Can you believe it? The GNU system is thirty years old today!
In 1983, Richard Stallman launched the free software movement
with the words, "Free Unix!" We've freed a lot more than that in
the last thirty years. The GNU system is now a vast universe of
fully free operating systems, window managers, and software that
serves almost every imaginable purpose. More than 95 percent of
the world's supercomputers run free software. A majority of web
servers run free software. Even more impressive, there are
estimated to be tens of millions of free software users worldwide.
That's a lot to celebrate. This weekend, the Free Software
Foundation will be honoring thirty years of GNU with a
[celebration and hackathon in Cambridge, MA][1]. Around the
world, there are over [eighteen celebrations][2] planned on
almost every inhabited continent. And online, people are showing
their love for GNU by embedding the [special 30th anniversary
badge][2] on their websites and [donating to support GNU's future
work][3].
Please join us in the celebration:
* [Watch the livestream from the Cambridge celebration][4] to see
John Sullivan speak at 10am EDT (14:00 UTC) and Richard Stallman
speak live at 5pm EDT (21:00 UTC) on Saturday, September 28.
* Find the [celebration][2] nearest you.
* Embed the [special 30th anniversary badge][2].
* [Donate][3] to keep GNU going strong for another thirty years.
Happy Hacking,
The entire Free Software Foundation team
[1]: https://gnu.org/gnu30/celebration
[2]: https://gnu.org/gnu30/
[3]: https://my.fsf.org/associate/support_freedom
[4]: http://live.fsf.org/gnu30.ogv "GNU 30th live streaming"
To celebrate, we're giving away all our software! This weekend, you can download any GNU project free of charge! On a serious note, I think I will actually download and play with a few new projects. Maybe I'll even try out Debian/HURD :)
gNewSense (a GNU/Linux distribution with a fully free kernel) has finally reached version 3.0 in August. Development appears to have restarted, and the new version is based on Debian (Squeeze I think) as opposed to Ubuntu.
My celebration takes the form of running gNewSense on my recycled Thinkpad for a bit to see if I can actually get stuff done with it. (WiFi means using a USB adaptor as closed source firmware needed for the built in Intel cards).
While I appreciate the focus, the guy is entirely opposite when it actually comes to technology purchasing and quite happily throws piles of cash at closed proprietary products on a daily basis and brags about it on television.
After watching this particular video, it was clumsy, with lots of rough edges. It doesn't seem to have been written for a target audience, and contains a grab-bag of iffy factoids - which is not up to Fry's reputation of knowledgable, insightful commentary. At the very least, they could have moved the MBA out of frame.
Anyone that can make a hackintosh already knows everything that Fry mentioned - which is one of the reasons why I said the target audience is unclear. And half the people who can run a hackintosh will be able to pick the errors in what he said as well. For those who aren't aware of the hackintosh, having the MBA in-frame sends a very mixed message. Why even defend it's presence? The founder of GNU hates Apple products for philosophical reasons directly related to the fundamental principles of GNU. Having it in frame is a misfire.
Fry is one of the most amazing people on the planet, but he was still a bad choice for this video, given that he actively lionises Apple's products - to the point where he receives special editions available to none other than Jobs himself.
Until one day he is found out to be not credible on most things he blabbers about and it goes all over the press. Then people will just demonise everything he endorses.
So? I don't see why this matters. You can support free software and purchase proprietary hardware without being a hypocrite.
FWIW, Fry is a manic depressive and buying a shitload of technology is a side effect of his medical condition. Fortunately for him he has the financial means to do this, others are not so lucky.
That was 5 years ago for the 25th birthday, but the message is still true, and quite well explained for love technology but perhaps less technically inclined.
Glad you like it. I made this :) It was the project that got me to move to the US, and eventually start a couple GNU projects of my own (GNU FM and GNU social)
Linux, GNU software, the BSDs, Apache, and the entire culture and ecosystems built around them have long earned a distinguished place in history, among humankind's major achievements in science and technology. Here's to the next 30!
