It seems Sony has already released a Firefox OS ROM for the Xperia E:
thenextweb.com/mobile/2013/02/27/sony-releases-experimental-firefox-os-rom-…
Jelle
-------- Original message --------
From: Jelle Hermsen <jelle(a)fsfe.org>
Date: 27/02/2013 18:41 (GMT+01:00)
To: discussion(a)fsfeurope.org
Subject: Re: Firefox Mobile + Geeksphone = Awesome
It's great to see this many companies showing interest in Firefox OS. The main website already shows a nice list of partners: www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/partners/#
Keeping my fingers crossed :)
Jelle
-------- Original message --------
From: Sam Tuke <samtuke(a)fsfe.org>
Date: 27/02/2013 17:54 (GMT+01:00)
To: discussion@fsfeurope.org,manchester@lists.fsfe.org
Subject: Re: Firefox Mobile + Geeksphone = Awesome
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA256
Sony To Launch Firefox OS Smartphone In 2014
http://www.muktware.com/5287/sony-launch-firefox-os-smartphone-2014
Getting serious :)
Sam.
- --
Sam Tuke
Campaign Manager
Free Software Foundation Europe
IM : samtuke(a)jabber.fsfe.org
Latest UK Free Software news: uk.fsfe.org
Is freedom important to you? Join the fellowship.fsfe.org
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It's great to see this many companies showing interest in Firefox OS. The main website already shows a nice list of partners: www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/partners/#
Keeping my fingers crossed :)
Jelle
-------- Original message --------
From: Sam Tuke <samtuke(a)fsfe.org>
Date: 27/02/2013 17:54 (GMT+01:00)
To: discussion@fsfeurope.org,manchester@lists.fsfe.org
Subject: Re: Firefox Mobile + Geeksphone = Awesome
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA256
Sony To Launch Firefox OS Smartphone In 2014
http://www.muktware.com/5287/sony-launch-firefox-os-smartphone-2014
Getting serious :)
Sam.
- --
Sam Tuke
Campaign Manager
Free Software Foundation Europe
IM : samtuke(a)jabber.fsfe.org
Latest UK Free Software news: uk.fsfe.org
Is freedom important to you? Join the fellowship.fsfe.org
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YMf/aws5FNlnBzfqVTABAJhRrTnvxnppfPLU3gVdsscg7rXhvAIwktCGl1hBbeNJ
=MKuN
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Please do not forget about that tomorrow!!
Regards,
Matthias
= FSFE asks to show your love for Free Software! =
[Read online: http://fsfe.org/news/2013/news-20130212-01.en.html ]
On February 14th Free Software Foundation Europe asks all Free Software
users to show their appreciation for Free Software. FSFE suggests to
take this day as an opportunity to say "thank you" to one of the
dedicated hard-working people in the Free Software community.
"Every day, we use Free Software and often take it for granted. We write
bug reports, tell others how they should improve their software, or ask
them for new features - and often we are not shy about criticising. So,
to let the people in Free Software receive a positive feedback at least
once a year, there is the 'I love Free Software day'." says Matthias
Kirschner, who initiated the FSFE's#ilovefs campaign[1].
For the"I love Free Software Day"[2]the FSFE has several suggestions how
to show your love to the people behind Free Software, including:
- write an e-mail/letter, (micro-)blog post, to contributors expressing
how much you like what they are doing
- buy your favourite contributor a drink. Or buy someone else a drink
and while enjoying it, tell her/him about your favourite Free Software
application!
- give a contributor a hug (ask for permission first)
- take a picture of yourself showing your feelings for Free Software,
and post them online.
- Donate to FSFE[3]or another Free Software initiative[4]to express your
gratitude. They depend on your contribution to continue their work. So
check out your favourite organisation and make a donation. You can be
sure they will love you back.
- Finally you can help spread the love by sharing the campaign
banners[5], by e-mail, (micro)blog or by spreading through any social
network (please use the hashtag #ilovefs for this).
"We want you to help us, to make this day the day where everybody
says*'thank you'*to the people behind Free Software", adds Matthias
Kirschner.
1. http://ilovefs.org
2. http://ilovefs.org
3. http://fsfe.org/donate/donate.en.html
4. http://wiki.fsfe.org/DonateToFreeSoftwareProjects
5. http://fsfe.org/campaigns/ilovefs/2012/banners.en.html
== 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/
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A few people have asked me for clarification of my comments about the
non-free nature of communications in Australia, and some of the extreme
consequences (e.g. the `domestic rendition' program)
I've gathered some details and links together here in a blog entry:
http://www.pocock.com.au/fosdem-looking-for-freedom
Hello all, this Saturday Free Software activists will determine the easiest
ways of chatting using Free Software audio and video programs. We'll be
testing out a variety of applications, including Pidgin, Empathy, and Kopete.
