Free Software Supporter (October)

Welcome to the Free Software Supporter, the Free Software Foundation's
(FSF) monthly news digest and action update -- being read by you and
183,019 other activists. That's 23,952 more than last month, thanks in
part to an increase in support, and in part to an email problem we've
found and fixed!

### LibrePlanet 2018: Let's talk about Freedom. Embedded. 

*From September 19th*

Celebrate TEN YEARS of LibrePlanet and meet free software developers,
advocates, and users at our yearly free software conference, on March
24th-25th, 2018 in Cambridge, MA! This year's theme is
"Freedom. Embedded." The Call For Sessions is open from now until
Wednesday, November 2th, 2017 at 10:00 EST (14:00 UTC). Submit your
proposals [here](https://my.fsf.org/lp-call-for-sessions)!

 * <https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/libreplanet-2018-lets...>

## TABLE OF CONTENTS

* Why hackathons should insist on free software: a new article by RMS
* New FSF membership benefit: LibreOffice certification 
* Explore free software and libre culture at the Coliberator conference in Bucharest, Romania
* The Apple is still rotten: Why you should avoid the new iPhone 
* Support the Talos II, a candidate for Respects Your Freedom (RYF) certification
* A new Replicant 6.0 release
* August 2017: RMS at FOSS4G, in Boston 
* World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) appeal fails, votes kept
secret
* DRM will unravel the Web
* With the W3C captured by the copyright industry, who will step up to lead Web development next? 
* Project adapts GNU Guix reproducibility software for high performance computing (HPC)
environments
* Silicon Valley has been humbled, but its schemes are as dangerous as ever
* Hewlett Packard (HP) back to bricking third-party ink
* GNU Press spotlight: *The Bison Manual*, on sale!
* September Free Software Directory meeting recaps
* Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory
* LibrePlanet featured resource: LibrePlanet Rapid Responders
* GNU Spotlight with Brandon Invergo: 22 new GNU releases!
* GNU Toolchain update: Support GNU Toolchain
* Richard Stallman's speaking schedule and other FSF events
* Thank GNUs!
* GNU copyright contributions
* Take action with the FSF!

View this issue online here: <https://www.fsf.org/free-software-supporter/2017/october>

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###

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### Why hackathons should insist on free software: a new article by RMS

*From September 12th*

Richard Stallman's latest article explains how free software, by its
very nature, is the only software suited for hackathons.

 * <https://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/why-hackathons-should-insis...>

### New FSF membership benefit: LibreOffice certification 

*From September 19th*

Using LibreOffice gets many people started down the path of free
software. People who are certified in LibreOffice migrations and
trainings are able to help companies and government offices make the
switch away from proprietary office suites, and that raises the value
of a deep understanding of LibreOffice. Thanks to The Document
Foundation, FSF members can now apply for that certification, gaining
valuable skills and helping to spread the use of free software around
the world.

 * <https://www.fsf.org/news/new-fsf-membership-benefit-libre...>

### Explore free software and libre culture at the Coliberator conference in Bucharest, Romania

The fifth edition of the [Coliberator
conference](https://coliberator.ceata.org/2017/) is upon us -- October
7th and 8th, in Bucharest, Romania! FSF founder and president Richard
Stallman is going to be delivering the keynote speech.  This year's
talks will cover issues of software freedom in mobile, hardware,
business, public administration, privacy, net neutrality, libre
culture, and localization of libre software, and there will be both a
Replicant and a Libreboot workshop.  [Register
today!](https://coliberator.org/2017/register/)

### The Apple is still rotten: Why you should avoid the new iPhone 

*From September 12th*

As they usually do every September, Apple announced the arrival of
several new iPhone models and other updated gadgets. As usual, the
phones were revealed with great fanfare -- but from the glass exterior
down to its guts, the new iPhone is just another freedom-restricting
trap for unsuspecting users.

 *
<https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/the-apple-is-still-ro...>

### Support the Talos II, a candidate for Respects Your Freedom (RYF) certification

*From September 8th*

The Talos II comes in a variety of forms to meet your needs, from a
workstation to rack-mounted to the board by itself. This system is
great for any hacker who needs a powerful machine, perfect for
developing even more free software. Pre-orders closed on September 15,
but there are still ways to support this important project, by
supporting our work on the RYF project.

