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Matz wins the 2011 Free Software Award
- why-el 15y agois the website down?
- websymphony 15y agoSite went down. Here is the cached link: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:www.fsf.org/news/2011-free-software-awards-announced http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:www.fsf...
- kinleyd 15y agoCongratulations Matz. You deserve every accolade and recognition for your great contributions to our tech world.
- demetris 15y agoInteresting that the name of Linus Torvalds is not in the list of previous winners.
- shepbook 15y agoI think there's a simple reason... Have you seen how upset RMS gets when you call a distribution a "Linux Distribution" instead of a "GNU/Linux Distribution"? :P * Sent from my laptop, running a Linux Distribution
- technomancy 15y agoSomewhat related: when the Linus Torvalds award was given to the FSF, Stallman responded with something along the lines of "Giving the Linus Torvalds award to the FSF is like giving the Han Solo award to the Rebel Alliance".
- georgemcbay 15y agoBut who wouldn't be happy to get a Han Solo award? I think Han Solo is a pretty cool guy. Eh shoots Greedos and doesnt afraid of anything
- cube13 15y agoNot really. Linus isn't a Free Software zealot in the way that the FSF is. He's too pragmatic for that. EDIT: Downvotes? Really? Linus isn't a Free Software advocate in the way that the FSF wants their people to be. He's a serious open source and GPLv2 advocate, but that's where it stops. He is not the kind of person that the FSF would give this award to.
- twelvechairs 15y ago(in case you don't know) I think the downvotes will be for the implication of the FSF being unpragmatic zealots. Obviously many don't share this view.
- falling 15y agoIf they don’t share that view, I think they fail to understand what the FSF is all about. I’m fairly certain RMS itself would agree that the ideal of freedom they fight and advocate for is to be followed without compromising to practical inconveniences.
- bad_user 15y agoOne acronym ... LGPL
- erikpukinskis 15y agoJust because you don't see the conveniences in having a full Free Software stack doesn't mean they don't exist.
- falling 15y agoWhat? Of course there are. That is not what I meant. If you choose to use a full Free Software stack, you'll have to face some inconveniences: fewer hardware choices, different or unavailable software and codecs, etc. Easy examples: if you choose to run a completely free system most of the videos on the web today are unavailable to you (even counting the few YouTube converted to WebM), as are essentially all games on any platform. Also, you cannot have a smartphone (I think even OpenMoko needs a binary blob). These are inconveniences. RMS thinks freedom has higher value than having the ability to choose whatever hardware you want, so he picked the only laptop available with free firmware.
- kderbe 15y agoAccording to the announcement of the 1998 Free Software Award: People such as Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds, who have already received other awards for their contributions, were not eligible for the Free Software Award. Source: http://www.gnu.org/award/award-1998.html http://www.gnu.org/award/award-1998.html
- demetris 15y agoAha! Thank you.
- maximumsteve 15y agoMr. Stallman is looking charming as usual.
- Alterlife 15y agoYou've been downvoted to hell... but why? Is there a taboo on commenting on his looks? This is the worst pic I've ever seen of him. I get that this is a part of the unique 'character' which produced the free software movement, but after a point it hurts his message. I wish he'd groom himself a little - at least when he's on stage.
- DanBC 15y agoDiscussions about Stallman rarely say anything new. A single line about RMS's appearance is adding nothing to the conversation, and risks a de-rail. (Already you responded, as have I. IHBT.)
- whyenot 15y agoI can only speak for myself, but the reason he is being downvoted is because circle-jerky comments about RMS's appearance add absolutely nothing interesting or insightful to the discussion. The internet already has one reddit. I don't think we need to turn HN into another one.
- redthrowaway 15y agoAt the risk of getting meta, "This comment belongs on reddit, not HN" is just as circle-jerky.
- maximumsteve 15y agoYet a flamebaiting comment such as mentioning Linus Torvalds not receiving an award is extremely interesting and insightful.
- sebphfx 15y agoWrong caption.This is not Richard Stallman! It's Matz's gardener. He follows him around sometimes, help him carry stuff when he goes to the grocery store.
- shepbook 15y agoWhat is the actual physical award? Is it some kind of flag or quilt? Hard to make it out in the picture.
- tjr 15y agoYes, it has historically been some sort of quilt. See also: http://www.gnu.org/award/prior-years.html http://www.gnu.org/award/prior-years.html
- getsat 15y agoI wonder what RMS thinks of the fact that Ruby recently switched from a GPL-like license (Ruby License) to BSD. At any rate, congrats to Matz!
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- jballanc 15y agoFrom the FSF's own list of GPL-compatible licenses: > License of Ruby (#Ruby) > This is a free software license, compatible with the GPL via an explicit dual-licensing clause.
- getsat 15y ago... yes? That was my point. They switched from a GPL-like license to a BSD one.
- jballanc 15y agoThe dual-licensing nature of the Ruby license has always meant that you could distribute it in a BSD-like fashion (with an extra restriction on naming). They simply moved the "or" part of the license from GPL to BSD. Ruby was never distributed in a GPL-like-only fashion. The changeover is mostly a non-issue.
- sunkencity 15y agoThe picture of Matz, Stallman and the Quilt is priceless. I like that this award goes to Matz, good choice!
- reddit_clone 15y agoWill make a nice panel for Heroes. RMS is pumping up to belch blue lighting-balls and Matz is puckering up to teleport the hell outta there.
- javajosh 15y agoThe prize doesn't come with any money, but the winner gets free software for life! ;)
- BobertK 15y agoI'm only about a month in with Ruby\Rails, but I like it a lot and really like the community I am finding. Nice.
- losethos 15y agoGod gives an award each year. It always goes to angels, though... bastards. God says... 11:14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 11:15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 11:16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, 11:17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. 11:18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. 11:19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
- JohnnyFlash 15y agoSo the FSF award is a tea towel? Grreeaattt... It is nice that Matz was acknowledged for his work but I feel that the FSF is increasingly out of touch. Instead of campaigning against closed source applications I think they would be far more effective providing support and direction to open source projects. The difference between open source and closed source commercial software is often polish and general direction. Helping take open source projects to the next level and showcasing them would be far more effective than bemoaning Windows and DRM. Take MS Office. Libre Office can do pretty much everything everything MS Office can do and it doesn't cost anything to install. The FSF should be asking questions about why Libre Office hasn't made a bigger dent in the Office suite market and then help solve any issues which are slowing uptake.