GNU turn thirty!

Dear ,

Can you believe it? The GNU system is thirty years old today!

In 1983, Richard Stallman launched the free software movement with the words, "Free Unix!" We've freed a lot more than that in the last thirty years. The GNU system is now a vast universe of fully free operating systems, window managers, and software that serves almost every imaginable purpose. More than 95 percent of the world's supercomputers run free software. A majority of web servers run free software. Even more impressive, there are estimated to be tens of millions of free software users worldwide.

That's a lot to celebrate. This weekend, the Free Software Foundation will be honoring thirty years of GNU with a celebration and hackathon in Cambridge, MA. Around the world, there are over eighteen celebrations planned on almost every inhabited continent. And online, people are showing their love for GNU by embedding the special 30th anniversary badge on their websites and donating to support GNU's future work.

Please join us in the celebration:

• Watch the livestream from the Cambridge celebration to see John Sullivan speak at 10am EDT (14:00 UTC) and Richard Stallman speak live at 5pm EDT (21:00 UTC) on Saturday, September 28.
• Find the celebration nearest you.
• Embed the special 30th anniversary badge.
• Donate to keep GNU going strong for another thirty years.

Happy Hacking,

The entire Free Software Foundation team

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Only two weeks until GNU turns thirty!

Dear ,

GNU turns thirty in less than two weeks! Wherever you live, we hope you'll join us for our big anniversary celebration and hackathon on September 28 - 29.

GNU lovers from all over the world will converge on MIT in Cambridge, MA for cake, coding, and a special address from Richard Stallman. If you want to attend the event in person, there is still time to register! If you'll be watching online, be sure to tune in to the event page on Saturday the 28th at 17:00 EDT.

Ten projects will be hosting hackathons during the celebration: Commotion, coreboot, Gnash, GNOME, GNU FM, GNU MediaGoblin, GNU Octave, GNU social, Tahoe-LAFS, and Tor. Most of these hackathons will have an online presence as well, so visit the event page on September 28th to participate virtually.

And for those of you who'd like to make sure GNU begins its next decade in its strongest financial position ever, we encourage you to consider donating or attending our special fundraising dinner on September 27th at Rendezvous in Cambridge.

Of course, if you're in it for the cake, you'll have to be at the celebration in person. And you won't want to miss the opportunity to meet many early contributors to GNU, project maintainers, privacy and security experts, and more. So, register today, book that last minute plane ticket, mark your calendars, and tell your friends. We'll see you in Boston!

Happy hacking,

Libby Reinish
Campaigns Manager

P.S. We are collecting well wishes for GNU from around the world. Send us a picture of yourself with an anniversary greeting (we recommend a sign that says, "I <3 GNU!").

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New iPhones put more polish on Apple's restrictions

Dear ,

The announcement of Apple's new iPhone releases marks yet another highly anticipated product launch from the technology giant. As expected, the new iPhones will be faster, more powerful, and continue to hide the various anti-user restrictions behind a sleek and seductive user interface. Each release of a product or operating system from Apple means the latest and greatest they have to offer, including the strongest Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) technologies yet.

The beauty of Apple products is how cleverly they use smooth curves and a shiny design to lock users into an experience controlled by a single corporation. The inner workings (or non-workings as the case may be) of its operating system, the availability of applications, and the low-level control over hardware are all hidden away from the public and tightly secured by Apple.

As with previous iPhones, apps and devices come with a kill switch, third party peripherals are arbitrarily restricted, books and other media purchased from iTunes come with DRM, and all software must be cryptographically signed and approved by Apple. The iPhone 5s and 5c succeed in leaving their users at the mercy of Apple.

The most anticipated new feature of the iPhone 5s is the inclusion of a new fingerprint scanner, which is advertised as an enhanced security feature tacked onto a software platform that lacks transparency, accountability, and is inherently untrustworthy.

Rather than improving privacy and security, by encouraging users of the latest incarnations of the iPhone to use their fingerprints to unlock their device, Apple invites the possibility of verifying biometrically exactly who used an iPhone and at what time.

