The Free Software Foundation's annual conference is here again. Saturday & Sunday March 24-25th in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Hundreds of people, similar mindset, different view points. This year the theme is embedded systems:
LibrePlanet's 10th anniversary theme is "Freedom. Embedded." Consider: embedded systems are everywhere, in cars, digital watches, traffic lights, and even within our bodies. Right now, proprietary software is everywhere, its sinister aspects embedded in software, digital devices, and our lives. We've come to expect that our phones monitor our activity and share that data with big companies, governments enforce digital restrictions management (DRM), and even our activity on social Websites is out of our control.
In a society reliant on embedded systems, how do we defend computer user freedom? How do we insist on copylefted code, protect ourselves against government and corporate surveillance, and move toward a freer world? For many people, digital freedom seems like a pipe dream. Can we change the narrative and make free software the norm, instead of walled gardens, denial of the right to repair, and DRM?
(Score: 0, Troll) by cocaine overdose on Friday March 09 2018, @07:31PM
Is the FSF the same guys that do FOSDEM? If so, I'm looking forward to the more n-gate content.
(Score: 0, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 09 2018, @08:14PM (5 children)
The various things the article header whines about are NOT used by everyone.
I don't use any social network, my cars are all old enough that they have NO diagnostic or other self-reporting capability, I carry a phone occasionally but it is not a smartphone, and I DO NOT BUY anything that comes with DRM.
The article acts like no one has a choice. But most everyone DOES have a choice. The trick is, don't be a sheep, think for yourself, and consider the downsides of all the devices which are supposedly so wonderful. If the downsides are objectionable, vote with your wallet and refrain from submitting to bullshit that you do not like.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 09 2018, @08:23PM
"Voting with your wallet" is the reason ALL motherboards are now gaymer mobos with thousands of RGB LEDs at the expense of useful features.
Your wallet turned out to be tiny, and you were "outvoted" by millions of sheep.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 09 2018, @08:44PM (1 child)
Emphasis added. Such cars are literally not made anymore. Even if the choice to buy such cars on the secondary market exists today, it will not exist forever because cars do not last forever. Just because you can find a 10-year-old thinkpad today and replace all the non-free boot code with free software does not mean this will be easy or possible 10 years in the future. So it is important to keep the pressure on to ensure such options continue to exist in the future.
In the case of cars I expect this will end up being a moot point because autonomous cars are going to result in most people not owning their own vehicles (this has its own set of issues but is independent from software freedom).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday March 10 2018, @10:09PM
I would counter that old cars and old parts will be available effectively forever for the tiny minority that care to buy them. However:
1. That old vehicle has nowhere near the fuel efficiency of a new one with the same performance and carrying capacity. (Even if you don't care about emissions - and I do care about emissions, most of my family members have asthma - wasting fuel is undesirable.)
2. It's intuitive that a big old hunk of iron will survive a crash better than a modern plastic-a-mobile. That intuition is half-right. The old car is more likely to survive. The rescue crew will need tweezers and spatulas to extract the occupants from where they slammed into the pillars, dashboard, steering wheel, and so forth. Newer cars protect their occupants substantially better. I'd rather lose my $28,000 2015 minivan than keep a $3,000 1995 minivan and sacrifice a few family members.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 09 2018, @09:27PM (1 child)
so not a sheep but you are whining about a event for people like you?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 09 2018, @10:08PM
You missed the point, slick.
The point is that if you take care in the choices you make, you can and will end up with very different results, and you can do so without needing outside assistance with respect to how cars, phones, or computers are made.