Bonum Certa Men Certa

Free as in Freedom Should Not be Associated With Cost

Sometimes being freer is more costly (in financial terms) in the short term

Free bicycle? No thanks



Summary: It's important to remind people that so-called 'free' services (Clown Computing, centralised spaces that 'farm' their so-called 'users') aren't really free; we need to advocate freedom or free-as-in-freedom alternatives

THE fake Open Source 'movement' wanted us to think that the term Free software was bad because it implied "cheap" and "shoddy"; this straw man argument helped them sweep a lot of media attention over to their side and, in turn, promote monopolies and surveillance companies as "good citizens" that are "open" (because they upload some code portion to proprietary prisons/PRISM like GitHub). "They already whitewash Windows 10," Ryan told us moments ago. "Wikipedia lists it as "partially open source"."



"GitHub is proprietary and "free of charge"; does that make it "Free"? Ask developers/projects such as YouTube-DL, which got terminated (along with all their mirrors) without even a warning; then, Microsoft reportedly threatened everyone else who 'dared' make a mirror."Thankfully, more and more disillusioned people can now see that for what it really is. As we set aside some EPO affairs (we're not abandoning that, we'll carry on covering those matters at least once a day) we intend to focus again on advocacy for Free software. There seems to be a resurgence of it. Recently I've been seeing some truly encouraging signs for the #DeleteGitHub 'movement' or 'campaign', more so after the YouTube-DL debacle. Some high-profile projects have initiated their departure process (leaving Microsoft and GitHub behind). YouTube-DL and other projects (with almost no media attention paid to the latter take-downs, as Microsoft bombarded the media with face-saving PR about 'defending' developers) were the last straw to many. As Ryan points out, we should "also mention that after "byuu" left Higan, his successors moved it to GitHub, where it is at risk from Nintendo, who likes to abuse the DMCA as it pertains to emulators."

"Whether they're in the right or not," Ryan adds, "they have a history, and Microsoft won't fight them, so the current Higan project is at risk of being black bagged and progress lost one day because of lawyers and Microsoft."

Free software (or libre, some say livre) is about freedom of users; that extends to things such as privacy and free speech, of course. We need to stress this point more and more. GitHub is proprietary and "free of charge"; does that make it "Free"? Ask developers/projects such as YouTube-DL, which got terminated (along with all their mirrors) without even a warning; then, Microsoft reportedly threatened everyone else who 'dared' make a mirror. So much "free", eh? Like "free" food in a slaughterhouse/abattoir.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Deny the Shopping Holiday, Celebrate the Real Holiday
Buy Nothing Day
The Linux Foundation (Fronting for Microsoft and Bill Gates, Not Linux) Makes Cyberspace Less Secure
Security is not the goal
[Meme] The Most Important Things When Committing Crimes
pronouns
 
