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Re: [Fsfe-uk] BBC's DRM Iplayer windows only


From: Dave Crossland
Subject: Re: [Fsfe-uk] BBC's DRM Iplayer windows only
Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 14:02:53 +0000

On 12/01/2008, Jon Grant <address@hidden> wrote:
> On 08/01/2008, Noah Slater <address@hidden> wrote:
> > On Tue, Jan 08, 2008 at 02:23:46PM +0000, Ralph Corderoy wrote:
> > > I'd like to see the FSF and all its advocates stop their effort at
> > > retronaming Linux as GNU+Linux
> >
> > Retronaming? Are you kidding? Next you'll be saying that Free Software
> > is an attempt to retroname the Open Source movement. Revisionists like
> > Linus and ESR do real damage to the Free Software movement, we need to
> > work hard to undo thier harmful work.
>
> do you genuinely believe that Linus is doing damage?

Maintaining an excellent free software kernel for the GNU OS is
crucially important and celebratory work.

Not promoting the idea of software freedom is damaging.

When he says things that mean "The Linux OS started in 1991 because I
wrote a kernel for fun" he is misleading people about the difference
between an OS and a kernel which is confusing, taking credit for the
GNU OS which is unfair, and not helping to inform people about the
idea of software freedom.

> I can't think of
> any instances of his damage doing myself, and to be frank the FSF
> sponsoring Adobe's Flash format in their  pure Flash GPLFlash/Gnash
> GNU project (http://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/) seems far more worthy
> of a damage claim since they are unwilling to aim for anything better
> for web-multimedia

I thought we established there isn't anything better for web
multimedia. Show me URLs of better technology :-)

> Will FSF be sponsoring a GPL_ActiveX GNU project next?

Being unable to view Active X wrapped media is not a "Top 5" reason to
not switch to GNU+Linux or to install proprietary software on
GNU+Linux. So I doubt it. But if it was as much of a social problem,
I'd expect so.

Active X is obsolete afaik; Silverlight seems the equivalent problem
today. If Novell hadn't done Mono and then Moonlight, I can imagine
that dotGNU would have grown and then done a Silverlight
implementation.

> or GNU_Multimedia which can only decode WMV files?

I can imagine a GNU WMV codec project; if users want to see WMV files
and will not switch to GNU+Linux or to install proprietary software on
GNU+Linux, this kind of program needs to be written as  free software.

> ...IMHO we need to keep things in perspective (FS vs Open Source), and
> not squabble with people who are 90% thinking the same because they
> don't agree with us on 10%.

The concept of software freedom and the original goal of using
exclusively free software has nearly been snuffed out, and IMHO its
important to keep things in perspective and not let it disappear from
sight.

Calling the OS GNU/Linux or GNU+Linux is a simple way to do that which
anyone can do and takes only a few seconds each day.

-- 
Regards,
Dave




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