AboutWelcome to Free Software Daily (FSD). FSD is a hub for news and articles by and for the free and open source community. FSD is a community driven site where members of the community submit and vote for the stories that they think are important and interesting to them. Click the "About" link to read more...
Issue 18 is here and with it another bunch of great articles all about free software. We have Andrew Min showing us how to dual-boot Windows and Kubuntu. There's Mitch Meyran's in depth article on 3D desktops and Xavier Calbet's one on Fractal generation.
Issue 19 of Free Software Magazine is out, and so are another 18 fantastic articles. Tony Mobily opens the magazine with his editorial on file formats. Andrew Min and Gary Richmond join forces to provide useful tips&tricks, while Robin Monks reviews some of the best free software media players.
We started FSM about 3 years ago with two goals in mind: publish fantastic articles about free software, and pay people to write good articles. We believe we managed to reach the first goal. As far as payment, before now, we never managed to pay cash for articles.
"People are ignorant, but we already know that. As usual, I’ve read something really stupid on Twitter this morning. It said: I hope Apple will develop for everyone [every OS]. I think it would be one of the worst things to ever happen. Why do people want to install non-free software on free systems?
"The latest volume of the magazine Index on Censorship focuses on issues related to free speech online. I'm among the contributors. Here's a snip from the issue overview: «The Internet was supposed to spell the end of censorship – instead governments now have unprecedented possibilities for controlling what we do and what we read. But this is a revolution in free expression that can’t be stopped. Index examines the explosion in communication, the rise in new forms of censorship (and the ways to get round them) and the impact on social attitudes.» ..."
Free Software developers fall into two main categories: those that stand by the principles behind free software - patent-free, license-free and unrestricted distribution and those that are simply happy to compromise to some extent, for example to download libdvdcss to watch DVDs, or to install proprietary software such as Skype, on the basis that there is simply no (or no better) alternative
"Like Dracula, the old myth that free software can't innovate keeps returning. Its latest incarnation is in the form of a column by Jaron Lanier in the December issue of Discover Magazine. (The column isn't online yet, but Lanier has disparaged community-based creativity many times, in particular when talking about Wikipedia). But this accusation is one that's overdue for a stake through the heart. Those who have experienced free software projects firsthand know that they depend on innovation and genrally foster it. And although this isn't a highly innovative era for the computer industry as a whole, free software is an exception -- and likely to become more of one as it continues to come into its own.
