The GPL version 3 is out. Is anyone using it yet? Freshmeat says yes.
Will it transform the software industry? Eben Moglen says yes.
Will it change the Novell-Microsoft deal? Microsoft says no, then
announces changes in the same press release. Is Microsoft's goal to
start a Linux civil war? EWeek says Maybe.
Read all about it in this week's installment of GNU and FSF news. As always,
you can also find
out where RMS is speaking this month and read the latest news on other GNU
projects including GCC and GNOME.
GPL Version 3 Released
As expected, the GPL version 3 was released on June 29. The FSF Press Release contains
all the details. There is also a FAQ explaining the compatibility
between GPLv3 and other versions of the GPL. The Securities Industry and
Financial Markets Association issued a press release commending
the FSF on the GPLv3 release. If you want to know even more, there's
a transcription of Eben Moglen's address titled The
Global Software Industry in Transformation: After the GPLv3.
One
aspect of the GPLv3 that people have been talking about is how it will
affect the Microsoft-Novell deal. Microsoft has issued a statement
that says
the GPLv3 doesn't apply to them, ever, at all, under any circumstances.
Er, but just in case, they're hedging their bet by changing the SLES
coupons rules, saying the SUSE Linux coupons they're distributing will not
cover any software that adopts the GPLv3. Groklaw concludes, the
GPLv3 works! Presumably this means when you get your SUSE Linux via
Microsoft
using a coupon, you will only get the non-GPLv3 portion of it. It's not
clear what this means for Novell as more GNU software moves to the
GPLv3. Will they maintain they're own pre-GPLv3 fork of the entire GNU OS to
keep MS happy? Will they distribute only a Linux kernel to be
incorporated into a GNU OS that must be obtained elsewhere? will they
split the kernel and other non-GPLv3 software onto a separate CD that
can be distributed by Microsoft via their coupon? EWeek provides the
(unlikely) speculation that the result will be a "Linux civil
war" with the Microsoft-encumbered Linux (SUSE, Linspire, and
Xandros) fighting it out with Free Linux (Red Hat, Ubuntu, Mandriva,
Debian, CentOS, PCLinuxOS, Slackware and maybe 300 or so other
distros).
The big question is whether anyone will use the new license and the
answer appears to be yes. A survey of freshmeat.net in the days since
the release reveals a steady stream of programs making the switch. Not
surprisingly, smaller projects are making the switch faster than larger
projects. Here's a sample of programs that have already moved to GPLv3
from the last few days of the freshmeat blog: GNU
Radius, MyServer,
GNU
tar, Xnee,
apparix,
Postal,
libmatheval,
kachelmann,
GNU
Moe flactagger,
Plugged
Editor, htmlobserver,
Fcc,
GNU
Ocrad, GNU
ed, GNU
ddrescue, Arg_parser,
Adcd,
and GNU
MailUtils. Other programs known to have been updated already include
cpio, gv, GNU Source Installer, and Gama.
GNU GCC News
According to the gcc.gnu.org news:
C interoperability support (ISO Bind C) has been added to the Fortran
compiler. The code was contributed by Christopher D. Rickett of Los
Alamos National Lab.
Experimental support for the upcoming ISO C++0x standard
been added. Enabled with -std=gnu++0x or -std=c++0x, this offers a first
look at upcoming C++0x features and will be available in GCC 4.3. Code
was contributed by Douglas Gregor of Indiana University, Russell
Yanofsky, Benjamin Kosnik of Red Hat and Paolo Carlini of Novell, and
reviewed by Jason Merrill of Red Hat and Mark Mitchell and Nathan
Sidwell of CodeSourcery.
A conversion to the GPLv3 license is expected in a forthcoming
version as well.
GNOME News
A new issue of the GNOME
Journal is out with an article on GStreamer
audio effects, an interview
with Ken VanDine, an introduction
to Accerciser, a Python-based accessibility testing tool, and a GNOME.conf.au
2007 Wrap-up.
GUADEC 2007 Update
The 8th annual GNOME Users and
Developers European Conference (GUADEC) is coming up 15-21st July
2007 in Birmingham, England. The latest new on the conference can be
found on the GUADEC News page.
GUADEC registration is now
open, by the way.
FSF High Priority Free Software Projects
The Free Software Foundation maintains a list of what they believe
are the highest priority projects at any given time. If you're looking
for something fun to work on or just want to make the world a better
place, this is a good place to start.
"There is a vital need to draw the free software community's
attention to the ongoing development work on these particular projects.
These projects are important because computer users are continually
being seduced into using non-free software, because there is no adequate
free replacement. Please support these projects."
Where's RMS This Month?
Richard Stallman will be speaking at the University de Picardie in
France on July 10. He will give a talk in Maracaibo, Venezuela on July
21. On July 26-28 he will be speaking at Loyola University in Chicago,
Illinois as part of the North American Computers and Philosophy (NA-CAP)
conference. He will also take part in a FOSS/Open Access panel
discussion at the NA-CAP conference. Topics include the usual talks on
the goals and philosophy of the Free Software Foundation, the history of
copyright, and the GNU Operating System.
This monthly news summary about the Free Software Foundation and GNU
project was distilled down from FSF press releases, blogs, email lists,
and website news pages. The idea is to provide a concise summary of
FSF/GNU news from the past month for those who don't have the time or
interest to find and read all the original news sources within that
community. I'm also looking for a volunteer to take over writing this
news summary each month. If you'd like to volunteer, let me know
I'd like your advice as to whether Ogg
Frog should adopt GPL v3, and if so, whether the license notice
should require specifically version three, or allow the recipient to
choose a later version.
The licence notice in its source (which is as yet unreleased) has
version two, and requires only that version, because I didn't know what
to make of all the controversy over v3 during its comment period.
I completely understand why one might prefer allowing for later
versions, to solve the future's challenges to Free Software, but I'm
also concerned that Richard Stallman is a mere mortal, and that Bill
Gates is a very wealthy man: GPL v4 could well be a step backward.
If you wish to reply privately, mail me at rippit@oggfrog.com
Thanks! -- Rippit the Ogg Frog