tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71277418473122584612024-03-13T11:35:23.630-07:00Open Source to Go!A blog about the increasing use of free and open source software in mobile devices, horror movies, technology, design, Japanese stuff, and whatever else happens to catch my interest.Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-30025500375267216652011-04-25T08:47:00.000-07:002011-04-25T09:25:35.479-07:00"iPhone SpyPhone?"—The Music Video!<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jX-EBW5LjB4" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" width="480"></iframe><br /><br />I constructed a somewhat modified version of Pete Warden's <a href="http://petewarden.github.com/iPhoneTracker/">iPhoneTracker</a> tool, and used it to produce this video. I've visualized ten months' worth of location data from my iPhone 4's consolidated.db, as it was added to the database in this, and while it could be said to be "tracking me" in a <span style="font-style: italic;">very</span> general way (like at a city level), it's far from "tracking my every move", in either time or space.<br /><br />(Sigh. The iframe for the embedded YouTube video doesn't appear on Planet GNOME, at least not for me in Chromium. <a href="http://youtu.be/jX-EBW5LjB4">Here</a> is a direct link to the video on YouTube.)<br /><br />What do you think?<br /><br />I've got more information on how I produced this <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2011/04/24/iphone-spyphone-the-video/">on my main blog</a>, including links to<br /><ul><li>a pre-built version of the modified iPhoneTracker I used</li><li>the source code changes I made</li><li>a higher-resolution version of the video which you can download (Quicktime format)</li><li>and, as a bonus, a downloadable archive of The Wired CD, Creative Commons-licensed music from artists like David Byrne (whose "My Fair Lady" was used as the soundtrack for this).</li></ul>Enjoy!<br /><br />(If you liked this, consider voting it up <a href="http://slashdot.org/submission/1540740/iPhoneSpyPhone--The-Music-Video">as a submission on Slashdot</a>, please!)Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-73202203935155503802011-04-21T08:56:00.001-07:002011-04-21T09:00:51.670-07:00iPhones and Location-Gathering: NO CALL FOR PANIC.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v0owggRHTfM/TbBT2maXNqI/AAAAAAAABfw/01kNAg0Ak_k/s1600/panic-button.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 390px; height: 390px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v0owggRHTfM/TbBT2maXNqI/AAAAAAAABfw/01kNAg0Ak_k/s400/panic-button.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598066534310688418" border="0" /></a>You've undoubtedly been reading a lot of histrionics about the fact that there's a file on your iPhone (if you have one) which contains a database of time-stamped longitude and latitude coordinates, with attendant speculation that the iPhone is "tracking your every move". It's not.<br /><br />See <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2011/04/21/iphones-and-location-lets-not-get-hysterical/">my posting on my main blog</a> to get all the details on what it <span style="font-style: italic;">is</span> doing.Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-80198692152110932762011-04-18T11:22:00.000-07:002011-04-18T11:23:47.029-07:00What Does a Dead Parrot Have to Do With Software Development?<a href="http://yesthatlefty.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/dead-parrot.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-343" title="dead-parrot" src="http://yesthatlefty.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/dead-parrot.jpg" alt="" border="5" height="290" width="350" /></a><br /><br />Read my new article, "<a href="http://www.softwarequalityconnection.com/2011/04/what-monty-python-taught-me-about-the-software-industry/">What Monty Python Taught Me About the Software Industry</a>", on Software Quality Connection to find out...Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-81805342598215557602011-04-15T10:40:00.000-07:002011-04-15T10:44:35.890-07:00What Are Your "Technological Holy Grails"?Harry McCracken posted an interesting article on his "<a href="http://technologizer.com/2011/04/15/four-technological-holy-grails/">Four Technological Holy Grails</a>". I came up with <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2011/04/15/ill-know-im-in-the-future-when/">some of my own</a>. What are yours?Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-1386528835966367212011-04-14T11:09:00.000-07:002011-04-14T11:14:34.692-07:00Removing/Configuring Facebook Apps: Do You Know How?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wy0S-jfjcAs/Tac5L8STD_I/AAAAAAAABfY/mESXCG7tlSQ/s1600/fb%2Bapp%2Bprivacy%2Bsettings%2B3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 241px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Wy0S-jfjcAs/Tac5L8STD_I/AAAAAAAABfY/mESXCG7tlSQ/s400/fb%2Bapp%2Bprivacy%2Bsettings%2B3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595503939355348978" border="0" /></a><br />I know a number of folks in the community are Facebook users—despite the dire warnings of some about "CIA plots" and the like—but with the dramatic increases in "rogue" apps there and "like-jackings" and such, I'm not sure everyone knows how to remove an application you don't want, or to configure one to limit the information it can access (when it's possible to do so).