Discussion

discussion@lists.fsfe.org

1 participants
3272 discussions

FSFE launches Free PDF Readers campaign
by Stian Rødven Eide 02 Feb '09

02 Feb '09

The attached press release has been sent to press lists as well as the following community sites. Please vote accordingly and spread widely. http://www.fsdaily.com/EndUser/FSFE_launches_Free_PDF_Readers_campaign http://digg.com/software/FSFE_launches_Free_PDF_Readers_campaign http://slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=3272663 osnews.com linux.com lxer.com lwn.net linuxdevices.com kerneltrap.org The announcement is also available at http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/2009/news-20090202-01.en.html all the best, /Stian -- Stian Rødven Eide stian(a)fsfeurope.org Free Software Foundation Europe http://fsfeurope.org Join the Fellowship http://fsfe.org

1 0

Re: On the EUPL
by Georg C. F. Greve 24 Jan '09

24 Jan '09

Dear Patrice-Emmanuel Schmitz, Of course I have heard about you and your personal involvement in the European Public License. So please forgive me if my comments upon an earlier draft of the EUPL have offended you. I hope you understood that my comment was the result of direct solicitation. From a quick glance at EUPL version 1.1 it now seems that the license has been greatly improved since that first draft I saw. Congratulations! Although FSFE's legal department would require a bit more time for thorough analysis, the license now looks like a Free Software Copyleft license that is expressedly compatible to the old version of the GNU General Public License (GPL). For future improvement it would be good if compatibility to the current version of the GNU GPL were also added. Otherwise version 1.1 seems to have solved the issue that existed with paragraph 13 of version 1.0, and while license proliferation [1] is always a concern, the Compatibility clause in paragraph 5 seems to have addressed it sufficiently through explicit compatibility and the ability to relicense. So from a first look it seems to me that the EUPL is now fit for its intended use as a license catering to the specific political needs of European public administration and it will help to foster growth of the European Free Software ecosystem. I'm sure you'll understand that this is a tentative analysis, pending a more thorough one by the legal departments of our sister organisation and FSFE itself, but maybe this quick response is already helpful. My commendation on the work that has been done on the EUPL, With best regards, Georg Greve [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/License_proliferation -- Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)fsfeurope.org> Free Software Foundation Europe (http://fsfeurope.org) President +41 43 500 03 66 ext 400 Still seeking a New Year's Resolution? Visit http://fsfeurope.org/2009

2 2

Web browser interoperability: FSFE welcomes EC's decision and offers support
by Matthias Kirschner 22 Jan '09

22 Jan '09

Perhaps you have not seen it yet. We published a press release about EC's decision: "Web browser interoperability: FSFE welcomes EC's decision and offers support" [1] (also already available in Ελληνικά and Italiano): On the 16th of January the European Commission DG Competition reported that it had issued a statement of objections regarding Microsoft's tying of Internet Explorer (IE) to the Windows Operating System product family. This action builds on a complaint originally submitted by Opera, a European company involved in web browser development. Free Software Foundation Europe welcomes the European Commission's decision and offers its support in the coming anti-trust investigation. As stated previously in a letter to the European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, anti-competitive behaviour is unacceptable, whether it occurs as 'tying' products with dominant market segments, or in circumventing standards and fair access. "Web browsers are becoming a critical platform for home and business computing," says Shane Coughlan, legal coordinator at FSFE. "The market previously failed to prevent unfair distortion of the desktop environment and we cannot allow such practices to be repeated." "It is important that no business in Europe is allowed to institute any policy of embracing, extending and extinguishing competition either through manipulation of interoperability information or through abuse of a dominant position by unfair tying and bundling of products," says Georg Greve, FSFE President. "Microsoft is a company that has previously been convicted of market distortion in the Work Group Server market, and we would welcome if the Commission also took up the antitrust complaint initially lodged in early 2006 by the European Committee for Interoperable Systems (ECIS) regarding market abuse in other areas." For FSFE's previous statement on this issue please see: [2] For FSFE's letter to the European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes please see: [3] I have seen it on some German media (sent that to fsfe-de(a)fsfeurope.org) and also submitted it to fsdaily. If you like it, please vote for it on [4]. Best wishes, Matthias 1. http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/2009/news-20090120-02.en.html 2. http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/2007/news-20071221-01 3. http://fsfeurope.org/documents/20071219-opera-antitrust.pdf 4. http://www.fsdaily.com/Business/Web_browser_interoperability_FSFE_welcomes_… -- Deputy German Coordinator, Fellowship Coordinator Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) [] (http://fsfeurope.org) Join the Fellowship of FSFE! [][][] (http://fsfe.org/join) Your donation powers our work! || (http://fsfeurope.org/donate)

