FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Free Software Foundation
Bradley M. Kuhn <pr(a)gnu.org>
Phone: +1-617-542-5942
Fax: +1-617-542-2652
Richard Stallman Delivers Speech at NYU, Countering Mundie's Attack on
Free Software
Boston, Massachusetts, USA - May 25, 2001 - Richard M. Stallman, president
of the Free Software Foundation, announced today that New York University
has asked him to deliver a talk that will counterbalance the speech made
on May 3, 2001 at NYU by Craig Mundie of Microsoft.
Stallman, author of the GNU General Public License, will deliver this
speech, entitled "Free Software: Freedom and Cooperation", at Warren
Weaver Hall, Room 109 at 251 Mercer Street on the New York University
campus. The speech will be held at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, May 29, 2001, and
a press conference will immediately follow the speech at 12:15 PM. The
press is also invited to a reception at 09:30 AM at the same location.
Stallman's speech will cover the importance of software freedom and
cooperation among programmers and users, and why the GNU project developed
the GNU General Public License to facilitate sharing, cooperation and
freedom.
To help correct the myths propagated by Mundie's statements, the Free
Software Foundation has published a frequently asked question (FAQ) list
about the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL). This FAQ list addresses
many misconceptions about the GNU GPL. That FAQ list is available at:
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl-faq.html
In Microsoft's first attack against the GNU GPL earlier this year, Jim
Allchin of Microsoft, claimed the GNU GPL threatens the American Way.
Stallman responded with an essay that shows how the GNU GPL reflects and
embodies the American spirit. That essay is available at:
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/gpl-american-way.html
About Richard M. Stallman:
Richard Stallman is the founder of the GNU project, launched in 1984 to
develop the free operating system GNU (an acronym for "GNU's Not Unix"),
and thereby give computer users the freedom that most of them have lost.
GNU is free software: everyone is free to copy it and redistribute it, as
well as to make changes either large or small.
Stallman received the Grace Hopper Award from the Association for
Computing Machinery for 1991 for his development of the first Emacs editor
in the 1970s. In 1990 he was awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship,
and in 1996 an honorary doctorate from the Royal Institute of Technology
in Sweden. In 1998 he received the Electronic Frontier Foundation's
Pioneer award along with Linus Torvalds; in 1999 he received the Yuri
Rubinski memorial award.
About the Free Software Foundation:
The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting
computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute
computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as
in freedom) software---particularly the GNU operating system (used widely
today in its GNU/Linux variant)--- and free documentation. The FSF also
helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of freedom
in the use of software. The FSF web site, located at http://www.gnu.org,
is an important source of information about GNU/Linux. The FSF is
headquartered in Boston, MA, USA.
About GNU:
GNU is a Free Software Unix-like operating system. Development of GNU
began in 1984. GNU is used most commonly today as GNU/Linux.
GNU/Linux is the combination of the GNU system and the kernel named Linux,
modified to work together smoothly. Although there is no way of actually
counting them, this combination has millions of users, probably over
twenty million.
The GNU/Linux combination is often confusingly called "Linux", which leads
people to an inaccurate picture of the history and nature of the system.
Distinguishing between GNU/Linux, the complete system, and Linux, the
kernel, helps correct the confusion.
Press-release of the Free Software Foundation Europe
For immediate release
"Free Software Foundation Europe aiming for more coordination
between Free Software Developers."
(Essen) On May 6th 2001, the first general assembly of the Free
Software Foundation Europe took place at the Villa Vogelsang in Essen,
Germany. It was the first meeting of the members of the recently
founded sister organisation of the FSF (Boston,USA). Representatives
from France, Germany and Sweden agreed on future areas of engagement
for the FSFE.
"Coordinating Free Software based organisations and establishing local
chapters throughout Europe is one of our primary long-term goals." says
Georg C. F. Greve, President of the FSF Europe. "So is beginning our work
as a competence center for Free Software, aimed primarily at journalists
and politicians who will be able to find authoritative information about
Free Software from the Foundation."
Most Free Software is released under the license of the Free Software
Foundation, the GNU General Public License. One of the first
projects will be to harmonize it better with local European laws in
order to keep up with current changes and developments.
The Foundation will also further Free Software in the educational
sector where it will seek to coordinate and strengthen efforts
by organizations and individuals dedicated to that task.
