= Software Heritage initiative to create an archive of Free Software code =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2016/news-20160629-01.sk.html ]
The Free Software Foundation Europe supports the creation of the
Software Heritage initiative, a platform for the distribution,
advancement, and, especially, long-term preservation and archiving of
Free Software code. The Software Heritage initiative collects and
collates vast amounts of free licensed code to protect it for future
generations.
The importance of software in the modern world cannot be overstated.
Software is at the crux of all contemporary technological development
and has become essential for all areas of scientific research. Software
plays a pivotal role in our daily lives, our industries and our society.
Software has become the reflection of our technological, scientific and
cultural progress.
However, software is prone to disappear, either because it stops being
profitable, or projects get cancelled, or the code is deemed obsolete
and gets erased, or is left to fade on storage that physically degrades
over time.
The Software Heritage[1] initiative is created and funded by Inria[2].
It collects programs, applications and snippets of code distributed
under free licenses from a wide variety of active and defunct sources,
its aim being to protect code from sinking into oblivion. The
distributed and redundant back-end hardens the system against a
potentially disastrous losses of data and guarantees its availability
for users.
Users can check if a certain file exists within the system and propose
new sources the Software Heritage engine can explore in search of more
code to store. Soon users will also be able to find out where the code
originated from using the Provenance information feature, browse the
stored code, run full-text searches on all files, and download the
content.
The Heritage stores only Free Software, in other words, software that
can be used, studied, adapted and shared freely with others; and this is
because the Software Heritage initiative relies on being able to share
the software it stores. The Software Heritage website is designed to be
a useful tool for professionals, scientists, educators and end-users.
Users must be allowed to re-use the code in other products, cutting
development time and costs; engineers should be able to discover how
others solved certain problems; or compare the efficiency of different
solutions to the same problem. And, of course, researchers must have
explicit permission to study the evolution of code over time. This is
only possible if the code is distributed under a Free and Open Source
license.
Matthias Kirschner, President of the Free Software Foundation Europe,
says: "Software is the most important cultural technology of today's
society; it frames what we can and what we cannot do. Software shapes
our communication and culture, our economy, education and research, as
well as politics. It is important to preserve our collective knowledge
about how software has influenced humankind. Collecting source code
makes Software Heritage a valuable resource to understand how our
society worked at any given time, and to build upon knowledge from
humankind." The Software Heritage intiative ensures today's code will
be around for everybody in the future.
=== About Inria ===
Inria[3], the French National Institute for computer science and applied
mathematics, promotes "scientific excellence for technology transfer and
society". Graduates from the world's top universities, Inria's 2,700
employees rise to the challenges of digital sciences. With this open,
agile model, Inria is able to explore original approaches with its
partners in industry and academia and provide an efficient response to
the multidisciplinary and application challenges of the digital
transformation. Inria transfers expertise and research results to
companies (startups, SMEs and major groups) in fields as diverse as
healthcare, transport, energy, communications, security and privacy
protection, smart cities and the factory of the future.
--
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Free Software Discussions <https://fsfe.org/contact/community.en.html>
1. https://www.softwareheritage.org/
2. http://www.inria.fr/en/
3. http://www.inria.fr/en/
== 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/
= EU jeopardises its own goals in standardisation with FRAND licensing =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2016/news-20160428-02.sk.html ]
On 19 April, the European Commission published a communication on "ICT
Standardisation Priorities for the Digital Single Market"[1]
(hereinafter 'the Communication'). The Digital Single Market (DSM)
strategy[2] intends to digitise industries with several legislative and
political initiatives, and the Communication is a part of it covering
standardisation. In general, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE)
welcomes the Communication's plausible approach for integrating Free
Software and Open Standards[3] into standardisation but expresses its
concerns about the lack of understanding of necessary prerequisites to
pursue that direction.