<br /><br />Facebook seems to want to make this as difficult as possible, by hiding the settings in not-easy-to-locate places, by moving things around, etc. Accordingly, I wrote up <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2011/04/14/configuring-and-removing-facebook-apps-heres-how/">a quick guide</a>, with screen shots, over on my other blog, for those who are interested...Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-44855273716353997062011-04-10T10:11:00.001-07:002011-04-10T10:17:05.555-07:00Good News for Facebook-Haters!The growth of like-jacking, spamware and malware links, and the like on Fa(r)cebook continues unabated. Before long it'll be like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://yesthatlefty.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/futurefacebook.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 700px; height: 1497px;" src="http://yesthatlefty.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/futurefacebook.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a>For more on this, and what to do about it if you've gotten unfortunately caught by something like this—and it's getting harder and harder to tell, in some cases—see <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2011/04/09/i-have-seen-the-future-of-facebook/">here</a>...Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-52326427135935939482011-01-21T09:29:00.000-08:002011-01-21T09:42:05.759-08:00This Is Not An Energy Converter<div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/6/10977612_709bdefc30.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 375px;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/6/10977612_709bdefc30.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">This makes hot, crispy bread. (Image, courtesy of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/trlc/10977612/sizes/m/in/photostream/">Zalgon</a>.)</div><div><br /></div><div>Lurking on the Gnome marketing list, and seeing <a href="http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-list/2011-January/msg00018.html">some of the silliness</a> going on, I'm reminded of one of the things which people regularly seem to misapprehend about what they're doing. Maybe they're unclear on their goals.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'd thought marketing was about "getting new people to at least try out what you're offering", but a lot of what I see <i>still</i> seems to be more about "getting the people already using what you're offering to feel validated about the choice they've made" ("Made of inspiration, made of easy"? Really?)</div><div><br /></div><div>That, and the rant I witnessed this morning, about how the "i" in everything made by Apple stood for "idiot"—under completely mistaken circumstances, as it happened—encouraged me to <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2011/01/21/techies-dont-understand-what-apple-makes/">write a posting</a> about what Apple is really selling, and why they sell a bunch of it.</div>Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-31568333954445017372011-01-20T18:13:00.000-08:002011-01-20T18:17:26.872-08:00Got a "To Do" List? Actually Get Anything Done?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://yesthatlefty.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/to-never-do.jpg?w=418&h=169"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 418px; height: 169px;" src="http://yesthatlefty.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/to-never-do.jpg?w=418&h=169" border="0" alt="" /></a><div><br /></div>It's not unusual to spend a lot of time putting together a "To Do" list, and then going on to ignore it until it gets stale. Turns out that making a "To Do" list, in an of itself, doesn't actually help you in getting anything done, for several reasons.<div><br /></div><div>I've put together the first of a series of articles on why the problem with getting your "To Do" list cleared may be your "To Do" list. See more <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2011/01/18/is-your-to-do-list-keeping-you-from-getting-things-done-part-1-of-several/">here</a>.</div>Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-82028957369461598142011-01-14T07:37:00.000-08:002011-01-14T07:41:43.740-08:00Lunatic Stalker Update<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BHOWOAYNBi4/TTBuGZYtfeI/AAAAAAAABfM/03BkM3SRyCg/s1600/Stallman%2BImpersonation%2Bsm.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 381px; height: 298px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BHOWOAYNBi4/TTBuGZYtfeI/AAAAAAAABfM/03BkM3SRyCg/s400/Stallman%2BImpersonation%2Bsm.