Richard Stallman's blog
by
John Sullivan
Contributions
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Published on
Mar 09, 2010 04:11 PM
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Impressions of Syria (2005-02-28 to 2005-03-03)
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by
Richard Stallman
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last modified
Jul 12, 2010 05:08 PM
- In late February, when I mentioned to people in Europe that I was soon going to Syria, they were worried for me. They thought that the tension resulting from the US decision to blame Syria for the assassination of Hariri would somehow make visiting Syria dangerous.
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Delhi (2005-01-31 to 2005-02-03)
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by
Richard Stallman
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last modified
Jul 12, 2010 05:04 PM
- I arrived at Delhi at 3am on a flight that had been delayed by an hour and a half. I had expected to do a lot of work on the flight, but I was unexpectedly drowsy and nodded off for a few hours. When I arrived at the airport, the wait for passport control was only 20 minutes, and I spent part of the time explaining free software to another passenger who was curious about it. My bag was already in the carousel when I reached it, so I exited into the terminal and passed along the line of people holding up signs. None had my name on it. The person who was supposed to meet me was not there.
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Bolivia (2005-01-19 to 2005-01-27)
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by
Richard Stallman
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last modified
Jul 12, 2010 04:11 PM
- Visiting Bolivia provided an opportunity for me to spend a week with Tania. I had better explain that Tania isn't just my friend; she's my sweetheart. Since she lives in Colombia, it isn't easy for us to spend time together. I used frequent flier miles to get her a ticket to Bolivia while I was to be there. In arranging this trip, I agreed to go speak in Santa Cruz provided either I went there for a very short time or Tania could go with me. The day before going to Bolivia was when I learned that the trip to Santa Cruz had been arranged for both of us together.
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Response to Fox News Article
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by
Richard Stallman
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last modified
Jul 12, 2010 03:57 PM
- Jim Prendergast's recent article mistakenly called me a "leader in the open source community". While I appreciate the praise that might be read into that expression, it is not the case: I do not advocate "open source" and never did. I founded the Free Software Movement in 1984. "Free", here refers to freedom, not price; specifically the freedom to redistribute and change the software you use. With free software, the users control the software; with non-free software, the developer has control of the software and its users.
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Conversation with a Parrot (2005-01-05)
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by
Richard Stallman
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last modified
Jul 12, 2010 03:53 PM
- This week I met Irene Pepperberg and Alex, the African gray parrot that she has taught to understand and use a large number of words.
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Blizzard (2004-12-26)
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by
Richard Stallman
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last modified
Jul 12, 2010 03:47 PM
- On Dec 26 I went home to Boston from Spain. About 40 minutes before arrival time, my laptop display died completely. It had previously shown a tendency to turn off occasionally, but suspending and unsuspending had fixed it before. This time no; not even shutting down the machine and removing the batteries made the screen function. I began to wonder how I could get any further work done until I obtained a new machine. Would connecting it to an external monitor produce a useful display?
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Visit to Marrakech (2004-12-19 to 2004-12-20)
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by
Richard Stallman
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last modified
Jul 12, 2010 03:37 PM
- I started writing this in the station in Rabat, after getting off the train from Marrakech. You could call it the Marrakech Express, or the Marrakech Local, because there's only one kind of train between Marrakech and Casablanca or Rabat. The trains are European, perhaps 30 years old--enough to seem less than new, but not enough to be quaint.
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Santander and Bilbao (2004-12-13 to 2004-12-16)
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by
Richard Stallman
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last modified
Jul 12, 2010 03:31 PM
- My short trip this month began with speeches in Santander and Bilbao, Spain. Traveling to Santander gave me a chance to see the beautiful rock-surrounded beaches; we also had time for a brief trip to the mountains of Asturias to the west.
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Encounter with President Chavez (2004-12-01 to 2004-12-06)
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by
Richard Stallman
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last modified
Jul 12, 2010 03:27 PM
- I returned to Venezuela after Mexico, for a conference called Artists and Intellectuals in Defense of Humanity. On Saturday, our main activity was a meeting where President Chavez would speak. I had lunch that day with Sergeant-Major Torres, who has converted the Venezuelan Army's servers to GNU/Linux, and his wife. Since we've become friends, I encouraged him to come back to the hotel and try to get into the meeting too, figuring the security would probably ok his entry, and they did.
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Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico (2004-11-15 to 2004-12-01)
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by
Richard Stallman
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last modified
Jul 12, 2010 03:22 PM
- I spent a week in Venezuela, giving a speech and some interviews at an event which invited speakers from all across Latin America. During the event, the state oil company PDVSA announced its decision to switch 100% to free software. Their decision is not based on convenience or cost; it is based on sovereignty. Their computers used to be handled by a US company, SAIC. When opponents of President Chavez tried to drive him from office by shutting down oil protection, the US government helped out by telling SAIC to prevent them from using their computers. PDVSA therefore knows from experience that using non-free software means you are at the mercy of the developers, and has decided to solve the problem for good and all.