== Acknowledging the importance of Free Software ==
The Communication starts with acknowledging the importance of Open
Standards for interoperability, innovation and access to media, cultural
and educational content, and promotes "community building, attracting
new sectors, promoting open standards and platforms where needed,
strengthening the link between research and standardisation". The latter
is closely linked to the "cloud", where the Communication states that
the "proprietary solutions, purely national approaches and standards
that limit interoperability can severely hamper the potential of the
Digital Single Market", and highlights that "common open standards will
help users access new innovative services".
As a result, the Commission concludes that by the end of 2016 it intends
to make more use of Free Software elements by better integrating Free
Software communities into standard setting processes in the standards
developing organisations.
In the Internet of Things (IoT) domain, the Communication acknowledges
the EU need for "an open platform approach that supports multiple
application domains ... to create competitive IoT ecosystems". In this
regard, the Commission states that "this requires open standards that
support the entire value chain, integrating multiple technologies ...
based on streamlined international cooperation that build on an IPR
["intellectual property rights"] framework enabling easy and fair access
to standard essential patents (SEPs)".
FSFE welcomes this direction taken in the Communication, as well as the
Commissioner Günther Oettinger's position, highlighted in his keynote at
the Net Futures 2016[4], that "easy reuse of standard and open
components accelerates digitisation of any business or any industry
sector." Furthermore, according to the Commissioner Oettinger, Free
Software standards "enable transparency and build trust."
== EC putting good efforts at risk ==
However, the attempts of the Commission to promote Open Standards and a
more balanced approach towards "intellectual property rights" policies
in standardisation may be seriously hampered by the Commission's stance
towards FRAND licensing. In particular, the Commission sets the goal to
"clarify core elements of an equitable, effective and enforceable
licensing methodology around FRAND principles" which is seen as striking
the right balance in standardisation and ensuring the "fair and non-
discriminatory" access to standards. Furthermore, it is a well-known
fact that FRAND licensing terms that in theory stand for "fair,
reasonable, and non-discriminatory" terms, in practice are incompatible
with most of Free Software[5].
In conclusion, whilst the Communication sets a positive direction
towards the promotion of Open Standards and the inclusion of Free
Software communities into the standardisation, this direction may be
seriously limited if the Commission fails to acknowledge the
incompatibility of FRAND licensing terms with Free Software licenses.
This in return can in practice make a proper Free Software
implementation of the standard impossible. As a result, the attempts of
the Commission to achieve truly "digital single market" based on
interoperability, openness and innovation will not be achieved as the
significant part of innovative potential found in Free Software will be
in practice excluded from standardisation.
In line with our recommendations on the DSM initiative[6] that got well
received by the Commission, FSFE believes that in order to achieve the
adequate integration of Free Software communities, and the overall
plausible approach towards appropriate use of Open Standards the
Commission needs to avoid the harmful consequences of FRAND licensing to
Free Software, and instead pursue the promotion of standards that are
open, minimalistic and implementable with Free Software. These standards
will give the substance to the Commission's promises to encourage Free
Software communities to participate in standardisation.
--
Free Software Foundation Europe <https://fsfe.org>
FSFE News <https://fsfe.org/news/news.en.rss>
Upcoming FSFE Events <https://fsfe.org/events/events.en.rss>
Fellowship Blog Aggregation <https://planet.fsfe.org/en/rss20.xml>
Free Software Discussions <https://fsfe.org/contact/community.en.html>
1. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/communication-ict-standa…
2. https://fsfe.org/activities/policy/eu/digital-single-market-comments.en.html
3. https://fsfe.org/activities/os/index.sk.html
4. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/2014-2019/oettinger/announcements/keynote-s…
5. https://fsfe.org/activities/os/why-frand-is-bad-for-free-software.en.html
6. https://fsfe.org/activities/policy/eu/digital-single-market-comments.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/
= Joint Statement on the Radio Lockdown Directive =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2016/news-20160411-01.sk.html ]
23 organisations including the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE)
joined up in proposing measures[1] to EU institutions and EU member
states to avoid negative implications on users' rights and Free Software
imposed by the EU Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU.
