By what measures do you judge the success of the FSF’s public advocacy campaigns, and how do you think they have been doing?

Below is my reply. Comments, as always, are welcome.

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Dear Mr. Sullivan,

First of all, congratulations in your new role.

You asked for comments and criticism on FSF campaigns, so here is it.

How do I measure a campaign’s success? Does it result in market share change? Is there positive brand recognition? Does the general public come away thinking good thoughts about Free Software or are they lost in scary geeky confusion?

With the rest of this letter, I will discuss several FSF campaigns and mantras. Where the FSF does well and areas that could do a little better.

I would like to see The FSF to be a beacon for all of Free culture. Specifically, work more with obvious allies like MediaWiki, Archive.org, Xiph.org, and Creative Commons. I loved the film “Patent Absurdity” and your collaboration with the Software Freedom Law Center. Any time you see allies, I want to see FSF to think Win-Win as I saw in that film.

I want to see FSF to not hold such harsh criticism to those who use semantics that you do not agree with. You can gently continue to remind people who say “Open Source” or “Linux” without the GNU. Refusing to go to events or help projects by people who do not use your language is a missed opportunity to gently make your point. The current posture is elitist and “my way or the highway.”

The “GNU/Linux vs Linux” argument is the very reason that I was convinced from 1999-2009 that the FSF wouldn’t even want me to be a member. Eventually I became a member anyhow since my freedom is much too important.

It is cool that the FSF continues to use “GNU/Linux.” Depending on the audience, or the level of specificity I need, I will say “GNU/Linux” too. But, when talking to the general public I say, “I use Linux.” I get two typical answers to that “Oh, my friend uses Ubuntu!” or “Gee, I’m not a computer wiz like you.” I’m sorry but “GNU/Linux” is not brand-recognizable in the world domination scale.

In this day in age, it is difficult enough for products based on the kernel such as Android or WebOS for me to shout from the mountaintops “Linux is winning” let alone, “GNU/Linux is winning.”  Some desktop distributions such as Fedora have dropped the word “Linux” purposely from their product name. Would the FSF rather that no one would say “Linux?!?”

Furthermore, would you rather people who say “Open Source” not become FSF members? We spend so much time using of neutral terms such as “non-proprietary” or acronyms such as FLOSS so that we don’t offend the Free Software Foundation’s hard line. When someone does say “Open Source” instead, a pedantic argument ensues, making both sides of the argument look childish to someone who has not yet committed to freedom. By the 20 times effective frequency theory, the “Free Software” brand nor the “Open Source” brand will sound appealing, even after they’ve heard it 20 times after all this negativity.

I actually jealous of those whose native language isn’t English because they are less likely to hear the “Open Source” bashing. We all get enough FUD from proprietary software, and our great foe Microsoft. Free Software has won in emerging economies such as Brazil and powerhouses such as France, Russia, and China.  It is time we focus on what is important.

I would rather the FSF focus on unity. I loved the “working together” campaign. Build on where we all agree. Politely say, “excuse me ‘Free Software’” when someone says “Open Source” and move on. Check out Open Respect. There is a respectful way to assert your point of view so please for heavens sakes, drop the anger. I know we can all be friends. Really.

Finally, a conversation about The Free Software Foundation’s campaigns would not be complete without mentioning “The Party of GNO.” Yes, I agree that Windows 7 is “sinful” and that iPhones are “defective by design.” I understand these things because I am I freedom loving person. Someone who does not yet understand freedom yet sees the FSF as a group of judgemental purist freaks who make Free Software sound non-fun.

I would rather campaigns that promote the advancement and use of Free Software. Software Freedom Day is awesome. Funding GNASH as a high-priority project is great. I want people to want to use Free Software because it is the most beautiful, the most useful, the most fun software out there. No one should have to compromise their freedom for that one application or driver. Sadly we are not there yet, but we are oh so close.

Please focus on bridging gaps where there are not great Free Software options and the celebrating success of outstanding Free Software projects. That is the the Free Software Foundation I want to support.

