FSF News
International coalition of Internet freedom organizations urges W3C to reject Encrypted Media Extensions, a proposal to build Digital Restrictions Management into the Web
BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Wednesday, April 24th, 2013 -- Today a coalition of twenty-seven organizations released a joint letter to the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the Web's standards-setting body, condemning Encrypted Media Extensions (EME). EME is a proposal to incorporate support for Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) -- the systems used by media and technology companies to restrict watching, sharing, recording, and transforming digital works -- into HTML, the core language of the Web.
2012 Free Software Award winners announced
BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA — Saturday, March 23rd, 2013 — Free Software Foundation president Richard M. Stallman announced the winners of the FSF's annual Free Software Awards at a ceremony on Saturday, March 23rd, held during the LibrePlanet 2013 conference at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Two awards were given: the Award for the Advancement of Free Software, and the Award for Projects of Social Benefit.
LibrePlanet software freedom conference announces line-up
BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Friday, March 8, 2013 -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today announced the line-up for its upcoming LibrePlanet 2013 conference, to be held in Cambridge, MA at the Harvard Science Center on March 23-24.
Winners announced for free software gaming's highest honor, the Liberated Pixel Cup
BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Friday, February 22, 2013 -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today is proud to announce the winner of the first Liberated Pixel Cup, a design competition of free software video games using only freely licensed art and media.
Gnu comes bearing gifts, draws shoppers from Microsoft store
Boston, Massachusetts, USA -- Thursday, December 20th, 2012 -- Today, FSF activists visited a local Microsoft store during its "Tech for Tots" session to wish passersby happy holidays with copies of the Trisquel GNU/Linux operating system, a free software replacement for Windows 8. The activists were accompanied by a gnu (free software's buffalo-like mascot) and sported Santa hats in the spirit of the season. Their action drew smiles from mall-goers who had expected to see costumed people giving gifts, but not quite like this.
Free Software Foundation encourages shoppers to 'Give Freely' with new Giving Guide
BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Wednesday, November 28, 2012 -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today announced its 2012 Giving Guide, a resource for people looking for ethical electronics gifts this holiday season.
Activists trick-or-treat for free software at Windows 8 launch event
New York, New York, USA -- Thursday, October 25th, 2012 -- Today visitors to the primary Windows 8 launch event were greeted by an unexpected and uninvited visitor -- a gnu. Activists, one dressed as the free software movement's buffalo-like mascot, converged on Microsoft's event to distribute pamphlets about the hidden dangers of Microsoft's latest proprietary creation. The Halloween-themed action included plastic pumpkin buckets full of DVDs loaded with Trisquel, a free software distribution of the GNU/Linux operating system.
The Free Software Foundation opens nominations for the 15th Annual Free Software Awards
BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Monday, October 15, 2012 -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the GNU Project today announced the opening of nominations for the 15th annual Free Software Awards. The Free Software Awards include the Award for the Advancement of Free Software and the Award for Projects of Social Benefit.
FSF rallies support for GNU MediaGoblin to make media publishing free "as in freedom"
BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Thursday, October 11th, 2012 -- Today the Free Software Foundation (FSF) announced its support for the GNU MediaGoblin project's fundraiser at http://mediagoblin.org/pages/campaign.html. MediaGoblin is community-developed free "as in freedom" software that enables users to share their experiences through photos, videos, and audio, in a decentralized way that sidesteps current media-publishing gatekeepers.
LulzBot AO-100 3D printer now FSF-certified to respect your freedom
BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA — Tuesday, October 9th, 2012 — The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today awarded its first Respects Your Freedom (RYF) certification to the LulzBot AO-100 3D Printer sold by Aleph Objects, Inc. The RYF certification mark means that the product meets the FSF's standards in regard to users' freedom, control over the product, and privacy. The LulzBot model AO-100 3D printer can be purchased from www.lulzbot.com.
FSF announces winner of Restricted Boot webcomic contest
With over 30,000 signatures to our statement and over a dozen high-quality submissions to our contest, I'm confident our message that Restricted Boot is a mistake has the attention of Microsoft and computer-makers alike. Now we need take the next step of turning this support into tangible results.
FSF publishes whitepaper with recommendations for free operating system distributions considering Secure Boot
In the paper, the FSF outlines the difficulties Secure Boot poses for the free software movement and free software adoption, warns against the threat of Restricted Boot, and gives recommendations for how free software developers and users can best address the issues.
Two job openings on the FSF campaigns team
The Free Software Foundation (FSF), a Massachusetts 501(c)(3) charity with a worldwide mission to protect freedoms critical to the computer-using public, seeks *two* motivated and organized tech-friendly Boston-based individuals to be its full-time campaigns managers.
Richard Stallman speech in Barcelona canceled
FSF statement on jury's partial verdict in Oracle v Google
Were it grounded in reality, Oracle's claim that copyright law gives them proprietary control over any software that uses a particular functional API would be terrible for free software and programmers everywhere.
Coalition against Digital Restrictions Management ready to go for May 4th Day Against DRM
BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Thursday, May 3, 2012 -- Defective by Design will hold its annual International Day Against DRM on Friday, May 4th, targeting the use of Digital Restrictions Management on ebooks. Several other organizations have joined to express their concern for the freedoms of authors and readers, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Creative Commons, O'Reilly Media, No Starch Press, the Accessible Computing Foundation, Libre Graphics Magazine, Fight for the Future, Angry Robot Books, APRIL, the Free Software Foundation and its sister organizations, FSF France, FSF India and FSF Europe.
FSF Job Opportunity: Operations Assistant
This position is now closed for applications. Thank you to everyone who applied.
2011 Free Software Awards announced
BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA — Monday, March 26th, 2012 — Free Software Foundation president Richard M. Stallman announced the winners of the FSF's annual free software awards at a ceremony on Sunday, March 25th, held during the LibrePlanet 2012 conference at the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
Announcing JavaScript License Web Labels
If you browse the Web today, your browser will probably download and run nonfree JavaScript software on your behalf. You should be able to say no to that software—but to date, that hasn't been practical. JavaScript License Web Labels are our newest effort to make this easier.
You did your part, now it's our turn to do more for you!
Well, you did it! We raised $300,000 for free software during our winter fundraising drive, thanks to your contributions.