Just as a quick reminder there will be a talk tomorrow in Glasgow University. See below for more details. >Date: Thursday, May 3rd, 2001 >Time: 2pm -> around 3.30pm >Place: Boyd Orr Lecture Room B (aka 412) > > >Robert J. Chassell will talk on the subject of > > Free software: freedom to study, work, and manufacture > ====================================================== > >What makes software free? What brings freedom to people who use and >work with software? Chassell will discuss these topics and why >freedom leads to software that is more reliable, efficient, and secure >than the alternatives. > >Following this introduction, Chassell will consider the legal and >institutional framework that is necessary to preserve freedom. He >will contrast differing dispute resolution techniques in the ancient >Roman and the equally ancient Chinese Han empires, and their >consequences on freedom today. > > From ancient history, Chassell will proceed into a more detailed >discussion of the rights and duty associated with free software. He >will explain the `evolutionarily stable strategy' that favors one >license over others. > >Freedom benefits businessmen and their customers, schools and >universities. More importantly, freedom for software brings valuable >ethical consequences: sharing, empowerment, and good governance. > >Chassell, who was originally trained as an economist, will relate >these consequences of freedom to the operations of a competitive, free >market. > >For a change of pace, Chassell will then make a quick digression onto >the various meanings of the word `free' in English: two of which in >Spanish are `gratis' and `libre'. > >This will be followed by a discussion of contemporary history: how did >free software come about? Chassell was a part of the beginning. > >In his penultimate remarks, Chassell will a return to schools and >universities: what do young men shout when they are forbidden to >study? > >Finally, presuming that many young men and women finish university and >join businesses, he will finish with a more detailed discussion of the >advantages of freedom to businesses, and how to make a living with >free software. > > > >Biographical information >------------------------ > >Robert J. Chassell was a founding Director and Treasurer of the Free >Software Foundation, Inc. The FSF was founded to support the GNU >Project which restarted the movement towards free software and open >sources. The GNU/Linux operating system and associated applications >are the outcome of these efforts by the Foundation. > >Chassell writes and edits. He is the author of "Programming in Emacs >Lisp: An Introduction", co-author of the "Texinfo" manual, and an >editor of more than a dozen other books. He graduated from Cambridge >University, in England. He flies his own airplane, and has an abiding >interest in social and economic history. Steven Murdoch. -- email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] web: http://www.bigfoot.com/~murdomania/ PGP/GnuPG Keys: http://www.bigfoot.com/~murdomania/keys.html Geek Code: http://www.bigfoot.com/~murdomania/geek.htm Diary: http://www.advogato.org/person/sjmurdoch/ -------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.lug.org.uk http://www.linuxportal.co.uk http://www.linuxjob.co.uk http://www.linuxshop.co.uk --------------------------------------------------------------------