Thank you for taking the time to have this discussion with your members. I’m really looking forward to your thoughts after your Mid-May contemplation.

Sincerely,
Beth Lynn Eicher

The following is a guest post from Jean Watson, Advertising writer webhostgear.com Ms. Watson will discuss how you can use a Virtual Private Server (VPS) to leverage the power of the Linux cloud for a dollar a day… or less! The ‘cloud’ simply means that wherever the Internet is, you are and VPS’s make that possible. Individuals, small businesses, and non-profits can use a VPS for an Internet server, hosted by professionals, without hardware or broadband costs. Go ahead and host a website, email, and community management system for everyone who works with you….or achieve location independence by hosting your files in one central location. With Linux and Free Software, you can escape the Windows desktop environment and achieve higher heights.

You rule with a Linux-based VPS in the Cloud - photo credit: akakumo of Flikr cc by-sa 2.0

The Benefits of a VPS and Linux

Numerous types of web hosting services are available to webmasters. However in terms of cost effective operation and high quality performance a Virtual Private Server in conjunction with Linux operating system is the best option. VPS servers offer a high level of safety and control over the management aspects of your web hosting situation. They also work seamlessly with the easy to use and flexible Linux environment.

A virtual private server is basically a physical web hosting server partitioned into individual servers. These individual virtual servers each serve an individual user and are not affected by the other sections of the main physical server. Since each server acts independently it carries many of the same benefits that a high end dedicated server provides. However the cost of a virtual private server hosting package is more similar to the less expensive sharing hosting option.

A list of benefits offer by a VPS includes:
Performance
Since resources are dedicated to a single user, overall performance is increased in terms of page load speeds. Shared hosting which constantly allocates resources between different users cannot match the dedicated server setup of VPS. Multiple domains hosted by a shared hosting account can normally absorb a great share of performance capability. VPS can handle multiple websites much better because resources don’t have to be shared with other hosting customers simultaneously.
Security
Shared web hosting supports a number of user accounts on the same server, opening up the possibility of a security breach from a neighboring website hosted on the same machine. With VPS each virtual server operates exclusively as a single operating system. This eliminates the possibility of hackers gaining access to your server through another user account on the same machine.
Stability
Virtual private server hosting operates as an independent system. Any software modifications or other changes made to websites by other hosting customers will have no impact upon your own website and hosting account. Your virtual private server’s resources are not drained by sudden surges of activity by other hosting accounts.
Flexibility VPS offers you complete control over the type of operating system you wish to use. The size of your VPS server can change to your exact requirements. You have the option to add or remove any software or other applications you want.
Linux offers an array of advantages that other operating systems used throughout the world cannot match. It excels in security features, multitasking, network compatibility and performance capabilities while at the same time staying user friendly. The wide array of individual programmers and groups of developers associated with the advancement of Linux make it a versatile, expandable and powerful operating platform to run. Due to the large community of support available surrounding Linux, an answer to almost any question concerning the operation and use of Linux can be accessed. Linux offers the security, scalability and flexibility to run on any type of web hosting server ranging from the most expensive high end servers platforms to the least expensive low end server options.

What will we buy?

To answer this question I took to the malls earlier this week.

A Microsoft Windows Mobile 7 phone?

There a Windows Mobile 7 ad was a placemat in the mall food court. The same ad was on the mall doors. Even if I wanted this phone after seeing this add, this product was hard to be found. Only the AT&T store seemed to be selling the Microsoft product. I visited the store and saw one sales person who was aggressively standing in the mall coordinator to attempt to invite shoppers into his store.

What will we buy instead?

The Verizon store was too busy selling Apple iPads, 7 inch Samsung
Galaxy Tab Tablets with Google Android, and the “Droid” line of
Android phones. The T-Mobile Store was too busy selling the Galaxy Tabs
and other Android products. The Sprint store is enjoying sales of the
4G Evo Android phone and the HP Palm WebOS (Linux) phone. RadioShack, a
store that sells phones under many carriers was not selling any
Microsoft phones.

