Fsf-friends July 2007

fsf-friends@gnu.org.in

32 participants
58 discussions

Say No to ECMA OOXML at BIS
by Anivar Aravind 11 Jul '07

11 Jul '07

Dear Nagarjuna, I sent both links to PJ of groklaw. Some Interesting Observations on the MS Response is online now <http://www.groklaw.net/comment.php?mode=display&sid=20070709231317298&title…> Minutes of Meeting held on May 07, 2007, with comments <http://www.odfalliance.in/files/2007-07-05%20Minutes%20with%20comments%20by…> Two beautiful points in MS response: * OOXML does not have a large number of features but is "feature rich". "The statement was not that the size is due to the large number of features but “feature rich”. The size of the document is also due to the fact that it is a fully defined specification." (note, OOXML is incomplete, inconsistent, and lacks semantic, ie, it is a street directory without a map) * 6000+4000 pages of OOXML specifications are needed because MS couldn't be bothered to ask Oasis to define spreadsheet formula's "As an example, which was cited in the meeting but has not been captured in the minutes, is the specification for implementing formulas in Spreadsheets which is not present in ODF. In this case what would spreadsheet formula specifications be considered as if not a point of standardization." * In the Response to the Question by Dr. Nagarjuna, MS throws in another "Covenant not to sue", now with regard to the old binary office formats. Instead of giving a clear license to use the specifications, you are now still not allowed to use them. However, MS now promises not to sue you under some conditions, or maybe they will sue you under some other conditions. Just like OOXML. "It is to be noted that Microsoft has made the .doc, .xls, and .ppt binary file format specifications available under a royalty-free covenant not to sue to anyone who wishes to implement all or part of these specifications in their products." ~ Regards Anivar -- Anivar Aravind moving Republic Peringavu.P.O Thrissur-18 Kerala http://anivar.movingrepublic.org/about

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GPL2 - GPL3
by Mani A 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

Suppose a package XX has a version-A under GPL-V2 and a forthcoming version-B. Suppose also that version -B is a severe modification of version-A. Now if version-B is to be released under GPL-V3 and suppose the earlier version is also to be maintained for some time, then I believe that the code from version-A would not be usable in version-B. Or how is this migration handled ? Best A. Mani -- A. Mani Member, Cal. Math. Soc

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M$ Gaming
by Mani A 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

M$ has been doing well in the gaming OS sector and with XBOX too. So they have this nice closed source marketing strategy : http://www.physorg.com/news103199030.html Best A. Mani -- A. Mani Member, Cal. Math. Soc

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Comments on the GPLv3
by Raj Mathur 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

Great article on the major changes in and features of GPLv3 with explanations in plain English. Apologies for the cross-post. http://lawandlifesiliconvalley.blogspot.com/ Regards, -- Raju -- Raj Mathur raju(a)kandalaya.org http://kandalaya.org/ GPG: 78D4 FC67 367F 40E2 0DD5 0FEF C968 D0EF CC68 D17F It is the mind that moves

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Fwd: Please Read: Need help in replacing music in Fedora package
by Debarshi 'Rishi' Ray 10 Jul '07

10 Jul '07

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Tom spot Callaway <tcallawa(a)redhat.com> Date: 10-Jul-2007 02:33 Subject: Please Read: Need help in replacing music in Fedora package To: fedora-devel-list(a)redhat.com Cc: lwn(a)lwn.net, fedora-list(a)redhat.com, fedora-ambassadors-list(a)redhat.com Hello interweb. I need help. (This is going out to a few places, as to hopefully have it picked up) One of my Fedora packages (rocksndiamonds) has a slight problem. Turns out that some of its audio files are straight copies of music which was used without permission. Full details are here: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=245435 Rather than pull the game out of Fedora entirely, (it is pretty fun, and the music is the only real blocker) I'd like to replace the music with freely distributable music. So, this could be your big chance! Are you a musician? Is someone you know a musician? Would you be willing to give us some music under a Creative Commons license (Attribution or Attribution-ShareAlike only)? The music we need replacement for is: "Alchemy" by Ian Boddy, from "Drive" (emailed Ian) "Czardasz" by Robert Pieculewicz, from "Czardasz" (emailed Robert, now known as "Steve Allen") "The Chase" by Propaganda, from "A Secret Wish" (could not find contact info for Propaganda) "Twilight Painter" by Tangerine Dream, from "Heartbreakers" (emailed Eastgate Music & Media LTD, Management for Tangerine Dream) "21st Century Common Man" by Tangerine Dream, from "Tyger" (emailed Eastgate Music & Media LTD, Management for Tangerine Dream) "Voyager" by The Alan Parsons Project, from "Pyramid" (emailed permissions(a)the-alan-parsons-project.com) "Network 23" by Tangerine Dream, from "Exit" (emailed Eastgate Music & Media LTD, Management for Tangerine Dream) I've emailed the contact points for the artists (when I could find them), but I do not expect that they will be willing to permit the sound sample use. We don't need whole songs, just short sound samples that will endlessly loop while the game plays. The clips do not need to be long, the longest one in the above list is 14 seconds. The format needed is .wav. If you're willing to help, please email me (tcallawa(a)redhat.com). Without replacing this music, we'll have to remove this game from the Fedora package collection. Thanks in advance, ~spot -- fedora-devel-list mailing list fedora-devel-list(a)redhat.com https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/fedora-devel-list -- GPG key ID: 63D4A5A7 Key server: pgp.mit.edu