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5562066595975364066" /></a>The lunatic stalker who's been harassing me for several years is still at it, now impersonating various people on Facebook. He started out <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2011/01/13/are-you-being-impersonated-on-facebook/">impersonating me</a>, but having had that ID removed, he's now—as of this morning—impersonating <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2011/01/14/impersonation-follow-up-now-my-lunatic-stalker-is-richard-stallman/">Richard Stallman</a>. The ID of the profile—which is blocked from me, so I can neither view nor report it—is<div><br /></div><div><div>I can't view it, but I believe this is "Richard Stallman's" profile:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001954412755">http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001954412755</a></div></div>Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-1032349215512437012010-11-04T21:50:00.000-07:002010-11-04T22:06:50.909-07:00This is PerplexingI've gotten some interesting commentary on <a href="http://opensourcetogo.blogspot.com/2010/11/gun-foot-bang.html">my last posting</a> with regard to the LVC situation. Much of it has devolved into excruciatingly minute examinations of under exactly which circumstances one should be willing to compromise one's Steadfast Principles and precisely how much, purely in order to get more free software into more people's hands.<div><br /></div><div>The perplexing part is that I don't really recall any thin-end-of-the-wedge hand-wringing over the lost-standing and only recently-resolved <a href="http://spot.livejournal.com/315383.html">Sun RPC situation</a>, where people found no day-to-day problem in a GPL violation which affected pretty much every Linux-based system on the planet for years.</div><div><br /></div><div>I frankly don't get it. (As of a moment ago, VLC is still up on the iTune App Store...)</div>Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-79103334241303200812010-11-02T14:06:00.001-07:002010-11-02T14:09:17.057-07:00Gun. Foot. Bang.Once again, the Free Software Foundation trots out its most strained and sketchiest reasoning to justify painting Apple as a villain and trying to keep GPL-licensed software out of the App Store and off iOS devices.<div><br /></div><div>This time, it's taking a much bigger risk: in doing so, it's placing the VLC project into the middle of the conflict, and taking sides—apparently—with one developer against many others.<div><br /></div><div>More <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2010/11/02/free-software-foundation-to-ios-users-you-are-not-worthy/">here</a>.</div></div>Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-73966861260534196812010-10-31T08:44:00.000-07:002010-10-31T08:47:23.014-07:00Better Living Through Stoicism!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BHOWOAYNBi4/TM2O-y2t4vI/AAAAAAAABes/BKpkjNVQirs/s1600/lily.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 188px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BHOWOAYNBi4/TM2O-y2t4vI/AAAAAAAABes/BKpkjNVQirs/s320/lily.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534236726562513650" /></a>My cat went missing yesterday! What does this have to do with ancient Greek philosophy? I've written <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2010/10/31/being-a-joyful-stoic-1-how-to-want-what-you-have/">this blog posting</a> to explain.Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-19323517244818051302010-10-30T10:34:00.000-07:002010-10-30T10:41:55.175-07:00RIP LimeWire. Should We Care?<div><br /></div>In stark contrast to the inability of some folks to conduct an actual discussion, I've always gotten along well with Tim (aka "Goblin"), who blogs on free software and related matters over on <a href="http://openbytes.wordpress.com/">OpenBytes</a>.<div><br /></div><div>He <a href="http://openbytes.wordpress.com/2010/10/29/eye-for-an-eye-riaa-limewire-no-score-draw-what-loic-users-should-consider">recently posted</a> on the LimeWire shutdown, and the attempt to punish the RIAA for it by conducting a DDoS attack against their site, something we agree is hugely counterproductive behavior.</div><div><br /></div><div>My response to one of Tim's comments there turned into <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2010/10/30/on-the-limewire-shutdown/">a blog posting in its own right</a>, on what the issues are here and how the community should be viewing this.</div>Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-81316247057046075532010-10-24T13:06:00.000-07:002010-10-24T13:19:40.474-07:00This Week's "Linux on the Desktop" Debate<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3342/3175302799_109bc0304b.jpg?v=0"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 336px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3342/3175302799_109bc0304b.jpg?v=0" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3342/3175302799_109bc0304b.jpg?v=0"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span">(</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3342/3175302799_109bc0304b.jpg?v=0">image courtesy Sarah Caulfield</a>)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br />The subject of <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2010/10/20/linux-on-the-desktop-dead-alive-or-maybe-simply-irrelevant/">whether there's any future (or present, for that matter) in the notion of "Linux on the desktop"</a> as something that "regular end-users" might want to take up has been discussed in a variety of places this past week. I put my two cents in over on my other blog (and this is "GNOME-related", so I don't want any whining).