 *
<https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/support-the-talos-ii-...>
 *
<https://www.fsf.org/blogs/licensing/only-a-short-time-lef...>

### A new Replicant 6.0 release

*From September 17th by Wolfgang Wiedmeyer*

This release more than doubles the number of devices supported by this
fully free Android distribution, and contains a few important fixes
and improvements. The latest changes from LineageOS 13.0 are
included. They are mostly security fixes, so updating is recommended!

 * <https://blog.replicant.us/2017/09/a-new-replicant-6-0-rel...>

### August 2017: RMS at FOSS4G, in Boston 

*From August 31st*

On August 17th, RMS was at the International Conference for Free and
Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) this month, in Boston,
MA, to give his speech “Free software: Freedom, privacy, sovereignty”
to an audience of about a thousand academics, businesspeople,
government employees, and, mostly, developers.

  * <https://www.fsf.org/blogs/rms/photo-blog-2017-august-boston>

### World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) appeal fails, votes kept
secret

*From September 18th by Brian Lunduke*

The W3C’s decisions to keep votes about Digital Restrictions
Management (DRM) secret and to censure the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) for “disclosing even vague sense of a vote” raises
serious concerns. The W3C is the exact opposite of open: a closed
cabal (with a high price tag for participation) that decides, in
secret, what the future of the “free and open Web” will be. Every
human being on the planet should be concerned about this.

 *
<https://www.networkworld.com/article/3225456/internet/w3c...>

### DRM will unravel the Web

*From September 18 by Christopher Allan Webber*

The W3C has allowed DRM to move forward on the Web through the
Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) specification (which is, to
paraphrase Danny O'Brien from the EFF, a "DRM shaped hole where
nothing else but DRM fits"). This threatens to unravel the Web as we
know it. How could this happen? How did we get here?

 * <https://dustycloud.org/blog/drm-will-unravel-the-web/>

### With the W3C captured by the copyright industry, who will step up
    to lead Web development next?

*From September 20th by Rick Falkvinge*

The W3C, which used to develop standards for the Web, has been
captured by the copyright industry. In a doubly controversial vote,
the W3C decided that media companies and not the user should be in
control, ending their longstanding commitment to openness and the
Internet’s core values. The open question is what new body Web
developers will choose to follow for future generations of standards.

 *
<https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/2017/09/with-t...>

### Project adapts GNU Guix reproducibility software for high performance computing (HPC)
environments

*From September 5th by HPCWire*

Reproducing experiments and results is a cornerstone of science, but
researchers acknowledge that actually achieving this feat can be
tricky. GNU Guix -- a free software program that is used to fully
reproduce computational environments -- might be part of the solution,
says Ludovic Courtès of Inria, the French National Institute for
computer science and applied mathematics in Bordeaux.

GNU Guix is one of the projects funded through our Working Together
for Free Software Fund. If you want to help GNU Guix expand its reach, you
can donate specifically to this project
[here](https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&...)!

  * <https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/free-software-helps-...>

### Silicon Valley has been humbled, but its schemes are as dangerous as ever

*From September 2nd by Evgeny Morozov*

The Silicon Valley backlash is on. These days, one can hardly open a
major newspaper without stumbling on passionate calls that demand
curbs on the power of what is now frequently called “Big Tech,” from
reclassifying digital platforms as utility companies to even
nationalizing them. Their insistence on proprietary software and Service as
a Software Substitute is tied up with many of these abuses.

  * <https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/02/silico...>

### Hewlett Packard (HP) back to bricking third-party ink

*From September 14th by Sam Rutherford*

It came as a bit of a surprise when HP actually made some concessions
after pushing out an update that bricked unofficial ink cartridges
last year. Unfortunately, it seems HP has now returned to its
iron-fisted ways, once again locking down the use of third-party ink
with a software update.

