Re: [DotGNU]first draft for FD press release

[fitzix]

I like it, but I think that I'd change the first large paragraph to
read:

-----

FreeDevelopers ( which can be found on the internet at
http://freedevelopers.net ) is a software development company which is
very different from traditional companies: FreeDevelopers has a "The
Community is the Company" structure, and all the software they develop
is licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). The GPL provides
the users of the programs with many rights.  These rights include the
freedom to modify the program (which includes the freedom to the source
code), and the freedom to redistribute the program.  If a person is not
a programmer, they may choose to hire someone to make the changes for
them.  Computer programs where the users are given these freedom rights
are called Free Software (See
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/philosophy.html#AboutFreeSoftware for more
details).  So far much excellent Free Software has been developed by
volunteers working together informally over the internet, for example
most of the very successful GNU/Linux operating system has been
developed in this way.  The company FreeDevelopers has been started with
the goal to create a corporate structure that will allow Free Software
developers to get paid for the work they do.

-----

Beyond that, it looks great! :)

        -Barry


Norbert Bollow wrote:
> 
> NOT TO BE RELEASED YET
> (The above line will eventually be changed to "FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE")
> 
> Media Contact: FreeDevelopers
>                .............................
>                Phone: ......................
> 
> FREE SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS RESPOND TO MICROSOFT'S PLANS FOR ACHIEVING
> AN EFFECTIVE MONOPOLY ON E-COMMERCE AUTHENTICATION SERVICES
> 
> Washington DC, USA - FreeDevelopers announced today the DotGNU
> project which is a response from Free Software developers to
> Microsoft's .NET initiative.
> 
> FreeDevelopers ( which can be found on the internet at
> http://freedevelopers.net ) is a software development company
> which is very different from traditional companies:
> FreeDevelopers has a "The Community is the Company" structure,
> and all the software they develop comes with a license called
> "GNU GPL" that gives the users of the programs a lot of rights.
> These rights include the freedom to hire any programmer to
> improve the program, and the freedom to redistribute the
> program.  Computer programs where the users are given these
> freedom rights are called Free Software.  So far much excellent
> Free Software has been developed by volunteers working together
> informally over the internet, for example most of the very
> successful GNU/Linux operating system has been developed in this
> way.  The company FreeDevelopers has been started with the goal
> to create a corporate structure that will allow Free Software
> developers to get paid for the work they do.
> 
> The DotGNU Project (which has a website at http://dotgnu.org )
> has been started by Free Software developers who are very
> concerned about what would happen to e-commerce and the freedom
> of the internet if Microsoft is successful with their plans for
> a centralized authentication system.  Microsoft wants everyone's
> personal information and credit card numbers to be stored in
> their "Passport" system, from where it can be made availbale to
> online merchants without any inconvenience to the end user.
> However, such convenience can be also achieved without a central
> database that contains everyone's personal information.
> 
> David Sugar, CTO of FreeDevelopers said "the existing passport
> system offers no technological advantage, and in fact, is a much
> poorer technology than what can actually be offered, such as in
> a distributed authentication and user data storage system."
> Sugar, who is highly repected among Free Software developers as
> the maintainer of Bayonne, the GNU telephony system, goes on to
> say that Microsoft's passport system is "ethically and morally
> wrong."
> 
> Microsoft's centralized system certainly comes with a number of
> serious risks for consumers.
> 
> For example if Microsoft acquires a financial services company,
> Microsoft would be legally permitted to share and distribute any
> and ALL financial information it may collect in it's global
> passport based solution with ANYONE it chooses.  Even if one
> "opts out" of this by filling out and returning an appropriate
> form later, Microsoft would still be free to share and sell past
> information to ANYONE, and any current information to ANY of
> it's existing business partners at will.
> 
> The developers behind the DotGNU project are not only concerned
> about what Microsoft can do with the data legally and
> intentionally.  The governments of some countries are interested
> in limiting their citizens' freedoms.  Can Microsoft prevent the