At the same date, the first general assembly of the FSF Europe -
Chapter Germany has taken place.
"We want the advantages of Free Software to be known to almost everybody
in Germany. German developers are already playing a major role as
contributors to the GNU project and Free Software in general."
says Bernhard Reiter, German chancellor of the FSF Europe.
"The FSFE will help to leverage these efforts on a european level
and make sure that we it will stay legal to develop Free Software for
all needs."
About the FSF Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe is the sister organization of the
Free Software Foundation created 1984 by Richard M. Stallman in the
United States of America.
Main purpose of the FSF Europe is to coordinate Free Software
initiatives throughout Europe, to provide a Free Software
competence-center for politicians and journalists and to provide
infrastructure for Free Software projects and especially the GNU
Project.
Further information about the FSF Europe can be found at
http://fsfeurope.org
Contact:
Europe
Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +49-40-23809080
Fax: +49-40-23809081
France
Frederic Couchet <fcouchet(a)april.org>
Tel: +33 6 60 68 89 31
Germany
Bernhard Reiter <bernhard(a)intevation.de>
Tel: +49-541 - 335 08 - 33
Italy
Alessandro Rubini <rubini(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +39-0382-529.554 (o .424)
Fax: +39-0382-529.424
Sweden
Jonas Öberg <jonas(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +46-21-144831
Further press contact information is available at
http://fsfeurope.org/press/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Free Software Foundation
Bradley M. Kuhn <pr(a)gnu.org>
Phone: +1-617-542-5942
The GNU General Public License Protects Software Freedoms
Boston, Massachusetts, USA - May 4, 2001 - Richard M. Stallman, president
of the Free Software Foundation, and Professor Eben Moglen, general
counsel for the Free Software Foundation, today issued statements
addressing points raised in yesterday's remarks by Craig Mundie of
Microsoft. Stallman and Moglen focused on the importance of freedom for
software users and programmers, how the GPL protects those freedoms, and
Microsoft's attempt to cast such freedoms in an unfavorable light.
Stallman, author of the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL), stated:
"Microsoft describes the GNU GPL as an 'open source' license. To
understand the GNU GPL, you must first be aware that the GPL was not
designed for open source. The ideas and logic of the GPL stem from the
deeper goals and values of the Free Software Movement".
Stallman explained further: "The Free Software Movement was founded in
1984, but its inspiration comes from the ideals of 1776: freedom,
community, and voluntary cooperation. This is what leads to free
enterprise, to free speech, and to free software." Stallman started GNU,
a project to create a free software operating system, along with the Free
Software Movement. He wrote the first GPL-style licenses for the GNU
project, and released the first version of the GPL itself in 1989. The
current version of the GPL was released in 1991, and today is used by
thousands of software projects.
Moglen noted that Microsoft's confusion about the GPL's origins is not
surprising. He said that "taking advice on what the GPL means from
Microsoft is like taking Stalin's word on the meaning of the US
Constitution. They don't understand and they're not trying to understand:
they're simply trying to scare people out of dealing with a competitor
they can't buy, can't intimidate, and can't stop."
Stallman also addressed the propagating nature of the GPL, saying:
"Whoever wishes to copy parts of our software into his program must let us
use parts of that program in our programs. Nobody is forced to join our
club, but those who wish to participate must offer us the same cooperation
they receive from us. That makes the system fair."
"Microsoft surely would like to have the benefit of our code without the
responsibilities. But it has another, more specific purpose in attacking
the GNU GPL. Microsoft is known generally for imitation rather than
innovation. Its purpose is strategic--not to improve computing for its
users, but to close off alternatives for them."
"Hence their campaign to persuade us to abandon the license that protects
our community, the license that won't let them say, 'What's yours is mine,
and what's mine is mine.' They want us to let them take whatever they
want, without ever giving anything back. They want us to abandon our
defenses," concluded Stallman.
Finally, Moglen added that Microsoft is threatened by the power of free
software: "Microsoft, which used to say all the time that the software
business was ruthlessly competitive, is now matched against a competitor
whose model of production and distribution is so much better that
Microsoft stands no chance of prevailing in the long run."
Stallman's essay about Microsoft's attacks on the GPL is available online
at http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/gpl-american-way.html. Other comments by
Stallman on Microsoft are available online at
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/microsoft.html. One of Moglen's essays on
the Free Software Movement is available online at
http://moglen.law.columbia.edu/publications/anarchism.html.
