Ian Forrester wrote:
If you guy's were asking the questions, what questions would you ask them.
"What does freedom mean for the users and developers of web services?
What is at risk? What should the free and open source software community do to
ensure that software, and its users, stay free in this new technological
environment?"
- http://autonomo.us/about/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/sep/29/cloud.computing.richard.stallman
has some great quotes.
---
Good questions.
Indeed, in fact, so good I can't think of any questions that might have
the same effect. (Does that say more about me or the questions? ;) )
What bugs me about the Stallman interview (and oracle's comments) is cloud computing is already here and many users are already using it.
Call me pedantic, but proprietary was already being used by many users
when Richard Stallman set up the Free Software Foundation in 1985.
Suggesting that because things exist, it is futile to resist isn't a
line of thought that works with me or most of the free software
community... :P
Call it gibberish and marketing hype isn't going to help solve the real problem
of cloud-based lock-in.
Well to be fair there is a lot of hype around it at the moment
(practically anything web 2.0 means in practise that it uses cloud
computing)
Richard has actually put forward ways to "help solve" the 'real' problem
in the form of the GNU Affero GPL[1].
They should be talking up user/freedom/rights friendly services & practices.
While slamming down the ones which don't. Putting a mid rule through cloud
computing is like putting a mid rule through mobile.
To be honest, I think the FSF is doing everything in it's scope. I would
suggest that what you think (ie. freedom of data/information) is more in
the scope of the Open Right Group - Perhaps they should be doing more :)
Tim
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affero_General_Public_License
--
www.tdobson.net
----
If each of us have one object, and we exchange them, then each of us
still has one object.
If each of us have one idea, and we exchange them, then each of us now
has two ideas. - George Bernard Shaw
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