Bonum Certa Men Certa

We Need to Use the F Word (Freedom) to Promote Adoption of GNU/Linux



"People get the government their behavior deserves. People deserve better than that."

--Richard Stallman



THESE times are good for nobody. Nobody. “Subscriptions have definitely fallen off a bit in the last few months," LWN wrote the other day (and the paywall for this week has just lapsed), "and we’ve had subscribers dropping off with a note saying that they had lost their job and needed to cut expenses.”



Many of these subscribers are GNU/Linux users and developers. Let's face it; nobody is immune.

"Now, let's say that the growth in the number of GNU/Linux users (which begets broader OEM support for the platform) is related to free time and need to reduce expenses..."We're not going to boil down to politics and politicians' names at this moment; instead we'll just allude to the bigger picture. The United States isn't the only country facing an unprecedented crisis right now; in the United States it is a lot more visible however and there's violence (both from the state and against it, and that includes armed militias taking on/over Federal buildings). This isn't so much a "left versus right" thing; there's growing unrest and dissent because the system is sort of crumbling. The economy might still be OK for the oligarchs at the top, but starvation is growing, even in the richest country in the world. Daily Links have some reports to that effect...

Now, let's say that the growth in the number of GNU/Linux users (which begets broader OEM support for the platform) is related to free time and need to reduce expenses...

"To properly organise for meaningful change one cannot rely on proprietary software. Some tried; and we know how they ended up..."Let's just make this assumption... not a scientific assumption, but nevertheless.

Advocacy of GNU/Linux can adapt accordingly. There are (have have been) typically two ways to promote Free/libre software; one is related to costs (immediate or longterm) and another related to freedom, however one perceives it...

Freedom is one of those things people take for granted (like voting rights) until it's lost.

Right now, in my personal assessment, it's not entirely clear whether there will be a 2020 election (or a functional election). Right now surveillance is on the rise (it is bipartisan by the way; seems like Democrats are absolutely OK with Donald Trump expanding spying powers) and it seems more or less related to social control (not terrorism and definitely not white-collar crimes such as tax evasion).

"Reading Microsoft 'news' is nowadays amusing at times."So, in my humble opinion, we can start taking more and more about the "F" (freedom) and not just the "$" (cost savings). GNU/Linux isn't guaranteed to improve one's privacy but it's certainly helping and it is a step in the right direction. To properly organise for meaningful change one cannot rely on proprietary software. Some tried; and we know how they ended up...

The mainstream media is trying to tell us that GNU/Linux is surging (the numbers they cite are misleading), so we're already accomplishing what we wanted. Microsoft is meanwhile reporting (but spinning) layoffs and announcing mere vapouware. Reading Microsoft 'news' is nowadays amusing at times. They cannot even patch their own operating system without breaking it! To the point where they now block their own updates! As for WSL, it has been a total failure, but Canonical seems eager to help it. Says a lot about Ubuntu in 2020...

Speak to family, contact friends. Tell them to give GNU/Linux a try. There was never a time this good for learning new things.

"Geeks like to think that they can ignore politics, you can leave politics alone, but politics won't leave you alone."

--Richard Stallman

Recent Techrights' Posts

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I have enormous respect for Jonathan and everything he has done
UEFI "Secure Boot Doesn’t Play Nice at the Moment"
UEFI "Secure Boot" does not improve security. It's an artificial obstacle in service of monopoly.
 
Andy Has Just Nailed It (Regarding Complexity and Failure, a la UEFI)
The users no longer own or control what they buy
Compatibility Support Module (CSM) Versus GNU/Linux Simplicity
what Andy recently called "solutionism"
Links 15/09/2025: "Postal Traffic to US Down by Over 80%" and 'Smart' Spinozacampus Laundry Room Goes AWOL
Links for the day
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Links for the day
Breach of EPO's Duty of Care or Cigna Reimbursement Issues
This is the sort of thing that motivated Luigi Mangione to assassinate a CEO
Ask Ubuntu About "Secure Boot" Violation and Laptops That Don't Boot GNU/Linux
Does anyone still believe that "Secure Boot" has anything at all to do with security?
Talking About the Problem vs Talking to the Problem
Wanting an audience is never a good excuse for compromising one's values and principles
Focusing on Patents
The reason we cover the EPO so much is that it's close to home
"Secure Boot Violation": The 'Joys' of Fake Security Gone Wrong
Not everyone reboots every day
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EPO Imitates Microsoft: "Three Days or More Per Week" Inside the Office to Get a Desk to Work on; "the Office Breaches Its Promise Towards Staff and Acts in Breach of Its Duty of Care"
The EPO serves no actual function in Europe
Links 15/09/2025: Political Affairs, Censorship, and Copyrights
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/09/2025: Music Genres, Invisible Networks, and Akademy 2025
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Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 14, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 14, 2025
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fewer people buy Microsoft
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With RTOs, PIPs, relocation etc. expect IBM to "shed off" many Red Hatters
Gemini Links 14/09/2025: ROOPHLOCH, Music, and Reddit
Links for the day
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This is the sort of junk one finds when looking for "Linux" in Google News these days
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Links for the day
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Links for the day
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The Face of the Digital Far Right: Microsoft Lunduke
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"I never dreamed of being a professor"
'Cancel Culture' by the Right: Microsoft Lunduke Contacts People's Employers Trying to Get Them Fired
Microsoft Lunduke panders to extremists online
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This was a few hours ago
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
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IRC logs for Saturday, September 13, 2025
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We Covered UEFI 'Secure Boot' Scandals. The World Listened.
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Microsoft Inside Your Linux: "Security vulnerability that allowed an attacker to bypass UEFI Secure Boot."
2 hours ago
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They've just jumped the shark entirely
Fake News With Fake Numbers About Microsoft
"This is what happens when the world's economy is governed by sick old men"
Slopwatch: "Google News" is Fast Becoming a Mashup of Slopfarms, Linux Journal ("LJ") is a Dump of LLM Slop
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Torturing Users Who Just Want to Run GNU/Linux on Their Own PC
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The Register MS Still Takes Money to Hype Up "AI" in Articles by Microsoft Resellers With the Term "AI" 30+ Times in Them
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Nothing to see here, move along
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European Corruption in the European Patent Office (EPO) Targets Culture
"In reality, the project includes a new “legal instrument” shifting administrative burden and liability on EPO staff while creating new uncertainty and externalising Amicale activities."
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UEFI Secure Boot Failing, as Expected for Nearly 15 Years Already (Techrights Said This Since 2012)
in the media
Debian 9/11
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Links for the day
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Oracle Fraud (or Defrauding Shareholders)
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Links for the day
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This distracts from or may take traffic away from the original articles, actually written by actual people
Over at Tux Machines...
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