and the rapid development of FLOSS infrastructure.
Cheers,
Martin
An interesting blog comment:
The generosity strategy