Richard Stallman, free software movement, interviewed

This video from Australia says about itself:

Richard Stallman delivers a lecture at the Australian National University in Canberra October 2004. Topics covered include free software development, privacy, copyright, the history of GNU, Linux, and the GNU/Linux operating system. A lively presentation in which RMS wears a hat as worn by IT deities. This recording covers the second half of his two-hour presentation. Courtesy The National Institute of Engineering and Information Sciences (NIEIS) and The Australian Computer Society (ACS).

By Greg Adamson in Australia:

Richard Stallman and the free software movement

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Richard Stallman is something of a legend in the global software community. In 1983, he created the free software movement, through which highly trained and often highly paid professionals give their time to producing software for the public good.

The movement produced the GNU operating system, a free alternative to proprietary software such as the Microsoft or Apple operating systems. GNU is a both a humorous “recursive acronym” standing for “GNU is Not Unix”, and a gnu (or wildebeest) is the mascot of the GNU system and GNU Project.

The free software movement is one of several strands of technology development in the past half-century that have defied market theories on how the economy must work. Others have included the Wikipedia peer-created and reviewed encyclopedia, and the work undertaken by many voluntary technology organisations.

However, the free software movement goes further than most others. It identifies the need to carry out an activist campaign to achieve its goals, rather than simply relying on the power of a good example.

In 1989, Stallman wrote the first GNU General Public License, which provides a framework for licensing “to ensure that this voluntary work brings freedom for users, and cannot be transformed into an instrument for someone to gain power over others”.

Stallman’s work and the work of the free software movement have influenced vast areas of technology.

Today, Stallman spends much of his time travelling and speaking to audiences about the importance of free software as a political and ethical need for people. He is currently touring Australia. For details, visit www.acs.org.au/rmstour. Stallman spoke with Green Left Weekly’s Greg Adamson.

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