The ‘ Radio Lockdown Directive[2] ’ that will be applicable in the EU
since 13 June 2016 threatens software freedom, users' rights, fair
competition, innovation, environment, and volunteering – without
comparable benefits for security. It introduces disproportionate
‘essential requirement’ in the form of forcing device manufacturers to
prove radio regulatory compliance for every possible software able to
run on every product using the radio frequency spectrum. In practice,
this means that in the future only particular software authorised by the
manufacturers can be installed on any device connecting through wireless
and mobile networks or GPS: e.g. routers, mobile phones, WiFi cards and
the laptops they are built in, or almost all devices including network
functionality.
This requirement will lock users to hardware manufacturers, and will
also disadvantage businesses based on Free Software or any other
alternative software not installed by default by the manufacturer of the
device. Thereby it will have negative implications on fair competition
and freedom to conduct business. The requirement to assess every
possible hardware and software combination to be compliant with the RED
– which is envisaged to enhance security of radio devices – disables
users and businesses to choose software whose security problems can be
fixed by everybody without having to relay on the vendor.
The FSFE and the other signatories, therefore, ask the EU institutions
and the EU member states to safeguard rights of users and businesses to
use and install Free Software and any other alternative third-party
software on their devices; to avoid the lockdown of the devices to the
software provided by the hardware manufacturer; and refrain from
shifting the responsibility for the software's regulatory compliance
from the users to the manufacturers when making changes to the default
configuration. Software and hardware should not be treated differently
in that respect. The EU Commission has been entitled to adopt delegated
acts which can make these vitally needed adjustments.
The joint statement on the Radio Lockdown Directive is open to more
signatures. Whether a user, a charity project, or a business, the Radio
Lockdown Directive affects everyone. We ask other organisations and
companies to support our statement and make sure that the Radio Lockdown
Directive will not place blanket, unnecessary and disproportionate
restrictions on the rights of consumers and businesses when implementing
the Directive into national legislations.
Please also read our detailed analysis[3], and feel free to contact us
if you have any questions.
--
Free Software Foundation Europe <https://fsfe.org>
FSFE News <https://fsfe.org/news/news.en.rss>
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Free Software Discussions <https://fsfe.org/contact/community.en.html>
1. https://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/statement.sk.html
2. https://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/radiodirective.sk.html
3. https://fsfe.org/activities/radiodirective/radiodirective.sk.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/
= I love Free Software Day 2016 =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2016/news-20160208-01.sk.html ]
It's time to say "thank you" on 14th of February, the " I love Free
Software[1] " Day 2016. The Free Software Foundation Europe asks all
Free Software users to use the traditional day of love to think of the
hardworking people contributing to the Free Software we all depend on.
As every year[2] there are many ways for people to participate in this
online campaign which has first been celebrated five years ago.
In the Free Software society we exchange a lot of criticism. We write
bug reports, tell others how they can improve the software, ask them for
new features, and generally are not shy about criticising others. There
is nothing wrong about that. It helps us to constantly improve. But
sometimes we forget to show the hardworking people behind the software
our appreciation. We should not underestimate the power of a simple
"thank you" to motivate Free Software contributors in their important
work for society. The 14th of February (a Sunday this year) is the ideal
day to do that.
== Show your love for Free Software ==
Free Software drives a huge number of devices in our everyday life. It
ensures our freedom, our security, civil rights, and privacy. It enables
everyone to participate in a fair society. But as with people, everybody
has different reasons to love Free Software. Let's show this variety to
the world!
As the traditional day to show one's appreciation to people, Valentine's
Day is the perfect opportunity to say *thank you* to the contributors of
the various Free Software you love: developers, translators, designers,
testers, or documentation writers, of huge softwares or smaller
projects. All of them work on the Free Software ecosystem which we can
enjoy every day.
== Be part of #ilovefs ==
It doesn't matter who and where you are and what you do – everyone can
participate at the "I love Free Software" day in many different ways:
- *Pictures*: Send some cool videos or pictures of yourself or your
friends, a meme image, or something completely different – the main
thing is creativity! And with each video and image you automatically
participate in our *#ilovefs competition* (visit our website for more
information). See the pictures of last years[3] for some inspiration.
