Re: [Ghm-discuss] Main Topic for 2012

[Rick C. Hodgin]

Jose,

Exactly!  And what you describe is a most scary future.

Either we believe in free software, or we don't.  Either we get the HURD 
finished, or we lose.  The situation is very near to being that simple. The 
HURD (or its monolithic alternative) must be completed.

There is too much at stake to NOT pursue our kernel again as the top GNU 
project priority.

With all that's happening in the world with freedom stealing software/hardware, 
DRM, patents, Secure Boot locking alternatives out, out-of-band communication 
abilities on hardware (cell phones, Intel vPro), and these "free" (price) 
non-free (liberty/copyleft) replacements, everything hinges on having a 
complete free software stack from the kernel up.  It liberates us from what's 
coming.

And I would truly argue that we simply owe it to humanity to complete GNU, to 
give a free alternative even if they ultimately reject it, because some 
won't.Some WILL use it, which means freedom hasn't died.

I urge all of you to watch Eben Moglen's "Innovation Under Austerity" speech on 
YouTube. Also his "re:publica 2012" address.

Five years is a long time in computers, especially this past decade. And what 
Eben speaks about puts things in their proper perspective.  Eye opening.

Best regards,
Rick C. Hodgin

-------- Original Message --------
 From: address@hidden
 Sent: Tue, Jun 5, 2012 05:15 AM
 To: Werner Koch <address@hidden>
 CC: address@hidden
 Subject: Re: [Ghm-discuss] Main Topic for 2012

>    
>    I doubt that it makes any sense to spend resources on yet another
>    kernel, which has a couple of design problems.  The Hurd is still an
>    important research object.
>
>Well, Linux will be eventually replaced with something else.
>
>Funny enough, the replacement I am expecting to appear sooner or later
>is not a sophisticated and complex kernel such as the Hurd, but some
>lightweight and simple Unix-like kernel oriented to multi-processor
>systems and distributed under a modified BSD like license (no copyleft).
>
>Of course it will be funded by some big company wanting to kill the GPL,
>such as Apple, and will use the same "marketing" strategies used to
>promote the gcc->llvm, firefox->chrome or apache->nginx transitions:
>simpler, lightweight, easier to use/hack, and the poor developers are
>not "abused" by the GPL.  Moreover, it is Apple/Google/whatever!
>
>-- 
>Jose E. Marchesi         http://www.jemarch.net
>GNU Project              http://www.gnu.org
>