I just came across the transcipt of a lecture given by Richard Stallman, the founder of the GNU project (and thus the Free Software movement), given in Zagreb, Croatia, in March of last year. While its title, "The Free Software Movement and the Future of Freedom", may be reminiscent of one of George Bush's speeches, I found the talk to be an insightful and thought-provoking treatment of the origin and goals of the free software movement.
He begins with a discussion of "essential freedoms", and I find his perspective on these to be -- in my opinion -- extreme. Yet as he moves into a discussion of current issues such as spyware, software patents, the DMCA, and Trusted Computing, his argument hits home for me. I'm afraid that there are groups working to take what I do with my hardware, my software, and my content out of my control.
I must say that I admire the passion that Stallman conveys in his speech. Reading it sparked some of that evangelism in me that had become squelched, or rather dulled, over the years... Use GNU/Linux! It feels great!
The next time someone asks me about free software, I'm going to send them this link.
http://fsfeurope.org/documents/rms-fs-2006-03-09.en.html
He begins with a discussion of "essential freedoms", and I find his perspective on these to be -- in my opinion -- extreme. Yet as he moves into a discussion of current issues such as spyware, software patents, the DMCA, and Trusted Computing, his argument hits home for me. I'm afraid that there are groups working to take what I do with my hardware, my software, and my content out of my control.
I must say that I admire the passion that Stallman conveys in his speech. Reading it sparked some of that evangelism in me that had become squelched, or rather dulled, over the years... Use GNU/Linux! It feels great!
The next time someone asks me about free software, I'm going to send them this link.
http://fsfeurope.org/documents/rms-fs-2006-03-09.en.html
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