We have seen Apple grow to more and more effectively lock down their hardware and software platforms, and in turn, lock in their users. Would-be Apple customers should be warned about the dangers Apple products create, and informed about the alternatives, workarounds, and ways to resist Apple's control. We invite anti-DRM activists to visit the Free Software Foundation's iPhone action page and send an email to Apple CEO Tim Cook letting him know that you won't buy an iOS device because of its proprietary software and DRM. Once you've done that, look into ways to use mobile devices without surrendering your freedom, such as Replicant and F-Droid.

Sincerely,

Kẏra
Campaigns Organizer

You can view this post online at https://defectivebydesign.org/iphone5c-warning.

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Celebrate GNU's big "three-o"

Dear ,

30 years ago, Richard Stallman published the announcement that would launch the free software movement.

Celebrate software freedom online and at events being held all around the world. Visit our Web page to register for the big shebang in Boston, take action online, and learn about satellite events being held around the world.

Celebrate online with GNU-a-Days and more

Looking for an easy way to get in on the fun and support software freedom? Check out our GNU-a-Days, daily challenges you can take throughout the month of September. Show your GNU pride by grabbing our special 30th anniversary Web badge for your site or profile picture. You can also make a special 30th anniversary donation to ensure that the GNU system enters its next decade stronger than ever. It's all at our special GNU 30th Web page.

30th anniversary celebration and hackathon in Cambridge

Have you registered for the big anniversary bash on September 27 - 29 in Cambridge, MA yet?

GNU system founder Richard Stallman will be there, as will many of GNU's early participants and the maintainers of GNU projects.

In addition to cake and special remarks from Richard Stallman, the anniversary celebration will take the form of a hackathon. The hackathon will focus on important needs for free software in today's Internet-based world. Hackathon participants will include many GNU projects and other free software projects that fit the theme. They include: coreboot, Gnash, GNOME, GNU FM, GNU MediaGoblin, GNU social, Tahoe-LAFS, Tor, and others.

Satellite events

GNU supporters all over the world are planning their own celebrations, and we've listed them all on the 30th anniversary page. Events are currently in the works in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Cox's Bazaar, Bangladesh; Kitchener, Canada; Prague, Czech Republic; Paris, France; and Tokyo, Japan. Check back often for new additions. To host a satellite event in your area, contact campaigns@fsf.org.

No matter who you are or where you live, we hope you'll find a way to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the GNU system.

Happy Hacking,

Libby Reinish

FSF Campaigns Manager on behalf of GNU

You can view this post online at https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/celebrate-gnus-big-three-o.

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Free Software Supporter - Issue 65, August 2013

Free Software Supporter

Issue 65, August 2013

Welcome to the Free Software Supporter, the Free Software Foundation's monthly news digest and action update -- being read by you and 69,626 other activists.

View this issue online here: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2013/august

Encourage your friends to subscribe and help us build an audience by adding our subscriber widget to your web site.

• Subscribe: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter
• Widget: https://www.fsf.org/associate/widget

Miss an issue? You can catch up on back issues at https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter.

#

El Free Software Supporter está disponible en español. Para ver la versión en español haz click aqui: https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2013/agosto

