Posted on June 18, 2010 by Simon Phipps
If you’re a BCS Member or Fellow you’ve received a voting pack in the mail that needs your attention. Please vote this weekend so that there’s no risk of missing the deadline. I’ve written one more time on my ComputerWorldUK blog about the issues, but the synopsis is that no matter how you vote on the six vague no-confidence motions, please make sure you vote against the Special Resolution that sets the threshold for calling another EGM so high that it’s beyond the resources of an ordinary Member.
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Filed under: Governance | Tagged: BCS, EGM | 2 Comments »
Posted on June 17, 2010 by Simon Phipps
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Not only is the patent system broken (it has forgotten to protect the public good in return for granting a temporary monopoly), but it turns out that thousands of the things are kept secret.
Shaped for an analog age where businesses were control points in a disconnected society, patents have become sinkholes for money and innovation in the connected digital age, allowing unjust monopolisation and chilling of network effects.
We are so overdue reform of the patent system, in the UK, the US and pretty much everywhere else.
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Great round-up by Brenda of recent developments on ACTA, worth taking a look. The moves by India to start a rebellion are especially welcome.
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Great to see that there’s thinking about copyright reform in progress in the UK, even if it’s a bit inaccessible.
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In which we are reminded of the context and the full quote from which the phrase is extracted and realise that it is being spun by those who prefer control to individual liberty.
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Filed under: Issues, Links | 1 Comment »
Posted on June 17, 2010 by Simon Phipps
One of the frustrations of being a software freedom advocate is how many of the attacks that are made on me come from people who most observers would consider to be “fighting for the same side”. My recent call for volunteers to work on revamping the Open Source Initiative (OSI) is a case in point. Of the public comments I’ve read, the majority berate me for daring to be positive about OSI rather than castigating it in favor of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) as they themselves do. (Fortunately the private e-mails are much more encouraging).
But it’s not just a tension between OSI and FSF. For example, in one forum where I mentioned my membership card for the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) had arrived, one reply asked if I would also be joining the FSF. Software freedom arouses extreme passions among its adherents. Why does this happen? Find out on my ComputerWorldUK blog…
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Filed under: Open Source | Comments Off on ✍ “Life Of Brian”?
Posted on June 15, 2010 by Simon Phipps
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While this is slick (if predictable) marketing there's a smarter solution than switching away from the software in which you've already invested to something else from Novell (or anyone else) and becoming the slave of proprietary software.
Since most of the software Sun produced is open source, current users can just stick with it and buy the service they need from a new supplier, such as ForgeRock. That's investment protection and technology continuity both provided by the liberties open source unlocks.
All Novell are offering here is a chance to be a slave to a new master, and they are offering it to customers who have already broken free – if they choose to be.
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A good argument here from Glyn. I'd go further and suggest that $1B open source companies might not actually be open source companies…
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I completely agree, but I and so many others have said it all before and no-one has done anything about it. I hope the author of this article will be joining me to revamp OSI…
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Filed under: Links | 2 Comments »
Posted on June 14, 2010 by Simon Phipps
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The speech by Neelie Kroes last week in Brussels was very carefully constructed and avoided almost all mention of free and open source software. In the spirit of rewarding the good and ignoring the bad, several commentators (such as Karsten here) have been loud in their congratulations but there's still a strong sense that the political cost of even mentioning open source is too high for Europe's politicians.
I see this as a sign of the strength of the concept. The corporate forces that bear down upon the European Commission (even those apparently supporting open source when they speak from the side of their mouth facing the FOSS communities) do so out of fear that they will be forced to act transparently and openly, and we need to keep up the pressure. So I welcome the tiny concessions Kroes made in this speech, and as a concerned and expert citizen I demand more.
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Adobe has actually created a security-related update for Flash on OpenSolaris. Of course, if it was open source we could all help them, but the community is still grateful for the work they've done to fix the serious security hole this time.
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Both ForgeRock and OSSTech in Japan are developing the OpenAM codebase and it makes sense for them to cooperate. I'm very pleased to be able to announce this agreement, hopefully the first of many as we build a truly open ecosystem around the OpenAM open source project.
