What is “free”?  What does it mean when we say something is free?  Well, there’s always the definition of  “without cost”.  But cost is a relative thing.  Cost can mean an amount of money, or it can mean the amount of work necessary to produce that money.  “Sweat equity” is a term used in the housing industry to indicate the value of an individual’s work to add to, modify, or upgrade a house.  The cost, then, is in the amount of work the individual is willing to put into the house.  It doesn’t cost the individual any money, but it does cost him work, and that work is recognized as having value.

Free software is no different.  There may be no charge for it (and in many cases there isn’t), but it does cost someone something in the amount of work that was put into it.  Time and energy have been consumed in the production of that software.  Now, sometimes, that time and energy is expended purely for the pleasure of producing something of value, with no interest in getting anything in return.  Consider hobbies.  They’ll never engender a cash paycheck.  But the individual achieves satisfaction from the act of engaging in them.  The “payback” is in the form of entertainment for the individual.  Some free software is like that.  The programmers and developers that produce it do so for their own enjoyment.

But then, there’s another type of free software.  Software that doesn’t cost a user anything, but does cost other programmers and developers something.  If others want to make use of the code, the software, to create new functions and improvements, or to change the nature of the software, they must do so under the same set of restrictions and permissions with which it was received.  General Public License (GPL) software is of that type.  It is free for anyone to use, but anyone who wants to work with the code must pass it on under the same license.  They must return the code to the community to which it was presented.

You notice that I say “the community to which it was presented” rather than “the community to which it was donated”?  The code hasn’t been donated, i.e. given away.  That code, as all things that are written (even this blog) fall under aegis of the copyright laws.  Therefore, it is unlawful to use or modify the code without the  permission of the copyright holder.  Under the GPL, those who only use the code may do so freely, and in accordance with that license.  But those who would modify the code must do so under the restrictions and permissions of the license – they must pay back.  In this case, the payback is in the value of their time and energy expended in modifying the code.

There are those who believe that code presented to the community has been put in the public domain:  that they can freely use and modify that code without contributing back to the community.  There are also those who would LIKE to believe that, and work very hard at trying to break the General Public License.  The individuals that attempt either of these scenarios are from commercial software companies.  It’s like being nibbled to death by ducks.  There are no overt actions against the GPL, or the programmers and developers that produce the code so licensed.  Instead, it’s tiny little changes in the law, or in the interpretation of the law.  Or it’s attempts to entrap programmers and developers in actions where they end up donating code to a commercial entity, where it will be forever locked up where no one can see it.  It is these commercial corporation’s intent to take the work of others, steal it, lock it up and make money off of it, despite the fact that in no way have they expended the time and energy with which it was produced.  These corporations do not recognize “sweat equity” as being of value.  They do not accept that there can be any other method of payment except money.  And they will do anything in their power to take whatever they see as not being nailed down, and make it their own and then charge for it.  What they are doing is as much theft as if they came up to an individual and placed a gun at his head and took all his money.

Nor is software the only thing that has been endangered by corporate thieves.  I have been hearing reports of bands that have offered fans free music only to find out that RIAA has been charging people with copyright infringement for downloading it.  Recently, I read of a situation where an individual produced her own video – an animated short using all her own material.  And the MPAA tried to claim it as their own.  This is ridiculous.  This is corporations getting out of hand.  This is corporations hiding behind a false-front, someone they can blame if something goes wrong.

And all of it is “nibbling”.  It’s time to stop the nibbling.  It’s time to put our ducks in a row, and march them back into the pen.  The Free Software Foundation has been taking on violators of the GPL.  First, by talking with the corporations and explaining what they are doing wrong and how to rectify it.  Then, where necessary, engaging them in the courts.  RIAA’s activities are becoming more closely scrutinized and reigned in.  The MPAA is being hauled back on some of their claims.  But that doesn’t stop the nibbling from some of the worse offenders:  the software companies that would try to convince you of their sincerity in moving toward open source software, while in actuality attempting to hijack it.  Movie companies and music companies that will tell you where you can play the CDs and DVDs that you purchase.  “You can play it on this machine, but only on this machine.  We won’t let you play it on that one, because we don’t like them.”  This nonsense is called the DMCA, and flies in the face of the copyright laws.  It is a blatant attempt on the part of the movie and music industries to make you pay again and again for the same work.  Or to only play it on machines that they acknowledge as being “valid” equipment, i.e., that enable THEM to control what you do with what you purchase.  So, if I legally purchase a copy of a movie, and want to view it on my computer, the movie companies say I can’t, because I’m using Linux as an operating system.  But it’s all right to view it on a machine that has a “movie company approved” operating system like Microsoft Windows.  Or if I legally purchase a music CD, I can only play it on an approved CD player, and not on my Ubuntu computer.  And their excuse for trying to enact such restrictions?  BECAUSE WE’RE ALL THIEVES BECAUSE WE DON’T USE AN APPROVED DEVICE.