Para cambiar las preferencias de usuario y recibir los próximos números del Supporter en castellano, haz click aquí: https://crm.fsf.org/civicrm/profile/create?gid=34&reset=1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• You're Invited: GNU 30th anniversary celebration and hackathon
• United for a Web without proprietary JavaScript
• Replace your LibrePlanet2012 shirt for only $10!
• GNU MediaGoblin shirts now available
• First batch of videos from LibrePlanet 2013 published!
• gNewSense 3.0 released
• FSF to begin accepting GPG signed assignments from the U.S.
• Interview with Bernd Kreuss of TorChat
• New fsfstatus notification account
• Sell your Netflix stock to send a message: No DRM in HTML
• RMS in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
• RMS in Berlin, Germany, for induction into the Internet Hall of Fame
• Replicant project opens forums
• Conservancy helps Samsung resolve GPL compliance matter amicably
• Conservancy seeks Systems Analyst / Software Architect for six-month consulting position
• Use Libre.fm and GNU FM and help defeat surveillance
• Paranoia optimization for our modern times
• LeastAuthority.com announces a spy-proof storage service
• Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
• LibrePlanet featured resource: GNU 30th anniversary satellite events
• GNU Spotlight with Karl Berry: 15 new GNU releases!
• GNU Toolchain Update
• Richard Stallman's speaking schedule and other FSF events
• Thank GNUs!
• Take action with the FSF!

You're Invited: GNU 30th anniversary celebration and hackathon

From August 26th

The GNU system will be celebrating its 30th anniversary on September 28 and 29 in Boston, and in cities around the world. RSVP today.

• https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/youre-invited-gnu-30th-anniversary-celebration-and-hackathon

United for a Web without proprietary JavaScript

From August 30th

The FSF has launched a campaign to persuade organizations to make their Web sites work without requiring that users run any nonfree JavaScript. Users are uniting to focus on one site at a time -- currently, greenpeace.org.

• https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/united-for-a-web-without-proprietary-javascript

Replace your LibrePlanet2012 shirt for only $10!

From August 1st

Relive the fond memories of LibrePlanet with logo shirts commemorating the events in 2012 and 2013.

• https://www.fsf.org/blogs/gnu-press/replace-your-libreplanet2012-shirt-for-only-10

GNU MediaGoblin shirts now available

From August 30th

GNU MediaGoblin shirts are now available in the GNU Press store for $25 and are printed on American Apparel t-shirts.

• https://www.fsf.org/blogs/gnu-press/mediagoblin-shirts-now-available

First batch of videos from LibrePlanet 2013 published!

From August 7th

The first batch of videos from LibrePlanet 2013 are now available for streaming and downloading in VP8/Vorbis, both free media formats, and are hosted on an instance of GNU MediaGoblin.

• https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/first-batch-of-videos-from-libreplanet-2013-published

gNewSense 3.0 released

The latest release of gNewSense is out, bringing with it a spate of new features and bug fixes. Most notably, gNewSense 3.0, codenamed "Parkes," is now based on Debian rather than Ubuntu.

• https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/gnewsense-3-0-released

FSF to begin accepting GPG signed assignments from the U.S.

The FSF is pleased to announce that we can begin accepting GPG-signed assignments from contributors residing in the United States.

• https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/fsf-to-begin-accepting-gpg-signed-assignments-from-the-u-s

Interview with Bernd Kreuss of TorChat

From August 27th

This is the latest installment of our Licensing and Compliance Lab's series on free software developers who choose GNU licenses for their works. In this edition, we interviewed Bernd Kreuss, the developer of TorChat, a peer-to-peer instant messenger with a completely decentralized design.

• https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/interview-with-bernd-kreuss-of-torchat

New fsfstatus notification account

From August 28th

The FSF has a new out-of-band notification account at https://pumprock.net/fsfstatus. We will post updates on planned and unplanned service outages there.

• https://www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadmin/new-fsfstatus-notification-account

Sell your Netflix stock to send a message: No DRM in HTML

From August 28th

We're ramping up the pressure on Netflix to keep DRM away from the HTML standard and asking investors to sell their shares in NFLX.

• https://www.defectivebydesign.org/divest-from-netflix

RMS in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

RMS was in the Centro de Eventos of the Universidad de Passo Fundo, in Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, on July 1st, 2013, to deliver his speech "A Free Digital Society," to an audience of over four hundred professionals, students, and teachers in the IT field.

• https://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/20130701-passofundo

RMS in Berlin, Germany, for induction into the Internet Hall of Fame

On August 3rd, 2013, RMS was at the InterContinental Hotel, in Berlin, Germany, where he was inducted in the Internet Hall of Fame, in recognition of his contributions as an innovator and for founding the Free Software Foundation.