The core group of testers will be in Madlab Hackerspace in Manchester, but
*anyone can participate* - join the #FSFE IRC channel on Freenode to find
people to test chatting with, and see what still needs testing (email
manchester(a)lists.fsfe.org if you need help getting access to IRC).
The aim is to publish the results as a compatibility chart that will show at a
glance the easiest way to chat. As many Free Software users still use Skype
due to confusion surrounding Free Software alternatives, our research will
hopefully be very useful to a variety of individuals and organisations.
*Activity outline*
- Testing takes place on 15.09.12 at 14.00-17.00 UK time (15.00-18.00 CEST)
- Use a grid of Free Software chat programs for collecting our findings
- Test as many chat clients as possible (eg. Pidgin, Psi)
- For each combination of programs test whether voice chat and video
works (people without webcams can still test voice chat)
*Optional additional tests*
- Try connecting to other people at madlab, and also try
connecting to people in other countries
- Test the Free Software clients with different operating
systems if people bring them installed on laptops
- Test different versions of chat clients (not just the latest release)
*Requirements*
- Bring your own laptop (some older laptops will be available to borrow)
- Your laptop should have either a built in microphone, a separate microphone,
or mic headset
*Optional Requirements*
- Built in, or stand-alone webcam
Three separate Free Software and GNU/Linux groups will be meeting in MadLab on
Saturday: Manchester FSFE Fellowship Group, Manchester Free Software, and
ManLUG. Other activities will likely be available in addition to chat testing,
so feel free to come along and see what you fancy.
MadLab event page: http://madlab.org.uk/content/fsfe-manchester-free-software-
and-manlug/
"See" you there (one way or another :) ),
Sam.
--
Sam Tuke
Campaign Manager
Free Software Foundation Europe
IM : samtuke(a)jabber.fsfe.org
Latest UK Free Software news: uk.fsfe.org
Is freedom important to you? Join the fellowship.fsfe.org
We had a discussion on fsfe-de@ and a participant wrote to archive.org
about the non-free video player (they used a free one in the past).
http://archive.org/post/556906 is the reply. Anyone here, who can talk
with them about the issue?
Thanks,
Matthias
--
Matthias Kirschner - FSFE - Fellowship Coordinator, German Coordinator
FSFE, Linienstr. 141, 10115 Berlin, t +49-30-27595290 +49-1577-1780003
Weblog (blogs.fsfe.org/mk) - Contact (fsfe.org/about/kirschner)
Support FSFE! http://fsfe.org/support/?mk
Some months ago there was a discussion about the licensing strategies of
OpenERP, which released the server and the GTK client under AGPL and the
web client under a somehow restricting license (can't remember exactly
the restrictions, mainly branding, IIRC).
Can't find the link to the discussion in the archive now, since it's
private (unfortunately) and the password reminder is not working.
I recall someone talking about "open core strategy", since the web
client is way better than GTK client.
I've just learned that since version 7 the GTK client has been
discontinued and only the web client will be actively maintained and
developed.
Good news: it's released with AGPL (as the server), as far as I can see
here:
http://bazaar.launchpad.net/~openerp/openerp-web/trunk/view/head:/LICENSE
Cheers,
Federico
I fully agree with Jonathan on this http://lwn.net/Articles/531082/:
In 2012, the shape of a solution for the UEFI secure boot problem came
into view. In 2013, the full messiness of the secure boot situation
will come to the fore. There are already reports of some
secure-boot-enabled systems refusing to work right with the Linux
"shim" solution; others will certainly come out. We are, after all, at
the mercy of BIOS developers who only really care that Windows boots
properly. We are also at the mercy of Microsoft, which could decide to
take a more hostile stance at anytime; there have already been snags
in getting the Linux Foundation's bootloader signed.
UEFI secure boot bears watching, and we owe thanks to the developers
who have been laboring to make Linux work in that environment. But the
problem of locked-down systems is much larger — and much older — than
UEFI secure boot, and many of the systems in question already run
Linux. Maintaining access to "our" hardware will continue to be a
problem this year, just like it has been in the past. "Runs Linux"
will continue to mean something different than "the owner can run
their own software on it," and UEFI secure boot does not really change
the situation all that much, especially for non-x86 systems.