Now, that’s just plain bogus.  That is saying that we are all guilty until proven innocent.  Without a trial, without even an honest investigation.  Just because they say so.  And people wonder why I prefer Linux to other operating systems.  Well, I’ll tell you why I prefer Linux.  Because I have the right, given to me by the copyright holders, to look at the code to see if there are any “gotchas” in it.  Because I have the right to put it on any kind of equipment I want.  Because I have the right to modify the code to suit my needs as long as I allow others the same privilege should I distribute it.  Because Free Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) is enabling rather than disabling.  However, I still watch out for ducks!

— Teaser Follows —

UWN 100th issue

Welcome to the 100th issue of the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter!

The purpose of this newsletter is to let everyone know what is happening in all the different corners of the vast Ubuntu community. The first issue was unleashed 04 June 2006, a few days after the release of Ubuntu 6.06 LTS. Since then, four releases have come out and community has grown by leaps and bounds. We, at the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter, have tried to let readers know the the going-ons in the vast and growing community, including information from the different teams, LoCos, forums, mailing lists, IRC universe, and newsworthy press coverage and blogs.

It has undoubtedly been a fun and rewarding experience for all involved!

We would like to thank all our readers for all their comments and corrections (yes, we do make mistakes!) .

As always, the UWN staff welcomes any feedback.

UWN Past and Present Staff Podcast

Several of the past and present contributors of the UWN came together to share their experiences with the UWN in a podcast. Martin Albisetti, Cody Somerville, Joey Stanford, John Crawford, Craig Eddy, and Nick Ali discuss how they got involved, the process of creating each issue, what technologies were used, and their impressions of the UWN.

Mark Shuttleworth podcast

Join Martin Albisetti as he conducts a special interview of Mark Shuttleworth about what the UWN means to the community, what he likes, what he would like to see more of, and his thanks for being such a great asset to the community.

Read the whole thing at Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter - Issue 100

Special 100th Issue of the UWN

On July 20, 2008, the editors of the Ubuntu Weekly Newsletter will present a special edition - a 100th issue commemoration.  In it, we’ll look back at some of what has gone before and get impressions from past and present UWN staffers.  This is all in addition to the normal work that we put out.  This is an issue you won’t want to miss, so check your email subscription, your links or your RSS feeds to be sure that it’s available.

Included in this issue, at NO EXTRA CHARGE will be a podcast with some of the past and present editors.  Projected for the podcast will be:

• “The story of UWN” - how it started, how it developed, where it is today, and most importantly where it’ll be “tomorrow”.

• How UWN started

• Impressions from Editors and how they got involved. what went well, what didn’t.And did they find that their time spent on it was worthwhile.

• What technology was used

Recently, a friend asked me if there were a way to move emails from one installation to another.  Specifically, he asked if there were a way to move them from Windows XP to Ubuntu.  Thanks to Thunderbird’s design, there IS a way, and it isn’t terribly difficult, though it’s not intuitively apparent.  I’ll try to explain in a generic way that will apply to both moving from another OS to Linux, and moving from one distribution release of Linux to another.

Thunderbird places all its profile information in one directory (folder), that is further sub-divided into directories (folders).  In Linux, that folder is in a user’s home directory with the name .mozilla-thunderbird. (Note the dot BEFORE the name mozilla-thunderbird.  This is a hidden file)  Inside the .mozilla-thunderbird directory (folder) is another directory (folder) that has a series of apparently random letters/numbers followed by the user name.  Remember this location. This makes the transferrence of information fairly straightforward for a Linux to Linux transfer, and only slightly more complicated in moving from any other OS.  For any other OS, you will need to locate the directory (folder), preferrably in advance, so that transferrence can proceed smoothly.