1 0

The Enrico Zini Interview Vote
by Stian Rødven Eide 20 Jan '09

20 Jan '09

Please vote now for the newest instalment of your favourite interview series: http://www.fsdaily.com/Community/FSFE_Fellowship_Interview_with_Enrico_Zini http://digg.com/linux_unix/FSFE_Fellowship_Interview_with_Enrico_Zini http://slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=3117403 Feel free to also inform your respective fsfe/fsfeurope country mailing lists. The interview itself is available here: http://fellowship.fsfe.org/interviews/fellowship_interview_with_enrico_zini all the best, /Stian -- Stian Rødven Eide stian(a)fsfeurope.org Free Software Foundation Europe http://fsfeurope.org Join the Fellowship http://fsfe.org

1 0

DFEY-NW :: January 18th :: Digital Freedom in Education and Youth - North West UK
by Tim Dobson 13 Jan '09

13 Jan '09

(Please forward this to anybody or any lists you think might be interested) DFEY-NW (Digital Freedom in Education & Youth - North West) is a group focusing on young people and issues of freedom in the digital world, based in the Northwest of England at the moment. === In Brief === WHERE: Meet near the strange phonemast-like sculpture thing outside Manchester OXFORD ROAD Station. VENUE: BBC Headquarters, Oxford Road, Manchester WHEN: Sunday 18th January, 12pm -> ~4pm YOU *MUST* SIGN UP: http://dfey-nw.eventwax.com/dfey-january-meeting CONTACT: Email - team at dfey dot freedomdreams dot net -- MAILING LIST: http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/dfey-nw-discuss WEBSITE: http://dfey.freedomdreams.co.uk -- Notes from the last meeting: http://dfey.freedomdreams.co.uk/wiki/Meetings/October/Notes === Meeting === Again, we have switched venues! This time however, hopefully we have a permanent place with good facilities. As I understand, via the BBC we will have not shortage of quiet space, power, wifi and a projector! Due to because it's not fun to have to walk around a strange city on your own, even if it is just a few steps, I suggest we meet at Manchester Oxford Road train station at about 12pm (look for geeks, laptops, t-shirts, signs saying "DFEY", stickers etc.) Once everyone has arrived, we will then move on to BBC building just down the road. We aim to have finished by about 4pm and to have left the building by 4:30. === Sign Up === The BBC has insisted I give the a list of all participants by early Friday Morning, please do your best either sign up below, or email us so we can let them know. http://dfey-nw.eventwax.com/dfey-january-meeting If you think a contact number might be helpful on the day, email us and we will sort one out :) === Contact === Please join our *low traffic* mailing list for updates: http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/dfey-nw-discuss or use the forum interface: http://dfey.freedomdreams.co.uk/wiki/Forum We also are on IRC for questions and socialising at: #dfey on irc.freenode.net There is also a web interface if you haven't mastered IRC yet: http://dfey.freedomdreams.co.uk/wiki/Chat === About DFEY-NW === DFEY-NW (Digital Freedom in Education and Youth) is a group formed in response from a growing need in the Northwest of England for a group to encourage and promote young people's involvement with the free software community by creating a social space to make it more comfortable for young people to get involved with GLUGs and FSUGs. -- www.tdobson.net ---- If each of us have one object, and we exchange them, then each of us still has one object. If each of us have one idea, and we exchange them, then each of us now has two ideas. - George Bernard Shaw

1 0

FSFE - 2009 New Year's Resolution
by Matthias Kirschner 09 Jan '09

09 Jan '09

Hi all, perhaps you have not seen FSFE's New Year's Resolution [1] yet. Here are some things that you can do to help spread this message: - Add the button on your website. E.g. with the following html snippet: <a href="http://fsfeurope.org/2009"> <img src="http://fsfeurope.org/news/2009/nyr/nyr2009_button.png" border="0" alt="2009 New Year's Resolution" /></a> - Add a signature in your e-mail or blog. E.g. - "Support Free Software in 2009 (http://fsfeurope.org/2009)" - "2009 - Time to get active (http://fsfeurope.org/2009) - Print out the pdf version [2] and distribute it in your company/university/Free Software user group. - Submit the news to community sites or vote for them. I know it was already submitted to Slashdot [3] and FSdaily [4]. Thanks, Matthias 1. http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/2009/nyr.en.html 2. http://www.fsfeurope.org/news/2009/nyr-2009.pdf 3. http://slashdot.org/firehose.pl?op=view&id=2929789 4. http://www.fsdaily.com/Community/FSFE_announces_New_Years_Resolution_Fellow… -- Deputy German Coordinator, Fellowship Coordinator Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) [] (http://fsfeurope.org) Join the Fellowship of FSFE! [][][] (http://fsfe.org/join) Your donation powers our work! || (http://fsfeurope.org/donate)

