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FSF Seeks Nominations for 2nd Free Software Award
Andy Tai writes "From the GNU website, the Free Software Foundation is asking for nominations for the 1999 Free Software Award. Nominations are due October 8. Richard Stallman, Linus Torvalds and Larry Wall are not eligible since they have been already awarded. More information can be found on this page. "
My nominations are:
Brian Paul for the excellent crossplatform OpenGL compatible graphics library MESA. It provides a real alternative to commercial OpenGL and gives Linux a competitive 3D language.
The Olivetti Research Laboratory (now at AT&T UK) for a program I use every day - VNC. This program is used for remote control much like PC Anywhere or even X-Windows and it runs on Unix and Windows. Clients for Unix, Win, Mac and Java.
I wrote a letter of nomination for Alan before I read this discussion. Enclosed forthwith.
I hereby nominate Alan Cox for the 1999 Free Software Award
nomination.
Alan Cox is perhaps Linus Torvalds's chief lieutenant. I think Alan
should be recognized, however, for a very specific task that he has
willingly taken on: maintenance of old stable releases of the Linux
kernel. This is not a glamorous task, but is one that is essential to
counter the impression that free software lacks support.
Alan has taken it upon himself to maintain the 2.0 and 2.2 Linux
kernels while others forge ahead with the more exciting work of
designing new features for the development kernels. While the
stability of Linux 2.0 is legendary, bugs are occasionally discovered,
new devices become available, and security holes are found. In order
to be accepted for mission critical applications, old versions of
software must be supported, with critical items such as these fixed.
Responsible software vendors have always provided such support, and
Alan's work has made it possible for free software to be held to such
exacting standards.
In addition to this key responsibility, Alan is also a major
contributor to the development kernel, and particularly concerns
himself with low level kernel functionality and devices, which are
notoriously complex yet essential pieces of functionality.
Finally, Alan ceaselessly promotes free software in all forums in
which he participates.
For these reasons, I believe that Alan Cox would be a deserving
recipient of the 1999 Free Software Award.
And KDE has always been Free.
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KDE has always been Free Software.
I realize you're just trolling, and you're probably a paid astroturfer, but still, others might be reading who actually believe the garbage you're spouting.
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"Why not actaully give an award to the people who actually DID make this happen for once instaead of just some figure head."
The people who win this award are hardly just figureheads (well, unless you really don't like gcc, gdb, GNU Emacs, the Linux kernel, and Perl all that much and think we could do without them.. perhaps even better off that way!) in our community, they are also a very lively part of it! So far, the people who have won have made this happen in a /very/ real way.
Without Richard Stallman this wouldn't have started in the first place, without Linux Torvalds we wouldn't have had a complete OS just yet, and without Larry Wall.. it wouldn't be nearly as fun to code, damnit (he made patching easier during the process, too)! What's not to love?
"If it weren't for their hard work (much of it in their free time), and their blatant fanatacism about creating things that work and are free then there would be no open source / free software movement."
I'm not sure who this describes best other than Richard Stallman, so what do you mean "for once"? :)
~ Kish
For TeX, which was created at a time when open source was unheard of and giving software away for free quite unusual. He spent ten years on it (and quite a number of $2.56 cheques ;-)) and delivered a high-quality product running on about any platform. TeX and additional software are used all over the world.
People are quick to point out the "current" or "latest" cool free software projects. How about the authors of something that has truly made a difference, and for a long time at that: The Apache Team.
Apache is clearly one of the cornerstones of Linux WorldDomination(TM)... it would be nice to recognize those responsible. (Of course, I'm not actually familiar with the development team, including how large the "core" is.)
-Brian
Miguel (and whatever infinite energy source he runs on) have made HUGE contributions to free software, moving Gnome from a new idea to a significant desktop environment in an amazingly short time. I know that many people have contributed to Gnome, but Miguel is The Man. :)
Look at all that ESR has accomplished this year with Apple, and various others. Vote ESR! And if not, vote for Jordan (FreeBSD guy)
There are various reasons why:
1) The AC is truly distributed and open, unlike others who are closed, proprietary entities. The AC exists as a conceptual entity, much like Free Software. Not only is the AC similar to free speech, but he dishes out vast volumes of it. (Some would say too vast).
2) The AC has stimulated various debates on various issues. Often with dumbass comments, the AC stirs up high emotions and profound criticism.
3) The AC always gets the first post. This is a dubious achievement at best, but he takes innocent pride in it like a happy little kid.
4) The AC has often submitted critical insider info from the CIA, Microsoft, IBM, and many organizations; he has gone where lesser mortals feared to tread.
5) The AC is unique - he is loved in the abstract, yet hated at almost every appearance he makes. In fact, this is the reason why he is the AC.
6) The AC has become a part of the OSS psyche; in the press there are frequent references to him. Almost like Superman or Batman, people speak of the AC as some kind of superhero (or supervillian) whose identity is unknown....This introduces an element of comic book intrigue and suspense into an otherwise dull and boring profession.
7) Everybody has been an AC, they just won't admit it. Thus by rewarding the AC, you reward the whole community.
8) The AC exists in multiple places at the same time, thereby providing redundant backup and stable, 24x7 service.
9) The AC is intellectually complex. He is international, posting in strange languages nobody can understand. He is mysterious and abstruse in his thoughts, which may contain hidden truths masked in the form of annoying spam like troll.
10) It's difficult to draw out the AC. He has never been seen, but if he wins the award, he may appear to accept it....We can finally unmask him and see what he looks like...
L.
Yes. My mention of Matthias is not in any way a slight of the GNOME people. They are doing good things, too.
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Yes. That's correct. LyX, and then KLyX.
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By dominating the pre-installed / OEM software market with low-quality proprietary software, Bill Gates has created an environment where Free Software can flourish. Keep up the innovation Mr Gates. Cheers, smithdog
I put Matthias at the top of my list because at a time when CDE was the pinnacle of UNIX GUIs, he saw the need for a real UNIX desktop environment, and started the long process toward the very usable KDE that we have today. His work and foresight is making acceptance of Linux and Free/Open/Net BSD on the desktop possible.
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From the GNU web site:
``Free software'' refers to the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of
freedom, for the users of the software:
The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs (freedom 1).
The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits. (freedom 3).
So FreeBSD is perfectly Free according to their definition and Jordan IS illigible. Furthermore the software dosen't have to be under the GPL (perl isn't and Larry won).
resilience is futile
Would that be GNU "hello"?
I don't know about you, but I only see maybe 15 -20 names on this page, and afterall it is the people of the open source community that have made it the success that it is. If it weren't for their hard work (much of it in their free time), and their blatant fanatacism about creating things that work and are free then there would be no open source / free software movement. I think that it is funny when a big star wins an award and they say "I'd like to thank all the people who made this happen..." Why not actaully give an award to the people who actually DID make this happen for once instaead of just some figure head. That's my $2*(10^-2) worth.- --
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Please give your mod points to others, Im at the cap. They will appreciate it more