 * <https://gizmodo.com/one-year-after-bricking-third-party-i...>

### GNU Press spotlight: *The Bison Manual*, on sale!

Bison is a general-purpose parser generator that can help the C
programmer develop a wide range of language parsers, from those used
in simple desktop calculators to complex programming languages. *The
Bison Manual* provides a quick overview of the theory behind
context-free grammars and semantic values. It has both an introductory
tutorial section with examples and a reference section which explores
parts of Bison in detail. Normally $25, this valuable resource is now
available for only $13!

 * <https://shop.fsf.org/books-docs/bison-manual-v-1875-disco...>

### September Free Software Directory meeting recaps

Check out the great work our volunteers accomplished at the September
Free Software Directory meetings. Every week free software activists
from around the world come together in #fsf on irc.freenode.org to
help improve the Free Software Directory.

*September 1st meeting*

  *
<https://www.fsf.org/blogs/directory/free-software-directo...>

*September 8th meeting*

  *
<https://www.fsf.org/blogs/directory/free-software-directo...>

*September 15th meeting*

  *
<https://www.fsf.org/blogs/directory/free-software-directo...>

*September 22nd meeting*

 *
<https://www.fsf.org/blogs/directory/free-software-directo...>

### Join the FSF and friends in updating the Free Software Directory

Tens of thousands of people visit <https://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 irc.freenode.org, and usually include a handful of
regulars as well as newcomers. Freenode is accessible from any IRC client -- Everyone's welcome!

The next meeting is Friday, October 6th, from 12pm to 3pm EDT (16:00 to
19:00 UTC). Details here:

  * <https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Free_Software_Directory:Me...>

### LibrePlanet featured resource: LibrePlanet Rapid Responders

Every month on LibrePlanet, we highlight one resource that is
interesting and useful -- often one that could use your help.

For this month, we are highlighting LibrePlanet Rapid Responders,
which is a network of activists who aim to spread the free software
philosophy in the press, blogs, forums, and social media. You are
invited to adopt, spread and improve this important resource.

  * <https://libreplanet.org/wiki/Group:LibrePlanet_Rapid_Resp...>

Do you have a suggestion for next month's featured resource? Let us
know at <campaigns@fsf.org>.

### GNU Spotlight with Brandon Invergo: 22 new GNU releases!

* [coreutils-8.28](https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/)
* [emacs-25.3](https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/)
* [gdb-8.0.1](https://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/)
* [gnuastro-0.4](https://www.gnu.org/software/gnuastro/)
* [gnucash-2.6.18](https://www.gnu.org/software/gnucash/)
* [gnucobol-2.2](https://www.gnu.org/software/gnucobol/)
* [gnuhealth-3.2.3](http://health.gnu.org/)
* [gnupg-2.2.1](https://www.gnu.org/software/gnupg/)
* [help2man-1.47.5](https://www.gnu.org/software/help2man/)
* [icecat-52.3.0-gnu1](https://www.gnu.org/software/icecat/)
* [libffcall-2.0](https://www.gnu.org/software/libffcall/)
* [libgcrypt-1.8.1](https://www.gnu.org/software/libgcrypt/)
* [libidn2-2.0.4](https://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/#libidn2)
* [lightning-2.1.2](https://www.gnu.org/software/lightning/)
* [linux-libre-4.13.3-gnu](https://www.gnu.org/software/linux-libre/)
* [mpfr-3.1.6](https://www.gnu.org/software/mpfr/)
* [nano-2.8.7](https://www.gnu.org/software/nano/)
* [parallel-20170922](https://www.gnu.org/software/parallel/)
* [pspp-1.0.1](https://www.gnu.org/software/pspp/)
* [texinfo-6.5](https://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/)
* [unifont-10.0.06](https://www.gnu.org/software/unifont/)
* [xorriso-1.4.8](https://www.gnu.org/software/xorriso/)

For announcements of most new GNU releases, subscribe to the info-gnu
mailing list: <https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/info-gnu>.

To download: nearly all GNU software is available from
<https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/>, or preferably one of its mirrors from
<https://www.gnu.org/prep/ftp.html>.  You can use the URL
<https://ftpmirror.gnu.org/> to be automatically redirected to a
(hopefully) nearby and up-to-date mirror.

