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Sunday, October 21, 2007

What do you mean by Free Software?

In this time, many people new to free software find themselves confused because the word "free" in the term "free software" is not used the way they expect. To them free means "at no cost". An English dictionary lists almost twenty different meanings for "free". Only one of them is "at no cost". The rest refer to liberty and lack of constraint. When we speak of Free Software, we mean freedom, not price.

Software that is free only in the sense that you don't need to pay to use it is hardly free at all. You may be forbidden to pass it on, and you are almost certainly prevented from improving it. Software licensed at no cost is usually a weapon in a marketing campaign to promote a related product or to drive a smaller competitor out of business. There is no guarantee that it will stay free.

Truly free software is always free. Software that is placed in the public domain can be snapped up and put into non-free programs. Any improvements then made are lost to society. To stay free, software must be copyrighted and licensed.

To the uninitiated, either a piece of software is free or it isn't. Real life is much more complicated than that. To understand what kinds of things people are implying when they call software free we must take a little detour into the world of software licenses.

Copyrights are a method of protecting the rights of the creator of certain types of works. In most countries, software you write is automatically copyrighted. A license is the authors way of allowing use of their creation (software in this case), by others, in ways that are acceptable to them. It is up to the author to include a license which declares in what ways the software may be used. For a proper discussion of copyright see http://www.copyright.gov/.

Of course, different circumstances call for different licenses. Software companies are looking to protect their assets so they only release compiled code (which isn't human readable) and put many restrictions on the use of the software. Authors of free software on the other hand are generally looking for some combination of the following:

  • Not allowing use of their code in proprietary software. Since they are releasing their code for all to use, they don't want to see others steal it. In this case, use of the code is seen as a trust: you may use it, as long as you play by the same rules.
  • Protecting identity of authorship of the code. People take great pride in their work and do not want someone else to come along and remove their name from it or claim that they wrote it.
  • Distribution of source code. One of the problems with most commercial code is that you can't fix bugs or customize it since the source code is not available. Also, the company may decide to stop supporting the hardware you use. Many free licenses force the distribution of the source code. This protects the user by allowing them to customize the software for their needs. This also has other ramifications which will be discussed later.
  • Forcing any work that includes part of their work (such works are called derived works in copyright discussions) to use the same license.

Many people write their own license. This is frowned upon as writing a license that does what you want involves subtle issues. Too often the wording used is either ambiguous or people create conditions that conflict with each other. Writing a license that would hold up in court is even harder. Luckily, there are a number of licenses already written that probably do what you want.

Three of the most widely found licenses are:

Some of the features these licenses have in common.

  • You can install the software on as many machines as you want.
  • Any number of people may use the software at one time.
  • You can make as many copies of the software as you want and give them to whomever you want (free or open redistribution).
  • There are no restrictions on modifying the software (except for keeping certain notices intact).
  • There is no restriction on distributing, or even selling, the software.

This last point, which allows the software to be sold for money seems to go against the whole idea of free software. It is actually one of its strengths. Since the license allows free redistribution, once one person gets a copy they can distribute it themselves. They can even try to sell it. In practice, it costs essentially no money to make electronic copies of software. Supply and demand will keep the cost down. If it is convenient for a large piece of software or an aggregate of software to be distributed by some media, such as CD, the vendor is free to charge what they like. If the profit margin is too high, however, new vendors will enter the market and competition will drive the price down. As a result, you can buy a Debian release on several CDs for just a few USD.

While free software is not totally free of constraints (only putting something in the public domain does that) it gives the user the flexibility to do what they need in order to get work done. At the same time, it protects the rights of the author. Now that's freedom.

The Debian project is a strong supporter of free software. Since many different licenses are used on software, a set of guidelines, the Debian Free Software Guidelines (DFSG) were developed to come up with a reasonable definition of what constitutes free software. Only software that complies with the DFSG is allowed in the main distribution of Debian.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Anti-Piracy Software For YouTube Launches By Google

Hot news from Google.