Best Regards,
Matthias
--
Matthias Kirschner - FSFE - Fellowship Coordinator, German Coordinator
FSFE, Linienstr. 141, 10115 Berlin, t +49-30-27595290 +49-1577-1780003
Weblog (blogs.fsfe.org/mk) - Contact (fsfe.org/about/kirschner)
Support FSFE! http://fsfe.org/support/?mk
Hello,
You know how hard it is to find a good laptop. You know how harder it
can be to find one without windows, or better, with some flavour of
GNU/Linux preinstalled.
I'm looking for a new laptop. Do you have suggestions matching:
* Good support with Debian Testing
* No more than 13 inches
* Good Battery life. At least 5 hours
* around 1 kilo / 2.4 pounds
* No more than 500 EUR
* SSD
http://blogs.fsfe.org/hugo/2013/01/im-looking-for-a-new-laptop-suggestions/
Thanks!!
Hugo
--
Hugo Roy
FSFE Legal Team Deputy Coordinator
FSFE French Team Coordinator
Support Free Software, sign up! https://fsfe.org/support
On Fri 18/01/13 16:24 , Sam Liddicott <sam(a)liddicott.com> wrote:
> Without intended to promote dissent,
Alas ! the law of unintended consequences...
> I like UEFI with secure boot when I
> can upload the signing keys and there is a physical switch on such key
> storage.
I don't. The current stage is still early. In the future we'll be denied access to content,
networks and services (publics services, banking services, whatever) when
the devices we try to connect to are unable to proof that we run the software they (not us)
trust. I think it's called Remote Attestation. The only way out is not buying our own shackles
and ensuring DRM enabling hardware fails in the market (I'm not saying the only way out is likely).
I'm not sure I'll stick to my own advice forever, but at least I'll try to hold for as long as I can
and if I ever buy shackles just buy the cheapest or something .
It's difficult to buy computers nowadays, because all implement DRM provisions in one way
or other. Modern intel processors check signatures on propietary initialization code before they even
configure RAM. Is that a computer ? AMD at least contributes to coreboot and documents processors, but
they do implement the basic remote management infraestructure, and tie their CPUs to GPUs
or APUs with propietary AtomBIOS, possibly to keep secrecy on DRM measures. ARM is
deploying Trust Zone (or True Zone, forgot the name) functionality of similar kind.
Closed hardware nowadays is not something I recognize as a computer any more, a general
purpose mathematical machine.
Open hardware is ok, but still not fit for some purposes and not easy to buy.
> That way I can secure my own machine and retain my own freedom.
> I acknowledge that UEFI + secure boot generally refers to something more
> restrictive
>
I'm no security expert, but I don't think it buys much security either. How do you
know your signed software is safe ? If enough of your software is really safe, then it wouldn't have let anyone
modify itself or bootloaders even without secure boot. If some of it isn't then it may be compromised and
maybe coerced into breaking security even with secure boot. Our current functionality
is too complex to have simple enough software to be completely validated. Signature checks are
just a way to shove security worries under the carpet. Secure boot with user controlled
trust and maybe microkernels with small trusted baselines may bring some
measure of security but that's just theory. In practice you don't audit all your
software, and even with the huge help of a free software community you can't
be all that sure that software is safe. You'll always be as safe as the society you
live with accepts because you can't write all the code you run, you can't even read it all,
and your society will move your requirements fast enough for a minority of secure minded
auditors to be outpaced. And in exchage for that you're throwing a
computer away and replacing it with a special purpose machine running a
finite set of trusted software. Bad bargain I say.
For more information look at the coreboot mailing list archives. It's been discussed a little.
Btw, one of the coreboot developers recomended chromebooks (and another laptop I think
too heavy) because (some?) come
with coreboot, which is free firmware (may require blobs depending on the hardware), and
locks can be disabled by the user. I insist that I don't like todays hardware in general,
but thought it might be worth noting since discussion is a little centered on the operating
system and drivers, and even laptops sold without OS (when you can find one), or with FreeDOS
or fully free OSes (is there any?) have closed hardware and
propietary firmware. So since we have to either refrain from buying or make freedom tradeoffs,
it is not so unwise to pick free firmware if available and replace propietary OS or applications
that may ship with it.
http://www.mail-archive.com/coreboot@coreboot.org/msg38732.htmlhttp://www.coreboot.org/pipermail/coreboot/2012-April/069598.html
Maybe the best advice is not buying anything, otherwise wait for Rhombus-tech (but there's
secrecy in ARM chips too, it's more to try to help a path to more open hardware that in the
future may bring more worthwhile stuff). Otherwise either AMD or ARM or if you go for intel,
a chromebook to get free firmware (with blobs). I don't know.
Btw, be sure to understand everything if you ever try to install coreboot (or any firmware)
yourself in your device (more so in a laptop).
If you don't have proper knowledge and equipment you may render it unbootable (brick it).