<br /><br />The situation, as I see it, is that, even if Linux isn't "dead on the desktop", if it <span style="font-style:italic;">were</span>, it would scarcely make a ripple on the awareness of most users of personal computers.<br /><br /><a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2010/10/24/whats-kept-linux-from-being-a-success-on-the-desktop/">The reasons why things got to this point</a>, and why we can expect the same in the mobile space—more Android and webOS and the like on phones and tablets and such, but scarcely any user-visible "community developed-and-maintained" open source—in the foreseeable future are really pretty basic as I see it.<br /><br />Most of this is not appreciably different to things I've said at "GNOME Mobile" meetings and on the gnome-marketing list. If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you always got.Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-80733832017509241642010-10-20T10:22:00.000-07:002010-10-20T10:27:20.939-07:00Why Would Someone Try to Bribe Me to Bury This Story?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://freeishsoftware.org/media/nenolod1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 623px; height: 352px;" src="http://freeishsoftware.org/media/nenolod1.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I've never had anyone attempt to buy me off before, that's a first. Evidently, I turned over a rock related to <a href="http://freeishsoftware.org/index.php/the-news/124-boycott-boy-profile-nenolod">some tax fraud scandal on freenode</a> which has been covered up for about five years.<br /><br />Anyone know any details regarding this? Feel free to <a href="mailto://lefty@shugendo.org">contact me privately</a> if you prefer.Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-8966433440010885232010-10-09T11:32:00.000-07:002010-10-09T11:49:44.088-07:00No, Apple Is Not Trying to Patent LLVM. That's a Lie.There's been some nonsense being floated around on <a href="http://identi.ca/notice/54918308">identi.ca</a> (as well as <a href="http://techrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/irc-log-techrights-07102010.html#tOct 07 06:09:30">less savory locales</a>) the past week, to the effect that "Apple has patented LLVM". It turns out to be based, as near as I can tell, on someone's having done a simple string search through Apple's patents for the string LLVM, finding two instances, assuming the worst, and pouring out their darkest, most ignorant, most ill-informed fears onto the <a href="http://en.swpat.org/wiki?title=Apple_Inc.&oldid=19293">"End Software Patents" site</a>, which Ciaran Riordan runs, <span style="font-style:italic;">without ever actually having read the patents</span> (actually one patent, one application) that had gotten them so upset.<br /><br />This was more or less the state in which I found the Apple page, a couple of days ago, over there. Ciaran and I have <a href="http://en.swpat.org/wiki/User_talk:68.126.201.9">been discussing the matter</a> for the past couple of days, pretty constructively for the most part, while I <span style="font-style:italic;">corrected</span> the page in various ways. It's in a state at this point where we can both tolerate it, at least.<br /><br />If anyone tries to tell you that "Apple has patented LLVM", it's a load of FUD and nonsense. All the details are <a href="http://freeishsoftware.org/index.php/component/content/article/35-op-ed/121-free-software-advocates-spread-lies-and-fud-about-apple">over here</a>. I've summarized the five biggest arguments the opponents of this situation—which turns out to involve a single patent application which actually has nothing to do with LLVM <span style="font-style:italic;">per se</span>—have brought forward as to why this particular patent application is so problematical in their view <a href="http://freeishsoftware.org/index.php/component/content/article/35-op-ed/122-five-reasons-why-apple-should-not-be-granted-their-patent">here</a>.Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-73054168125092215392010-10-07T15:38:00.000-07:002010-10-07T15:50:30.049-07:00I Can't Tell Whether I'm "Good" or "Evil" Any More.<P>My filters picked up <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-20018970-75.html">this story</a> (in multiple instances) today: Microsoft has agreed to license a portfolio of some 70-odd smart phone-related patents held mutually by my ex-employer ACCESS and Acacia.</p><P>I actually worked as ACCESS' patent portfolio strategist on this last year, helping to assemble, organize and relate the patents in question (out of possible hundreds), reporting to the then-General Counsel (who's now indulging himself making fine Belgian chocolate, something he tells me he's enjoying a lot more than lawyering).</p><P>So, I guess that makes me an official "patent troll". However, I'm a patent troll that got money out of <i>Microsoft</i>. I suppose Boycott Boy and his pals are liable to burn out a few circuits trying to get their (pin)heads around <i>that</i>!</p>Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-40054081506255782812010-10-06T20:25:00.000-07:002010-10-06T20:29:27.312-07:00Are You Using the Facebook App on Your Smart Phone?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://yesthatlefty.