Welcome to the Free Software Supporter, the Free Software
Foundation's (FSF) monthly news digest and action update -- being read
by you and 229,496 other activists. That's 281 more than last month!
Help others find their reason to support free software: Donate by July 8 and help us reach our spring goal
From June 12
True user freedom is relevant for anyone in today's society, because
to truly have the right to collaborate, repair, and live more
sustainably, we need freedom for computer users. A world with free
software would have better privacy, protection from bulk surveillance,
and would avoid user lock-in.
Free software is the driving force that can help bring major change to
matters of global importance. With your support, we can continue
helping people find their reasons and motivation to live more
freely. Share the free software message using the hashtag
#UserFreedom on social media networks.
Want to read this newsletter translated into another language? Scroll
to the end to read the Supporter in French and Spanish.
Help others find free software: Watch and share Escape to Freedom
From June 28
Escape to Freedom is a new animated video from the FSF. It gives an
introduction to the concepts behind software freedom: both what we
gain by having it and what rights are at stake. Join our lead
freedom-seeker, Zara, as she learns the importance of free software
and guides herself through the labyrinth of challenges posed to her by
contemporary digital society. In search of freedom, she learns how to
seize control of her own seemingly predetermined narrative and helps
others do the same -- taking the ladder that leads to digital
liberation step by step. Watch the video and share with others.
Flock over to Mastodon on July 8 for an interactive session
From June 24
On July 8, from 16:00-17:00 EDT (20:00-21:00 UTC), FSF staff are
hosting a "Mastodon Hour." Mastodon Hour is a special window of time
that we are setting aside when we, the FSF campaigns team, will
respond to your messages in real time. The main topic will be "helping
others find their reason to support free software" and the secondary
topic will be "decentralization and federation." This blog post gives
some background on the event, how FSF posts to microblogs with free
software, and where you can go to find a Mastodon server with open
registration.
How the Eyüpsultan district of Turkey uses GNU/Linux
From June 21
The FSF is proud to publish a new article to our Working Together for
Free Software pages. It tells the story of how the government of
Eyüpsultan, district of Turkey, moved to GNU/Linux, gained more
software freedom for their municipality, and saved money. Accompanying
the article is the addition of Eyüpsultan as a Working Together
profile under "Who's using free software," along with Wikipedia, CERN,
and others. The article is an inspiring story of passionate activists
persuading government officials to make an important switch to free
software.
This year's color is in: we have a brand new GNU head t-shirt in
"storm" color (a muted tone, halfway between tan and purple). This is
different than all previous years: not only did we invert the print,
but the GNU itself is sporting sassy sunglasses. Pre-order yours by
Friday, July 8 to receive it in August. We expect to only print this
once. All our t-shirts are printed locally on ethically-produced, 100%
cotton material. Plus, your purchase helps us reach our summer
fundraiser goal and support software freedom advocacy.
Many governments encourage schools to let companies snoop on students
From June 20 by Richard Stallman
A study by Human Rights Watch found that, of 164 software programs and
Web sites recommended by various governments for schools and their
students, 146 of them gave data to advertising and tracking
companies. The researchers were thorough in their methods and checked
for various snooping methods, including fingerprinting of devices to
identify users. The research examined both programs marketed being
specifically "for education" as well as programs, such as Zoom and
Microsoft Teams, which are used for education but not marketed
specifically so. Stallman raises the point that "the only approach
that makes it possible to end massive surveillance starts with
demanding that the software be free. Then users will be able to modify
the software to avoid giving real data to companies."
The Central Bank of Austria has published a report in the context of a
workshop celebrating twenty years of euro-denominated cash. The report
discusses the future of cash, including account- and blockchain-based
designs, as well as GNU Taler, which features prominently in their
discussion on the future of cash. This is exciting news for both
software freedom and privacy. (Also, if this interests you, be sure to
check out their upcoming "Libre Retail CBDC Technology Forum." Details
are under "Libre Retail CBDC Technology Forum" below.)
Following GitHub's announcement of Copilot as
a for-profit product, Software Freedom Conservancy calls on all free
software developers to leave and "Give up GitHub!" The campaign page
lists major reasons to give up on GitHub. Conservancy says,
"developers have been, for too long, the proverbial frog in slowly
boiling water. GitHub's behavior has gotten progressively worse, and
we've excused, ignored, or otherwise acquiesced to cognitive
dissonance." Read about the initiative, join the public mailing list,
and learn how you can support the campaign yourself.
Remembering and honoring Marina Zhurakhinskaya, founder of Outreachy
From June 14 by Software Freedom Conservancy
The FSF shares the great sadness about the death of Marina
Zhurakhinskaya with the many free software organizations and people
whose lives she touched. We express our condolences to her family, and
to her friends and colleagues.
Marina Zhurakhinskaya was architect of GNOME's Outreach Program for
Women (precursor to Outreachy), Ada Initiative board member, and
"Pants Award" recipient. She was a force for change and leaves a
profound legacy of diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice. Read
about Marina's life, legacy, and contributions to free software.
