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And once again, the "crazy" views of the "fanatic" Richard Stallman ring truer than ever. Now that we rely more and more on computerized gadgets running program

by wazoox 14y ago

And once again, the "crazy" views of the "fanatic" Richard Stallman ring truer than ever. Now that we rely more and more on computerized gadgets running programs for most of our activities, the sheer importance of Free Software running on Free Computers becomes more obvious, because it's becoming literally a matter of life and death.

keithpeter 14y ago
"...we rely more and more on computerized gadgets running programs for most of our activities..." I have concerns about that trend, but this particular case shows how an application running on a device can expand what can be done to integrate a disabled person into society. Not just a shiny way of doing something we did before, but a real gain. Stallman's was a name that I thought of as soon as I read the article.
acqq 14y ago
I remember reading this in 1997: Richard Stallman: The Right to Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html Then, most of what we already live now was only a science fiction. There were no chips that can prevent you from installing your own kernel. Well they are going to be sold soon, together with Windows 8: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Int... "In December 2011, Microsoft released a document about hardware certification of OEM products, Windows Hardware Certification Requirements[57] which confirms that they intend to ban the possibility of installing alternative operating systems on ARM-based devices running Windows 8. The document insists that they will require x86 and x86-64 devices to have the Secure UEFI enabled. They allow for the possibility that a custom secure boot mode could be enabled providing to the user the ability to add signatures. However, they intend that going to custom secure boot mode or disabling secure boot mode on ARM devices will not be compatible with running Windows.[53 "Microsoft confirms UEFI fears, locks down ARM devices - SFLC Blog - Software Freedom Law Center". Softwarefreedom.org. 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2012-03-06." There's already a hardware in production that will make impossible installing something else on the device, even if you have an access to the debugger -- on the technical level even a step beyond of the Stallman's dystopia of 1997.

by wazoox 14y ago

keithpeter 14y ago

"...we rely more and more on computerized gadgets running programs for most of our activities..." I have concerns about that trend, but this particular case shows how an application running on a device can expand what can be done to integrate a disabled person into society. Not just a shiny way of doing something we did before, but a real gain. Stallman's was a name that I thought of as soon as I read the article.

acqq 14y ago

I remember reading this in 1997: Richard Stallman: The Right to Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html Then, most of what we already live now was only a science fiction. There were no chips that can prevent you from installing your own kernel. Well they are going to be sold soon, together with Windows 8: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Int... "In December 2011, Microsoft released a document about hardware certification of OEM products, Windows Hardware Certification Requirements[57] which confirms that they intend to ban the possibility of installing alternative operating systems on ARM-based devices running Windows 8. The document insists that they will require x86 and x86-64 devices to have the Secure UEFI enabled. They allow for the possibility that a custom secure boot mode could be enabled providing to the user the ability to add signatures. However, they intend that going to custom secure boot mode or disabling secure boot mode on ARM devices will not be compatible with running Windows.[53 "Microsoft confirms UEFI fears, locks down ARM devices - SFLC Blog - Software Freedom Law Center". Softwarefreedom.org. 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2012-03-06." There's already a hardware in production that will make impossible installing something else on the device, even if you have an access to the debugger -- on the technical level even a step beyond of the Stallman's dystopia of 1997.