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Filed under: Links | Comments Off on ☞ Political Costs Prevent Actual Savings
Posted on June 14, 2010 by Simon Phipps
OSI was formed in 1998 to solve a pressing problem. The founders embraced the ideals of software freedom, but saw that businesses – being non-persons – lacked any way to embrace a philosophical principle. To advance software freedom, it needed to be pragmatically “projected” onto the surface of the computer industry of 1998, creating rules that could be followed without demanding ideological “purity”. The result was a focus on a certain kind of advocacy, plus an enormously valuable effort to analyse, categorise and selectively endorse copyright licenses. OSI was the pragmatic projection of software freedom onto the computer industry of 1998.
But in 2010, the industry has changed. It’s due in no small part to the effects of software freedom on technology and innovation, with the pragmatic liberties it guarantees seeding today’s key trends. It’s also in part due to the attempted corruption of open standards and the policies that rely on them, which has allowed proprietary software an undeserved ascendancy. So while new businesses are able to be formed with philosophical and ethical principles embedded in their DNA, existing ones still can’t “embrace software freedom” since that’s a capability only of intelligent individuals.
So it’s time for a revamp. Read more on my ComputerWorldUK blog or at OSI
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Filed under: OSI | Tagged: Governance | Comments Off on ✍ Your Chance To Reform OSI
Posted on June 13, 2010 by Simon Phipps
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Since the World Cup seems to be as inescapable as death and taxes, here’s a vital guide to understanding its esoterica.
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Wow, this was a use for my photo I never imagined. Maybe I can get a shirt made from this fabric!
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This seems to be using a non-technical IRC as its home, but the technique looks workable anywhere.
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Filed under: Links | Comments Off on ☞ Random Weekend Links
Posted on June 10, 2010 by Simon Phipps
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Well worth reading this article. The TV programme 'Glee' features a singing club as the backdrop for a situational drama. Despite the fact that the music industry would sue a club like this off the face of the earth if they ever actually did the things in the story lines, the series never ever confronts either the insurmountable challenge of obtaining copyright clearance or the heartache of being victimised by the music industry as punishment for unauthorised creativity and glee. One can only hope that the next victim of the music industry will cite Fox as a co-defendant for incitement…
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Creative Commons Australia report that the Australian Parliament will be releasing all web content under their new CC v3 licenses. Good, clear step that would be great to copy.
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Useful round-up that I know I'll come back looking for.
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Filed under: Copyright, Links | Comments Off on ☞ Copyright Reality
Posted on June 9, 2010 by Simon Phipps
Rajan Anketell, one of the signatories calling the BCS EGM, said in a broadcast e-mail:
“You will already be aware of the EGM call, of which I am a signatory. You will also be aware of all propaganda (much of it inaccurate) put out by the Chief Executive and President. You may not be aware that our request for equal access to the BCS IT resources and the membership has been denied. This denial of equal opportunity is in contrast to that adopted by the IET at the EGM a few years ago. So this email is an attempt to put our case to you and respectfully ask that whatever your own views are on the EGM you forward it in the spirit of fair play. This will give members the opportunity to see the real reasons why the EGM was called and make up their own minds on how to vote.”
He then pointed to the following sites, which I wholeheartedly encourage everyone to read:
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Well worth reading – a rational set of issues from rational and experienced people. The fact the BCS leadership has sought to frame these people as Luddites merely amplifies the authority with which they speak. The BCS press office and leadership are doing there best to keep this all quiet and represent none of these views on the “official” web site – let’s make sure they get heard.
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The EGM rebels have finally been able to put together a web site responding to the well-funded attacks their own professional society has been making against them. Tell everyone, becuase I doubt the BCS will do so.
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Filed under: Links | Tagged: BCS | 1 Comment »
Posted on June 9, 2010 by Simon Phipps
On Monday I wrote about the crisis facing the British Computer Society (BCS) as its current leadership tries to jettison the old name. I found out about the move in an expensively-produced glossy mailing I received on the subject. Just a few days later, the actual voting papers arrived. They contain an ill-considered Quick Vote option that BCS Professional Members need to carefully avoid.
Read more on my ComputerWorldUK Blog…
[Also in this thread: BCS EGM, BCS Faces No-Confidence Vote Crisis, this post, BCS Rebels Finally Get A Voice]
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Filed under: Links | Tagged: BCS, Governance | Comments Off on ☞ BCS Leadership Targets Member Rights
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