- *Postcards*: Thank your favourite contributors for their work in an
individual way. For example by sending one of our postcards[4].
- *Spread the word*: Show your appreciation publicly using social
networks or your blog to demonstrate the world how many people love
Free Software – and thereby motivate others to do the same. Just use
the hashtag *#ilovefs* on GnuSocial[5], Twitter[6], or other
platforms.
- *Do it yourself*: You didn't find what you were looking for? No
problem, just do something else! Create small chocolate bars, design
new promotion material... Find out how to make #ilovefs more unique
with your contribution[7].
If everybody contributes a small part we can enjoy a beautiful "I love
Free Software" day together. Let's share videos and pictures, send
postcards, tweets and blog posts, and show our love individually. Happy
I love Free Software day everyone!
--
Free Software Foundation Europe <https://fsfe.org>
FSFE News <https://fsfe.org/news/news.en.rss>
Upcoming FSFE Events <https://fsfe.org/events/events.en.rss>
Fellowship Blog Aggregation <https://planet.fsfe.org/en/rss20.xml>
Free Software Discussions <https://fsfe.org/contact/community.en.html>
1. http://ilovefs.org
2. https://fsfe.org/news/2015/news-20150303-01.sk.html
3. https://fsfe.org/campaigns/ilovefs/whylovefs/gallery.sk.html
4. https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword.sk.html#ilovefs-postcard
5. http://gnu.io/
6. https://twitter.com/hashtag/ilovefs
7. https://wiki.fsfe.org/ILoveFS-2016
== 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/
= FSFE signs association joint letter for terminal device freedom =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2015/news-20151028-01.sk.html ]
Together with 9 other civil and economic organisations the Free Software
Foundation Europe (FSFE) sent a letter to numerous members of the German
Bundestag concerning the compulsory routers issue at the present
Wednesday. The letter is supposed to highlight the importance of passing
the bill for freedom of terminal devices in telecommunication.
On the 4th of November the four parliament committees Economy and
Energy, Law and Consumer Protection, Traffic and Digital Infrastructure,
and Digital Agenda will consult about the bill „for selection and
connection of telecommunication terminal devices“. The 132
representatives who sit in the committees will bear a special
responsibility since it is in their power to save the rights of
consumers and protect small and medium-sized businesses.
„We welcome the Federal Government drafting a bill which can
effectively eradicate compulsory routers“, says Matthias Kirschner,
FSFE's President. „The current status of compulsory routers is
harmful for both citizens and economy. This fact has to be known to
all representatives cross-party. Now we need a quick and unmodified
implementation of the drafted law.“
The bill is the outcome of a long discussion about so-called compulsory
routers. These forbid internet users to use a terminal device of their
choice and force them to always have the provider's device in the own
home network. This widespread practise is a threat to security, privacy,
and independence of all internet users and has negative effects on free
and fair competition of manufacturers.
Despite the unanimous opinion of experts, consumer protectors, and
politicians some members of the Federal Council aligned with the few
current bill's opponents. In doing so they adapted technically
inconsistent and long-disproved arguments of internet providers and
network carriers. Up to now the Federal Government rejected the
Council's criticism as not reasonable.
„Today's letter shall prevent a repetition of the Council's
disappointing reaction. With a broad alliance of many-faceted
supporters of terminal device freedom we ask the committees' members
to put those basic user rights as soon as possible and without any
rotten compromises into law“, says Max Mehl, FSFE's Germany
Coordinator. „As of today no representative can plead lack of
knowledge of the importance of terminal device freedom for the
independent usage and security of the internet.“
You can view the depersonalised version of the sent association joint
letter here[1]. Additionally we listed all important events in the
course of the compulsory routers debate seperately on our website[2].