The Barnes and Noble were selling their Android color book reader called the Nook. Even though this product has impressive hardware for an eReader, it unfortunately lacks access to the Android market.

Sears had three Android devices to sell this weekend: The 10 inch Viewsonic G-Tablet, the 7 inch Pandigital eReader, and the Velocity Micro 7inch Tablet.

But what about those Windows 7 netbooks which are subsidized cost by Mobile Wireless plans?

At the Verizon store there was a line to touch the Galaxy Tab and the iPad. Once I got my turn, I snapped the photo to the right. Note that there are two netbooks positioned above the Galaxy Tabs. To the right, not pictured, was the line to see the iPad. Nobody was here to buy the Microsoft netbooks. Everyone was here to lay their hands on the tablets.

Sears is also selling the 7″ Sylvania netbook with runs WindowsCE, a 15 year old operating
system from Microsoft. This device is sure to disappoint customers as it lacks full Flash functionality for YouTube and Facebook games.

OK commenter. What will you buy this holiday season?

A. A Microsoft-powered phone/netbook/tablet?

B. An Apple product which uses iOS such as iPhone, iPad, or iPod
Shuffle.

C. An Apple product which uses MacOSX such as the Airbook.

D. An Android-powered phone, tablet, or eReader.

E. Waiting for stores to carry an ARM-powered Ubuntu or ChromeOS device.

F. none of the above…. Please explain….

In celebration of the release of Fedora 14, Fedora Friends  will throw a party as a Birds-of-a-Feather session in cooperation with USENIX’s Large Installation System Administrators conference. *YOU* are invited…

The Fedora Project will host a Fedora 14 Release Party in Silicon Valley California.

WHEN: Tuesday November 9, 2010 at 9 P.M.

WHERE: San Jose Marriott, Convention Center second floor Willow Glen room.

ADDRESS: 301 South Market Street San Jose, California 95113

During the release party you will have the opportunity to…

• Install Fedora 14, the freshest free software GNU/Linux distribution
• Hear about new Fedora features such as Spice virtualization and systemd.
• Learn about SELinux, a label-based security system.
• Meet some people who contribute to Fedora and discuss how you can contribute.

Fun Fedora freebies will be on hand.

System Administrators, GNU/Linux Users, Free Software Enthusiasts, and Computing Hobbyists: all are welcome. This event is FREE and open to the general public as part of the Large Installation System Administrators conference [1].

Hope to see you there

Who will be there?

Fabulous Fedora Friends of course…

Ben Cotton, maintainer of the Fedora RPM Guide, will be on hand to discuss his success at Purdue University with Fedora and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. There he has over a thousand nodes deployed as high performance compute nodes managed by Condor and general desktop use.

David Nalley, SELinux enthusiast, can present his slides on deploying SELinux as he had at the Ohio LinuxFest.

Larry Cafiero, Fedora marketeer, will tell us the joys of introducing people to Free Software through Lindendence, Oregon State Wireless Active Learning Device project, and even his own daughter.

Karsten Wade, Fedora’s community gardener, will be there to welcome anyone who is interested in becoming a Fedora Project contributor.

Beth Lynn Eicher, yours truly and Fedora user since release one, will be there to be the masters of ceremony.

Show up and celebrate Fedora 14 with us regardless of what operating system you use. Who knows? You could become Fedora’s 26 million user.

Phil started out the discussion by saying something that may shock you all: The Year of the Linux Desktop is NOT going to happen. Don’t throw tomatoes at him as he says this again at the Open Source Solutions Stage on Saturday at 11 A.M. Hear him out.

Tablets, slates, and smartphones are growing markets as the traditional desktop market is not growing. Phil believes in a future
where many of our work day tasks are completed via rapid input with those devices ubiquitously at our sides. HP is very successful in selling Linux-based netbooks – mostly in emerging markets such as China and India. These devices are fun and simple to use for both parents and kids. Can Linux enjoy the glory of the rush to the mobile platform? So far, Linux-based Android and HP’s Palm WebOS platforms have been seen in market share reports by classifying them as separate from the Linux category. Phil exclaims “These are Linux too!” It is time that we celebrate the success of Linux on mobile platforms and fret no-more on winning the Linux desktop.

