Richard Stallman Calls Azure Sphere OS a Positive Step
Stallman is glad that Microsoft will respect user’s freedom.
Earlier this month, Microsoft shook the world with the announcement of Azure Sphere OS, an operating system designed to run on IoT devices. The OS is powered by a customized version of Linux kernel. This marks the first product by Microsoft that runs on the Linux kernel. What’s even more interesting is that Microsoft will be shipping a product that has code released under the GNU GPL v2. We talked to Galen Hunt, Partner Managing Director, Microsoft Azure Sphere, who confirmed that Microsoft will comply with the licenses used for the code.
Last week we met with Richard M. Stallman in his hometown of Boston to get his reaction to the announcement, “That’s good. That program is free software. It’s released under a free software license I wrote, which requires redistributors to respect the freedom of users and Microsoft is even going to respect the users freedom with regards to that particular program. Well, I’m glad about that,” said Stallman.
However, he also criticized the community that coined the term "open source" to make copyleft licenses more acceptable for companies. He said that Open Source has done harm to the mission and goal of the Free Software Foundation, “...they coined the term open source to disconnect our software from our ethical ideas and they were fairly effective at that. Since then, we have to work hard to teach people, even the users of our software, that there’s such a thing as the Free Software movement. That it’s a movement for their freedom, that this is not just a matter of more convenient, more reliable software. Those are secondary desirable things, but they’re not as important as freedom. Freedom is crucial." he said. Stallman said that he didn’t use the term as it would have buried the idea behind the Free Software movement.
When asked how he really feels about Microsoft releasing code that’s guided by the license he wrote, Stallman sounded positive, “It’s just a beginning; I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of non-free software in it. I see it as a small step. Remember, the goal is to kick non-free software out of your life; kick it out of our society. We should all be free. So when you compare this step with that goal, I see it as a small positive step.”
Issue 261/2022
Buy this issue as a PDF
News
-
KaOS 2022.06 Now Available With KDE Plasma 5.25
The newest iteration of KaOS Linux not only adds the latest KDE Plasma desktop but sets LibreOffice as the default.
-
Manjaro 21.3.0 Is Now Available
Manjaro “Ruah” has been released and includes the latest Calamares installer, GNOME 42, and much more.
-
SpiralLinux is a New Linux Distribution Focused on Simplicity
A new Linux distribution, from the creator of GeckoLinux, is a Debian-based operating system with a focus on simplicity and ease of use.
-
HP Dev One Linux Laptop is Now Available for Pre-Order
The System76/HP collaboration Dev One laptop, geared toward developers, is now available for pre-order.
-
NixOS 22.5 Is Now Available
The latest release of NixOS with a much-improved package manager and a user-friendly graphical installer.
-
System76 Teams up with HP to Create the Dev One Laptop
HP and System76 have come together to develop a new laptop, powered by Pop!_OS and aimed toward developers.
-
Titan Linux is a New KDE Linux Based on Debian Stable
Titan Linux is a new Debian-based Linux distribution that features the KDE Plasma desktop with a focus on usability and performance.
-
Danielle Foré Has an Update for elementary OS 7
Now that Ubuntu 22.04 has been released, the team behind elementary OS is preparing for the upcoming 7.0 release.
-
Linux New Media Launches Open Source JobHub
New job website focuses on connecting technical and non-technical professionals with organizations in open source.
-
Ubuntu Cinnamon 22.04 Now Available
Ubuntu Cinnamon 22.04 has been released with all the additions from upstream as well as other features and improvements.