With that in mind, we now go to the Linux platform or new installation.  Ubuntu does not install Thunderbird by default.  It is entirely likely that no distribution does, but I could be wrong.  If the distribution you use DOES install Thunderbird by default, and you have not opened it yet, then the following procedure will work.  If it is NOT installed by default, then this is the first thing you must do, but do not open the program.  Now the fun begins.

1.  Create a directory in your home directory called .mozilla-thunderbird.

2.  Copy the directory (folder) that has your user name as part of it’s name to that newly created .mozilla-thunderbird directory.

Now, when you open Thunderbird, all the emails from your previous installation/OS will be there, along with all the rest of the information that makes up your profile.  In fact, you should be connected to your ISP at this point.  There is one thing to note about this procedure.  If you are changing releases of Thunderbird you may discover that some extensions no longer work, or pop up warnings.  This is easily solved by deleting or uninstalling the affected extension, and installing the more up to date version that corresponds to your Thunderbird release.  There may be other, minor, glitches along the way, but they should also be easily dealt with.

I don’t maintain that this is a difinitive tutorial of how to do this.  I do know that it’s worked for me through various changes - both fresh installations of new releases of Ubuntu and moving a profile from Windows XP to Ubuntu.  If anyone wants to add further information or tips, the information would be welcome.  Just add it as a comment.  Thanks

On Sunday, June 29, 2008 UPDATE:  July 6, 2008*, the Gutsy Geeks radio program will have an interview with the Team Leader of the Ubuntu-Arizona Team.  The program will air at 4:00 PM MST on KXAM, 1310 on your AM dial in the Phoenix, Arizona area.  Those outside the area can listen in by going to KXAM.  The program will also be offered on the Gutsy Geeks web site (Gutsy Geeks) in ogg and mp3 formats.

About the Geeks:  Michael Cady and Nick Coons are co-owners of RedSeven computer store (RedSeven) and are involved in the KidComputers charity program (KidComputers/).  Many of the refurbished RedSeven computers feature the Ubuntu distribution of the Linux operating system and Free Libre/Open Source Software.  Richard Sherman writes the “Ask Mr. Modem” newspaper column and newsletter, and is a featured columnist each month in Smart Computing magazine (SmartComputing). More (and probably better) information on the three can be found on their website (Gutsy Geeks).

*This update came from an email from Michael Cady, and I apologize for the confusion.  I got the information after I posted the original blog, which was based on “word of mouth” information that has since proved inaccurate.

There was once a man by the name of Robert A. Heinlein that wrote Science Fiction stories.  Maybe you’ve heard of him.  The stories he wrote were full of adventure, social conflict, amazing equipment and machinery, and something much more subtle.  They were filled with attitudes:  how one deals with other people, what one’s responsibilities and duties are to self, family, nation, and species (NOT race, unless you consider race to be the entire Human Race).

Such as being considerate of others.  When one take on a task, one is expected to complete that task to the best of their ability.  And, where that task overlaps the work of others, is expected to take that into account.

Cooperation is the key to that.  It’s never stated baldly in his stories, but characters are expected to cooperate with each other.  They just do it.  Or, they are roundly castigated for NOT cooperating.  Cooperation is not just doing your part, but sharing your part with others that it affects, so that the parts work well together.

Cooperation is at least partly due to respect.  Respect for oneself and respect for those around one.  There can be no respect for others unless there is self-respect.  Likewise, there can be no self-respect without respect for others.  When one respects another one takes the important step in realizing that the work of that other also has value and importance.  Opinions may vary between people, but that does not preclude being able to respect them and their opinions, whether or not you agree with the opinions.

In fact, disagreeing with the opinion of others can be important.  Heinlein’s stories are filled with people disagreeing with each other and resolving the disagreement through respectful dialogue.  This leads to a better understanding of how to deal with a problem.  Arguments like, “this is the way it’s always been done” don’t accomplish anything useful.  Neither does the attitude that one has made an opinion and is going to follow it no matter what other say.  Knowledge and experience are much more important than canalized opinions.  And the sharing of that knowledge and experience can lead to much more beneficial results.  Of course, to be able to share that knowledge and experience one must maintain an open mind.

