Source files of fsfe.org, pdfreaders.org, freeyourandroid.org, ilovefs.org, drm.info, and test.fsfe.org. Contribute: https://fsfe.org/contribute/web/
https://fsfe.org
You can not select more than 25 topics
Topics must start with a letter or number, can include dashes ('-') and can be up to 35 characters long.
174 lines
5.6 KiB
174 lines
5.6 KiB
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> |
|
|
|
<html> |
|
<version>1</version> |
|
<author id="gerloff"/> |
|
<date> |
|
<original content="2011-03-03"/> |
|
</date> |
|
|
|
<head> |
|
<title>Debian receives Linux New Media Award</title> |
|
</head> |
|
|
|
<body> |
|
|
|
<h1>Debian receives Linux New Media Award</h1> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
I'm here to congratulate the Debian project. Debian has recently taken |
|
a nearly unprecedented step, one that many people thought would never |
|
come to pass: The project has updated its website design. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
Today, Debian receives the "Linux New Media Award" for its |
|
*outstanding contribution* to Free Software. I could hardly think of a |
|
more fitting recipient for such an award. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
Debian is coming of age, literally. In August, the distribution |
|
will turn 18. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
Debian offers great technology. It's stable. Really stable. It's |
|
highly flexible, and performs well in lots of different roles. IT |
|
supports more different architectures than almost anything else out |
|
there. It runs on pretty much anything. The package management is |
|
great. It makes a highly complex system of almost 30,000 packages |
|
extremely simple to configure and use. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
Debian started out as a true pioneer. When the project was created in |
|
1993, the whole concept of a "distribution" wasn't too well |
|
established. Ian Murdock announced the project thus: |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p style="margin-left: 1em;"> |
|
"Debian Linux is a brand-new kind of Linux distribution. Rather than |
|
being developed by one isolated individual or group, as other |
|
distributions of Linux have been developed in the past, Debian is |
|
being developed openly in the spirit of Linux and GNU. [...] Debian |
|
is being carefully and conscientiously put together and will be |
|
maintained and supported with similar care." |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
At a recent conference, the current Debian project lead, Stefano |
|
Zacchiroli, gave a talk titled "Who the bloody hell cares about |
|
Debian?" |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
Turns out that many people do indeed. Debian is the GNU/Linux |
|
distribution that has the most derivatives based on it -- currently |
|
128, if Distrowatch.com is to be believed: Ubuntu, Knoppix, gNewSense, |
|
and many more. And those distributions again have their own |
|
derivatives. None of these could function without Debian. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
Lots of people rely on Debian. That makes it all the more important |
|
that Debian is so reliable. The Debian project gives us Free Software |
|
that is both rock-solid and exciting. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
But the greatest thing about Debian is not the fact that it delivers |
|
great software. Other distributions do that, too. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
The big thing about Debian is the *idea* of Debian: The idea that a |
|
massive Free Software project can be totally independent. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
Debian shows how it's possible to build a highly reliable operating |
|
system without a formal body. The project has created some pretty |
|
complex structures to run itself, as a do-ocracy, based on consensus |
|
and running code. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
This is important. We are currently debating how Free Software |
|
projects can best be governed in the long run. How do we make sure |
|
that a project's users can always enjoy the freedom they deserve? How |
|
can we structure a project in a way that makes it immune to a hostile |
|
takeover? |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
Oracle's acquisition of Sun has shown that these are important |
|
question. A Free Software license, preferably one like the GPL that |
|
protects freedom in the long run, is an important first step. But a |
|
Free Software project consists of much more than code. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
While uncounted people and companies are earning good money with |
|
Debian, the Debian project itself can't be bought -- simply because |
|
there is noone you could buy it from. Debian has been doing vendor |
|
independence long before it was cool. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
What I love most about Debian is that like few other big projects, |
|
Debian has the idea of freedom at its core. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
Debian's Free Software guidelines are a central manifesto for software |
|
freedom. The Debian Social Contract does not mention a single package |
|
or program. But it is without a doubt one of Debian's most important |
|
pieces of documentation. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
In Debian, quality is the focus of everyone's attention. But those who |
|
work on the Debian system know that great software is worth nothing |
|
without Freedom. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
With the release of Squeeze, the latest stable version, in February, |
|
Debian has taken the important step of offering a completely free |
|
kernel, with no binary blobs. This is a first for a major distribution |
|
in recent times. Debian is giving its users Freedom by default. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
And this Freedom for users and developers on a massive scale truly is |
|
Debian's outstanding contribution, not just to Free Software, but to |
|
the information society. |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
On behalf of the Free Software Foundation Europe, I would like to |
|
thank everyone in Debian for their work, and congratulate them on this |
|
award. It's well deserved. Keep up the good work! |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
<p> |
|
<i> |
|
Even with the idea of freedom at its core, some issues |
|
remain that prevent Debian from being included in the <a |
|
href="http://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html">list of fully free distributions</a> |
|
maintained by FSF US. These <a |
|
href="http://www.gnu.org/distros/common-distros.html">issues</a> |
|
concern the way in which Debian integrates the Contrib and |
|
Nonfree sections. We are looking forward to seeing these |
|
issues clarified and resolved to mutual satisfaction. |
|
</i> |
|
</p> |
|
|
|
</body> |
|
</html> |
|
<!-- |
|
Local Variables: *** |
|
mode: xml *** |
|
End: *** |
|
-->
|
|
|