Speaking of freedom, Free Software foundation has a new logo. Apart from it’s aestheticism and ideological significance, this logo will identify products that are not subject to digital rights restrictions.
FSF works for adoption of free software and free media formats, and organizes activist campaigns against threats to user freedom like Windows 7, Apple’s iPhone and OS X, DRM on music, ebooks and movies, and software patents. They drive the development of GNU operating system and drive software projects to promote ethical replacements for common proprietary applications. They promote completely free software distributions of GNU/Linux, and encourage users to do the same. They also provide licenses for free software developers to share their code, including the GNU General Public License. Overall, during times, when information and connectivity are becoming the greatest tool (or weapon, based on its application) available to mankind, FSF is promoting freedom and transparency in technology.
The new FSF logo, wherever applicable will depict that a hardware is DRM free. Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) is the technology that controls what we can do with our digital media devices. When a program doesn’t let us share a song, read an ebook on another device, or play a game without an internet connection, we are being restricted by DRM. In other words, DRM prevents us from doing what would normally be possible if it wasn’t there, thus creating a dangerous situation for our freedom, privacy and censorship. While DRM increases profits for some people, it puts millions’ freedom at stake. Desire for profit, though not wrong in itself, cannot justify denying the public control over its technology. FSF has been fighting DRM for the past 6 years in it’s campaign – DefectiveByDesign, and their new logo will hopefully give newer meaning to our freedom in the virtual world.
सौरभ राय | Sourav Roy 