Celebrating ten years of GNU Guix in Paris, September 16-18
From June 13 by Ludovic Courtès, Tanguy Le Carrour, and Simon Tournier
GNU Guix is turning ten, and they will be hosting an event in Paris,
France this September. If you’re interested in presenting a topic, in
facilitating a session, or in organizing a hackathon, get in touch
with the organizers at [email protected]. They are also
looking for people to help with logistics, in particular during the
event; please let them know if you can lend a hand. But, most
importantly, they emphasize, "check out the Web site and consider
registering as soon as possible so we can better estimate the size of
the birthday cake!"
GNU Health Hospital Management 4.0.4 patchset released
From June 16 by Luis Falcon
GNU Health Hospital Management has released a "patchset" for its
stable branch, which allows for applying bug fixes and updates on
production systems. The maintainers recommend that you keep your
production system up-to-date with the latest patches. Patches and
patchsets maximize uptime for production systems and keep your system
updated, without the need to do a whole installation. Read about and
download the updates directly from Savannah.
Many people (and roughly three million Americans) depend on
wheelchairs to help with the basic necessities of life: getting around
the house, going to work, shopping, and spending time with friends and
family. This is especially true of powered wheelchairs, which
integrate sophisticated computers that allow wheelchairs to respond
dynamically to their environment. Powered wheelchairs, like other
vehicles, break down eventually and need fixing. However,
implementation of Digital Restrictions Management
(DRM) can thwart people's efforts
to fix their own wheelchairs, which consequently threatens their
mobility. In this detailed article, light is given to the many
unnecessary headaches and injustices DRM causes wheelchair owners.
New study shows free software automated insulin delivery is a safe and effective treatment option for people with Type 1 diabetes
From June 6 by American Diabetes Association
New research into free software automated insulin delivery (AID)
systems are considered a safe and effective treatment option for
people with Type 1 diabetes, according to findings presented at the
82nd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association
(ADA). The free software AID systems were developed to reduce the
burden of living with diabetes. It combines an insulin pump,
continuous glucose monitor (CGM), and an algorithm that automatically
adjusts insulin delivery every five minutes to keep glucose levels in
target range. The randomized controlled trial (RCT) is the first of
its kind to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the most commonly used
free software AID system. This development is promising as it helps
diabetes patients maintain their freedom as well as their health.
Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
Tens of thousands of people visit directory.fsf.org each month to
discover free software. Each entry in the Directory contains a wealth
of useful information, from basic category and descriptions to version
control, IRC channels, documentation, and licensing. The Free Software
Directory has been a great resource to software users over the past
decade, but it needs your help staying up-to-date with new and
exciting free software projects.
To help, join our weekly IRC meetings on Fridays. Meetings take place
in the #fsf channel on Libera.Chat, and usually include a handful of
regulars as well as newcomers. Libera.Chat is accessible from any IRC
client -- Everyone's welcome!
The next meeting is Friday, July 8 from 12:00 - 15:00 EDT (16:00 to
19:00 UTC). Details here:
LibrePlanet featured resource: Escape to Freedom translations group
For this month, we are highlighting Escape to Freedom translations
group, which provides information about translating the FSF's latest
video to promote software freedom, Escape to Freedom. You are
invited to adopt, spread, and improve this important resource. Also,
if you are interested in translating, we encourage you to join the FSF
translators mailing list where we coordinate translations for FSF Web
sites, videos, and articles.
We appreciate everyone who donates to the Free Software Foundation,
and we'd like to give special recognition to the folks who have
donated $500 or more in the last month.
Assigning your copyright to the Free Software Foundation helps us
defend the GNU GPL and keep software free. The following individuals
have assigned their copyright to the FSF (and allowed public
appreciation) in the past month:
Denys Tarasovych Nykula (GNU Emacs)
Ellis Kenyo (GNU Emacs)
Gregory Lee Chamberlain (GNU Emacs)
Jean Abou Samra (GNU Emacs)
Markus Schaney (Gnuastro)
Taiju Higashi (GNU Emacs)
Want to see your name on this list? Contribute to GNU and assign your
copyright to the FSF.
Contributions from thousands of individual associate members enable
the FSF's work. You can contribute by joining at
https://my.fsf.org/join. If you're already a member, you can help
refer new members (and earn some rewards) by adding a line with your
member number to your email signature like:
The FSF is always looking for volunteers
(https://www.fsf.org/volunteer). From rabble-rousing to hacking,
from issue coordination to envelope stuffing -- there's something here
for everybody to do. Also, head over to our [campaigns section]
(https://www.fsf.org/campaigns) and get involved in the fight against
Digital Restrictions Management,
the struggle to end software
patents, or our efforts to bring the
world to freedom one step up the
ladder at a time.
Do you read and write Portuguese and English? The FSF is looking
for translators for Free Software Supporter. Please send an email to
[email protected] with your interest and a list of your experience
and qualifications.
