Posts Tagged ‘freedoms’
Software With Freedoms, Not Free Software
Friday, October 12th, 2012
I’ve been an open source advocate, devotee, user, and developer for many years. I’m a member of the Free Software Foundation (FSF). I frequently write about the Open Web, Social Web, and Open Source of all types (software, hardware, science, data, Web standards).
Much of my recent work has been licensed under the GPL. The GPL is administered and promulgated by the FSF. Apparently what is now considered the open source movement, actually was the result of a schism from the free software movement. In other words, open source was spawned out of the free software movement, not the other way around.
To some, there are philosophical differences between the two movements. They can best be summed up as follows: all free software is open source but not all open source software is free (although much of it is). You can learn more about the subtleties of this argument in this article on the GNU website, Why Open Source misses the point of Free Software. Read more »
The Emerging Global Brain and the Internet’s Future
Thursday, January 5th, 2012A few interesting posts and seemingly-unrelated themes have been circulating around Google Plus for the past few weeks or so. These thoughts have, I believe, been spurred on by the impending threat of the insanity of the SOPA and PIPA legislation.
I see the issues of Internet censorship, access rights, and content reuse as part of a much larger phenomenon that many people are unaware. Whereas the Internet has been a revolutionary force in humanity’s communication capabilities, facilitating numerous societal, cultural, political, and economic changes, I believe that it is the emerging evolutionary changes fueled by the accelerating growth in technology that will bring about the most radical and fundamental transformation.
Let me lead you through my thinking. Read more »
Who Should Own the Internet?
Thursday, April 21st, 2011
This image is a tracing of all the Internet traffic circa late 2006. It is licensed under a Creative Commons License (by-nc-sa/1.0) and created by http://opte.org/
As I began to compose a response to Nova’s query, it soon became clear that I had too much to say for a blog comment and decided that it was more fitting to write an article for my own site and then simply point Nova to it. Read more »
BP Privacy: History and Lessons Learned from Developing a Major BuddyPress Component
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011Coding great-quality, open source software, while often rewarding, can also be a thankless, difficult task. As many have been asking for an update on BP Privacy–also known as the BuddyPress Privacy Component–I thought I would take the time to write up an exhaustive history of the project and share some lessons learned. Read more »
Google-Verizon Joint Statement Presages End to Net Neutrality
Monday, August 9th, 2010If you design websites, run a small web-based business, make money from blogging, or are launching a startup, the level playing field of the Internet is about to get very bumpy. If you think that mobile-based services are the future and are catering to the wireless crowd, then be prepared for a game-changing shift. Read more »