CNX Software Selling Out to Microsoft For Deny Friday
Hardly the first time they do this
Links 28/11/2024: F.T.C. Launches Antitrust Investigation Into Microsoft, Bluesky Concerns
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/11/2024: Fighting Evil and Games With “Content”
Links for the day
Microsoft Canonical: Proprietary Spyware in 'Community' Clothing
Some years ago Canonical decided to restore the mere appearance of being run like a democracy or a community
Stories About Microsoft and "Hey Hi" (LLMs Actually) 'Written' by Microsoft "Hey Hi" Chatbots With 'Linux' Thrown in for SEO Purposes
self-promotional Microsoft nonsense
Links 28/11/2024: Pakistan Turmoil, TuxCare Changes, and More 'Open'AI Problems
Links for the day
Links 28/11/2024: Privacy, DNS, and Python
Links for the day
[Meme] When Social Control Media is Over
Any deathbed regrets?
Death of Human Interaction
How much are future generations being "damaged" by premature introduction of skinnerboxes and, perhaps more importantly, is there any "safe" age?
Dr. Andy Farnell: "Electronic Voting" is a Solution to a Problem That Doesn't Exist
The arguments are similar to ones that we've made for years
The EPO's General Consultative Committee (GCC) Meeting Last Month Sought to Remove Genders (But It's Nearly Impossible in French and German)
there are so many major problems at the EPO; this one seems like a minor distraction and perhaps one that suits corrupt management (misdirection of anger)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, November 27, 2024
IRC logs for Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Links 27/11/2024: “Writing Month”, "Cybertorture", and Qualcomm Trouble
Links for the day
Gemini Links 27/11/2024: How the Exoteric Relates to the Esoteric, a Look at BASIC
Links for the day
Materialistic Culture of Fake Possessions and Fake Popularity
Fake popularity is part of a "chicken and egg" thing
If the Reputation of the European Union for Rule of Law Has Diminished, Blame EPO and the German (Also the Dutch) Government for Facilitating It
We'll soon publish some new EPO material
[Meme] Same Thing, Different Job Title
"Server sysadmin; Clown computing consultant"
Imagine Patents on Musical Compositions and Cooking Recipes
The very existence of software patents must come to an end
"Latest Technology News" in BetaNews is Press Release SPAM (or LLM Slop, Marketing, Fake 'Review')
What they call "reviews" are just ads
[Meme] Kramer is Done
Devuan is turning 10
There Are More Devuan-Based Distros of GNU/Linux Each Year
"The Veteran Unix Admin collective salutes you"
Go Offline for a Bit
yup!
Windows Falls to All-Time Low (12%) in Gabon
Gabon's data from statCounter shows this
[Meme] When Words Come to Mean the Opposite
"Keep the 'dumb' stuff, be smart about it"
In Defence of Analog (Sometimes Digital and/or "Smart" is Objectively a Lot Worse)
This past weekend (2-3 days) I spent a few hours per day saving us 250 - 400 pounds in repair bills
It Takes Microsoft Over a Day to Restore 'Microsoft 365' (360, 5 Days of Downtime)
Microsoft/Windows TCO will always be huge
[Meme] In Some Countries, Android (Linux) is Already 'the Standard'
"Wait. Sorry, we don't do Windows here, we barely use laptops."
In Gambia, According to statCounter, Windows "Market Share" is Down to 3%
in some countries Windows is already down to 1%
In Defence of CDs...
Let's say that some environmentalists focus only on visible things like plastics
This Holiday Season Dump Companies That Offload Everything to Skinnerbox "Apps", Un-Encrypted E-mail, and 'Webapps' (Proprietary JS Applications in 'Web Site' Clothing)
bot disservice
The Web is Becoming Social Control Media Junk and Fake Text Crafted by Machines (Boosted by Social Control Media via Bots Which Game Visibility/Popularity)
The misinformation machines are being increasingly automated to promote dictators and bigots
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, November 26, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, November 26, 2024
When Social Control Media in the European Union is Controlled by BRICS
Who controls TikTok?
Links 27/11/2024: Zoom Waning (Stock Falls), More Microsoft Shutdowns, and European Commission Flags Bluesky for Breaches
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/11/2024: Disease, Vibrations, and Grief
Links for the day
Links 26/11/2024: Microsoft 360 Users Report Outages, Attacks on Journalists Plentiful Worldwide
Links for the day
Same Month Judge Suggests Selling Chrome (Compelling Google to Give It Away) Chrome Surpasses Two-Thirds of "The Market", Based on Surveyor
tackling Google's browser monoculture is still a priority
[Meme] Trying to Terrorise Critics
How Microsofters roll...
Illegitimi Non Carborundum
If you try to suppress our publication, we'll not just bark back but also bite
Why This Site Became "Simple" a Year Ago
Light is good, heavy is bad
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, November 25, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, November 25, 2024
Links 26/11/2024: International Microsoft Outages, Microsoft Mass Layoffs Bigger Than Reported Last Friday
Links for the day, Deutsche Welle and CBC focus
Gemini Links 26/11/2024: Not Pagan, Emacs Wiki, and More
Links for the day