125 lines
5.8 KiB
HTML
125 lines
5.8 KiB
HTML
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<title>Happy Birthday To GNU! — The FSFE Celebrates the GNU Project's 25th
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Birthday!</title>
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<h1>Happy Birthday To GNU! — The FSFE Celebrates the GNU Project's 25th
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Birthday!</h1>
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<p>Today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the initial announcement of the
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<a href="http://www.gnu.org">GNU Project</a>, a pioneering initiative to
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develop an operating system that gives all users the freedom to modify it and
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publish modified versions, individually or working together. The Free Software
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Foundation Europe (FSFE) commends the substantial achievements of GNU's first
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quarter-century and looks forward to furthering their shared goal of
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facilitating software freedoms.</p>
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<p>27th September 2008 — 25 years ago today, the GNU Project was launched
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by Richard M. Stallman with the goal of creating an entire operating system
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that anyone was free to use, study, share and improve. These freedoms grant all
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users the independence and flexibility to use their computer for any purpose,
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without the artificial restrictions which proprietary software imposes, such as
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vendor lock-in, proprietary file formats and Digital Restrictions Management
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(DRM). From its humble origins in the Artificial Intelligence Lab at MIT, GNU
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has grown to be one of the most popular operating systems in the world and
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fostered the development of thousands of other Free Software applications.</p>
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<p>The Free Software Foundation (FSFE's sister organisation based in Boston,
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MA) was founded in 1985 to promote the core idea behind Stallman's GNU Project:
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that the freedom to examine, modify, copy, and share software is essential for
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a just, free society. Much of the work was done between 1983 and 1991, and this
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laid the groundwork for many third-party projects which later also brought
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these freedoms to computer users. The operating system was completed in 1992 by
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the third-party development of a core component called "Linux". The success of
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GNU/Linux operating system encouraged the development of many other Free
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Software projects such as Firefox, KDE and OpenOffice.org. Today, there are
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hundreds of GNU/Linux distributions in the world, powering millions of
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computers ranging from web servers and kitchen appliances to cellphones and
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laptops.</p>
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<p>"The contributions of the GNU project to the computing world are difficult
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to overstate", says Georg C. F. Greve, President of the Free Software
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Foundation Europe (FSFE). "For the first time there was an awareness of Free
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Software, and the concept of Copyleft revolutionised the way in which freedom
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is spread and protected. Both intellectual achievements laid the groundwork for
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the immense success of GNU/Linux, which has meanwhile established itself as the
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primary competitor to proprietary operating systems across the gamut of
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computing, from large-scale scientific research to affordable consumer laptops.
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In so doing GNU was at the root of giving users control over their computing
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environment and data."</p>
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<p>The FSFE was established in 2001 to further the political and social goals
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that also provide the basis of the GNU Project, and to support the flourishing
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European Free Software community. "The FSFE works closely with its partners
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around Europe and beyond to ensure that the spirit of Stallman's original
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announcement is backed up with practise, and works to promote awareness of the
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Free Software message", explains Shane Coughlan, coordinator of the FSFE's
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Freedom Task Force.</p>
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<p>More and more countries are turning to Free Software for use in the public
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sector and education. While many businesses have long been using and
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contributing to Free Software in order to gain marketplace advantages and cost
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savings, governments are increasingly realising the benefits of Free Software
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in terms of sovereignty, transparency, and self-determination. By its very
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nature of promoting sharing, collaboration, and sustainability, Free Software
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ensures that all users have the ability to determine and shape their computing
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future.</p>
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<h2>About the Free Software Foundation Europe</h2>
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<p>The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) is a non-profit non-governmental
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organisation active in many European countries and involved in many global
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activities. Access to software determines participation in a digital society.
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To secure equal participation in the information age, as well as freedom of
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competition, the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) pursues and is
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dedicated to the furthering of Free Software, defined by the freedoms to use,
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study, modify and copy. Founded in 2001, creating awareness for these issues,
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securing Free Software politically and legally, and giving people Freedom by
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supporting development of Free Software are central issues of the FSFE.</p>
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<p>You will find further information about the work of the FSFE at <a
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href="/">http://fsfeurope.org/</a>.</p>
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<h2>Notes for editors</h2>
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<ul>
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<li>The GNU Project seeks to enable and maintain the four <em>fundamental
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freedoms</em> of software: to run software "for any purpose", to study and
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adapt software according to individual needs, to distribute copies of the
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software, and to improve the software, sharing the benefits with
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others.</li>
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<li>The GNU Project pioneered the concept of <em>copyleft</em> licensing,
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which preserves fundamental software freedoms by using copyright to enforce
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the sharing of derivative software under the same license as original
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software.</li>
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</ul>
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<h2>Contact</h2>
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<ul>
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<li>Belgium: +32 2 747 03 57</li>
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<li>Germany: +49 700 373 38 76 73</li>
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<li>Sweden: +46 31 7802160</li>
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<li>Switzerland: +41 43 500 03 66</li>
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<li>UK: +44 29 200 08 17 7</li>
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</ul>
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<p><a href="/contact/contact.html">Other ways to get in touch</a> with the
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FSFE.</p>
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</body>
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<timestamp>$Date$ $Author$</timestamp>
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</html>
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