Will we have freedom on these tiny Internet-based devices which are rapidly replacing the desktop? This is a high-priority concern for Phil. Content delivery, especially for movies, music, books, and applications are key to the success of the usability of these platforms. Products are bought rapidly for a few dollars or less with a few taps of the screen in the online store. While this is convenient, the choices available in these marketplaces is typically censored by the content provider. Worse, clever developers who unlock the power of the hardware of these devices to enable GPS or tethering are served cease-and-desist from the manufacturers. Phil is pleased to say the the WebOS platform is the most open mobile platform out there. Palm has made it easy for developers to write Free software for WebOS via the WebOS-Internals community. Unlike most mobile platforms, free distribution of WebOS applications outside the sanctioned application stores is encouraged.

HP’s commitment to freedom is strong.

The concern for freedom on is shared by the Ohio LinuxFest keynote speaker, Stormy Peters. She is concerned about the information ownership in no-cost cloud-based applications. It is not surprising that Phil and Stormy agree on Freedom. Phil and Stormy are friends from their work together at HP and their shared interest in hockey. Yes, Stormy Peters plays roller and ice hockey. How awesome is that!

If you care about freedom too, join us at the Ohio LinuxFest where we
will give away 5 Linux-based HP Palm Pre phones and 3 HP Mini 2102 netbooks.

The Ohio LinuxFest September 10-12, 2010 is where we will answer the question, “How will FREE change the world?” Phil Robb from HP is changing the paradigm of “desktop” and mobilizing our freedom with Linux-based HP products.

Phil started out the discussion by saying something that may shock you all: The Year of the Linux Desktop is NOT going to happen. Don’t throw tomatoes at him as he says this again at the Open Source Solutions Stage on Saturday at 11 A.M. Hear him out.

Tablets, slates, and smartphones are growing markets as the traditional desktop market is not growing. Phil believes in a future
where many of our work day tasks are completed via rapid input with those devices ubiquitously at our sides. HP is very successful in selling Linux-based netbooks – mostly in emerging markets such as China and India. These devices are fun and simple to use for both parents and kids. Can Linux enjoy the glory of the rush to the mobile  platform? So far, Linux-based Android and HP’s Palm WebOS platforms have been seen in market share reports by classifying them as separate from the Linux category. Phil exclaims “These are Linux too!” It is time that we celebrate the success of Linux on mobile platforms and fret no-more on winning the Linux desktop.

Will we have freedom on these tiny Internet-based devices which are rapidly replacing the desktop? This is a high-priority concern for Phil. Content delivery, especially for movies, music, books, and applications are key to the success of the usability of these platforms. Products are bought rapidly for a few dollars or less with a few taps of the screen in the online store. While this is convenient, the choices available in these marketplaces is typically censored by the content provider. Worse, clever developers who unlock the power of the hardware of these devices to enable GPS or tethering are served cease-and-desist from the manufacturers. Phil is pleased to say the the WebOS platform is the most open mobile platform out there. Palm has made it easy for developers to write Free software for WebOS via the WebOS-Internals community. Unlike most mobile platforms, free distribution of WebOS applications outside the sanctioned application stores is encouraged.

HP’s commitment to freedom is strong.

The concern for freedom on is shared by the Ohio LinuxFest keynote speaker, Stormy Peters. She is concerned about the information ownership in no-cost cloud-based applications. It is not surprising that Phil and Stormy agree on Freedom. Phil and Stormy are friends from their work together at HP and their shared interest in hockey. Yes, Stormy Peters plays roller and ice hockey. How awesome is that!

If you care about freedom too, join us at the Ohio LinuxFest where we
will give away 5 Linux-based HP Palm Pre phones and 3 HP Mini 2102 netbooks.