Google has launched anti-piracy software into YouTube to help copyrighted materials owners to crack down on people that introduce pirated versions on the world’s most popular video sharing site.

The tracking and identification system was developed after complaints by media companies that the videos, songs and properties owned by down were being shown openly on the Google owned YouTube. Last March, Viacom sued Google for copyright infringement and demanded USD 1 billion in damages and so did others.

Now, Viacom has welcomed the move. "We're delighted that Google appears to be stepping up to its responsibility and ending the practice of profiting from infringement," said Michael Fricklas, general counsel of Viacom.

Called as the "YouTube Video ID," the software does an abstract image of copyrighted videos and compares that to similar images that are extracted from videos uploaded to YouTube.

"We really need the content community to work with us," YouTube content manager David King said. "We need them to help us help them."

Borland Unveils Together 2007

This news came from Borland Software.

Borland Software has announced enhancements to its visual, standards-based modeling product with the release of Borland Together 2007.

Borland Together 2007 is a modeling product that provides unique support for Unified Modeling Language, Business Process Modeling Notation, Entity-Relationship modeling and domain-specific languages within a single tool. With new support DSLs, Borland Together 2007 helps accelerate the delivery of high-quality enterprise applications through the creation of rich visual models that capture business requirements and associated architectures within a specific business domain.

"The value of modeling solutions is evolving from traditional architect and developer-centric productivity tools to a more business-centric activity that helps ensure a common understanding of a system through domain-specific models and visualization," said Richard Gronback, co-leader of the Eclipse Modeling Project and chief scientist at Borland.

As the complexity of applications and business processes continues to rise, so does the importance of integrating Model Driven Development techniques into the software delivery lifecycle. Borland Together 2007 helps organisations deal with complexity by allowing project teams to create models that provide a blueprint for business processes, data structures and application and enterprise architectures. These models are essential for assuring architectural soundness and effective communication and collaboration among project teams and business stakeholders.

Ready For Launching Ubuntu Desktop Version

Good news for all of Linuxer ...

Canonical, the commercial distribution arm of Ubuntu Linux has said that the new version of Ubuntu 7.10 Desktop Edition will be launched Thursday, Oct. 18.

Ubuntu, founded by South African billionaire and the first African in space, mark Shuttleworth is a very popular desktop Linux distribution that delivers the best of open-source software every six months.
Called as Gutsy Gibbon Ubuntu 7.10 Desktop Edition, the new version includes better and advanced plug-and-play printing, enhanced browsing and the option of a new user interface built on top of the latest GNOME 2.20 desktop.

The new version of Ubuntu has new features such as improved hardware support, better plug-and-play configuration for printers, and automatic firmware installation for Broadcom Wi-Fi cards.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Weight-By-Date

Weight-By-Date Will Keep You Committed to Becoming a Healthier You.

If you haven't found a good solution for measuring the results of your diet and exercise, then you just haven't tried Weight-By-Date.

It gives you the flexibility you need to track your specific nutritional needs and your personal fitness routine. And the progress charts, goal projections, personal rewards, and color schemes will give you plenty of ways to have fun and stay motivated. Weight-By-Date is the big boost that your willpower needs!

Features:

You'll have a place to keep track of your meals and snacks, along with your nutritional intake.

You can select from a USDA-based list of over 6,000 foods. You can even add your own foods.

A fitness journal gives you a place to track daily exercises and calories burned.

You can track and compare your body measurements as often as you like.

More tools that help you assess your body fat percentage and daily caloric needs.

You'll have the ability to add other family members.

Download Now!

Madagascar 0.9.5

New software ... new software ... new software ... the name is Madagascar ...

Madagascar (formerly known as RSF) is a software package for geophysical data processing and reproducible numerical experiments. Its mission is to provide a convenient and powerful environment and a convenient technology transfer tool for researchers working with digital image and data processing. The technology developed using the Madagascar project management system is transferred in the form of recorded processing histories, which become "computational recipes" to be verified, exchanged, and modified by users of the system.

