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GNU – Celebrating 40 Years

103 points by div72 3y ago

nonrandomstring 3y ago
Another important anniversary. I wonder how well this thread will compare with "25 years of Google" [0] As a 50 year old, GNU has been there in the background for most of my life as a computing professional. It has not grown much as an organisation or ideas base, but clung firmly to timeless principles. That continuity and longevity is testimony to the power of an ideal, that computing belongs in the hands of the people, as a tool and not as a weapon in the hands of those who seek domination. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37669341 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37669341
- dartos 3y ago
  It’s faring much worse, sadly
- ChrisArchitect 3y ago
  Except that GNU anniversary page had been around for months, and posted a few times already (and ignored mostly on here), while the Google 25 content is fresh today, if comparing news response.
sidkshatriya 3y ago
GNU has much to be proud of. It pioneered the use of "copyleft" and has produced a stream of influential software that is critical even today. For me the greatest achievement of GNU is proving that software does not need to be proprietary. There was a time when Windows and other proprietary Unixes ruled the roost. Due to the easy availability of fundamental GNU software at the right time we saw the cambrian explosion of open computing software during the internet era. However, GNU seems to have not changed (enough) with the times. A new breed of open source software is steadily chipping away at GNU's monopoly (e.g. LLVM, musl etc). GNU's website, tooling and codebase increasingly looks outdated, monolithic and crusty. Sure there are gems still to be found in GNU's software stable. I also like that they hold fast to certain noble software principles. TL;DR GNU needs to reinvent and refresh itself while still preserving its core principles.
- larodi 3y ago
  I can't help but think that the idea of copyleft was already pioneered and applied during the same time in the Soviet block of countries, where virtually copyright did not exist. Of course without all the fanfares... So it was all copyleft, right? Definitely can remember us look with "awe and wonder" at Lawrence Lessig when he first visited one university in one ex-soviet country to lecture about the value of sharing software to a room full of people that have never ever in their life bought any.
  - extraduder_ire 3y ago
    The key thing about "copyleft" is that it uses copyright mechanisms to ensure the code stays free (as in freedom). This is different than disowning/ignoring copyright, and more of an inversion of how proprietary software works. Pirating software doesn't help too much when you want to study/modify it.
- tetris11 3y ago
  I see suckless[0] tools as the spiritual successor to GNU. Free, open source (and I think copyleft?), minimal, and encapsulates a comprehensive desktop experience. I think no-bloat should be GNUs next philosophy. 0: https://suckless.org/ https://suckless.org/
  - foul 3y ago
    And its wonky spinoff bitreich
    - gapan 3y ago
      I had to look this up. Made me laugh, thanks! http://www.bitreich.org/ http://www.bitreich.org/ edit: oh, there's a page redirection after a while. NSFW warning, but still funny.
      - foul 3y ago
        The real meat with those fine folks is reachable via gopher.
ReactiveJelly 3y ago
I can't find it, but I remember a quote something like this > The initial GNU announcement was crazy. Rewriting all of Unix? It was like Stallman had said, "I need help building a free rocket ship to Mars, and I'm getting started right after I finish this Thanksgiving dinner." I hope to one day be known for 1 really crazy idea that somehow paid off, and not the 999 obviously bad ideas that it took to get there.
commandlinefan 3y ago
Wow, for some reason I would have guessed that GNU was older than I am, but I'm almost 10 years older than it.

103 points by div72 3y ago

Another important anniversary. I wonder how well this thread will compare with "25 years of Google" [0] As a 50 year old, GNU has been there in the background for most of my life as a computing professional. It has not grown much as an organisation or ideas base, but clung firmly to timeless principles. That continuity and longevity is testimony to the power of an ideal, that computing belongs in the hands of the people, as a tool and not as a weapon in the hands of those who seek domination. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37669341 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37669341

dartos 3y ago
It’s faring much worse, sadly
ChrisArchitect 3y ago
Except that GNU anniversary page had been around for months, and posted a few times already (and ignored mostly on here), while the Google 25 content is fresh today, if comparing news response.

sidkshatriya 3y ago

GNU has much to be proud of. It pioneered the use of "copyleft" and has produced a stream of influential software that is critical even today. For me the greatest achievement of GNU is proving that software does not need to be proprietary. There was a time when Windows and other proprietary Unixes ruled the roost. Due to the easy availability of fundamental GNU software at the right time we saw the cambrian explosion of open computing software during the internet era. However, GNU seems to have not changed (enough) with the times. A new breed of open source software is steadily chipping away at GNU's monopoly (e.g. LLVM, musl etc). GNU's website, tooling and codebase increasingly looks outdated, monolithic and crusty. Sure there are gems still to be found in GNU's software stable. I also like that they hold fast to certain noble software principles. TL;DR GNU needs to reinvent and refresh itself while still preserving its core principles.

larodi 3y ago
I can't help but think that the idea of copyleft was already pioneered and applied during the same time in the Soviet block of countries, where virtually copyright did not exist. Of course without all the fanfares... So it was all copyleft, right? Definitely can remember us look with "awe and wonder" at Lawrence Lessig when he first visited one university in one ex-soviet country to lecture about the value of sharing software to a room full of people that have never ever in their life bought any.
- extraduder_ire 3y ago
  The key thing about "copyleft" is that it uses copyright mechanisms to ensure the code stays free (as in freedom). This is different than disowning/ignoring copyright, and more of an inversion of how proprietary software works. Pirating software doesn't help too much when you want to study/modify it.
tetris11 3y ago
I see suckless[0] tools as the spiritual successor to GNU. Free, open source (and I think copyleft?), minimal, and encapsulates a comprehensive desktop experience. I think no-bloat should be GNUs next philosophy. 0: https://suckless.org/ https://suckless.org/
- foul 3y ago
  And its wonky spinoff bitreich
  - gapan 3y ago
    I had to look this up. Made me laugh, thanks! http://www.bitreich.org/ http://www.bitreich.org/ edit: oh, there's a page redirection after a while. NSFW warning, but still funny.
    - foul 3y ago
      The real meat with those fine folks is reachable via gopher.

ReactiveJelly 3y ago

I can't find it, but I remember a quote something like this > The initial GNU announcement was crazy. Rewriting all of Unix? It was like Stallman had said, "I need help building a free rocket ship to Mars, and I'm getting started right after I finish this Thanksgiving dinner." I hope to one day be known for 1 really crazy idea that somehow paid off, and not the 999 obviously bad ideas that it took to get there.

commandlinefan 3y ago

Wow, for some reason I would have guessed that GNU was older than I am, but I'm almost 10 years older than it.