--
Free Software Foundation Europe <https://fsfe.org>
FSFE News <https://fsfe.org/news/news.en.rss>
Upcoming FSFE Events <https://fsfe.org/events/events.en.rss>
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Free Software Discussions <https://fsfe.org/contact/community.en.html>
1. https://fsfe.org/activities/routers/files/20151027_Verbaendeschreiben.pdf
2. https://fsfe.org/activities/routers/timeline.sk.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/
= FSFE convinces 1125 public administrations to remove proprietary software advertisements =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2015/news-20151013-01.sk.html ]
After six years of activity, the PDFreaders campaign[1] is coming to a
close this month as one of our most successful campaigns.
The campaign began in 2009 with the intent of removing advertisements
for proprietary PDF reader software from public institutions' websites.
To start it all off, volunteers submitted 2104 "bugs", or instances of
proprietary PDF software being directly promoted by public authorities,
and the FSFE listed[2] them online. Since then, hundreds of Free
Software activists took action by writing to the relevant public
institutions and calling for changes to their websites. We received a
lot of positive feedback from the institutions thanking us for our
letters, and to date, 1125 out of the 2104 websites (53%) edited their
websites by removing links to proprietary PDF readers, or adding links
to Free Software PDF readers.
In addition to writing letters, FSFE also collected signatures for a
petition calling for an end to advertisement for proprietary software
products on government websites[3]. 90 organizations, 63 businesses, and
2731 individuals signed this petition.
Furthermore, we were able to push for change at both national and
international levels.
- In Germany, national parties[4] gave statements in favor of free PDF
readers and the German Government itself has recommended the usage of
our text snippet in their migration guide[5]. FSFE's coordinator for
Germany, Max Mehl, covers it[6] in more detail on his blog.
- In the EU: the European Parliament directly asked[7] the European
Commission what were the reasons for advertising a specific software
and which steps were taken to solve this problem.
- In 2011 one of our pdfreaders.org coordinators, Hannes Hauswedell, was
in contact with Google[8], asking them to release the PDF reader
included in their Chrome browser as Free Software. Finally, in May
2014, the pdfium sources were published openly[9], and while FSFE's
enquiry might not have been the only reason they were released, it
marks an important change for the widespread adoption of Free Software
PDF readers.
"This success would not have been possible without the help and hard
work from our volunteers and the support from our donors. *Thank
you!* While many public and private web-sites still promote
proprietary readers, the level of awareness has changed
significantly during our campaign and now it should be much easier
for you to approach the remaining web-site administrators. Also most
internet users today already use Free Software when they open a PDF
file in their browser -- a huge difference from 2009!" says Hannes
Hauswedell who started the campaign. "Of course work still remains
and we invite you to keep on reminding (public) administrators to
use Open Standards and not recommend proprietary software. And with
your support, we too, will continue to fight for a web that respects
its users' privacy and freedom!"
To get involved[10] you can use our sample letter[11] to send to the
relevant public administration, or you can write one of your own. Just
make sure to include where to find a list of Free Software PDF
readers[12] that could replace the link from their website.
A special thanks again to the activists, volunteers, and donors who
helped make this campaign a success!
1. https://fsfe.org/campaigns/pdfreaders/pdfreaders.sk.html
2. https://fsfe.org/campaigns/pdfreaders/buglist.sk.html
3. https://fsfe.org/campaigns/pdfreaders/petition.sk.html
4. http://gruen-digital.de/2012/03/document-freedom-day-kleine-anfrage-zur-wer…
5. http://www.cio.bund.de/Web/DE/Architekturen-und-Standards/Migrationsleitfad…
6. http://blog.mehl.mx/2015/german-government-wants-authorities-to-advertise-p…
7. https://fsfe.org/campaigns/pdfreaders/parliamentary-questions-eu.en.html
8. http://blogs.fsfe.org/polina/2015/09/10/free-pdf-reader-for-the-web-browser/
9. https://twitter.com/nasko/status/469595752734269440
10. https://fsfe.org/campaigns/pdfreaders/follow-up.sk.html
11. https://fsfe.org/campaigns/pdfreaders/letter.sk.html
12. http://pdfreaders.org
== About the Free Software Foundation Europe ==
Free Software Foundation Europe is a charity that empowers users to
control technology. Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our
lives; and it is important that this technology empowers rather than
restricts us. Free Software gives everybody the rights to use,
understand, adapt and share software. These rights help support other
fundamental freedoms like freedom of speech, press and privacy.
