Stuff I've written.

Well, I've been busy writing, just not here. So, I thought, perhaps I should just post some links to what I've written elsewhere. Below are links and some thoughts on my interview with Richard M. Stallman and a little set of thoughts I had on the transition from summer to fall and its relation to the Gospel (got you intrigued?).

GNU Questions: RMS on SCO, Distributions, DRM — Want to understand the philosophical movement that got the ball rolling for GNU/Linux? It's not socialism, its Free Software. The Free Software movement was founded by Richard M. Stallman (RMS) in 1983 and has, in large part, succeeded because of the foundation RMS laid in its early years. In fact, much of the software that makes “Linux” work today was created by RMS's GNU Project, thus why I always call Linux “GNU/Linux.”

In the Open for Business article I linked to, RMS discusses with me a variety of topics including ethical questions within the context of Free Software philosophy and also questions on Digital Rights Management (DRM), the SCO Group lawsuit, and much more. There is also a link to my older interview with RMS which can be seen sort of as a primer. In fact, you might want to read that first to understand Free Software philosophy.

In essence, Free Software Philosophy argues that within the computer world there are ethical imperatives — the right to use, modify, share, and redistribute (even for a cost) the software you use. This flies in the face of the proprietary software licenses companies like Microsoft use. While many supporters of the parallel “Open Source” movement support these things for pragmatic reasons, RMS and his supporters believe it is the morally right thing to do. I respect that in this day and age of relativistic morals. Read both interviews, they are thought provoking even if you don't plan to use GNU/Linux.

While Free Software philosophy is secular in nature (RMS is an atheist), it does have some interesting connections with New Testament theology. RMS notes that the ideology behind his movement is very compatible with the concept of “Love your neighbor as yourself,” because you aren't signing contracts that prevent you from helping your neighbor get his computer doing whatever it is that he needs it to do. It's very interesting, I think.

Note: As I alluded to above, Free Software philosophy is often thought to really be socialism by those who have only a cursory knowledge of it (or who listen too much to Microsoft). It is not. Free Software supporters, unlike some supporters of the more “liberal” Open Source movement, insists on the capitalistic ability to turn a profit on Free Software. Red Hat, Inc. is living proof you can make money with Free Software.

Death of Summer — This time of year is always somewhat depressing for me. I'm not entirely sure why. However, lately I've had a different perspective on it. I blog about that at the Sakamuyo Network. Let me know what you think.