A number of GNU packages, as well as the GNU operating system as a
whole, are looking for maintainers and other assistance: please see
<https://www.gnu.org/server/takeaction.html#unmaint> if you'd like to
help.  The general page on how to help GNU is at
<https://www.gnu.org/help/help.html>.

If you have a working or partly working program that you'd like
to offer to the GNU project as a GNU package, see
<https://www.gnu.org/help/evaluation.html>.

As always, please feel free to write to us at <maintainers@gnu.org>
with any GNUish questions or suggestions for future installments.

### GNU Toolchain update: Support GNU Toolchain

Donate to support the GNU Toolchain, a collection of foundational
freely licensed software development tools including the [GNU C
Compiler collection (GCC)](https://gcc.gnu.org/), the [GNU C Library
(glibc)](https://www.gnu.org/software/libc/libc.html), and the [GNU
Debugger (GDB)](https://sourceware.org/gdb/).

* <https://my.fsf.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&...>

### Richard Stallman's speaking schedule

For event details, as well as to sign up to be notified for future
events in your area, please visit <https://www.fsf.org/events>.

So far, Richard Stallman has the following events this month:

  * October 7th, 2017, Bucharest, Romania, [Keynote speech for the Coliberator
conference](https://www.fsf.org/events/rms-20171007-bucharest)

  * October 9th, 2017, Iași, Romania, [To be
determined](https://www.fsf.org/events/rms-20171009-iasi)

  * October 10th, 2017, Timișoara, Romania, [To be
determined](https://www.fsf.org/events/rms-20171010-timisoara)

  * October 17th, 2017, Boston, MA, ["Free software and your
freedom"](https://www.fsf.org/events/rms-20171017-boston)

### Other FSF and free software events

  * October 6th, 2017, SeaGL 2017, Seattle, WA, [Donald Robertson, III - "History of control: The
past and future of Digital Restrictions
Management"](https://www.fsf.org/events/donald-robertson-iii-20171016-...) 

  * October 6th, 2017, SeaGL 2017, Seattle, WA, [Molly de Blanc - "A division of labor: Attempting
to measure free software"](https://www.fsf.org/events/molly-deblanc-20171006-seattle...)

  * October 23rd-24th, 2017: All Things Open 2017, Raleigh, NC, [Molly de Blanc - "Fundraising (and
spending) for diversity"](https://www.fsf.org/events/molly-deblanc-201710-raleigh-ato)

  * October 23rd-24th, 2017: All Things Open 2017, Raleigh, NC, [John Sullivan - "Copyleft all the
things!"](https://www.fsf.org/events/john-sullivan-201710-raleigh-ato)

  * October 28th-29th, freenode #live, Bristol, United Kingdom, [John Sullivan,
TBD](https://www.fsf.org/events/john-sullivan-20171028-bristol...) 

  * November 24th-26th, 2017, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, ["GNU Health Con
2017"](https://www.fsf.org/events/conference-20171124-laspalmas-...)

### Thank GNUs!

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.

  * <https://www.gnu.org/thankgnus/2017supporters.html>

This month, a big Thank GNU to:

* Trevor Menagh

You can add your name to this list by donating at
<https://donate.fsf.org/>.

### GNU copyright contributions

Assigning your copyright to the Free Software Foundation helps us
defend the GPL and keep software free. The following individuals have
assigned their copyright to the FSF in the past month:

* Eric Danan (Emacs)
* Liu Hao (GCC)
* Nikita Leshenko (Emacs)
* Petr Ovtchenkov (GCC)
* Stig Brautaset (Emacs)
* Thorsten Glaser (glibc)

Want to see your name on this list? Contribute to GNU and assign your
copyright to the FSF.

* <https://www.gnu.org/server/takeaction.html#dev>

### Take action with the FSF!

Contributions from thousands of individual 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:

  I'm an FSF member -- Help us support software freedom!
  <https://my.fsf.org/join>

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 take action on software
patents, Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), free software
adoption, OpenDocument, Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA), and more.

-- 
* Follow us at <https://status.fsf.org/fsf>. 
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* Join us as an associate member at <https://www.fsf.org/jf>.

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UNITED STATES