The FSFE helps individuals and organisations to understand how Free
Software contributes to freedom, transparency, and self-determination.
It enhances users' rights by abolishing barriers to Free Software
adoption, encourage people to use and develop Free Software, and
provide resources to enable everyone to further promote Free Software
in Europe.
http://fsfe.org/
= A restriction on technological restrictions =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2015/news-20150506-01.sk.html ]
== The right to install other software on your computing devices ==
Safecast is a global project to map radiation data from around the world
and release this information openly. When the project just started out,
they used modified hardware, together with their own custom software and
a few clever tweaks, to allow anyone to participate in the project. This
kind of ingenuity, the ability to re-purpose or adapt existing
technology by replacing or supplementing its software, should be
permitted and encouraged by the law. In the example of Safecast,
fortunately nobody prevented them from being innovative.
But all of us depend on the possibility to install or replace programs
that we use every day, to increase our security, privacy or convenience
-- or just because we happen to like using a different program on our
laptop, tablet, phone, router, television, car, or on other devices.
Today, on the International Day Against DRM, the undersigned
organisations are calling on lawmakers to safeguard the right to tinker
for everyone. To make sure that the owner of every device is allowed to
replace or supplement the software in that device if they so choose,
thereby empowering owners to control their own property. Many
manufacturers today add technological restrictions that prevent device
owners from changing their devices, or having someone do so for them.
This can be in breach of the licences on the devices (as with Free
Software/Open Source Software licences, which grant the rights to use,
study, share, and improve the software for any purpose). It is clear
that any right to tinker must also be coupled with a legal provision
that prevents technological restrictions of the same right.
To successfully guarantee that device owners are in control of their own
technology, the following organisations ask that the right to tinker be
guaranteed for everyone, and that technological restrictions that
interfere with this right be limited by law.
- L'Association Francophone des Utilisateurs de logiciels libres (AFUL) <https://www.aful.org>
- Chaos Computer Club <https://www.ccc.de>
- Deutscher Konsumentenbund <https://www.konsumentenbund.de>
- Digitalcourage <https://digitalcourage.de>
- Digitale Gesellschaft <https://digitalegesellschaft.de>
- European Digital Rights <https://edri.org>
- Free Software Foundation Europe <https://fsfe.org>
- KDE e.V. <https://ev.kde.org>
- Associazione LibreItalia ONLUS <https://www.libreitalia.it>
- Open Rights Group <https://www.openrightsgroup.org>
- Open Source Business Alliance <https://www.osb-alliance.de>
- Open Source Initiative <https://opensource.org>
- The Document Foundation <https://www.documentfoundation.org>
- UFC-Que Choisir <https://www.quechoisir.org>
- VideoLAN <https://www.videolan.org>
- Vrijschrift <https://www.vrijschrift.org>
== Press contact ==
Matthias Kirschner <press(a)fsfeurope.org>
Vice President, Free Software Foundation Europe
Schönhauser Allee 6/7, Berlin, Germany
Phone: +49-1577-1780003
== 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/
= Show your love for Free Software =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2015/news-20150209-01.sk.html ]
Every year on 14th February, the Free Software Foundation Europe asks
all Free Software users to think about the hard-working people in the
Free Software community and to show them their appreciation individually
on this "I love Free Software"-Day.
Like last year[1] the campaign is dedicated to the people behind Free
Software because they enable us to use, study, share and improve the
software which enables us to work in freedom. This time the focus
especially lies on the small contributions to the big picture of the
Free Software community.
"When people think of the Free Software they need and admire, many
think of large well-known applications. These softwares and the
organisations behind it are very important indeed. But we should
also think of the countless developers who spend their free or work
time to write and improve the smaller bits of software we also rely
on." says Max Mehl, this year's #ilovefs[2] campaign manager.
