How Much Does It Cost to Join the Free Software Foundation?

KompoZer is available for free download, no charge, ever. Hope you don’t mind that I pulled your leg a bit with my 20% Off Sale and the piece entitled KompoZer for Sale. Both posts had a serious message and are popular pages. Hope you got the humor in those, the Help Wanted post and today’s offering.

How Much Does It Cost to Join the FSF?

It seems there should be something inherently stupid about that question but I know the answer. The Free Software Foundation is real and serious as a heart attack. They had the good sense to know in 1985 that computer users' rights “to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs” would be an issue that we all would need to deal with. I quoted their philosophy that, “Free software is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of “free'' as in “free speech,'' not as in “free beer.''

Free software must have four kinds of freedom according to the foundation including the freedom to:

• run the program, for any purpose
• study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs
• redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor
• improve the program, and release your improvements to the public

KompoZer scores on all points so I can even make money distributing it according to FSF. After all, it isn't free beer.

Bad Vista?

One of the things the Free Software Foundation does is to call attention to things that just ain’t right. The Bad Vista logo appeared here a little while ago because Vista does not score on any of the four freedom points above. It is bad enough that folks get filthy rich allowing us to pay for the privilege of using software under their terms but Digital Rights Management (DRM) and other invasive techniques simply gives them too much control over what I might do.

But if we don't start objecting, we will lose valuable freedoms. John Sullivan

I don’t mind that I don’t own, can’t understand or modify how XP works but Vista is way over the line as far as how far Bill and his buddies get into your business. You should take a read of John Sullivan’s piece on what’s really wrong about Vista. Here’s a for instance: “You consent to being spied upon by Microsoft, through the “Windows Genuine Advantage” system. This system tries to identify instances of copying that Microsoft thinks are illegitimate. Unfortunately, a recent study indicated that this system has already screwed up in over 500,000 cases.”

I read it, affirmed my desire to not upgrade, and put the Bad Vista thing on the blog.

So the Answer?

Of course the larger question is “Why would anyone allow a commercial enterprise to do something that even a government has no right to do?” Many other questions involve the rights of the creator of a work and who deserves to get filthy rich from the effort. I can’t answer those questions today.

One question I can answer today is, “How much does it cost to join the Free Software Foundation?” The answer is $120 USD.

I guess they are serious about that “free speech – free beer” concept and set dues to prove their point.

Did I mention that I am not a member of the FSF?

Look around while you are here. You might get another laugh or two.

Wysi

; .