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Crowd-funding ethical, modular computers: the EOMA68 standard
by Ben Finney 19 Aug '16

19 Aug '16

Howdy all, Further to our recent discussions of the EOMA68 standard for modular computers allowing ethical construction, the crowd funding campaign is close to finishing <URL:https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop>. Here is an article from Paul Boddie answering a bunch of questions people commonly have about the EOMA68 computers. “Why pay more for ideological purity?” Firstly, words like “ideology”, “religion”, “church”, and so on, might be useful terms for trolls to poison and polarise any discussion, but does anyone not see that expecting suspiciously cheap, increasingly capable products to be delivered in an almost conveyor belt fashion is itself subscribing to an ideology? […] Anyway, people pay for more sustainable, more ethical products all the time. While the wilfully ignorant may jeer that they could just buy what they regard as the same thing for less (usually being unaware of factors like quality, never mind how these things get made), more sensible people see that the extra they pay provides the basis for a fairer, better society and higher-quality goods. <URL:https://blogs.fsfe.org/pboddie/?p=1314> -- \ “The great thing about science is we can test our ideas.… But | `\ until we do, until we have data, it is just one more proposal.” | _o__) —Darren Saunders, 2015-12-02 | Ben Finney

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Re: [free-software-melb] EOMA68 - In the making for 5 years - modular compute card + socket fully libre hardware
by Michael Verrenkamp 12 Aug '16

12 Aug '16

Would just like to highlight to everyone that Libre Tea boards have just received the 'Respects Your Freedom' certificate from FSF. Great to see a new system that is user focused. Chris from Think Penguin has been working with these folk for a while and intends to be an online sales point for these boards and accessories after the initial funding round. Things are looking up for the community. Michael On 11/08/2016 10:00 PM, free-software-melb-request(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au wrote: > Send Free-software-melb mailing list submissions to > free-software-melb(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.softwarefreedom.com.au/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/free-software-… > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > free-software-melb-request(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au > > You can reach the person managing the list at > free-software-melb-owner(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Free-software-melb digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. EOMA68 - In the making for 5 years - modular compute card + > socket fully libre hardware (Damien Zammit) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2016 19:55:34 +1000 > From: Damien Zammit <damien(a)zammit.org> > To: Melbourne Free Software Interest Group > <free-software-melb(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au> > Subject: [free-software-melb] EOMA68 - In the making for 5 years - > modular compute card + socket fully libre hardware > Message-ID: <b7e33879-d81a-edf5-632d-8074d1e3e2d0(a)zammit.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 > > The author recommends the Libre Tea compute card + Micro desktop, if you > want to know what to get. > > https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop > > Highly worth tinkering with! Check it out! > > > > ------------------------------ > > Subject: Digest Footer > > _______________________________________________ > Free-software-melb mailing list > Free-software-melb(a)lists.softwarefreedom.com.au > http://lists.softwarefreedom.com.au/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/free-software-… > > Free Software Melbourne home page: http://www.freesoftware.asn.au/melb/ > > ------------------------------ > > End of Free-software-melb Digest, Vol 68, Issue 4 > ************************************************* --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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FSM 18/08/16: Democracy the open source way and more Gnews than you can statistically sample
by Ben M 11 Aug '16

11 Aug '16

Free Software Meeting Announcement: August 18th 2016 What does the Australian democratic system have in common with Eurovision? No. It's not the wigs and over the top singing... No not the ongoing controversies and backstabbing... It's the backroom dealings over the voting, that and Paul Foxworthy. While it's too soon to fully understand the ramifications of the updated senate voting it's never too soon to start talking about Eurovision. This month Paul will discuss his ongoing auprefs.info project and how similar techniques might be applicable to other (more entertaining) voting systems We'll also be having our regular Gnews segment where we hope to discuss something other than the census, but we'll have to see about that, and as usual we'll end the night with a stroll down Errol st to KL Bunga Raya, hope to see you all there... doors at Electron Workshop (31 Arden Street) open at 6pm with the event kicking off at about 6:30pm and drinks are available at EW member prices! Paul Foxworthy (@ConcreteGannet) is an open source developer and trainer living in Melbourne. He works with Open Source Industry Australia and is a director of Coherent Software

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EOMA68 - In the making for 5 years - modular compute card + socket fully libre hardware
by Damien Zammit 11 Aug '16

11 Aug '16

The author recommends the Libre Tea compute card + Micro desktop, if you want to know what to get. https://www.crowdsupply.com/eoma68/micro-desktop Highly worth tinkering with! Check it out!