The Ohio LinuxFest September 10-12, 2010 is where we will answer the question, “How will FREE change the world?” Phil Robb from HP is changing the paradigm of “desktop” and mobilizing our freedom with Linux-based HP products.

Don't let the job get you down. Reboot your skills for serious uptime at OLFU. Photo Credit: dagoaty

The task of keeping current with skills and technologies is a never-ending job for a system administrator. If you work in a busy shop like I do, asking your boss for a week-long training session across the country is difficult. You have to make sure adequate coverage and some how scrape together the funding to go. If only there was a weekend-long community-oriented training opportunity for IT professionals.

The answer is out there. Think Ohio Linux Fest University (OLFU).

At the Ohio LinuxFest, professional training returns for the 4th year in a row with OLFU on September 10, 2010. A full day of classes plus technical sessions on  September 11 is only $350.

League of Professional System Administrators (LOPSA) classes will help you keep your systems, storage and networks top shape. Offerings include IPv6 Essentials and Deployment Strategies, Monitoring with “Non-Obvious” Nagios, Black Magic: Linux Troubleshooting and System Administration, Introduction to Automating System Administration with Cfengine, and Application Acceleration and Cloud Storage.

Linux Professional Institute Certification cram class will help you prepare for one of the industry’s most difficult system administrator tests. There is also an optional on-site test opportunity to get certified at an additional discounted rate of $109 per test.

Computer Room of Illinois’ famous Data Recovery class will be offered at an abridged length and price. When a disk fails it could cost your company tens of thousands of dollars to send away to a recovery service. Next time you will have the knowledge to retrieve what you can with open source tools.

Apress author, Vern Ceder, has a systems programming class with Python. Script it once and do the task as many times as you want – fast. Learn the basics in the morning and stay the afternoon to become a python wizard.

As professionals it is our responsibility to do what we can to keep the user communities around us productive. The more active the environment, the more you can use the training that OLFU has to offer.

Go for it and register for OLFU and invite your boss too. Trust me, it will make it easier.

Register, then come back here to enjoy Happy Sysadmin Day wishes from Ohio LinuxFest Saturday tech talk speaker, Jordan Keyes

The government gets free software: nurses at VA hospitals have been using and developing VISTA: the open source medical records system for vets Photo credit: US Army

Mom did not understand what I was up to with open source.
I did not understand what she was up to with open source.

At VA Hospitals nationwide, the government was deploying VISTA. No, not Microsoft Windows Vista, VISTA – the open source medical records system. It keeps track of all of information concerning a patient’s care – no matter where in the country they go. Medications, pharmacies, doctor visits, dates, diagnosis.. it is all there. Nurses recommended that VISTA work with scan-able wrist bands. Now patients’ wrists are scanned prior to medicating and procedures with immediate feedback for the medical professionals who are providing the care as the care is administered. It saves lives and the government money. This is change that I can believe in.

The change to open source nation-wide medical records can happen and is happening today. The US government is providing up to $64,000 for providers who successfully implement electronic medical records. While there are many most with commercial support, there are proprietary vendors who are interested in this business. With open source, medical records can remain available to the health care provider without paying yearly subscription fees. Proprietary software though, may entail vendor-lock-in contracts prohibiting your health care provider from moving to another system or other health providers in charge of your care.

At the Ohio LinuxFest, mom will chair a two-day track to discuss medicine in open source with an emphasis on medical records on September 10 and 11. Here we will reach out to health care administrators, nurses, doctors, patients, concerned family members of those who require constant care, taxpayers, open source programmers, and anyone else who cares about the future of health care with Free Software.

Friday kicks off with opensource.com writer and Red Hat employee, Ruth Suehle, who will discuss medical innovations around the world. It will be followed by Susan Rose MSN RN-BC (that’s my mom) talking about Electronic Medical Revolution. There will also be a free workshop from Dr.David Chan on OSCAR, the open source medical records system deployed through all Canada and world wide. Medical professionals who attend on Friday September 10 can obtain Free CEU’s upon request.

