Breaking the dependency on proprietary software: A call to nonprofits to refuse
Microsoft Windows 7
"sinking money and time into proprietary software is inconsistent with the core
values of freedom and progress."
BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 -- The Free Software
Foundation (FSF) today launched the next stage of its "Windows 7 Sins" campaign
at http://windows7sins.org, making the case against Microsoft and proprietary software
by writing to 500 leaders of the most influential nongovernmental organizations
(NGOs) worldwide, asking them to make the switch to freedom-respecting free software,
and to help foster awareness of the ethical importance of computer user freedom.
The letter warns these "Windows 7 decision makers" about the "lack of privacy, freedom,
and security" they will suffer should they adopt Windows 7, and makes the case that
they should instead adopt free software by outlining seven major areas where proprietary
software like Windows is hurting society: invading privacy, poisoning education,
locking users in, abusing standards, leveraging monopolistic behavior, enforcing
Digital Restrictions Management (DRM), and threatening user security.
FSF executive director Peter Brown said, "The dependency of organizations working
for social change and improvement on software owned and exclusively controlled by
Microsoft is leading society into an era of digital restrictions, threatening and
limiting our freedoms. Free software on the other hand, is about freedom, not price,
and it is designed to give you the ability to study and improve the software for
your own needs. Today, we're asking leaders in the nonprofit sector to switch to
the free software GNU/Linux operating system for all their desktop and computer
infrastructure needs."
The GNU/Linux operating system is readily available, easy-to-use, and supported
by numerous vendors and a worldwide community. GNU/Linux distributions come with
thousands of freely licensed software applications, including complete accounting
and fundraising solutions suitable for charities.
FSF campaigns manager Matt Lee added, "Charities, NGOs, and other nonprofit organizations
that choose proprietary software are undertaking bad public policy, often through
misinformation or a failure to see their technology choices as connected to their
social missions. We hope to alert these decision makers to the positive contribution
they can make to society by switching their organizations to free software. I hope
these groups will make a public policy commitment to freedom and join a growing
list of organizations who understand that sinking money and time into proprietary
software is inconsistent with the core values of freedom and progress."
More information about the campaign, including the text of the letter and a mailing
list that will provide subscribers with information updates and action alerts, is
online at http://en.windows7sins.org.
About the Free Software Foundation
The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting computer
users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs. The
FSF promotes the development and use of free (as in freedom) software -- particularly
the GNU operating system and its GNU/Linux variants -- and free documentation for
free software. The FSF also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political
issues of freedom in the use of software, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org
and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to
support the FSF's work can be made at http://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are
in Boston, MA, USA.
About Free Software and Open Source
The free software movement's goal is freedom for computer users. Some, especially
corporations, advocate a different viewpoint, known as "open source," which cites
only practical goals such as making software powerful and reliable, focuses on development
models, and avoids discussion of ethics and freedom. These two viewpoints are different
at the deepest level. For more explanation, see http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html.
Media Contacts
Matt Lee
Campaigns Manager
Free Software Foundation
Cell: +1 (617) 500.3284
campaigns@fsf.org
Peter Brown
Executive Director
Free Software Foundation
Cell: +1 (617) 319.5832
campaigns@fsf.org