About Richard M. Stallman:
Richard Stallman is the founder of the GNU project, launched in 1984 to
develop the free operating system GNU (an acronym for "GNU's Not Unix"),
and thereby give computer users the freedom that most of them have lost.
GNU is free software: everyone is free to copy it and redistribute it, as
well as to make changes either large or small.
Today, Linux-based variants of the GNU system, based on the kernel
Linux developed by Linus Torvalds, are in widespread use. There are
estimated to be over 17 million users of GNU/Linux systems today. These
systems are often mistakenly called just "Linux"; calling them "GNU/Linux"
corrects this confusion.
Stallman received the Grace Hopper Award from the Association for
Computing Machinery for 1991 for his development of the first Emacs editor
in the 1970s. In 1990 he was awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship,
and in 1996 an honorary doctorate from the Royal Institute of Technology
in Sweden. In 1998 he received the Electronic Frontier Foundation's
Pioneer award along with Linus Torvalds; in 1999 he received the Yuri
Rubinski memorial award.
About Eben Moglen:
Eben Moglen holds a PhD. in history and a J.D. from Yale University.
Moglen is currently a professor of law and legal history at Columbia
University Law School, and serves as general counsel for the Free Software
Foundation.
About the Free Software Foundation:
The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting
computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute
computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as
in freedom) software---particularly the GNU operating system (used widely
today in its GNU/Linux variant)--- and free documentation. The FSF also
helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of freedom
in the use of software. Their web site, located at http://www.gnu.org, is
an important source of information about GNU/Linux. They are
headquartered in Boston, MA, USA.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Free Software Foundation
Bradley M. Kuhn <pr(a)gnu.org>
Phone: +1-617-542-5942
Free Software Foundation Announces Milestone 6 of GNU Bayonne
Boston, Massachusetts, USA - May 2, 2001 - The Free Software Foundation
announced today the sixth milestone release of Bayonne, a key part of the
effort to provide and promote free software solutions for the
telecommunications industry. Bayonne is a telephony application server,
and is released under the GNU General Public License. Bayonne provides
the ability to perform enterprise telephony functions such as unified
messaging, and is capable of scaling to support enhanced carrier services.
Bayonne can be integrated with scripting languages and tools commonly
found on free software systems such as GNU/Linux. Bayonne is the first
major package of GNUCOMM, the GNU Telephony project, and integrates
GNUCOMM with the GNU Enterprise project.
David Sugar, the maintainer of GNU Bayonne, said: "In distributing the
sixth milestone release of Bayonne, we have chosen to focus on extending
Bayonne to provide a free software platform for creating and deploying
next generation XML integrated voice applications. Traditionally such
systems have primarily been available only as limited proprietary
software."
This initial release of Milestone 6 includes the first functional snapshot
of Bayonne XML services, including a plugin which introduces an XML
dialect, BayonneXML. BayonneXML will extend the existing CallXML dialect
and will provide support for additional features and functionality
specific to Bayonne. Through plugins, Bayonne will support a wide body of
XML languages, including those that fully conform to existing XML language
specifications. Additional plugins will provide voice browsing of other
XML-based data via Bayonne.
Milestone 6 represents the last major release before the development of
RTP trunking features for GNU Bayonne, and the subsequent final release of
Bayonne 1.0. Volunteer developers who are interested in helping develop
GNU Bayonne are encouraged to contact the Free Software Foundation. The
website for Bayonne is located at http://www.gnu.org/software/bayonne/.
About the Free Software Foundation:
The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting
computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute
computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as
in freedom) software---particularly the GNU operating system (used widely
today in its GNU/Linux variant)--- and free documentation. The FSF also
helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of freedom
in the use of software. Their web site, located at http://www.gnu.org, is
an important source of information about GNU/Linux. They are
headquartered in Boston, MA, USA.