The discussion on medical records will continue with Dr. Chan of OSCAR, Fred Trotter of linuxmednews.com, Dr. Budman, MD, MBA of MedSphere on Saturday September 11. Ohio citizens can learn more on how electronic medical records are being deployed in their state with Amy Andres of the Health Information Exchange.

Other Saturday topics include will be a tele-medicine applications with talks from Dr. Barbash and Dr. Magee. These innovations will help patients to integrate health care to their every day lives – at home.

Closing will be a panel on how to choose open source products so that they qualify for “Meaningful Use” government funding.

If you care about more efficient and better health care for you, your family, and your medical practitioners, consider the Ohio LinuxFest Medical Track. That’s my idea of Free Healthcare.

Print off this flier to show anyone involved in your health care.

To help answer this question this Ubucon has an all star cast.

Jorge O. Castro, External Project Developer Relations for Canonical, will be speaking about Low-Hanging Fruit of the juicy software variety. Jorge works with getting really hard bits to integrate with Ubuntu, recently and namely Google Voice with video support. He will show us how we can all help by packaging and bug fixing. Yummy.

Next will be the outstanding Amber Graner of Ubuntu User magazine. She will discuss how it is possible to contribute to Free software, even if you are not a developer. Amber knows because she has done it all without compiling a single code or hacking a single kernel. You go girl.

Then we will have some words from the Ubuntu Ohio LoCo Team who are experts in gorilla marketing of Free software. They mobilize volunteers to support recycling efforts like Free Geek Columbus and distribute Ubuntu to the libraries. These party-animals also make sure every single release is properly celebrated. If your dance card on October 10, 2010 does not include Maverick Meerkat then the Ohio LoCo team will tell you how to plan a release party in your neighborhood. Ubuntinis anyone?

Master-of-the-Universe and Kubuntu programmer Mackenzie Morgan will discuss the Ubuntu software development process. She will explain how she makes great Free software available . Microsoft sells software like it is 1984 and Mackenzie packages Free software like its 2014. Take a time machine with Mackenzie and she will show us how its done. Mackenzie is the future.

Last, but not least is David Mandala, lead of the ARM team at Canonical, who will be taking your questions concerning ARM on Ubuntu. When not giving talks at LinuxFests, David travels the globe working with ARM board builders and councils them on making their hardware compatible with Linux ever since Ubuntu 9.04. Microsoft didn’t even get into the ARM operating system business until last month – and that took some arm-twisting. Catch David on Saturday at 10 A.M. where he will talk more about the future of Ubuntu ARM support in the “FOSS in Other Worlds” track. With David’s help, Ubuntu will be first and best on a full Free software stack on ARM-based tablets as soon as this Christmas. Game over for the Windows desktop.

At the Ohio LinuxFest, at Ubucon, we will seal the fate: Microsoft will lose majority market share come June 30, 2011.

Freedom through Ubuntu is possible and real…

But I don’t know Linux well enough to go to a LinuxFest

Maybe you need some time learning Linux on the desktop skills. Even if you have always used Windows, by the end of the Ohio LinuxFest Linux Basics class, you will be savvy enough to install Linux and transfer your daily work into the GNOME desktop environment with Ubuntu. This class is a great too for anyone who wants an overview of Linux to broaden your IT knowledge. Either way, you will have a hands-on experience which will turn you into a bug-one crushing warrior.

The Ohio LinuxFest has something for both the Free software curious and those who want to get knowledgeable about Linux real fast. Educational and entertaining programming for the weekend ranges from zero to $350. Causal users will be pleasantly surprised by the free software available at the expo.

Register today at https://www.ohiolinux.org/register.html

Come and Free your Desktop at the Ohio LinuxFest: September 10-12, 2010 – where Microsoft lacks a majority market share.

With all other bugs resolved, Bug One will certainly follow.

Track the progress of Operation Clean Sweep here…

Come June 30, 2011, Microsoft will lack a majority market share.