> secret service of such a government from breaking into the
> servers of the "passport" system and silently snooping on all
> ongoing e-commerce transactions?  Can Microsoft prevent a
> well-funded secret service from intercepting confidential data
> with a so-called "man in the middle" attack?
> 
> Another risk is that when Microsoft controls a centralized
> authentication system for all of the internet, the company can
> use this monopoly to effectively force everyone to use software
> that is controlled by Microsoft.  Norbert Bollow, a
> Switzerland-based business coach, said "I contribute to the
> DotGNU project because I want my clients to be free to run their
> businesses in the way they want, because that is what gives them
> personal satisfaction and also the profits they want.  Depending
> on circumstances, the use of software components which cannot be
> changed (because they are controlled by a Non-Free Software
> company like Microsoft) can be anything from a minor annoyance
> to something that really hinders your business success and
> profits."
> 
> Tony Stanco, founder of FreeDevelopers, calls DotGNU a "very
> important strategic project for free software." He adds "It is
> probably the battleground where we win or lose against Microsoft
> in the next few years."
> 
> Just like it is the goal of the GNU project, see http://www.gnu.org
> to create a complete operating system that makes it completely
> unnecessary to use a non-free operating system like e.g. Microsoft
> Windows, it's the goal of the DotGNU project to be a complete
> competitor to Microsoft's ".Net initiative" and "Hailstorm"
> products.
> 
> The DotGNU project will compete with Microsoft for end-users,
> business customers and developers.  It is a huge project.  Barry
> Fitzgerald, a Free Software developer who contributes to DotGNU,
> said "It's natural to have doubts about the implications of this
> project, since the scope of this project is to counter something
> that Microsoft is doing.  I, too, had doubts upon first hearing
> of the project.  However, DotGNU is not simply a Free Software
> version of .NET -- DotGNU will be a suite of projects that are
> designed to enhance the capabilities of the Free Software
> infrustructure outright.  Each of these projects can have value
> as part of DotGNU, or as stand-alone products.  If Microsoft is
> making these tools, then someone will use them.  It's our
> responsibility to counter that usage with a Free alternative.
> Also, our responsibility is to create this infrustructure in a
> way that is consistant with sensitivity to the user's privacy
> and with the sensitivity of their data.  If there are problems
> in the Microsoft architecture that users will implement, it is
> our responsibility to produce Free alternatives that address and
> ostensibly fix those problems."
> 
> Right now is an excellent opportunity for every programmer and
> software developer who cares about matters of Freedom to get
> involved right from the beginning in a truly important project.
> A good starting point is to subscribe to the DotGNU developers
> mailing list at http://dotgnu.org/mailman/listinfo/developers
> 
> About the relation of the DotGNU project to the GNU system:
> 
> The DotGNU project has been endorsed by the Free Software
> Foundation and accepted as a part of the GNU system.  Therefore,
> to be quite precise, DotGNU is a GNU project that has been
> initiated by FreeDevelopers and that continues to be supported
> by FreeDevelopers.
> 
> About GNU:
> 
> GNU is a Free Software Unix-like operating system.  Development of GNU
> began in 1984.
> 
> GNU/Linux is the integrated combination of the GNU operating system with
> the kernel, Linux, written by Linus Torvalds in 1991.  The various
> versions of GNU/Linux have an estimated 20 million users.
> 
> Some people call the GNU/Linux system "Linux", but this misnomer leads
> to confusion (people cannot tell whether you mean the whole system or
> the kernel, one part), and spreads an inaccurate picture of how, when
> and where the system was developed.  Making a consistent distinction
> between GNU/Linux, the whole operating system, and Linux, the kernel, is
> the best way to clear up the confusion.
> 
> About the Free Software Foundation:
> 
> The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting
> computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute
> computer programs.  The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as
> in freedom) software---particularly the GNU operating system and its
> GNU/Linux variants---and free documentation for free software.  The FSF
> also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of
> freedom in the use of software.  Their web site, located at
> http://www.gnu.org, is an important source of information about
> GNU/Linux. They are headquartered in Boston, MA, USA.
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