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/facebook-invasive.png?w=500&h=150"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 150px;" src="http://yesthatlefty.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/facebook-invasive.png?w=500&h=150" border="0" alt="" /></a><div><br /></div>If so, you <i>really</i> need to take a look at <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2010/10/07/is-the-facebook-app-playing-fast-and-loose-with-your-personal-data/">the article I've posted on my other blog</a>. Like <i>now</i>.Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-59870300554806283242010-06-20T10:00:00.000-07:002010-06-20T10:34:54.332-07:00Survey UpdateSo far, I've gotten responses from 35 GNOME members, out of 192 respondents, total.<div><br /></div><div>Of those GNOME members</div><div><ul><li>6 (17.6%) are members of the FSF</li><li>21 (60%) of these respondents say that they routinely use the term "Linux" when referring to "an operating system based on a Linux kernel, etc."; 8 (22.9%) use "GNU/Linux", and 6 (17.1%) use some other term (including the interesting alternative of "Leftux"in one instance—I guess this respondent will be easy to spot should he-or-she be attending GUADEC)</li><li>When limited to the two alternatives, 25 (71.4%) chose "Linux" and 10 (28.6%) chose "GNU/Linux".</li></ul></div><div>When given four potential focuses to prioritize for the Board, GNOME members ranked the alternatives as follows:</div><div><br /></div><table width="652" border="1"><tbody> <tr> <td width="274"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Focus</span></strong></td> <td width="70"><div align="center"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Most Important</span></strong></div></td> <td width="70"><div align="center"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">More Important</span></strong></div></td> <td width="70"><div align="center"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Less Important</span></strong></div></td> <td width="70"><div align="center"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Least Important</span></strong></div></td> <td width="70"><div align="center"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Average Score</span></strong></div></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Overseeing the GNOME 3 road map</td> <td><div align="center">10<br /> (30.3%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">13<br /> (39.4%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">8<br /> (24.2%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">2<br /> (8.1%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">2.94</div></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Building better bridges to corporate users of GNOME technologies</td> <td><div align="center">8<br />(25.8%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">12<br /> (38.7%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">7<br /> (22.6%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">4<br /> (12.9%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">2.77</div></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Providing technical oversight and direction</td> <td><div align="center">7<br /> (24.1%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">7<br /> (24.1%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">10<br /> (34.5%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">5<br /> (17.2%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">2.55</div></td> </tr> <tr> <td>Educating users about the FSF's views on software freedom</td> <td><div align="center">6<br /> (17.6%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">3<br /> (8.8%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">7<br /> (20.6%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">18<br /> (52.9%)</div></td> <td><div align="center">1.91</div></td> </tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Obviously, the more Foundation members who participate, the more authoritative the survey will be: the current number of respondents represents perhaps 1 in 10 Foundation members. If you haven't participated yet, <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HQGY6TJ">please take a moment to do so</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since I'm mainly interested in this issue as it affects the foundation-list and Board activities, I'm not reporting the overall totals at this point, but will do so once I've gotten what seem to be a large enough number of responses to be indicative of something.</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's please remember that this was raised as an specific issue to prospective Board candidates by Mr. Stallman, a Foundation member, prior to the election. Head-shaking and moans of "Not again!" seem entirely inappropriate, unless our method of dealing with divisive issues is pretending that they simply don't exist....</div>Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-62782551010570141912010-06-18T21:28:00.000-07:002010-06-18T21:34:40.754-07:00The "Issue" That Would Not Die: Flog a Dead Horse for RichardYes, it's <a href="http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-list/2010-June/msg00134.html">back</a>. On the foundation-list, in spite of <a href="http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-list/2010-June/msg00125.html">a direct request</a> from the moderator that it be dropped. You know it! You love it! It's <i><a href="http://mail.gnome.org/archives/foundation-list/2010-June/msg00113.html">"GNU"/Linux</a></i>! (And no, I didn't start it.)