• https://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/20130803-berlin

Replicant project opens forums

By Paul Kocialkowski, from August 9th

The Replicant project has opened forums to encourage community support and discussion.

• http://replicant.us/2013/08/opening-the-replicant-forums/

Conservancy helps Samsung resolve GPL compliance matter amicably

By Software Freedom Conservancy, from August 16th

Samsung and Conservancy worked together to resolve an issue where a GPLed exFAT filesystem driver was released without the complete corresponding source code.

• http://sfconservancy.org/news/2013/aug/16/exfat-samsung/

Conservancy seeks Systems Analyst / Software Architect for six-month consulting position

By Software Freedom Conservancy, from August 26th

Conservancy recently raised funds to begin work on an FSF-endorsed free software non-profit accounting system and now seeks the talent of an experienced systems analyst and software designer to complete a six-month contract project (with the possibility of extension).

• https://sfconservancy.org/news/2013/aug/26/software-architect/

Use Libre.fm and GNU FM and help defeat surveillance

By Libre.fm, from August 26th

The Libre.fm and GNU FM developers outline the importance of using free software to combat surveillance and add that with the 30th anniversary of the GNU project coming in September, now is an important time for all GNU projects to work together on providing replacements to sites that users cannot control.

• https://librefm.wordpress.com/2013/08/26/use-libre-fm-and-gnu-fm-and-help-defeat-surveillance/

Paranoia optimization for our modern times

By Deborah Nicholson, from August 23rd

GNU MediaGoblin contributer Deborah Nicholson reflects on the social effects of avoiding surveillance on the Web.

• http://mediagoblin.org/news/paranoia-optimization.html

LeastAuthority.com announces a spy-proof storage service

By LeastAuthority.com, from July 30th

LeastAuthority.com has announced Simple Secure Storage Service (S4), a backup service that encrypts your files to protect them from the prying eyes of spies and criminals.

• https://leastauthority.com/press_release_2013_07_30

Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory

From August 30th

Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth of useful information, from basic category and descriptions to version control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing. The Free Software Directory has been a great resource to software users over the past decade, but it needs your help staying up-to-date with new and exciting free software projects.

To help, join our weekly IRC meetings on Fridays. Meetings take place in the #fsf channel on irc.gnu.org, and usually include a handful of regulars as well as newcomers. Everyone's welcome.

The next meeting is Friday, September 6th from 2pm to 5pm EDT (18:00 to 21:00 UTC). Details here:

• https://www.fsf.org/blogs/directory/friday-free-software-directory-irc-meetup-september-6

After this meeting, you can check https://www.fsf.org/events to see the rest of MONTH's weekly meetings as they are scheduled.

LibrePlanet featured resource: GNU 30th anniversary satellite events

Every month on LibrePlanet, we highlight one resource that is interesting and useful -- often one that could use your help.

For this month, we are highlighting the list of GNU 30th anniversary satellite events, which provides information about celebrations for the GNU system's 30th anniversary occurring around the world. You are invited to adopt, spread and improve this important resource.

• https://libreplanet.org/wiki/Category:GNU_30_satellite_events

Do you have a suggestion for next month's featured resource? Let us know at campaigns@fsf.org.

GNU Spotlight with Karl Berry: 15 new GNU releases!

15 new GNU releases this month (as of August 26, 2013):

• bison-3.0
• bzr-2.60
• combine-0.4.0
• denemo-1.0.6
• freeipmi-1.3.1
• gettext-0.18.3.1
• glibc-2.18
• glpk-4.52.1
• gnubatch-1.9
• gnupg-2.0.21
• libmatheval-1.1.11
• parallel-20130822
• sipwitch-1.7.0
• ucommon-6.0.7
• xorriso-1.3.2

To get announcements of most new GNU releases, subscribe to the info-gnu mailing list: http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-gnu. Nearly all GNU software is available from http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/, or preferably one of its mirrors (http://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html). You can use the url http://ftpmirror.gnu.org/ to be automatically redirected to a (hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror.

