In the 1960's, Richard Stallman witnessed the rise of proprietary software when he was denied the source code for the firmware of a printer he was in charge of administrating. Now, because of his work over the course of nearly 50 years, we have the option of running an entirely Free Software system without lacking the tools we need.
Why did he go to the trouble?
Proprietary software arose as a tool which large corporations could use to control and manipulate their users. They used this control to obtain more money and in the process violated some of our basic rights as citizens of the digital age.
This post is about a few examples of how these violations affect users today.
How Does It Work?
Proprietary software, first and foremost, prevents users from knowing how it goes about accomplishing what it claims to accomplish. Proprietary tax software cannot be examined to be certain it truly conforms to the tax laws it purports to help users with. Proprietary antivirus software can't be examined for correctness.
For those users who are more concerned that their software works the way it advertises than they are about having someone to point the finger at when it breaks, not being able to look under the hood is not acceptable. It should concern everybody that their electrical grids and cable signals may not be run by provably reliable software.
This opaqueness also prevents those wishing to learn about software from learning through example. Children should have the benefit of knowing how their world works, including how their computer works. Don't you think?
Can I Improve It?
Traditionally, when you purchase something, you obtain the right to do with it as you will. This includes modifying it to function more effectively or more in line with the owners needs. Car owners frequently modify their vehicles for appearance, gas mileage, horsepower, or any number of other purposes. There are entire communities dedicated to modifying their game consoles.
However, proprietary software does not offer this basic right. A user who wishes that the proprietary music player he uses included a "loop" feature cannot feasibly add such a feature. A gamer who can't progress past a particular point in his favorite proprietary game cannot add new cheats to the game.
This places the users at the mercy of the software publishers and forces them to settle for software which doesn't fit their needs as well as it could.
How Do I Know it's Not Misbehaving?
Software which prevents users from scrutinizing it can get away with all kinds of dastardly behavior in secret. One of the earlier examples was the sheer amount of identifying personal information the media player RealPlayer collected from the user's computer and sent back to the company which published RealPlayer.
Today, Google Chrome, one of the most popular web browsers, collects similar information from its users for advertising and tracking purposes. Some software comes with advertising and spying software from third parties.
With the right tools, some of this misbehavior may be detected. It's not easy unless you know where to look, however. More alarming still is the fact that most users don't seem to so much as care what their programs are doing when they're not looking.
This is a small sample of the problems with proprietary software. However, it's fairly easy to come up with numerous ways in which proprietary software violates a user's liberties.
More information on the topic of proprietary software and its negative effects on our liberties may be found at the website of the Free Software Foundation.
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Monday, January 16, 2012
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Technology to Empower the Users
Technology can assist governments and corporations in their ends, often to detrimental and oppressive ends. Some countries monitor and censor communications using firewalls and deep packet inspection. Some companies produce software laced with DRM and antifeatures for their own benefit.
But there is another side to technology. More individuals are using technology to put power back into their own hands.
These efforts are overwhelmingly grassroots and community driven projects. In fact, it's questionable whether a technology imposed in a top down manner can give power to the users in any meaningful way.
This blog post is meant to give a quick introduction to just a few of the specific projects and technologies out there for giving power to individuals previously retained by those with power.
The RepRap Project
The RepRap Project is an active and so far extremely successful effort to bring the ability to manufacture consumer goods to individuals everywhere. "RepRap" is short for "Replicating Rapid Prototyper." At this point, the project is less than seven years old and has already designed from scratch four official RepRap devices. With the proper software (all of which is free and open source), users can design a 3D model on a computer and "print" the three dimensional object using the RepRap in various types of plastic in only a few hours.
The 3D models that one person designs may be easily shared via the Internet. At this point, the most popular place for sharing these 3D model files seems to be Thingaverse. Not all of the models on that site may be printed using a RepRap, but the majority are, and all are able to be rapid prototyped in some manner.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the RepRap is that it is designed to be able to print many of its own parts. 3D model files of these parts are freely available on the RepRap project's wiki. This has some amazing benefits. The user has the ability to print backup parts for themselves, print the parts for a friend to ease the process of getting into desktop manufacturing, and modify the 3D model files and print the new parts so that s/he may improve and/or customize the device.