<div><br /></div><div>However, this seems like an excellent opportunity to gauge the feelings of the GNOME community around this, and I've accordingly constructed a (in my belief) quite non-leading <a href="http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HQGY6TJ">survey</a> in order to see what people thought.</div><div><br /></div><div>If anyone feels I'm engaging in "push-polling" here, please let me know, and I'll be happy to make any reasonable changes. I'd like to see this so-called "issue" settled once and for all, if only so that it doesn't get made into a hobbyhorse in future Board elections.</div>Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-54697738939364718782010-06-06T13:51:00.000-07:002010-06-06T13:55:15.122-07:00ALERT: "Like-jacking" Exploits on FacebookI wanted to alert folks that, if you are on Facebook, there's currently a potential issue where "like" can be "clickjacked". It's a browser-based exploit using an "invisible iFrame", I've posted a <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2010/06/04/oh-facebook-why-are-you-putting-potential-malware-on-my-wall/">couple</a> of <a href="http://caffeine.shugendo.org/2010/06/06/how-do-you-tell-the-real-likes-from-the-bogus-ones/">things</a> about it on my other blog if you want more details.<div><br /></div><div>Long story short: be <i>very</i> careful what you "like" on Facebook right now.</div><div><br /></div>Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-66853557758458555982010-06-03T15:06:00.000-07:002010-06-04T08:27:43.905-07:00Some Odd Ideas About How GPL Licensing WorksThere's been a lot of discussion of the FSF enforcement action here, on Twitter and identi.ca and elsewhere. It's been suggested to me that, since the "GPL is a 'distribution license'" and since Apple "distributed" copies of GNUgo, Apple must therefore "comply" with the GPL. I'm afraid this is <a href="http://freeishsoftware.org/index.php/component/content/article/35-op-ed/113-how-qfree-software-licensingq-works-apparently">sheer fantasy</a>. Here's my reasoning:<br /><br />1. Yes, the GPL is, indeed, a "distribution" license, i.e. certain obligations in the license are "triggered" by the act of "distributing" a "binary".<br /><br />2. Distributing a binary and failing to meet those obligations, indeed, constitutes an infringement of the author's copyright on the code: the copyright grant in the GPL is contingent on meeting the GPL's obligations.<br /><br />3. A "distributor" of a GPL-licensed binary thus has two options: meet the obligations, or be in infringement. "Meeting the obligations" and "complying with the GPL" are non-contractual <i>choices</i> that this "distributor" gets to make, of his own free will. He can, alternatively, <i>choose</i> to infringe, again of his own free will.<br /><br />4. Apple <i>cannot</i> be held to be in infringement, thanks to the "safe harbor" provided by the DMCA, so long as they meet the obligations of that act, as indeed they have done in the past, and presumably continue to do.<br /><br />5. Ergo, whether the FSF imagines that Apple is a "distributor" of GPL-licensed "binaries" means nothing whatsoever: the DMCA says they can't be held liable for infringement as long as they observe the requirements of the Act. The most that the FSF can <span style="font-style: italic;">legitimately</span> say is that Robota Softwarehouse evidently placed what seems to be an infringing copy of the GNUgo program in Apple's store.<br /><br />6. The remedy for such an infringement would have been for the FSF to provide Apple with a DMCA infringement notification, to which Applewould have responded by removing the application, presuming that Robota Softwarehouse didn't provide a DMCA <i>counter-</i>notification stating that they believe the FSF is mistaken and that they're willing to settle the matter in court.<br /><br />7. If Robota <span style="font-style: italic;">did</span> file a counter-notification, the FSF would have no recourse but to sue Robota Softwarehouse if they wished to get the situation redressed. They <i>couldn't</i> sue Apple, even though the program was still up on the App Store, still getting "distributed", still merrily infringing the GPL: the DMCA <i>says</i> they couldn't. And they couldn 't even force Apple to take it down, not without a court order coming out of their winning their case against Robota.<br /><br />At no point in any of this does the GPL license on the code actually matter in the slightest to Apple.<br /><br />That's my understanding of things. Does that gibe with other people's?Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-40470798210997030552010-06-02T11:56:00.000-07:002010-06-02T12:23:30.569-07:00Further Issues With the GPL and "App Stores": An In-the-Wild ExampleEven though the issue of the provision of source code isn't (apparently) an actual issue in the specifics of the FSF's enforcement action against Apple, there are some interesting points which it does raise, and I've been able to find a concrete example of what I'm talking about here.