A number of GNU packages, as well as the GNU operating system as a whole, are looking for maintainers and other assistance. Please see http://www.gnu.org/server/takeaction.html#unmaint if you'd like to help. The general page on how to help GNU is at http://www.gnu.org/help/help.html. To submit new packages to the GNU operating system, see http://www.gnu.org/help/evaluation.html.

As always, please feel free to write to me, karl@gnu.org, with any GNUish questions or suggestions for future installments.

GNU Toolchain update

From August 19th

The GNU toolchain refers to the part of the GNU system which is used for building programs. These components of GNU are together often on other systems and for compiling programs for other platforms.

Read about updates to G++, GCC, and more.

• http://nickclifton.livejournal.com/14247.html

Richard Stallman's speaking schedule

For event details, as well as to sign-up to be notified for future events in your area, please visit https://www.fsf.org/events.

So far, Richard Stallman has the following events in September:

• Aug 31, 2013 12:30 PM, Johannesburg, Pretoria, "A free digital society"
• Sep 03, 2013 2:00 PM, Pretoria, South Africa, "Free software: defending your freedom"
• Sep 05, 2013 6:00 PM, Cape Town, South Africa, "A free digital society"
• Sep 06, 2013 5:00 PM, Durban, South Africa, "The danger of software patents"
• Sep 19, 2013 5:00 PM, Biot, France, "A free digital society"
• Sep 20, 2013 6:00 PM, Paris, France, "A free digital society"

Other FSF and free software events

• Sep 21, 2013 09:30 AM to 05:30 PM, Cambridge, MA, Software Freedom Day - Cambridge
• Sep 27, 2013 12:00 AM to 11:55 PM, Worldwide, Happy 30th Birthday, GNU!
• Sep 28, 2013 10:00 AM to Sep 29, 2013 5:00 PM, Cambridge, MA, GNU 30th Anniversary Celebration and Hackathon

Thank GNUs!

We appreciate everyone who donates to the Free Software Foundation, but we'd like to give special recognition to the folks who have donated $500 or more in the last month.

• https://www.gnu.org/thankgnus/2013supporters.html

This month, a big Thank GNU to:

• Gregory Maxwell
• Kevin McCarthy
• Colin Carr
• Steve Sprang
• Martin Cohn
• Krishna Kunchithapadam
• Liang Zhao
• Bitcoin Grant
• Chris Allegretta
• Eberhard Schopf
• Henri Sivonen

You can add your name to this list by donating at https://donate.fsf.org.

Take action with the FSF

Contributions from thousands of individual members enable the FSF's work. You can contribute by joining at https://www.fsf.org/join. If you're already a member, you can help refer new members (and earn some rewards) by adding a line with your member number to your email signature like:

I'm an FSF member -- Help us support software freedom! https://www.fsf.org/jf?referrer=2442

The FSF is also always looking for volunteers (https://www.fsf.org/volunteer). From rabble-rousing to hacking, from issue coordination to envelope stuffing -- there's something here for everybody to do. Also, head over to our campaign section (https://www.fsf.org/campaigns) and take action on software patents, DRM, free software adoption, OpenDocument, RIAA and more.

#

Copyright © 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/.

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United for a Web without proprietary JavaScript

Dear ,

For some time now, free software users have been concerned about the increasing number of Web sites that cannot run without nonfree JavaScript programs downloaded and executed on the visitor's computer. Richard Stallman first raised the concern with his article The JavaScript Trap, pointing out that most JavaScript programs are not freely licensed, and that even free software Web browsers are usually configured to download and run these nonfree programs without informing the user. We've recently started organizing free software users around the issue.

Now we're proud to announce a new, dedicated Web page for our Free JavaScript campaign, an ongoing effort to persuade organizations to make their Web sites work without requiring that users run any nonfree software. By convincing influential sites to make the transition, we will raise awareness of the need for free software-friendly Web sites and influence the owners of other sites to follow.