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GNU Sather
by Debarshi 'Rishi' Ray 07 Jul '07

07 Jul '07

http://www.gnu.org/software/sather/ GNU Sather is an object-oriented programming language designed to be simple, efficient and safe. It aims to be appropriate for use in teaching, research, and industry. It was originally based on Eiffel but now incorporates ideas and approaches from several languages. One way of placing it in the "space of languages" is to say that it attempts to be as efficient as C, C++, or Fortran, as elegant and safe as Eiffel or CLU, and to support higher-order functions as well as Common Lisp or Scheme. GNU Sather is an object-oriented language with garbage collection, statically-checked strong typing, multiple inheritance, separate implementation and type inheritance, parameterized classes, dynamic dispatch, iteration abstraction, higher-order routines and iterators, exception handling, assertions, preconditions, postconditions, and class invariants. Code can be compiled into C code and can link with C object files. Cheers, Debarshi -- GPG key ID: 63D4A5A7 Key server: pgp.mit.edu

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Re: [Fsf-friends] Does Microsoft have nowhere to run?
by Ajay Pal Singh Atwal 07 Jul '07

07 Jul '07

----- Praveen A <pravi.a(a)gmail.com> wrote: > http://www.fsdaily.com/Adoption/Does_Microsoft_have_nowhere_to_run/ > Interesting but some deja-vu The free culture of a la-MIT-BSD/ Academia -> Commercial *nix/ and wind0Z too GNU GPLv2 -> TiVo and many others But thanks to GNU GPLv3 this wont be a one way sloppy relationship anymore. So the blank wall: hey MS can go for the xbox 360 vista, and then later upgrade it to xbox 360 aero FX or something, and then we install GNU/ Linux on it :-D -- Sincerely Ajay Pal Singh Atwal ----------------------- ajaypal[at]acm.org

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The Real Meaning of GNU GPLv3
by Praveen A 06 Jul '07

06 Jul '07

"In part that interest has been stoked by the manner in which the licence revision has been carried out. Whereas the first version of the GNU GPL was essentially the product of one man – Richard Stallman – and even the second involved only him and a few close collaborators, the drafting of version 3 has been opened out in an exemplary fashion to allow as wide a participation as possible. Given Stallman's close control of his GNU project and all that pertains to it, this new style of transparent, collaborative and inclusive working is a significant development for the future." http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000246 -- പ്രവീണ്‍ അരിമ്പ്രത്തൊടിയില്‍ Join The DRM Elimination Crew Now! http://fci.wikia.com/wiki/Anti-DRM-Campaign

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Say NO to the Microsoft Office format as an ISO standard
by Anivar Aravind 05 Jul '07

05 Jul '07

microsoft is now on the similar kind of lobbying with BIS (Beuro of Indian Standards) to make OOXML as a standard. I feel FSF must campaign on this. Anivar Say NO to the Microsoft Office format as an ISO standard http://www.noooxml.org/petition 1. There is already a standard ISO26300 named Open Document Format (ODF): a dual standard adds costs, uncertainty and confusion to industry, government and citizens; 2. There is no provable implementation of the OOXML specification: Microsoft Office 2007 produces a special version of OOXML, not a file format which complies with the OOXML specification; 3. There is missing information from the specification document, for example how to do a autoSpaceLikeWord95 or useWord97LineBreakRules; 4. More than 10% of the examples mentioned in the proposed standard do not validate as XML; 5. There is no guarantee that anybody can write a software that fully or partially implements the OOXML specification without being liable to patent damages or patent license fees by Microsoft; 6. This standard proposal conflicts with other ISO standards, such as ISO 8601 (Representation of dates and times), ISO 639 (Codes for the Representation of Names and Languages) or ISO/IEC 10118-3 (cryptographic hash); 7. There is a bug in the spreadsheet file format which forbids to enter any date before the year 1900: such bugs affects the OOXML specification as well as software versions such as Microsoft Excel 2000, XP, 2003 or 2007. 8. This standard proposal has not been created by bringing together the experience and expertise of all interested parties (such as the producers, sellers, buyers, users and regulators), but by Microsoft alone.

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Erroneous term in Article "Open it Up" - Is a software patent an oxymoron? - Issue: July 15 2007
by Roshan 04 Jul '07

04 Jul '07

Kind Attn: Author/Reporter - Kushan Mitra An article on Software Patent and a report covering Eben Moglen's speech in India is printed on Page 58 of Business Today, issue dated: July 15, 2007. The article refers to Prof. Eben Moglen as one who is associated with "Open Source", rather than "Free Software" Apart from this, the GNU GPL is not mentioned clearly and loosely referred to as General *Purpose* License, instead of GNU General Public License (www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html) It is requested that authors reporting about events such as these kindly refer to appropriate websites and the press section of them to write about Free Software. -- FSF of India Associate Fellow - http://www.gnu.org.in http://www.somaiya.edu/sksasc ubunturos @ freenode Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Yahoo! Messenger. Download Now! http://messenger.yahoo.com/download.php

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Fsf-friends July 2007