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No citizen or company should be forced to use non-free software

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 09:39:55 +0200

Today stumbled over an article on metamorphosis.org: "EU Competition Commissioner backs open standards in eGovernment":

Also Kroes praised the benefits of open standards: "No citizen or company should be forced or encouraged to choose a closed technology over an open one, through a government having made that choice first."

I am happy that more and more people speak out loud that nobody should be forced to use non-free software. Every person taking this position is one step more towards our goal.

Regarding Open Standards: Read more about our work on Open Standards on our website, read our definition of an Open Standards and sent us your feedback about that on discussion@fsfeurope.org.

--
Matthias Kirschner
Join FSFE's Fellowship and protect your freedom!

[DE] Computerexperten

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:53:41 +0200

Ein Bekannter hatte das Problem, dass er mit seinem Computer (mit einem unfreien Betriebsystem) keine DSL-Internetverbindung mehr herstellen konnte (direkt angeschlossen ohne Router). Auf einer Party meinte jemand zu ihm, dass er Computerexperte sei und es ihm reparieren könnte.

Ich bekam das ganze erst mit, als er den Computer wieder hatte und 250 EUR dafür bezahlt hatte. Das einzige, was er zu seinem 2 Jahre alten Rechner bekam war eine Rechnung. Die "Rechnung" sah wie folgt aus (Rechtschreibung und Zeichensetzung sind orginalgetreu übernommen, Orginalschrift war MS-Comic-Scan):

Am Computer war defekt:

1 das Modem war direkt auf dem Mainboard
drauf sitzt das für den Internetzugang ist
war hinten wo das Internetkabel rein kommt
waren die zacken verbogen /teilweise abgebrochen
also wurde das Modem und ein Mainboard ausgetauscht
Mainboard ist Pentium 4

2.Auf der Festplatte haben Komponenten gefehlt
das führte zu Systemfehlern dadurch konnte kein neues
Betriebssystem Installiert werden da es immer
während des Installieren zum Abbruch Kamm
also wurde eine Samsung Festplatte mit 40 GB eingebaut

3. Betriebssystem mit Windows XP

4. Service Pack 2

5. diverse Treiber ( Ton,Modem,Mainbord)

Softwaer :

6. Tune-up

7. VLC Media Player für Dateiformate
die der Mediaplayer nicht abspielen kann

8. die Fotos wurden kopiert und auf dem Computer mit einem Ordner wieder angelegt

Tja, lachen oder heulen? Ich glaub ich bin für lachen, weil das ist gesünder ;) Ach ja, der Bekannte konnte danach wieder ins Internet... aber ich habe die Vermutung, dass da unbekannte Mächte ihre Hände im Spiel haben.

Short studie about Sustainable Free Software

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:14:40 +0200

Finally I got the chance to read a short-studie about "Sustainable Free Software: From a project to a ongoing action. The example Gpg4win" (in German).

It is really interesting. And it would have been good if I would have read that before my panel discussion (OGG-Theora) at sustainable it conference in Berlin.

So if you are able to read German, take the time and read it!!!

Guidelines for Free System Distributions on gnu.org

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:00:53 +0200

Yavor informed me, that the GNU website has a new article. So read the Guidelines for Free System Distributions and afterwards you can comment FSFE's public discussion lists.

[DE] Dieter Bohlen über Filesharing

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:54:49 +0200

Ich weiß, dass das schon alt ist. Und vielleicht haben es auch schon einige von euch gesehen. Ich hatte vorher nur davon gehört, aber noch nicht die Gelegenheit dazu gehabt, es anzuschauen. Markus hatte jetzt den Link dazu ausgegraben. Ich finde das Interview mit Dieter Bohlen recht interessant. Leider nur bei youtube, aber dank gnash, youtube-dl und clive können wir es ja jetzt auch sehen :) Johannes B. Kerner 01.11.07 - Dieter Bohlen über Filesharing.

Want to be a winner???

Fri, 30 May 2008 07:52:08 +0200

Yesterday and the day before we have seen at GLT how to be a winner. Every day a community member can win a Free Software phone. Here are the pictures of the winner from the day before yesterday and from yesterday.

The important thing to be a winner is to wear the right shirt. So if you want to win today, better get the right shirt. (we are at the booth 122) ;)

Sometimes the beginning is the end

Thu, 22 May 2008 12:34:55 +0200

As already said in my other blog entry, I am preparing my speech for GLT at the moment. I try to make a talk which also our mums and dads will understand. So I started to think about the structure, and modified it several times over the last weeks. Yesterday I realised that now my presentation is a mixture between Richard's speeches and Georg's speeches and that the structure is nearly the same with the one I started modifying :)

I also again noticed how helpful it is that I have seen a lot of speeches from Georg, Bernhard, and Richard. And that I am able to look at the slides, watch the videos, or read the transcripts. If you have to prepare a speech you can take a look at some audio and video recordings, several transcripts, our speaker faqs, ...

For reading one of my favourites is really the transcript of Richard's talk "The Free Software Movement and the Future of Freedom; March 9th 2006". Everytime I read it I recognise some cool parts in it. And what is also amazing, our translators have translated the transcript into Netherlands and German!!! I think it explains Free Software in a way, you can give it to your mum and dad to read. Perhaps someone out there wants to translate it in other languages as well? ;)

--
Matthias Kirschner
Join FSFE's Fellowship and protect your freedom!

