I'm trying to recondition a PC so old it can't boot from USB. Can anyone recommend a way to make an OS partition and install GNU/Linux from inside #Windows7? Bonus points for ways that involve installing and using #FreeCode tools on Windows ;)
@feld it's about strategy, not purity. It's worth planting tomatoes for next month even when you can buy them from a corporate big box store today.
You'd think #FOSDEM would be the sort of place where a #GSoC student would learn about the relevant #FreeCode projects I found a bunch of article about with a quick web search.
"#Fathom has recently discontinued its open source option but it’s still a better option than GA." - JamesMullarkey
I'd say this is a very good reason to never give Fathom people another cent, especially when there are companies like #Matomo or #KokoAnalytics you can give it to instead, who continue to publish their software as #FreeCode. If every business that moves from free licenses to proprietary one starts hemorrhaging money, maybe they'll stop doing it.
@portpupper what about: * source is free * binaries are free for non-commercial use (to build product awareness and #NetworkEffects) * binaries for commercial use are $60 a year
This actually solves a problem, where businesses who understand the value of the #FreeCode software they use want to contribute financially, but find it a headache to account for those contributions in their bookkeeping (are they charitable donations? Tax-deductable expenses? Other?). @sir@aeveltstra
Companies who do this get neither the benefits of being fully proprietary (full asset value of "IP" on your books etc), nor the benefits of being fully #FreeCode (community goodwill, volunteer contributions etc). Why do they keep doing it? Probably for the same reason other projects are using proprietary #SourceAvailable licenses. Because #VentureCapitalists think its a good idea.
@Blort true, perhaps these projects need to switch to proprietary #SourceAvailable licenses, to prevent Purism from pioneering a non-#datafarming business model for network services, using only #FreeCode software, in ways that comply with their current software licenses to the letter? </sarcasm>
@alex > I'm having to use Zoom and Skype for meetings and teaching classes because that's what everyone else is using
The power of #NetworkEffects ;) No judgement whatsoever on everyone doing whatever they have to do under the circumstances, including using proprietary software and network services. But it seems like a good time to share info on #FreeCode tools for @RemoteLearning as they exist, and identify gaps that new projects could fill in the future.
@Lumeinshin agreed. Even a heavily filtered fediverse instance is an improvement on a proprietary (dis)service (eg Mozzila using Slack), or even a silo running on #FreeCode (eg Discourse). If heavy filtering makes communities more willing to dip their toes in the ocean of the fediverse, that's a good thing.
This is another reason why the 'source available' folks are wrong. "Cloud" vendors may not be paying directly to use their software, but they pay people whose work days contribute huge amounts to a wide range of #FreeCode projects. Projects like the Linux kernel, without which 'source available' projects like #Redis, #MongoDB, and #ShareTribe, wouldn't have a viable business in the first place.
This is something that both local governments and ride-sharing #PlatformCooperatives can push for, by sharing the costs of developing a #FreeCode software stack for running ride-sharing services. Ideally one that allows users to download vendor-neutral apps, that can connect with a range of services available wherever they are, over a common protocol. This could include public transport, taxis, and ride-hailing and car-sharing services.
Other than #Redis and #ShareTribe, does anyone know of any formerly #FreeCode projects that have switched to '#SourceAvailable' licenses, which do not allow commercial use of the software?
@lightweight this #video could be trimmed down to Jeremy's comment about waiting for months to get a "won't fix" response from a proprietary vendor, and getting a solution in one day from the community around a #FreeCode replacement. This is a key reason why #FreeCode software is always a better choice than proprietary for any organisation, particularly one that has in-house technical staff.
I totally agree with the criticisms of allowing the titans of #SurveillanceCapitalism (and their subsidiaries like GitHub) to promote themselves via their sponsorship of #FreeCode software conferences like #FOSDEM and #FOSSasia. I'm not totally against strategically taking their money, but would they still give this "generous" sponsorship for the sake of the community, if they had to do so anonymously?