Some of Heinlein’s stories revolve around the need for help.  Very often, help is offered without the other character needing to ask.  However, in real life, people aren’t always as observant of the needs of others.  Asking for help doesn’t diminish one.  It enables one.  One way of looking at it is that “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”.  What can be accomplished with the help of others is much more than each individual can accomplish on their own.  If a task is to large for one individual, there is no shame in asking others to help out.  That help may be in the form of physical work or just advice, information, knowledge concerning a subject.  We have received such help all our lives, starting with assistance in walking and talking, and on up through the education one gets from school.

Obviously, there are also times when that need for help can result in a re-ordering of leadership, or a reorganization of jobs.  Such transitions, in Heinlein stories, usually occur smoothly and seamlessly.  An obvious contradiction to this is the book “The Number of the Beast”.  Here, chapters are taken up with individuals each taking the lead until one is finally chosen as the appropriate person to lead.  I think that it’s probably the only Heinlein story where so much time is spent on demonstrating the need for cooperation of individuals for the greater good, and the need for smooth transitions in leadership.

All of this collection of attitudes goes on behind the scenes.  Heinlein doesn’t come right out and say, “This is how you need to do things.”  He demonstrates it by the actions of the characters.  And, for a young reader, many of these concepts may not be readily apparent.  Yet they are there and have an affect on one.

They certainly had an affect on me.  Of course, I’m not always successful.  I’m human and make mistakes.  But I started reading Heinlein books and short stories when I was 10 years old.  By the time I was an adult, these attitudes had crept into my life and brought themselves to my attention.

It was no wonder that I could “see through” the Ubuntu Code of Conduct language to the underlying needs and attitudes, and sign it without a qualm.

Thank you, Robert A. Heinlein

Yeeeeeeeee-Haaaaaaaw!!!!!

Harumph.  Excuse me.  Let’s try to be dignified, now, please.

Today, June 4, 2008, at 10:21 AM Arizona time the

WAAAAA-HOOOOOO!!!!!

Ubuntu-Arizona LoCo Team

GO!!!! TEAM!!!!

Was granted approval

YEA!!!!!

by the LoCo Team Council.

HALELUIA!!!!!

I would like to thank the Council

OOOOWOOOOWOOOOWOOOOWOOO!!!!!

for their consideration of and approval of our team.

eeeeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!!!

Please excuse me.  It’s difficult to remain emotionless and dignified at a time like this.

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

So, you want to become an Ubuntu Member.  GREAT! Matthew Helmke has put up a great blog post (Ubuntu Membership-Some Reminders for Those Who Want to Apply) giving some hints on how to go about applying for Ubuntu Membership.  I’d just like to expand on his topic a bit from the standpoint of one who has gone through the process.

I had the good fortune of being “mentored” in the process by my Team leader.  This might be a good place for a prospective member to start, is to find someone who has successfully become a member and has some idea of what the committee is looking for.  My Team leader also didn’t have the feeling that he knew all the answers, and suggested that I see what the applications of others looked like, and how that affected the committee.  In other words, what questions are the committee members apt to ask compared to a particular application?  By covering as many of the types of questions in your application as possible, you reduce the feeling of inadequacy that can result from being questioned by the committee.

Being an Ubuntu Member means being a part of a larger community.  That community is a resource.  There are people in that community that are quite willing to help you.  By getting others to go over your application (your wiki page) and make suggestions, you help to improve yourself.  Grammer, spelling and punctuation can be an important part of the application, too.  Not because they are some arbitrary rules one must follow, but because smoothing the flow of your words can make it easier for others to understand what you are saying.

Matthew, in his article, mentioned that it’s like a job resume.  I agree.  When I retired, my wife was concerned that I’d be bored.  Then she looked at my wiki page (Who Is Craig A. Eddy (Tyche)) and said that it looked like a resume.  Being an Ubuntu Member is, in many ways, a job, although an unusual one in that you define your own job description and choose your own workplace.  So, let the committee know what you can do, by showing them what you have done.  Provide lots of links for them to witness your evolution toward membership.  Those links may be to works you have done, or references of others, or whatever, but they’re important as evidence of your abilities.