1 0

What is free sftware really? Was: RE: Article: "Fixing linux" - opinions?
by Sam Liddicott 19 Dec '08

19 Dec '08

(reply to nobody in particular) This discussion is why open source wins over free software. Free software is in reality too complicated. The definition is simple-ish but not at all useful; because... Even it's devotees can't agree on whether or not common "free" software is really free, and (from time to time) seem to suggest that they are each a bunch of unprincipled compromisers ruining the whole campaign. If we can't tell (or agree) what free software means practically then we should not be surprised at the mix of software masquerading as "free" - whatever that means, and practically speaking this is /obviously/ not clear to ANYONE though we each might think it is clear to ourself. Sam

3 2

The Hanno Böck Fellowship Interview on FSD
by Stian Rødven Eide 18 Dec '08

18 Dec '08

http://www.fsdaily.com/Community/FSFE_Fellowship_interview_Hanno_B_ck Please vote if you like it ;-) all the best, /Stian

1 0

FSFE announces 4 weeks of translation sprint
by Reinhard Mueller 15 Dec '08

15 Dec '08

Europe, 15 December 2008. The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) announces a translation sprint for their web pages from 15 December 2008 to 11 January 2009. The aim of this sprint is to provide information about Free Software and FSFE's work in as many languages as possible. As one of its most important means of communication with the public, FSFE hosts a web site at http://www.fsfeurope.org/. Translating the texts and making them available for people with different native languages has always been important, and thanks to the untiring work of dozens of volunteers all around Europe, the pages are available in up to 26 different languages. Translating FSFE's web pages is a huge task. More than 250 pages are online, and several pages per week are added or updated and require new translations. There's always something left to do. More help is always welcome. So FSFE announces a four weeks translation sprint from 15 December 2008 to 11 January 2009, combined with a call for new volunteers. The job: to translate from English to other European languages, and to proofread translations. The mission: to fill as many translation gaps as possible. The candidate: you. Translating and proofreading texts is a precious contribution to the work of FSFE and an excellent chance to spontaneously take part in its activities without long-term obligations. And it's a great chance to contribute in a way that doesn't cost money. Interested? Willing to spend some time on the future of Free Software? Ready to join one of FSFE's largest volunteer groups? Have a look at the information page about webpage translations! And if you have further questions, don't hesitate to send an email to translators (at) fsfeurope.org. Some of the language groups have already declared some language-specific goals for the sprint - will you be helping your group to reach them? -- Reinhard Müller Free Software Foundation Europe Volunteer coordinator for web pages and translations

1 0

RE: What is free sftware really? Was: RE: Article: "Fixing linux" - opinions?
by Sam Liddicott 14 Dec '08

14 Dec '08

I think you misunderstood what I was saying and ironically your response supports my secondary point. How can free software as a political movement avoid losing to the mere pragmatism of open source if it is so difficult to tell if any given piece of software is free, and if anyone who can't agree with all the zealots (impossible) must suffer a tongue lashing for sacrificing principle. I'm not abandonning ship but at least I'm willing to admit that it's leaking. How can somene only use free software if they don't know which software is free? Sam -----Original Message----- From: Noah Slater <nslater(a)tumbolia.org> Sent: 13 December 2008 20:45 To: Sam Liddicott <sam(a)liddicott.com> Cc: discussion(a)fsfeurope.org Subject: Re: What is free sftware really? Was: RE: Article: "Fixing linux" - opinions? On Sat, Dec 13, 2008 at 08:01:40PM -0000, Sam Liddicott wrote: > This discussion is why open source wins over free software. This is a terrible way to frame the issue. > Free software is in reality too complicated. Free software is a political movement, open source is a pragmatic method. Comparing the two is quite absurd, and yet so very common. > The definition is simple-ish but not at all useful; because... The definition has, and continues to be hugely useful for all manner of purposes! > Even it's devotees can't agree on whether or not common "free" software is > really free, and (from time to time) seem to suggest that they are each a > bunch of unprincipled compromisers ruining the whole campaign. Freedom means different things to different people. This is natural. What you're essentially saying is that because freedom, morals, ethics, and value judgements are necessarily subjective we should abandon the whole lot. Unless we can quantify something objectively it has no value. Which is absurd. > If we can't tell (or agree) what free software means practically then we > should not be surprised at the mix of software masquerading as "free" - > whatever that means, and practically speaking this is /obviously/ not clear to > ANYONE though we each might think it is clear to ourself. Sure, there is confusion. That is no reason to abandon ship. We need to work better as a community to promote the issues and ideologies around free software instead of "giving up" and talking about the "open source linux os" or whatever. -- Noah Slater, http://tumbolia.org/nslater

3 2

Jump to page:

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

2000

Discussion