"Coders are no machines and their contributions deserve our respect
and gratitude."
For I love Free Software Day 2015 FSFE has several suggestions how to
show one's love to the people behind Free Software, for example:
- *Pictures* A picture is worth thousand words. The Free Software
Foundation Europe already collected some images[3] of people showing
how they express their support for Free Software developers in public.
That's a very individual way to participate.
- *Postcards* If you rather prefer to clothe your thoughts in words the
brand-new postcards enable you to do so. It's either suitable for your
valentine or for developers which software you adore. The postcards
can be ordered[4] for free just like FSFE's other promotion material.
- *#ilovefs* always had great online impact so FSFE is once again
looking forward to seeing a lot of messages on microblogs, social
networks, mailing lists, and blogs in a variety of languages.
- *Donations* to developers and organisations dedicated to Free Software
are another way how to declare one's appreciation. Invite them for a
drink or donate to their projects, to FSFE[5] or to other supporters
of Free Software[6].
"Software is deeply involved in all aspects of our lives. It is
important that this technology empowers rather than restricts us.
Free Software contributors give everybody else the freedom to use,
understand, adapt and share the software they have written. This way
they help to support other fundamental freedoms like freedom of
speech, freedom of press and privacy." says Matthias Kirschner,
FSFE's Vice President. "We should not underestimate the power of a
simple "thank you" to motivate them in their important work for
society. So say thank you on 14th February!"
--
Free Software Foundation Europe <https://fsfe.org>
FSFE News <https://fsfe.org/news/news.en.rss>
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Free Software Discussions <https://fsfe.org/contact/community.en.html>
1. https://fsfe.org/news/2014/news-20140221-01.sk.html
2. http://ilovefs.org
3. https://fsfe.org/campaigns/ilovefs/whylovefs/gallery.sk.html
4. https://fsfe.org/contribute/spreadtheword.sk.html#ilovefs-campaign
5. https://fsfe.org/donate/index.sk.html
6. https://wiki.fsfe.org/DonateToFreeSoftwareProjects
== 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/
= EU to fund Free Software code review =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2014/news-20141219-01.sk.html ]
The European Parliament has approved funding for several projects
related to Free Software and privacy. In the EU budget for 2015[1],
which the European Parliament adopted[2] on December 17, the
Parliamentarians have allocated up to one million Euro for a project to
audit Free Software programs in use at the Commission and the Parliament
in order to identify and fix security vulnerabilities.
Even though these institutions are tightly locked into non-free file
formats, much of their infrastructure is based on Free Software.
“This is a very welcome decision,” says FSFE's president Karsten
Gerloff. “Like most public bodies, the European institutions rely
heavily on Free Software for their daily operations. It is good to
see that the Parliament and the Commission will invest at least a
little in improving the quality and the programs they use.”
The European Commission's Directorate General for Informatics (DIGIT)
will be in charge of implementing the pilot. FSFE urges the Commission
to work closely with upstream developers. The EC should make the audit
results public as soon as possible, and contribute any improvements it
makes to the upstream projects.
The budget further lists a project to encrypt communications among the
EU institutions, funded with EUR 500,000; and a pilot that uses Free
Software and Open Standards to help civil society actors participate in
lawmaking, by improving AT4AM, the software that MEPs use for drafting
legislation, which the Parliament published as Free Software in 2013[3].
Another project is intended to enable the European Commission to make
unclassified documents publicly available by default.
“Taken together, these projects are a first step towards more
transparent policy making in Europe,” says Gerloff. “We will
continue to work with the Commission and the Parliament to help them
along the path of engaging more consistently and effectively with
the Free Software community.”