Hmm ... What is Free Software?

More information for you about what is free software ...

Free Software, as used in this web site, refers to software distributed in source form which can be freely modified and redistributed, or freely modifiable and redistributable software. It does not refer to zero-cost software. This usage of the name "Free Software" was common in the Unix world and recently introduced to the general computer community. Free Software is also referred to as Freed Software, Liberated Software (software libre) or FRS (freely redistributable software). "Open Source" is a marketing name for Free Software, coined in Feb 1998 as an attempt to overcome the confusion over the word "free" in the English language. Open Source refers to the fact that the source code of Free Software is open to and for the world to take, to modify and to reuse. The precise meaning of Free Software is spelled out in the Debian Free Software Guidelines or the Free Software Definition while Open Source is defined officially by the Open Source Definition. Open Source and Free Software refer to, originally the same (around Feb 1998), but now different but largely similiar, set of software, but they emphasize different rationals; see Why ``Free Software'' is better than ``Open Source'' for more explanation.

Free software is just a matter of liberty not price.

The Free Software Foundation (FSF), established in 1985, is dedicated to promoting computer users' rights to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of free software, particularly the GNU operating system, used widely in its GNU/Linux variant.

The FSF maintains the Free Software Definition. You can read more about free software in our essays section and in the philosophy section of gnu.org.

Here are the Free Software Foundation's current projects.

GPLv3.fsf.org
The GNU General Public License, version 3, has been released, along with the Lesser GNU General Public License, version 3. Other licenses, including the AGPL, GFDL and GSFDL are still undergoing public comment and revision.
GNU
FSF remains the primary sponsor of the GNU Project. In addition to the services provided by Savannah for GNU projects, FSF provides development systems for GNU software maintainers, including full email and shell services. We are committed to furthering the development of the GNU Operating System and enabling volunteers to easily contribute to that work.
Free Software Licensing and Compliance Lab
The commencement of the GNU project in 1984, with its goal to give users freedom, required the establishment of new distribution terms that would prevent the project being turned into proprietary software. The method used was Copyleft and the resulting license was called the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL). Today the GNU GPL is the most widely used Free Software license, and as its author, the FSF works to help the wider community use and comprehend it.
Free Software Directory
The Free Software Directory was started in September 1999 to catalog all useful free software that runs under free operating systems. The Directory contains over 4,000 entries. The license of each program in the Directory is checked to verify that it is free software.
Savannah
Savannah provides software development services at no cost to free software developers around the world. Savannah provides a web front-end for hosting and maintaining project homepages, bug tracking, CVS, FTP, and mailing lists. We provide all of these services running entirely on Free Software, without ads, for the entire community.

Using free software to unlock your iPod's potential

While iTunes is a powerful software, it does have its limitations, mostly stemming from both Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions and the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) interest in preventing unauthorized copying of music, regardless of fair use and personal flexibility. The free software community believes that the ability to freely copy content you own between your iPod and a computer is a right, not a privilege. In this article, I’ll discuss how to fully manage the content on your iPod using completely free software.

The free software community believes that the ability to freely copy content you own between your iPod and a computer is a right, not a privilege

Other than purchasing content, what other base functionality of iTunes is commonly used? Copying content to your iPod, maintaining playlists, and subscribing to podcasts. If we’re switching applications, we don’t want to lose any basic functionality!

I used a FAT formatted fourth generation 20 GB iPod Version 3.1.1 for testing, so I can’t attest to video functionality. I used Ubuntu 6.10 x86 for my test system, so any installation notes will apply to that context. By default, Ubuntu comes with Rhythmbox, which didn’t work properly with my iPod, so I just removed it.

iPod Managers

There are three softwares for managing the contents your iPod that rise to the top: gtkpod, Banshee, and Amarok. While gtkpod is primarily just an interface to the iPod, Banshee and Amarok are fully functional audio players. I’ll concentrate on iPod management rather than a full review of all their features.

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