<div><br /></div><div>The "FileHippo" site hosts a variety of "freeware" for download. (I haven't used this site, and can't speak to the safety of their downloads, but it gives a useful example.) I can, for example, download the (GPL-licensed) Handbrake program for Windows from <a href="http://www.filehippo.com/download_handbrake/">here</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, while it includes a copy of the GPL in the COPYING file, etc., the installer does <i>not</i> contain sources for Handbrake. I can get those sources from the developer at handbrake.fr, but that's irrelevant: the FSF's interpretation of "distribution", as we've seen, includes anyone through whose hands a binary passes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now, if I go to FileHippo, who "distributed" the copy of Handbrake to me and demand the sources, as is my right, they can't help me: they don't <i>have</i> them, and they don't especially <i>want</i> to have them, I'd think. From their point of view, it's the developer's responsibility to make them available, if that's what the developer chooses, or is obligated, to do.</div><div><br /></div><div>By simply having had a copy of Handbrake uploaded, and making it available to the general public, it would seem that the site is in (completely inadvertent, and probably unbeknownst-to-them) technical violation of the GPL. In fact, one could <i>put</i> such a site (or someone's web site, if they had an ftp client which allowed uploading) in technical violation, it seems, by placing a GPL-licensed binary there but not the corresponding sources and waiting for someone to download it.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sites like download.cnet.com circumvent this issue by not hosting the downloads themselves, but by directing the user to the developer's site.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's an interesting question to ask: the Apple iTunes App Store and the Android Market don't really require or support the uploading of source code as part of placing a program for sale in their respective stores. They don't support the downloading of source associated with an application which someone purchases.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, if someone demands sources from them for a GPL-licensed program, having received a binary through the store, what are they to do? They can't provide what they don't have, and I'm sure they're not looking to become a repository for GNU code on the FSF's behalf because some third-party decided to use the GNU code in their own app.</div><div><br /></div><div>Again, whether the source code is or isn't available from the developer makes no difference. In the FSF's view, since the store is where you got the binary from, the store is where you <i>must</i> be able to get the corresponding sources from.</div><div><br /></div><div>It seems the app stores are left with two choices: change their procedures entirely around to support a very small number of (probably unprofitable) applications in the way the FSF insists, or simply disallow GPL-licensed applications from the stores entirely.</div><div><br /></div><div>I predict they'll do the latter.</div>Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-2925871208518163422010-06-01T19:23:00.001-07:002010-06-02T00:47:51.125-07:00An Open Letter to Brett SmithI've sent the following email to Brett Smith, the FSF's Licensing Compliance Engineer, with some questions I have about the recent FSF enforcement action against the Apple iTunes App Store<br /><br /><hr width="30%;"><div>Dear Brett:</div><div><br /></div><div>I've been analyzing the recent enforcement action by the FSF against the Apple iTunes Store, and wondering about the implications for other "app stores" which I seem to be finding in the reasoning you describe in your <a href="http://www.fsf.org/news/2010-05-app-store-compliance">blog</a> <a href="http://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/more-about-the-app-store-gpl-enforcement">postings</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>1) You specifically call out point (i) of Apple's <a href="http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/appstore/us/terms.html">App Store Usage Rules</a>, which specify that you must accept the prevailing third-party license (in the case of GNUgo, the GPL) as well as the App Store's own Terms of Use.</div><div><br /></div><div>Is it simply the requirement to accept terms above and beyond those in the GPL which, in and of itself, constitutes a violation? Would the required pre-acceptance of _any_ terms or conditions constitute a violation?</div><div><br /></div><div>2) In examining the <a href="http://www.google.com/mobile/android/market-tos.html">Terms of Service</a> for Google's Android Market, I find some interesting issues in there. §2.4 specifies that </div><div><br /></div><div>"From time to time, Google may discover a Product on the Market that violates the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement or other legal agreements, laws, regulations or policies. You agree that in such an instance Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your Device at its sole discretion."