About GNUCOMM, the GNU Telephony Project:
GNUCOMM, a subsystem of GNU, provides free software solutions to common
telecommunications problems. GNUCOMM will free users of voicemail, PBX,
and call-center applications from reliance on the proprietary software
that currently dominates such telephony equipment. The system aims to be
scalable and configurable enough to allow end-users to develop their own
telecommunications systems with little or no special knowledge of
GNUCOMM's internals. GNUCOMM will support both VoIP and PSTN interfaces,
as well as interfaces to existing phone systems. GNUCOMM will scale from
individual user installations to carrier-class sites. The website of
GNUCOMM is located at http://www.gnu.org/software/gnucomm/gnucomm.html.
About GNU Enterprise:
GNUe aims to provide a suite of tools and applications for solving the
specific needs of the enterprise. GNUe will handle the needs of any size
business, including applications for human resources, accounting, customer
relationship management, project management, supply chain and e-commerce.
GNUe is a free software project developed by volunteer software developers
worldwide. The website of GNU Enterprise is
http://www.gnu.org/projects/gnue/.
About GNU/Linux:
GNU/Linux is the combination of the GNU system and the kernel named Linux,
modified to work together smoothly. Although there is no way of actually
counting them, this combination has millions of users, probably over
twenty million.
The GNU/Linux combination is often confusingly called "Linux", which leads
people to an inaccurate picture of the history and nature of the system.
Distinguishing between GNU/Linux, the complete system, and Linux, the
kernel, helps correct the confusion.
More on this issue is available at
http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html.
Press-release of the Free Software Foundation Europe
For immediate release
"Free Software Foundation Europe finishes founding process"
(Hamburg) The founding process of the Free Software Foundation Europe,
sister organization of the FSF, the world's oldest and most prominent
Free Software organization, has been finished today. With a visit at
the notary in Hamburg, Germany, Georg C. F. Greve, coordinator and
President of the Free Software Foundation Europe, completed the final
step on Tuesday, April 24th.
"The FSF Europe has officially begun activities on March 10th, 2001,
but finishing the necessary formal steps for the founding took a
little longer because the core team is spread over four European
countries.", says Georg C. F. Greve. "The major hurdle to overcome has
been to create a legal structure that would allow us to be present in
every country despite the lack of harmonized laws for Europe-wide
organizations."
The Free Software Foundation Europe is structured like a wheel with a
hub in Germany and local organizations in the European countries.
Founding the "FSF Europe - Chapter Germany" has been finished along
with the central organization. The French chapter is to be finished
very soon.
About the FSF Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe is the sister organization of the
Free Software Foundation created 1984 by Richard M. Stallman in the
United States of America.
Main purpose of the FSF Europe is to coordinate Free Software
initiatives throughout Europe, to provide a Free Software
competence-center for politicians and journalists and to provide
infrastructure for Free Software projects and especially the GNU
Project.
Further information about the FSF Europe can be found at
http://fsfeurope.org
Contact:
Europe
Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +49-40-23809080
Fax: +49-40-23809081
France
Frederic Couchet <fcouchet(a)april.org>
Tel: +33-660-688931
Germany
Bernhard Reiter <bernhard(a)intevation.de>
Tel: +49-541-33508-33
Italy
Alessandro Rubini <rubini(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +39-0382-529.554 (o .424)
Fax: +39-0382-529.424
Sweden
Jonas Öberg <jonas(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +46-21-144831
Further press contact information is available at
http://fsfeurope.org/press/
Press-release of the Free Software Foundation Europe
For immediate release
"First general assembly of the Free Software Foundation Europe"
(Hamburg/Essen) On May 6th 2001, the first general assembly of the
Free Software Foundation Europe will take place at the Villa Vogelsang
in Essen, Germany. This old villa, formerly property of a factory
owner, has evolved into the "Center for GNU/Linux and Free Software"
over the two last years and the FSF Europe will set up their first
office there.
"We are very glad that our sponsors show such an interest in Free
Software that they enable us to set up a working office with their
continuous donations", says Dr. Peter Gerwinski, the FSF Europe's Head
of Office.
In order to present the team members and the location of the office to
the public and the press, an informal get-together is scheduled at the
Villa Vogelsang. At 17:00, the members of the FSF Europe will be
available for photos and short interviews. From 19:00 on the event
will be open to the public. A short note would be appreciated from
everyone who is planning to attend.
"This is our first general assembly and many things are still very new
for us and the people we work with, so we want to give everyone the
chance to seize the opportunity of having so many of us in one
place.", says Georg C. F. Greve. "By keeping it a little informal we
hope that it will allow a more relaxed atmosphere in which people can
get to know us."
