The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Tells Us All to "Keep Putting Pressure on Microsoft"
WE are a couple of days away from the end of this year and two passenger planes crashed hard, leaving just two survivors in the latter case. The FSF is now about two-thirds of the way towards its goal of $400,000 (it grew a lot since the FSF mentioned the need to battle Microsoft next year) and GNU/Linux share grew a lot (0.4%) since January, based on statCounter's numbers.
With several ongoing wars (growing bigger in terms of scope as troops and weapons are sourced from more countries) and escalations in the Baltic sea it's hard to envision peace and have high hopes for 2025. The US will probably have the most corrupt government ever, with signs of that beginning to appear months before inauguration. A few years ago we published several articles explaining why conflicts probably favour free software (as in libre, autonomy-respecting software) while hurting the likes of Intel, Microsoft, and Apple (which makes a lot of its products in China). One can hope that next year, in spite of the bloodshed, there will be progress for Software Freedom. We expect or at least hope to publish more articles in 2025 and in 2026 than we did in 2023 and 2024.
Here is the statement from Greg Farough of the FSF: (membership shot up considerably after this statement)
Grassroots organization against a corporation as large as Microsoft is never easy. They have the advertising budget to claim that they "love Linux" (sic), not to mention the money and political willpower to corral free software developers from around the world on their nonfree platform Microsoft GitHub. This year's IDAD took aim at one specific injustice: their requiring a hardware TPM module for users being forced to "upgrade" to Windows 11. As Windows 10 will soon stop receiving security updates, this is a (Microsoft-manufactured) problem for users still on this operating system. Normally, offloading cryptography to a different hardware module could be seen as a good thing -- but with nonfree software, it can only spell trouble for the user.
As we mentioned in this year's action announcement, we hope you took this opportunity to share the GNU/Linux operating system with someone you know and explained the concept of free software using this as an example of what we are up against.
Seemingly small acts like these could start a journey towards freedom -- in addition to saving yet another perfectly functioning computer from becoming e-waste. What's crucial now is to keep putting pressure on Microsoft, whether that's through switching to GNU/Linux, avoiding new releases of their software, or actions as simple as moving your projects off of Microsoft GitHub. If you're concerned about e-waste or have friends who work to combat climate change, getting them together to tell them about free software is the perfect way to help our movement grow, and free a few more users from Microsoft's digital restrictions.
IDAD is just one of the important events the Free Software Foundation holds every year. Right now, we're in our annual fundraiser, and need your help to continue our work against DRM and other forms of digital injustice. We appreciate any contribution you can make, whether that's a financial one or just spreading the word.
Will you consider becoming an FSF associate member if you aren't one already? Like other social causes, our strength is in numbers. Your support directly helps us keep campaigning for another year.
On another note, we realized in the course of planning that IDAD's "moveable feast" isn't the most conducive to satellite events or helpful for our partner organizations. We hear you. In January, we plan to announce the date of next year's IDAD, one we intend to keep the same for as long as it serves the movement.
If you participated in this year's IDAD, whether as an individual activist or a supporting organization, thank you. The day itself may be over, but our work against digital restrictions still continues. Avoiding DRM is something each of us ought to do year round. We hope you'll keep on supporting the Defective by Design campaign and the Free Software Foundation. We're all in this together. █
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