Media contact:
Karsten Gerloff
Mail: gerloff fsfe.org
tel.: +49 176 9690 4298
--
Free Software Foundation Europe <https://fsfe.org>
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Fellowship Blog Aggregation <https://planet.fsfe.org/en/rss20.xml>
Free Software Discussions <https://fsfe.org/contact/community.en.html>
1. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/budget/data/DB2/2015/en/SEC03.pdf
2. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20141027STO76315/ht…
3. http://blogs.fsfe.org/gerloff/2012/07/18/helping-the-european-parliament-to…
== 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/
= Protect your privacy - Help GnuPG hire a second developer! =
[ Read online: https://fsfe.org/news/2014/news-20141217-01.sk.html ]
GnuPG is the world's leading privacy tool, with an estimated base of
more than four million active users world-wide, and a thousand new users
each day. It guards emails, files, and programs from snooping and spying
on Windows, Mac, and GNU/Linux. This crucial program needs your help to
keep going in 2015 and beyond.
Ongoing government spying revelations have shown how little of our
information is really safe. GnuPG is one of the few tools that can offer
real protection. Edward Snowden used it to encrypt his communications
with journalists. All companies and individuals running Free Software
systems use it to protect their software against manipulation -
sometimes without even knowing about it. Credit card data and backups
are routinely encrypted through GnuPG, and the program will be needed
for many years in the future to restore that data.
GnuPG this is free of charge for all those people around the world, but
it costs money to develop and maintain. For more than a decade, g10 code
GmbH, the company owned and headed by GnuPG's principal author Werner
Koch, has been bearing the majority of these costs. The company is
seeking EUR 120,000 to carry on its work on GnuPG in 2015.
With this money, the company will:
- hire a second developer to work on GnuPG
- maintain the GnuPG software and documentation
- put this vital bit of our privacy infrastructure on a more solid
organisational footing, so that it will remain viable in the long
term.
There are no fancy fundraising videos or goodies. Every cent of your
donation will directly support the future development of GnuPG. Donors
will be listed on the GnuPG website and in the next GnuPG release,
unless they choose to remain anonymous.
You can directly donate to the GnuPG project through this page:
https://gnupg.org/donate/[1]
If you can benefit from a donation receipt by a Germany charity you may
donate to the GnuPG account at the WAU Holland Stiftung:
https://www.wauland.de/en/donation.html#61[2]
Wau Holland Stiftung
Commerzbank Kassel
Königsplatz 32-34
34117 Kassel / Germany
IBAN: DE89 5204 0021 0277 2812 06
BIC: COBADEFF520 or COBADEFFXXX
Stichwort: GnuPG
Bitcoin: 12LKeo24XCzgz6ASSxcUa8BvUfzkEyCpGq
The Wau Holland Stiftung will use the money raised to pay for
development work on GnuPG and Enigmail.
In a blog post, Werner Koch has provided an overview of GnuPG's costs
and revenues over the years:
https://www.gnupg.org/blog/20141214-gnupg-and-g10.html[3]
Media contact:
- Werner Koch, primary GnuPG developer, g10 code: Email: wk AT g10code
DOT org Phone: +49-2104-173855
- Karsten Gerloff, President, Free Software Foundation Europe: Email:
gerloff AT fsfe DOT org Phone: +49 176 9690 4298
- Bernd Fix, Wau Holland Stiftung: Email: bf AT wauland DOT de
About Wau Holland Stiftung:
WHS is a foundation related to the Chaos Computer Club, that was
launched by the father and close friends of the late "information
philosopher" Wau Holland (a.k.a. Herwart Holland-Moritz) to promote and
pursue his unique freethinking in relation to freedom of communication
and informational self-determination.
--
Free Software Foundation Europe <https://fsfe.org>
FSFE News <https://fsfe.org/news/news.en.rss>
Upcoming FSFE Events <https://fsfe.org/events/events.en.rss>
Fellowship Blog Aggregation <https://planet.fsfe.org/en/rss20.xml>
Free Software Discussions <https://fsfe.org/contact/community.en.html>
1. https://gnupg.org/donate/
2. https://www.wauland.de/en/donation.html#61
3. https://www.gnupg.org/blog/20141214-gnupg-and-g10.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/