News (24)

  • Gates is gone but the fight goes on: Stallman

    To pay so much attention to Bill Gates' retirement is missing the point. What really matters is not Gates, nor Microsoft, but the unethical system of restrictions that Microsoft, like many other software companies, imposes on its customers.

  • Stallman unbending on software patents

    Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation, proposed changes to General Public Licence at a public forum on Tuesday but made clear that provisions to protect users from patent litigations will remain intact.

  • Torvalds: No GPL 3 for Linux

    Linus Torvalds said that he won't convert Linux to version 3 of the General Public License, as he objects to digital rights management provisions in the proposed update.

  • New Linux licence takes aim at DRM and Hollywood

    New licensing terms for Linux and other open-source products take a "highly aggressive" stance against the digital rights management software that's widely favoured in the entertainment industry, said Eben Moglen, general counsel for the Free Software Foundation.

  • Torvalds says DRM isn't necessarily bad

    Provisions against digital rights management in a draft update to the General Public Licence could undermine computer security, Linus Torvalds said this week in e-mails reflecting the Linux leader's pragmatic philosophy.

Features and Case Studies (9)

  • Linux licence overhaul -- don't hold your breath

    General Public License governing heart of popular open-source OS is being updated to deal with patents, other issues. But it'll be a struggle.

  • Sun's no-op announcement

    Richard Stallman says even if Sun and others follow IBM's lead and started defusing the patent minefield of software development, the battle against software patents must continue.

  • Bill Gates and other communists

    Free Software Foundation President Richard Stallman says Microsoft's chairman is blurring the issue of software patents.

  • Battle brews over unlocking PC secrets

    The BIOS is one of the most closely guarded pieces of your system's software. Now some people want to set it free.

  • Defender of the Linux faith

    Linux kernel developer Harald Welte talks about the challenges of single-handedly tackling companies that violate the GPL.

Reviews (1)

  • Firefox, bah humbug

    So far, the open source browser has been getting a free ride -- nobody is criticising it. That is, until now.

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