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[ by Zak Rogoff - Published on Jan 08, 2016 08:01 PM 2015 was the Free Software Foundation's (FSF) thirtieth year defending and advancing computer users' rights. The free software community has sustained the Foundation throughout these decades and been deeply involved in our work. We continue to rely on the expertise of the free software movement to inform our initiatives and strategies. Taking the first step into our next thirty years, we want to hear your feedback, your suggestions, and your vision for the future of the FSF. Fill out the survey now!]

[ by Zak Rogoff - Published on Jan 08, 2016 08:01 PM 2015 was the Free Software Foundation's (FSF) thirtieth year defending and advancing computer users' rights. The free software community has sustained the Foundation throughout these decades and been deeply involved in our work. We continue to rely on the expertise of the free software movement to inform our initiatives and strategies. Taking the first step into our next thirty years, we want to hear your feedback, your suggestions, and your vision for the future of the FSF. Fill out the survey now!]

"by Free Software Foundation - Published on Nov 17, 2014 04:18 PM Organize an event to help people choose electronics gifts that actually give more than they take. In the flurry of holiday advertising that happens at the end of the year, many people are swept into buying freedom-denying and DRM-laden gifts that take more than they give. Each holiday season the FSF releases a Giving Guide to make it easy for you to choose tech gifts that respect your rights as a computer user and avoid those that don't. We'll be launching 2014's guide on Black Friday (November 28th), full of gifts that are fun and free, made by companies that share your values. It will be similar to 2013's Giving Guide, but more extensive and spruced up with a new design. It'll even have discounts on some of our favorite items, and translations into multiple languages."

"by Free Software Foundation - Published on Nov 17, 2014 04:18 PM Organize an event to help people choose electronics gifts that actually give more than they take. In the flurry of holiday advertising that happens at the end of the year, many people are swept into buying freedom-denying and DRM-laden gifts that take more than they give. Each holiday season the FSF releases a Giving Guide to make it easy for you to choose tech gifts that respect your rights as a computer user and avoid those that don't. We'll be launching 2014's guide on Black Friday (November 28th), full of gifts that are fun and free, made by companies that share your values. It will be similar to 2013's Giving Guide, but more extensive and spruced up with a new design. It'll even have discounts on some of our favorite items, and translations into multiple languages."

With your purchase of On2, you now own both the world's largest video site (YouTube) and all the patents behind a new high performance video codec -- VP8. Just think what you can achieve by releasing the VP8 codec under an irrevocable royalty-free license and pushing it out to users on YouTube? You can end the web's dependence on patent-encumbered video formats and proprietary software (Flash). This ability to offer a free format on YouTube, however, is only a tiny fraction of your real leverage. The real party starts when you begin to encourage users' browsers to support free formats. There are lots of ways to do this. Our favorite would be for YouTube to switch from Flash to free formats and HTML, offering users with obsolete browsers a plugin or a new browser (free software, of course). Apple has had the mettle to ditch Flash on the iPhone and the iPad -- albeit for suspect reasons and using abhorrent methods (DRM) -- and this has pushed web developers to make Flash-free alternatives of their pages. You could do the same with YouTube, for better reasons, and it would be a death-blow to Flash's dominance in web video. If you care about free software and the free web (a movement and medium to which you owe your success) you must take bold action to replace Flash with free standards and free formats. Patented video codecs have already done untold harm to the web and its users, and this will continue until we stop it. Because patent-encumbered formats were costly to incorporate into browsers, a bloated, ill-suited piece of proprietary software (Flash) became the de facto standard for online video. Until we move to free formats, the threat of patent lawsuits and licensing fees hangs over every software developer, video creator, hardware maker, web site and corporation -- including you. You can use your purchase of On2 merely as a bargaining chip to achieve your own private solution to the problem, but that's both a cop-out and a strategic mistake. Without making VP

"Your contribution to the Free Software Foundation will help us build on 30 years of victories for free software. We believe that free software can be everywhere, and that proprietary software can go the way of the dinosaur. With the experience we've gained, and our community surrounding us, we can win this. Another way to support the FSF is by joining as an Associate Member. You can also renew your existing or expired membership. You can use the form below to make a general donation with a check, credit card, debit card, or PayPal account."

"by Georgia Young - Published on Aug 11, 2016 03:58 PM The Free Software Foundation has been fighting for user freedom for more than thirty years with your support. FY2015 Annual Report cover - Software should be free as in freedom Now we are publishing our first Annual Report, which covers the 2015 fiscal year of October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015. The report offers a look at the Foundation's activities, accomplishments, and financial picture. You will also read about the impact of our programs and FY2015's major events, including LibrePlanet and our thirtieth anniversary. A high resolution version is also available."

"by Georgia Young - Published on Aug 11, 2016 03:58 PM The Free Software Foundation has been fighting for user freedom for more than thirty years with your support. FY2015 Annual Report cover - Software should be free as in freedom Now we are publishing our first Annual Report, which covers the 2015 fiscal year of October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015. The report offers a look at the Foundation's activities, accomplishments, and financial picture. You will also read about the impact of our programs and FY2015's major events, including LibrePlanet and our thirtieth anniversary. A high resolution version is also available."

"by Free Software Foundation - Published on Dec 08, 2014 11:57 AM Send your suggestions for projects of strategic importance to the goal of freedom for all computer users. High Priority Projects logo This announcement was written by the FSF's volunteer High Priority Projects Committee."

"by Zak Rogoff - Published on Sep 23, 2014 09:54 AM If you need to be anonymous online, or evade digital censorship and surveillance, the Tor network has your back. And it's more than a little bit stronger now than it was this spring, thanks to the Tor Challenge. "

"by Zak Rogoff - Published on Sep 23, 2014 09:54 AM If you need to be anonymous online, or evade digital censorship and surveillance, the Tor network has your back. And it's more than a little bit stronger now than it was this spring, thanks to the Tor Challenge. "

[Microsoft has announced that if computer makers wish to distribute machines with the Windows 8 compatibility logo, they will have to implement a measure called "Secure Boot." However, it is currently up for grabs whether this technology will live up to its name, or will instead earn the name Restricted Boot. When done correctly, "Secure Boot" is designed to protect against malware by preventing computers from loading unauthorized binary programs when booting. In practice, this means that computers implementing it won't boot unauthorized operating systems -- including initially authorized systems that have been modified without being re-approved. ...]

"President and founder of the Free Software Foundation Richard Stallman has an extensive travel schedule and frequently gives talks about free software all over the world. If you would like Richard Stallman (RMS) to speak at your event, please contact rms-assist@gnu.org. If you would like RMS to come to your school and speak, try asking professors in IT-related departments if they would like to bring him. They can contact rms-assist@gnu.org. You can find video and audio recordings of many of Dr. Stallman's speeches and lectures at audio-video.gnu.org."

"Sharing is one of free software's key principles. People who contribute to the advancement of free software, and to society, are committed to sharing their ideas in order to create something we can all benefit from. Often, they don't ask for anything in return. That's why each year, the Free Software Foundation recognizes one deserving individual and one project with the Free Software Awards. Who do you think should receive the 17th annual awards? Nominate an individual or a project you'd like us to recognize--nominations will be accepted through Sunday, November 16th, 2014 at 23:59 UTC. "

"by Zak Rogoff - Published on Jul 18, 2013 05:10 PM eyes learing at emails Mass-scale surveillance like PRISM is disturbing, but is an unsurprising effect of how centralized the Web is today. "