About the FSF Europe:
The Free Software Foundation Europe is the sister organization of the
Free Software Foundation created 1984 by Richard M. Stallman in the
United States of America.
Main purpose of the FSF Europe is to coordinate Free Software
initiatives throughout Europe, to provide a Free Software
competence-center for politicians and journalists and to provide
infrastructure for Free Software projects and especially the GNU
Project.
Further information about the FSF Europe can be found at
http://fsfeurope.org
Contact:
Europe
Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +49-40-23809080
Fax: +49-40-23809081
France
Frederic Couchet <fcouchet(a)april.org>
Tel: +33 6 60 68 89 31
Germany
Bernhard Reiter <bernhard(a)intevation.de>
Tel: +49-541 - 335 08 - 33
Italy
Alessandro Rubini <rubini(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +39-0382-529.554 (o .424)
Fax: +39-0382-529.424
Sweden
Jonas Öberg <jonas(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +46-21-144831
Further press contact information is available at
http://fsfeurope.org/press/
Hi,
since you have been on my press distribution alias for the FSF Europe,
I have taken the freedom to subscribe you to the English press release
mailing list of the FSF Europe. You should have received a welcome
message telling you about the URL to administrate it already
(including unsubscription should you desire to be removed from the
list).
In addition to this list, additional lists for press releases in
German and French exist. Please feel free to subscribe to all
languages you are interested in.
All these mailing lists are for press-releases only and posting to
them is only available to the FSF Europe, so you can expect them to be
low-traffic.
Information about these mailing lists as well as information about
press contact to the FSF Europe can be found at the new "press
contact" section [1] of the FSF Europe home page [2].
[1] http://fsfeurope.org/press/
[2] http://fsfeurope.org/
Regards,
Georg Greve
Free Software Foundation Europe, President
--
Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)gnu.org>
Free Software Foundation Europe (http://fsfeurope.org)
Brave GNU World (http://brave-gnu-world.org)
(old, for archival purposes only)
Press-release of the Free Software Foundation Europe
For immediate release
"GNU/LINUX-Distributor MandrakeSoft donates 2500 Euro to the Free
Software Foundation Europe"
(Hamburg/Paris) Upon a visit of Richard M. Stallman, founding father
of the GNU Project and Free Software Foundation, in their new offices,
GNU/Linux distributor MandrakeSoft announced a donation of 2500 Euro
to the Free Software Foundation Europe, the acknowledged sister
organization of the Free Software Foundation in the United States.
"We thank MandrakeSoft for this donation as it will allow us to cover
the legal expenses coming up in January.", says Georg C. F. Greve
on behalf of the FSF Europe. "We hope to establish a good and cooperative
relationship for future activities on behalf of Free Software and
GNU/Linux."
The Free Software Foundation Europe is currently in creation and it is
planned to take up work in Germany, France, Sweden and Italy within
the first quarter of 2001. Other countries like England, Belgium,
Holland and Spain are to follow shortly thereafter.
About the FSF Europe:
Among the tasks of the Free Software Foundation Europe will be the
coordination of Free Software initiatives throughout Europe, providing
infrastructure for Free Software projects and especially the GNU Project
and providing a competence-center for politicians and the press.
At the moment a group consisting of the original four Bernhard Reiter,
Peter Gerwinski and Werner Koch as well as Georg C. F. Greve, all
well-known authorities on the Free Software field, has been joined by
Frederic Couchet (well known for his work with April in France), Jonas
Öberg (a Free Software evangelist from Sweden) and Alessandro Rubini
(very active in the Italian Free Software community) in the core
planning team. Together with a lot of dedicated volunteers who have
joined this group on the mailing lists we will see to it that the
spirit of Free Software will be strengthened and upheld in Europe.
Further information about the FSF Europe can be
found at http://www.fsfeurope.org
Contact:
Europe and Germany: Georg C. F. Greve <greve(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +49-40-23809080
Fax: +49-40-23809081
France: Frederic Couchet <fcouchet(a)april.org>
Tel: +33 6 60 68 89 31
Italy: Alessandro Rubini <rubini(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +39-0382-529.554 (o .424)
Fax: +39-0382-529.424
Sweden: Jonas Öberg <jonas(a)gnu.org>
Tel: +46-21-144831