[CS-FSLUG] Good Read - Free As In Freedom

[Don Parris]

I've just finished Sam Williams' book about Stallman, "Free as in Freedom". 
It's a real eye-opener.  It has shed much light on some of the key issues
that brought about the separation of the "open source" and "free software"
movements.  It's also shed a great deal of light into Stallman's
personality.  For those who think of RMS as an egomaniac, I would encourage
you to read this book.

The book confirmed some of my own ideas, but helped me to understand a great
deal more about the tensions between RMS, Torvalds, Perens, & ESR (among
others).  It paints RMS in a good light, overall, but also highlights the
aspects of his personality that make him hard to work with.  It also
mentions Cygnus Solutions (bought by Red Hat in '99), the first free
software business.

I also discovered I have a few things in common with RMS:
<> Social outcast in my youth (though I handle that quite differently)
<> Tendency to go against the grain (whatever that grain may be)
<> Stubbornness & firm stands on my beliefs
<> Computers just make sense to me (even if I'm not a genuine hacker)
<> Possibly a tendency to alienate would-be allies (though I work quite well
across various lines in many ways)

I definitely don't share his love of math, nor his undying love of solving
problems - a definitive hacker trait.

Blessings,
Don
-- 
evangelinux    GNU Evangelist
http://matheteuo.org/                   http://chaddb.sourceforge.net/
"Free software is like God's love - you can share it with anyone anytime
anywhere."