</div><div><br /></div><div>As we have <a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-gadgeteer/google-pulls-an-apple-and-removes-tetris-type-games-from-android-market/3314">seen today</a>, Google removed some dozen or more trademark-infringing "Tetris" applications from their Android Market, and also from the phones of the users who purchased such applications. This is completely in accordance with the terms of service one is obligated to accept as a pre-condition of obtaining application from the Android Market.</div><div><br /></div><div>I believe that—in spite of the language in §4.2, which specifies that, in the case of a "conflict" with a third-party license, the third-party license terms would take precedence—Google would be obliged to forcibly and unilaterally remove even GPL-licensed applications under a variety of circumstances.</div><div><br /></div><div>A hypothetical example:</div><div><br /></div><div>I write an Android application which is an MP3 and MP4 player. For whatever reason, rather than using the codecs built into Android, I use "free" (unlicensed) MP3 and MP4 codecs, which happen to be GPL-licensed. I place the app in the Android store, under a GPL license.</div><div><br /></div><div>You are a US citizen, and get a copy from the Android store. The legitimate holders of the MP3 and MP4 patents sue me, and advise Google that they're doing so, as the app clearly infringes their patents.</div><div><br /></div><div>I do not believe that §4.2 of the Google Android Market agreement is possibly going to trump §2.4, in a case like this.</div><div><br /></div><div>In other words, the fact that the program is licensed under the GPL would not, I believe, keep Google from yanking it off your Android phone, and the phone of anyone else who had obtained a copy. I doubt Google is going to be willing to foot the damages associated with being a party to a clear case of willful patent infringement to maintain the freedom of the General Public License. This would constitute a pretty clear insistence that users abrogate their right to "Freedom Zero", and it's difficult for me to understand how such a situation would <i>not </i>constitute a violation of the GPL.</div><div><br /></div><div>Do you agree with this analysis, and with the conclusion that the Android Market is equally in violation to the extent that it hosts GPL-licensed applications?</div><div><br /></div><div>3) Very similar problematical language to that found in Apple's and Google's various Terms of Service can also be found in the <a href="http://marketplace.windowsphone.com/resources/en-us/Windows%20Marketplace%20Customer%20Service%20Agreement.pdf">terms and conditions</a> associated with the Microsoft "Windows Marketplace for Mobile". On the assumption that my general reasoning here is correct, is it reasonable to expect that the FSF will next be conducting enforcement actions against Google and Microsoft?</div><div><br /></div><div>4) Why did the FSF not apparently undertake a similar enforcement action against the developer of GNUgo, Robota Softwarehouse, who marketed the program for some time, evidently, while having only a comment on their site claiming that source would be available "next week"?</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks very much for any help you can provide in answering these questions.</div><div><br /></div><div>Sincerely,</div><div><br /></div><div>David "Lefty"Schlesinger<br /><br /><hr width="30%;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">UPDATE</span>: I had gotten a report that Tetris apps were removed from Android phones as well as from the market before I wrote this, and have since received a conflicting report in the comments. In any case, I stand by my reasoning around the hypothetical example: that case would certainly be one in which Google would find itself obliged to unilaterally remove a GPL-licensed app from a third-party user's phone.<br /></div>Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7127741847312258461.post-61719292335222810762010-02-09T12:04:00.000-08:002010-02-09T14:05:53.319-08:00Criminal Harassment by "Freedom Lovers"<p>It's <span style="font-style: italic;">one</span> thing for the denizens of "freedom" to harass <em>me</em> by attempting to intimidate my by interfering with <em>my</em> employment, but we're over the line into new territory now. Having failed to achieve their ends by attacking me directly, <a href="http://www.boycott-boycottnovell.com/index.php/the-news/98-wheres-the-fsf-community-response-team-when-you-need-em">Michael Rudra Nath</a> (aka <a href="http://www.boycott-boycottnovell.com/index.php/the-news/78-an-interesting-development">Jason Christopher Hughes</a>) and <a href="http://www.boycott-boycottnovell.com/index.php/the-news/97-free-software-qadvocateq-using-dmca-for-harassment">Brandon Lozza</a> are now fostering the cause of "freedom" by harassing and attempting to interfere with the employment of completely uninvolved members of my family.</p><p>This has become a matter of criminal harassment, and is now being handled by the appropriate authorities here in California.</p><p>[Links were broken, are fixed...]<br /></p>Leftyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08971976622291862537noreply@blogger.com