An assembled, functional RepRap may be purchased for under $1,400 at Botmill, among many other places.
GNU Radio
GNU Radio is a project to allow users to detect and analyze radio signals in their current area. Almost any radio signal may be analyzed from ham radio bands to Wifi and television bands. The project allows users even to decode digital television signals for audio/visual playback.
Whereas other means of detecting signals require a crystal to be tuned to each frequency individually in order to get a signal, GNU Radio allows for "listening on all channels at once." This does require some specialized hardware which can be a bit expensive, but the payoffs are great.
Tor
Tor (The Onion Router) is a project for protecting users' anonymity online. One of the greatest benefits the Internet has given us is the ability to speak and be heard without experiencing negative repercussions. This anonymity allows Internet citizens to be truly honest about their opinions, which they may not be willing to express in "real life."
Tor is software which establishes peer-to-peer connections between computers, allowing them to use each other as proxies. This allows users to engage in internet communication without a significant risk that somebody (such as and ISP, government, or other third party) will be able to trace the communication back to them. This can be done both for clients and servers, allowing for freer expression than should be conducted without such protections.
Tor can be and has been used by political dissidents attempting to spread their messages as well as those attempting to publish and view unpopular information.
These projects should be the subject of several later posts. They have the ability to change the world in positive ways by giving more power to accomplish useful things to individuals interested in making a difference.
But there is another side to technology. More individuals are using technology to put power back into their own hands.
These efforts are overwhelmingly grassroots and community driven projects. In fact, it's questionable whether a technology imposed in a top down manner can give power to the users in any meaningful way.
This blog post is meant to give a quick introduction to just a few of the specific projects and technologies out there for giving power to individuals previously retained by those with power.
The RepRap Project
The RepRap Project is an active and so far extremely successful effort to bring the ability to manufacture consumer goods to individuals everywhere. "RepRap" is short for "Replicating Rapid Prototyper." At this point, the project is less than seven years old and has already designed from scratch four official RepRap devices. With the proper software (all of which is free and open source), users can design a 3D model on a computer and "print" the three dimensional object using the RepRap in various types of plastic in only a few hours.
The 3D models that one person designs may be easily shared via the Internet. At this point, the most popular place for sharing these 3D model files seems to be Thingaverse. Not all of the models on that site may be printed using a RepRap, but the majority are, and all are able to be rapid prototyped in some manner.
Perhaps the most interesting feature of the RepRap is that it is designed to be able to print many of its own parts. 3D model files of these parts are freely available on the RepRap project's wiki. This has some amazing benefits. The user has the ability to print backup parts for themselves, print the parts for a friend to ease the process of getting into desktop manufacturing, and modify the 3D model files and print the new parts so that s/he may improve and/or customize the device.
An assembled, functional RepRap may be purchased for under $1,400 at Botmill, among many other places.
GNU Radio
GNU Radio is a project to allow users to detect and analyze radio signals in their current area. Almost any radio signal may be analyzed from ham radio bands to Wifi and television bands. The project allows users even to decode digital television signals for audio/visual playback.
Whereas other means of detecting signals require a crystal to be tuned to each frequency individually in order to get a signal, GNU Radio allows for "listening on all channels at once." This does require some specialized hardware which can be a bit expensive, but the payoffs are great.
Tor
Tor (The Onion Router) is a project for protecting users' anonymity online. One of the greatest benefits the Internet has given us is the ability to speak and be heard without experiencing negative repercussions. This anonymity allows Internet citizens to be truly honest about their opinions, which they may not be willing to express in "real life."
Tor is software which establishes peer-to-peer connections between computers, allowing them to use each other as proxies. This allows users to engage in internet communication without a significant risk that somebody (such as and ISP, government, or other third party) will be able to trace the communication back to them. This can be done both for clients and servers, allowing for freer expression than should be conducted without such protections.
Tor can be and has been used by political dissidents attempting to spread their messages as well as those attempting to publish and view unpopular information.
These projects should be the subject of several later posts. They have the ability to change the world in positive ways by giving more power to accomplish useful things to individuals interested in making a difference.
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