Campaigns Update

The campaigns team has been busy since the last Bulletin. Here are some of the latest things we've been working on:

Windows 7 Sins -- Microsoft Windows has hundreds of millions of people locked into proprietary software. It exemplifies some of proprietary software's most serious problems, like security and privacy. Windows 7 Sins makes the case against Microsoft and proprietary software, in response to the latest release of Microsoft Windows. The launch of the campaign, coinciding with the launch of Windows 7, featured the construction of a giant trashcan in the Boston Common, into which participants threw mock boxes of popular proprietary software. Visit fsf.org for video of the campaign in the free Ogg Theora format.

Defective by Design -- Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) robs us of control over the technology we use and the culture we live in. DRM and the DMCA can make it illegal to share an article, backup your kids' favorite DVD, or move your music from one player to another. The Amazon Kindle ebook reader (we call it the "Swindle") has been a target of several Defective by Design actions. So when Amazon stepped into a public relations nightmare this summer by remotely deleting hundreds of copies of George Orwell's 1984, we responded with a petition demanding an end to Amazon's ebook DRM. It received over 4,000 signatures from readers, academics, and librarians, and the press coverage helped draw public attention to the fundamental problems of DRM. As the holiday shopping season approaches, we're planning other actions against the Swindle, as well as the Barnes and Noble Nook (better known at the "Crook").

Software Freedom Day -- At Software Freedom Day 2009 in Boston, FSF volunteer Dana Moser roved the event asking participants the following questions, while making videos of the responses: "Why do you like free software?" and "Why is software freedom important to you?" The responses came out great, but that's just the beginning. We've put out the call for FSF supporters to submit their own videos, and invite friends to do the same.

Keep up with FSF campaigns at fsf.org/campaigns and subscribe to the monthly update on all things FSF, the Free Software Supporter.