FSM Newsletter 03 December 2007

Hello readers, and welcome once again to Free Software Magazine's fortnightly newsletter, keeping you up to date with all things free software... AND the top 10 FSDaily announcements for this week! Enjoy!

General announcements

We have a couple of very exciting things to announce. First of all, we will be releasing Issue 21 very soon, which will be jam-packed full of goodies fit for the festive season. It is a little delayed but that is because...Secondly, we have just launched FSDaily's new site! We say goodbye to our old Pligg-based site and say hello to a beautiful new site based on Drupal and Drigg, a module developed by our own Editor in Chief Tony Mobily.

A message to all facebook users we how have a Free Software Magazine readers user group, and an FSDaily user group! show your support, and connect with likeminded individuals! See you all there!

Top ten Free Software Daily stories this week

  1. Sneak peek at FSDaily's new site - It's not done yet but our new site is nearly ready. In this screenshot you can see we have gone with a new look. I can't wait for you all to try it out. It won't be long now. :) Read more...

  2. RMS: E-book - "Amazon's e-book device means an ugly future for book lovers." -- RMS Read more...

  3. RMS: piracy - "After reading this, I have a suggestion: to denounce the term "piracy" as a propaganda smear when applied to copying and sharing... Read more...

  4. Stallman's Speech at Model Engineering College About Software Patent Dangers - "After that introduction, I am sure many of you want to know about Free Software. But unfortunately that's not what I am supposed to speak about. In fact, this topic, software patents, is not very closely related to the issue of Free Software. Software patents are a danger that affect all programs... Read more...

  5. Ubuntu Customization Guide v2 - Changes are part of Nature so as with Technology... Though this cannot be true for Windows and Mac cause the life cycle of a single Version is too much which is not the case with Linux.. Open Source evolve at very rapid rate and with evolution comes new & special changes... Today with a hike in Linux acceptance its pretty hard for competitors to provide similar solutions at free of cost. Read more...

  6. OLPC asked to free XO laptop - As commercial sales of One Laptop Per Child's XO laptop close Monday, a user tracking the nonprofit effort said continued commercial availability of the laptop could benefit OLPC's nonprofit effort, the XO manufacturer and children using it as a learning tool. Read more...

  7. Free Software Foundation - Donate to the FSF - "You can make a general donation online, using the form below if you have a credit card or a PayPal account. Or make a directed donation for a specific fund..." Read more...

  8. Going online, public TV chooses different licensing paths - On Wednesday German public TV broadcaster NDR launched a pilot service offering free internet access to selected TV news and satire content, apparently under a "no derivatives" Creative Commons license. Read more...

  9. ODF vs. OOXML: War of the Words (an eBook in Process) - For some time I've been considering writing a book about what has become a standards war of truly epic proportions. I refer, of course, to the ongoing, ever expanding, still escalating conflict between ODF and OOXML, a battle that is playing out across five continents and in both the halls of government and the marketplace alike. And, needless to say, at countless blogs and news sites all the Web over as well. Read more...

  10. A Marketing Campaign For GNU/Linux called "Vista" -"It seems 44 percent of the businesses are scared to migrate to MS Vista. - And consider deploying GNU/Linux instead. Can we conclude that the Redmond based giant started the biggest marketing campaign for GNU/Linux? Get the facts here." Read more...

Thanks to dave, can.axis, anna, and peacemaker for these stories!

Latest content

Konqueror: doing it all from one interface - Making the most of KDE's crown jewel. By Gary Richmond. Read more...

In defense of software patents - Patent advocates, large successful businesses, and politicians are so enthusiastic about the patenting of software that it's hard to accept arguments from people like the FFII and Free Software Foundation who claim that the software industry simply does not need software patents and would be far better off without them. By Pieter Hintjens. Read more...

Running a free software project - Starting with your eyes open can really help! By John Calcote. Read more...

Information technology, 'piracy' and DRM - The copyright war and its implications. By Mauro Bieg. Read more...

Why non-profits should use free software (and it's not why you'd think) - You might have gathered from my article about hosting free software events, I work and am interested in the UK Voluntary/Community Sector (VCS)[1]. By Ryan Cartwright. Read more...

How to gear up your desktop for the Christmas holidays - Christmas time isn't all doom and gloom. It brings a very special time: decorating your GNU/Linux-based PC. By Andrew Min. Read more...

How to completely ditch GUI internet applications for the command line - The short'n'sweet guide to liberating yourself from the evil graphical user interface. By Andrew Min. Read more...

Reminders

You can read this and previous newsletters online here.

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