I've no doubt that this is the beginning of the end for GNU, and it will prove the strength of the larger free software world. The Free Software Foundation has dumped a load of restrictions on us with GPLv3 and told us that restrictions lead to freedom and that it is good for us. That's a little too Bush administration-like for me.
Full story »
Read contents from Free Software Magazine
Anybody up to writing good directory software?
Tue, 2007-02-20 11:17 — David JonathanSince the very beginning, directories (of any kind) have had a very central role in the internet. (I have recently grown fond of Free Web Directory. Even Slashdot can be considered a directory: a collection of great news and invaluable user-generated comments. As far as software is concerned, doing a quick search on Google about software directories will return the free (as in freedom) software directories like Savannah, SourceForge, Freshmeat and so on, followed by shareware and freeware sites such as FileBuzz, PCWin Download Center and All Freeware (great if you're looking for shareware and freeware, but definitely less comprehensive than their free-as-in-freedom counterparts).
Is better education the key to finding better software?
Sat, 2007-03-03 03:25 — Edward RusselI read David Jonathon's article Anybody Up To Writing Good Directory Software? the other day, which got me thinking about software directories in general. As David mentioned, many of the software directories one finds when doing a quick google search are free as in beer, not as in freedom. But what interests me is the software directories that already exist, providing a combination of both free as in beer software, and open source software. Sites such as Freeware Downloads and Shareware Download don't advertise themselves as providing free as in liberty software, but each of them have a good selection of open source software available... if you know where to look.
Categories
Best karma users
From the staff of FSDaily: Comedians in Perth, Magicians in Perth, Bands in Perth
ozuess
4 years 47 weeks 2 days 14 hours ago
oh, great. another gpl v3 FUD.
oh, great. another gpl v3 FUD. it's getting rather tiresome.
v3 is exactly what the free software community and movement needs. the gpl v2 was the most successful software license, and the v3 only corrects the errors/loopholes that were in it or got created as the industry developed. it poses no restrictions on users, but on exploiters. it restricts only those that want to take advantage of the contributions of other. so if any company wishes to restrict the freedom of other users and make the code non-free and equivalent (by locking hardware) they shouldn't enjoy the benefits of free software, nor the trust of developers and users.
aboutblank
4 years 47 weeks 2 days 14 hours ago
Yep. If you understand the concept
Yep. If you understand the concept of "free software", all GPLs are simple: For this software, you (as the recipient) are allowed to practise all four freedoms of free software.
The legalese present in GPL3 are for this reason: For this software, you (as the recipient) are allowed to practise all four freedoms of free software //AND haha, don't try the funny stuff you did with GPL2 that deprives the user's free software rights.// Basically, the legalese exists for anyone who intends to distribute essentially proprietary gpl software e.g. Tivoised GNU/Linux distro or Patent encumbered GNU/Linux disto.
mattflaschen
4 years 47 weeks 2 days 8 hours ago
I stopped reading at "and maybe
I stopped reading at "and maybe all of your other patents on other devices as well." (totally false). I guess the release of the final license can't stop rampant speculation about the contents.