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Eben Moglen Talks About Free Software in the Second of Two Video Interviews
Yesterday we ran a video interview with Eben Moglen, who according to Wikipedia, "is a professor of law and legal history at Columbia University, and is the founder, Director-Counsel and Chairman of [the] Software Freedom Law Center." And as we also said yesterday, since 2011 he's been working with FreedomBox, a project working toward "a personal server running a free software operating system, with free applications designed to create and preserve personal privacy." Prof. Moglen is also one of the most polished speakers anywhere, on any topic, in our opinion. So please enjoy this second video of him speaking to (and answering questions from) Slashdot readers.
So tell us again, what does Eben Moglen think about non-free software like Flash?
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
Okay, everyone get it out of your system. Flash sucks, blah blah! Why couldn't they put it into HTML-5/Ogg/x264/whatever-the-fuck, blah blah? This won't work on my iThing and it makes Steve Jobs cry in heaven, blah blah. Everything should be DRM/proprietary-codec free, blah blah!
Okay, feel better?
Then, let's have at least a few posts to talk about the actual content (or, if need be, the lack thereof).
What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
>> Prof. Moglen is also one of the most polished speakers anywhere, on any topic, in our opinion. So please..
Yes. I'm sure. He is. Says the forum who. Thinks Shatner is. One of the greatest. Actors ever.
Post the MF'ing transcript if you want us to consume the wisdom, please. We're in a hurry out here.
But about Slashdot's implementation of a Flash video player.
It doesn't work in my Firefox at all. Even with script-and flash-blockers turned off. In order to watch videos on Slashdot, I have to open Chrome or Safari, and watch them there. Because of course there is NO LINK to the original video anywhere, and Ooyala deliberately hides the video source in a plethora of flash and javascript.
on linux, even
That they are going to be right in the end too.
Open systems, protocols and standards should be the norm. Preferable open source as well.
New things are always on the horizon
A lot of sites do not properly implement HTTPS and HTTPS Everywhere redirects you to la-la land. Also, if a site's HTTPS stops working, you have to edit a config file, there's no way to stop the redirect that I have found. This software is a good idea, but needs more controls before mere mortals can use it easily.
Mr Moglen obviously is not a technologist, so Mr Stallman should answer this one: Where is the simple-to-use social networking software that runs on the Personal-Always-Plugged-In ARM-based Linux machine ?
All I can see at the moment is the hardware, the OS and some thoughts about using TOR, which are perfectly fine. But what is needed is a simple-to-use alternative to the nasty invention of Suckerbug. He is 100% right to call it a giant spying operation. No doubt USG has been serving the Bitchmaster with tens of thousands of National Security Letters and no doubt he has complied with each any every one. So where is the much needed alternative ??
Why doesn't the parent get "-1 Troll"?
He obviously doesn't have a message besides not caring about anything, and free (as in freedom) and independent access to media.
Talking about access to media, and how we are dependent on entities witch have the power to restrict the media access as they wish.
As you know Adobe will not deliver new versions of Flash for GNU+Linux (other than the version for chrome).
Adobe can decide which people they allow to watch videos; That is a Free Software issue, but it is also an issue about freedom of information.
FOSS, Uncensorable Search Engine: We all know Google essentially is the front office of NSA. We need a replacement that runs on the Freedom Plugs. YaCY (http://www.yacy.net/en/) is the right concept, though maybe lacking on the implementation side (it needs that filthy (because highly buggy) thing called Java)
FOSS distributed Web Email Service: Google entices people to carry their innermost secrets into some nasty datacenter ready for NSA and 25 other secret/do due process agencies inspection. Have fun with being seriously critical about USG and using G-mail. It's an abbreviation for Government Mail.
FOSS video, photo publishing service: Certainly the perverts of the government have already spent more than a billion to analyse people's youtube habits. Sleazy businessmen of the surveillance industry surely have "solutions" for that in their portfolios of nastiness. If every Freedom Plug user hosts 10 videos and if we have some kind of simple replication mechanism (for often watched videos), we would no longer need SpyTube.
Part 2 is even more awesomer than Part 1.
Thanks so much, Eben, for your time, service, and wisdom!
I dont think Eben would want me to deliberatly fire up my windows computer just to watch his video.
Then we can /watch/ them with no problems, and we can /listen/ to them on portables.
You want to talk about Free Software? Great! You want the host, /., to look like a proponent? Great! The release the damn interview. It increases utility, which increases spread.
Hey Eben, how about next time you insist that the interview is released in a free form? And how about commenting on this, here and now, in the thread.
Fucking slashdot mental midgets!
Is there a transcript available, cause in lectures, I tend to nod off after five minutes ...
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