Busy preparing for GLT

Wed, 21 May 2008 09:53:21 +0200

I am currently preparing stuff for Linuxtag in Berlin. FSFE will have a booth there in hall 7.2b, booth 122. If you are come to our booth and say hello :)

On Saturday 31.05., I will give a speech about the importance of the four freedoms to use, study, share and improve software and their influence in politics and economy. Target audience are beginners, or people who want to get some ideas how to explain this topic to beginners. The speech takes place at the BusinessForum (EG) and will be held in German.

If you attend the speech, please give, or sent my your cruel and honest feedback afterwards :)

[DE] Die "aeiou"-Kriterien eines Offenen Standards

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 09:42:38 +0200

Reinhard Müller hatte für seine Vorträge die Idee der "aeiou"-Kriterien für die Definition eines offenen Standards. Die Kritieren eines Offenen Standards sind danach:

(a)ufbauend (auf anderen bestehenden offenen Standards)
(e)xistierend (in mehreren Implementierungen)
(i)mplementierbar (ohne rechtliche oder technische Hindernisse)
(o)ffengelegt (= Spezifikation für alle verfügbar)
(u)nabhängig (von einem einzelnen Unternehmen gewartet)

Ich denke ich werde das in Zukunft auch benutzen, wenn ich Leuten Offene Standards erkläre. Vielleicht hilft es ja dem ein oder anderen hier auch. Auf jeden Fall vielen Dank an Reinhard für den guten Einfall.

A Tart For Germany's Vice-Chancellor

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:42:46 +0100

Yesterday I celebrated the Document Freedom Day together with the other Berlin Fellows , people from FFII and Skolelinux. We had a lot of fun bringing a letter and a tart for Germany's Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister Steinmeier in the Foreign Office. We wanted to feature the Foreign Office's work for Open Standards.

Here are some links:

Heise.de: Auswärtiges Amt zum Document Freedom Day ausgezeichnet.
Golem.de: Auswärtiges Amt für Einsatz offener Standards geehrt FSFE und FFII übergeben Brief und Torte für Vizekanzler Steinmeier.
Prolinux.de: Auswärtiges Amt für Einsatz offener Standards ausgezeichnet.
Linux Magazin: Document Freedom Day: Ehrung für Auswärtiges Amt.
Webseite des Auswärtigen Amts: AA für Engagement für Offene Dokumentenstandards ausgezeichnet (you can find our picture on the AA's frontpage). And our Letter to the minister (PDF).
FSFE's website: Our common press release.
Pictures are on our our website and FFII's website.

What else is to say?? Hm, I heard the tart tasted very good ;) And I hope a lot of other public administration get jealous of it, so they start thinking and working on better Open Standard policies, to get a tart next year ;)

I am looking forward to DFD 2009!
Matthias

MS-OOXML the shirt, the hoodie, and the cup

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 11:22:39 +0100

I just heard that a Fellow made cool MS-OOXML shirts, hoodies, and cups. Finally you can show your opinion on MS-OOXML to your friends and colleagues the whole day while you are wearing one of the shirts ;)
Now let's wait for "MS-OOXML the movie" ;)

New Freedom or Copyright

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 15:11:10 +0100

Yavor Doganov informed me, that Richard Stallman published a new version of his article "Freedom or Copyright". If you have comments please post to discussion@fsfeurope.org.

Overslept GnuPG's 10th Birthday

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 13:35:33 +0100

After the Christmas holidays were I tried to ovoid sitting to much in front of a computer, I just read that on 20. Dezember GnuPG had its 10th birthday (yes, sometimes I read news from last the last year ;) ).

So if you are interested in the history of GnuPG read this e-mail.

Especially with the latest anti-privacy developments in Germany it becomes more and more clear how important the work of the GnuPG developers was and is. Therefor a big Thank you very much to Werner Koch and the other developers!!! Keep on your good work for a free society!!!

Our Press release: EU antitrust case over: Samba receives interoperability information

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:55:28 +0100

It took a while but now the information is out: "Samba Team Receives Microsoft Protocol Docs". The long version of the Samba announcement can be found here.

Since some of us had very long nights in the hot phases over the past years, I am very very happy to present you our press release in English, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish.

For more information see the article of the history of the case, one explaining some details of the agreement, and the PFIF Web site plus the PFIF agreement text.

Thanks to everybody who helped with that!!! All people from Samba and FSFE, our web and translator volunteers, our Donors, our Fellows, and all the rest I forgot :)

Teatime in Berlin

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 20:43:06 +0100

On 13. Dezember we had a local Fellowship meeting in Berlin. Amongst the up to 20 people in the room, Georg Greve (FSFE's President) and Bernhard Reiter (FSFE's German Coordinator). During tea, gingerbread, and other sweeties (plus beer) we talked about the beginning of FSFE, how the participants came to Free Software, and other nice, funny, interesting stories.

The time went by very fast, so I think it was a good meeting ;). Thank you all for comming!

On Thursday, 10. January, we will have the next meeting, again in the newthinking store.