On 01/05/2011 02:29 PM, Parin Sharma wrote: > "Cloud" has become kind of a buzzword these days and even people like > me who really care about the "Freedom" in FOSS get into this kind of > stuff thinking that if the things used in are FOSS then it gives us > Freedom too but unfortunately but that's not the case! Even if we use > AGPL'd Software in the cloud the Freedom is taken away from the user. > Some days back I watched this talk which proved to be an eye opener > for me. > > read summary > <http://www.softwarefreedom.org/news/2010/feb/10/highlights-eben-moglens-freedom-cloud-talk/>
Recently Eben Moglen founded FreedomBox Foundation[1] to provide us with a solution to the problem discussed in the "Freedom in the Cloud" talk. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- What is Freedom Box? Freedom Box is the name we give to a free software system built to keep your communications free and private whether chatting with friends or protesting in the street. Freedom Box software is particularly tailored to run in "plug servers," which are compact computers that are no larger than the power adapters for electronic appliances. Located in people's homes or offices such inexpensive servers can provide privacy in normal life, and safe communications for people seeking to preserve their freedom in oppressive regimes. Why Freedom Box? Because social networking and digital communications technologies are now critical to people fighting to make freedom in their societies or simply trying to preserve their privacy where the Web and other parts of the Net are intensively surveilled by profit-seekers and government agencies. Yet, instead of technology supporting these new modes of communications, smartphones, mobile tablets, and other common forms of consumer electronics are being built as "platforms" to control their users and monitor their activity. Freedom Box exists to provide people with privacy-respecting technology alternatives that enable normal communication in normal times, and that offer ways to collaborate safely and securely with others in building social networks of protest, demonstration, and mobilization for political change in the not-so-normal times. Imagine if your next wireless router, or settop box, or other small computing device came with extra features. It knew how to securely contact your friends and business associates, it stored your personal data, securely backing it up and generally maintaining your presence in the various networks you have come to rely on for communicating with people in society. Such a box would not only make your participation in network communication easier in your daily life, increasing your privacy and the security of computers in your life, it would have many unique advantages during times of crisis. Such a box could help in disasters by creating a mesh network with your neighbors to replace the centralized internet connections that go out with the lights or are cut by hostile governments. Such a box would make it harder for governments and invasive corporate interests to reach your data and casually profile you for their own uses. Such a box would also let you lend aid to friends in need by sharing your unfettered internet access with those trapped behind government firewalls that prevent them from learning about the world or speaking plainly to it. Such boxes exist in the form of plug computers and mesh routers, tiny, inexpensive machines that can take the place of other electronics in your life, that draw so little power (often as little as 5W) that they can be run off of batteries or solar panels. We even have free software, software meant to empower and support individuals, to do all of the things mentioned above. What we need is the glue to hold all of that together, the architecture of which pieces stack together in which way to turn a collection of possibilities into an appliance so easy to use that you forget you even have one, at least until that moment when you really need it. The FreedomBox Foundation was built to put this all together. It was started by community leaders with long track leaders and lives as a community project. But the past few months have shown us all that there are millions of people around the world who need such a device now and we need to pick up the pace and get them made so that next time, our friends have some help. That is why we are asking for your help. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- from their Kickstarter Page[2] PS: More links to related stories can be found at this[3] [1]http://www.freedomboxfoundation.org/ [2]http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/721744279/push-the-freedombox-foundation-from-0-to-60-in-30?ref=live [3]http://www.isoc-ny.org/p2/?p=1773 -- Parin Sharma https://identi.ca/FOSSmaniac "Privacy is ultimately about liberty while surveillance is always about control" -- -- LUG@IITD - http://tinyurl.com/ycueutm
