12.16.06
The Free Software Foundation Needs Your Help
The FSF has just posted an appeal for assistance through supportive membership. The YouTube-transformed video is embedded in this post.
In related news, the Software Freedom Law Center has also served Microsoft, which is strange.
The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), a non-profit organization that provides pro-bono legal services to protect and advance open-source software, filed a brief today with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Microsoft’s appeal of a software patent decision.
Update: the FSF has just launched a new blog. It warns about the hidden dangers in Windows Vista.
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today launched BadVista.org, a campaign with a twofold mission of exposing the harms inflicted on computer users by the new Microsoft Windows Vista and promoting free software alternatives that respect users’ security and privacy rights.
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today launched BadVista.org, a campaign with a twofold mission of exposing the harms inflicted on computer users by the new Microsoft Windows Vista and promoting free software alternatives that respect users’ security and privacy rights.
Whether or not any of these nasty features will make it into SUSE Linux is an interesting question. Adoption through compliance is a risky step. After some patent nonesense, Hula, so-called interoperability, and OpenXML support it has become fairly clear that Microsoft calls the shots at Novell.
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.
Shane Coyle said,
December 16, 2006 at 9:57 pm
GO SFLC!
The absolutely amazingly funny thing about this amicus briefing, which is on Microsoft’s behalf in this particular case, is also a direct assault on ALL software patents.
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Groklaw coverage: http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20061215131844340
Eben Moglen Executive Director of SFLC: “The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that algorithms and mathematics cannot be patented. Since software is expressed as mathematical algorithms, it should not be patentable.”
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