The current focus of the campaign is Greenpeace.org, the online home of the famous global environmental organization. They haven't responded to our email requesting that they make their site work without requiring nonfree software, so we're asking you to add your voice with an email of your own. We'll focus on Greenpeace for a period, and then move to another focus, concentrating efforts on one site at a time to maximize our impact.

Head over to the new Free JavaScript campaign area to learn more about the issues and take action by emailing Greenpeace.org. The campaign page also hosts resources for using the Web without nonfree JavaScript, a mailing list and a wiki page where you can share your ideas for the campaign.

Sincerely,

Zak Rogoff

Campaigns Manager

P.S. If you are an experienced JavaScript developer that's interested in helping with the campaign, please let us know by emailing campaigns@fsf.org!

You can view this post online at https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/united-for-a-web-without-proprietary-javascript.

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Sell your Netflix stock to send a message

Dear ,

"#CancelNetflix I used it and used to love it. But keep your hands off DRM in HTML5. Not cool. I'm stopping my rel. with you." -- @jordiburcas*

A few weeks ago we put out a call: if you care about freedom on the Web, cancel your Netflix subscription. The company has been leading an aggressive lobbying effort to change the fundamental language of the Web (HTML) to add an official extension accommodating Digital Restrictions Management (DRM). Free software supporters and the blogosphere have responded strongly to our previous posts about this attack on Web freedom, and many (like @jordiburcas above) have canceled their accounts. Now we're asking you to take this to the next level by dumping any stock you own in the company.

Netflix's plan is to hijack the standards-setting power of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the body that coordinates the development of HTML, in an attempt to make it easier to distribute media with DRM. Netflix's proposed extension to HTML, called Encrypted Media Extensions or EME, is supported by software companies like Microsoft and Google, as well as the powerful media corporations that provide the primary impetus for DRM. This cabal supports DRM because it gives them control over Web users. By adding artificial restrictions to media, they are able to corral people into their outdated business models and revoke customers' access to media (even media they have paid for) when it suits them.

As if we didn't already have reason enough to oppose this scheme, the proliferation of DRM inherently makes it harder to use free software. EME would indubitably lead to an explosion of DRM-encumbered media on the Web, restricting our freedom and pressuring users to install proprietary software to satisfy the demands of digital restrictions. For those committed to freedom and unwilling to install this software, DRM-encumbered sites would create a growing dark zone on the Web.

Dump your Netflix stock and post about it to inspire other shareholders to join you. If you're still holding on to a Netflix membership, cancel it for a double whammy and post with the hashtag #DivestNetflix*. Even if you don't own Netflix stock or have an account, you can help by spreading this message to the many others that do.

"#CancelNetflix I used it and used to love it. But keep your hands off DRM in HTML5. Not cool. I'm stopping my rel. with you." -- @jordiburcas*

This is a pivotal moment in the W3C deliberations over EME, when its proponents are struggling to maintain the illusion that EME won't cause any problems for the Web. Also, despite previous hype, Netflix recently released new subscriber numbers that were below expectations for the second quarter of 2013. These facts mean this is a critical time to send a message by divesting.

We should also remember that this is part of a larger struggle for freedom and control over our media. The world is in the initial stages of a great transition from locally stored to remotely hosted media. This shift will come with more opportunities for media distributors to encumber their products with DRM, and we need to demonstrate from the outset that doing so will cost them our support as customers and investors. That's why we're asking you to join the movement and divest from Netflix.

 

Sincerely,

 

Zak Rogoff

Campaigns Manager

* We encourage users to do their microblogging with Web sites that do not include nonfree JavaScript, like instances of pump.io or GNU social. If you use Twitter, you can access the mobile version of the Twitter site which works with JavaScript turned off, even on a desktop computer.

You can view this post online at https://www.defectivebydesign.org/divest-from-netflix.

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