Not a programmer?  That REALLY doesn’t matter.  Programmers and developers may be the most visible of niches in the Ubuntu community, but there are other areas that are just as important or even more so in the community.  People to do the background work of establishing, organizing, and recording the community itself.  People who create the graphics, pamphlets, brochures, and etc. that promote the Ubuntu distribution.  People who smooth the flow of community relationships and work toward the elimination of Bug #1.

So, you want to become an Ubuntu Member.  GREAT! Show us.  Show people like Matthew Helmke and the others on the committee who you are and what you can do.  Get ahold of someone who has been through the process and knows how to help present yourself.  In the process of putting it down on the wiki page you may even learn more about yourself.  This is one time when being bold can be helpful, and being too humble can actually hurt.  You have nothing to be ashamed of.  You are a valuable resource, and your abilities and experience can make a difference.  And I wish you luck.

Recently, I overheard some comments about whether or not it was legal to quote sections of news articles and/or blogs in a newsletter. Without getting into Copyright Law, especially as I Am Not A Lawyer (otherwise known as IANAL), there are ways to make sure that what one writes in an article or blog can be quoted or used in newsletters and other blogs. I realized that many people don’t know about the Creative Commons license, don’t know how to use it, or don’t know why they should use it.

To begin with, “Is an article I post on a blog copyrighted?” According to the Copyright Office , “Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright.” So, yes, your work is protected under copyright from the time you write it. It should be noted that this pertains to ORIGINAL work, not copying someone else’s work. And no, a copyright notification is not necessary. However, if you want to allow your work to be copied by others, without explicit permission those others would have to contact you.

On Friday, July 22, 2005, Pamela Jones (PJ of Groklaw) published an article concerning “Why Would an Author Choose a Creative Commons License?”. This article goes into some reasons why individuals might want to license their works under the Creative Commons license, and place that license on their works. With the license already stated on the work, anyone can see whether or not they can copy the work, and under what conditions. This saves both you and them the problems of getting permission to use a work.

Creative Commons licenses come in many forms. All the license versions can be seen here (http://creativecommons.org/about/license/). Some of the definitions of terms are:

a. Attribution. You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your copyrighted work — and derivative works based upon it — but only if they give credit the way you request.

b. Noncommercial. You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform your work — and derivative works based upon it — but for noncommercial purposes only.

c. No Derivative Works. You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works based upon it.

d. Share Alike. You allow others to distribute derivative works only under a license identical to the license that governs your work.

As you can see from the Creative Commons page linked above, there are various ways that the above definitions can be combined to achieve the amount of freedom you wish to allow others to have with your work. Another example can be seen from my own use of the Creative Commons license, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/. This allows others to use my work as long as they include an attribution, do not use it for commercial purposes, and are willing to share what they create from my work under the same license terms.

This is called FREEDOM!

Information used in this post has been gathered from Creative Commons, the Copyright Office and from Groklaw

As many of you may know already, there has been a security alert posted for openssl (posted by Debian at http://lists.debian.org/debian-security-announce/2008/msg00152.html) that affects ssh keys:

“It is strongly recommended that all cryptographic key material which has been generated by OpenSSL versions starting with 0.9.8c-1 on Debian systems is recreated from scratch. Furthermore, all DSA keys ever used on affected Debian systems for signing or authentication purposes should be considered compromised; the Digital Signature Algorithm relies on a secret random value used during signature generation.” (From the Debian Alert)

This has been reported on “The Fridge” for Ubuntu (http://fridge.ubuntu.com/node/1445), with further information on how to correct the problem listed at http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/usn-612-2.

Anyone using ssh, either as server or client (or both) should take note of this information and immediately see to the creation and dissemination of new ssh keys. Launchpad has already sent out notices which say, in part:

“You need to take action to continue using Launchpad features such as code hosting. We have deleted your SSH key from Launchpad because we have discovered a potential security vulnerability in the way your key was generated.”

The means of correcting the problem, though a bit involved and tedius, are actually quite straight-forward and easy to accomplish.  Due to it’s importance, you will likely see information posted in many places by many people.  One thing that is not mentioned in any of them is that you are not considered to be at fault for the problem.  This occurred as the result of a programming error, not as the result of YOU making a weak key.  However, it does mean that everyone with an ssh key needs to take corrective action at once.  Failure to create new ssh keys could restrict your ability to access activities as you previously could.

Thank you for your prompt attention.