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No anonymity in the upcoming Australian census
by Olivier Mehani 05 Aug '16

05 Aug '16

Hi all, Not really software-Freedom related, but civil liberties and privacy seem more in more seem to go hand-in-hand with the topic, and are once more eroding. You might have heard that, this year (well, next week), data collected for the Australian Census will contain and, more worryingly, retain identifying information along with the responses [0], with no possibility to opt-out. This is concerning both from a privacy and a data-quality perspectives. First, non-anonymous surveys create the risk, when (not if) data is leaked, that people will be discriminated or persecuted based on their responses. There already are some nutters suggesting to use this information to track people based on their religious beliefs [1]. Then, it also increases the risk that people will not respond truly to protect things they might not want to see attached to their name. Or things they might think can become dangerous for them in the future (once again, [1]). I'm trying to think about ways to give truthful answers while masking one's identity, but I suspect it will be difficult considering they gave a per-household code. Perhaps we should all make sure to not be home on census day, and congregate in public places to fill in the details. Any other ideas about how to de-correlate responses from identity? Anyway, there are a couple of petitions floating around [2,3] asking the ABS to revert this decision. It's getting a bit late but, if you care, please sign them and circulate them around. I'm trying really hard not to score a Godwin point right now. [0] https://www.efa.org.au/privacy/census-2016/ [1] DON'T SIGN THAT ONE https://www.change.org/p/david-kalisch-abs-gov-au-make-it-compulsory-on-aus… DON'T SIGN THAT ONE [2] https://www.change.org/p/australian-bureau-of-statistics-reverse-australian… [3] http://campaigns.greens.org.au/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1792&ea.campai… -- Olivier Mehani <shtrom+fsau(a)ssji.net> PGP fingerprint: 4435 CF6A 7C8D DD9B E2DE F5F9 F012 A6E2 98C6 6655 Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed on emails sent or received unencrypted.

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FSM Workshop - Announce
by Ben M 03 Aug '16

03 Aug '16

Hi everyone, Don't forget that tomorrow night we start our Free Software Melbourne Working Group (I've set us up a meetup event if anyone else wants a calendar link). We'll be looking at our submission to Casey, thinking about 'what next' (other councils/organizations) and planning the future direction and activities of the Working Group. So come along to enjoy some fine Italian food and help move Australia towards a brighter and free-er future! We'll be at La Porchetta (308 Victoria St, North Melbourne) from 6:30pm Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow, ~~ Ben M. Meetup event for calendar: https://www.meetup.com/Free-Software-Melbourne/events/233082518/

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Shackles of substance: Patents on software ideas in gambling machines
by Ben Finney 31 Jul '16

31 Jul '16

Howdy all, The relentless efforts of patent monopolists to restrict software ideas are evident in this article. Mark Summerfield discusses gambling machines, and the legal question of what makes a software idea eligible for patent: The Australian Patent Office has recently issued two decisions resulting from applicants requesting to be heard following examination objections that their respective inventions did not constitute patent-eligible subject matter, i.e. a ‘manner of manufacture’ under the Australian patent law. Both decisions relate to electronic gaming machines (commonly known as ‘poker machines’ or ‘slot machines’), and both involve the question of whether particular computer-implemented features of such machines are patentable. They differ, however, in the outcome. <URL:http://blog.patentology.com.au/2016/07/australian-patent-office-clarifies.html> Rather wonkish; it assumes familiarity with, and acceptance of, the terminology of patentable software ideas. The issue is important though; courts seem to be dunned quite frequently with applicants insisting their idea is special and no-one gets to share it, and lawyers spend their time on esoterica at the fringes instead of challenging the notion altogether. How is the movement to end software idea patents going? -- \ “Only the shallow know themselves.” —Oscar Wilde, _Phrases and | `\ Philosophies for the Use of the Young_, 1894 | _o__) | Ben Finney

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Roads and Bridges: free software as public infrastructure
by Ben Finney 28 Jul '16

28 Jul '16

Howdy all, >From the Ford Foundation [0] comes a report this month about the public infrastructure that everyone in modern society relies on: free software. The report is named _Roads and Bridges: The Unseen Labor Behind Our Digital Infrastructure_ [1], where they refer to free software as “shared code”: Everybody relies on shared code to write software, including Fortune 500 companies, government, major software companies and startups. In a world driven by technology, we are putting increased demand on those who maintain our digital infrastructure. Yet because these communities are not highly visible, the rest of the world has been slow to notice. Just like physical infrastructure, digital infrastructure needs regular upkeep and maintenance. But financial support for digital infrastructure is much harder to come by. In the face of unprecedented demand, the costs of not supporting our digital infrastructure are numerous. No individual company or organization is incentivized to address the public good problem alone. In order to support our digital infrastructure, we must find ways to work together. You may even recognise some of the names who helped Nadia Eghbal in her work of writing this comprehensive report. This looks like a good resource for talking with people in a position to fund free software. [0] http://www.fordfoundation.org/about-us/ [1] http://www.fordfoundation.org/library/reports-and-studies/roads-and-bridges… http://ur1.ca/picgc -- \ “I watched the Indy 500, and I was thinking that if they left | `\ earlier they wouldn't have to go so fast.” —Steven Wright | _o__) | Ben Finney

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no DRM, the Gnews and working group
by Ben M 21 Jul '16

21 Jul '16

Hi all, Just a few bits and pieces from our meetup... I've posted a gallery to our mediagoblin site of our "no DRM selfies": https://media.freesoftware.org.au/u/benm/collection/hollyweb/ I've also uploaded the Gnews to our site: http://freesoftware.org.au/static/media/uploads/gnews-2016-07-21.html and last but not least a reminder we'll be getting together to kick off the working group on Thursday the 4th of August at La La Porchetta (308 Victoria St, North Melbourne) ... see you there! ~~ Ben M

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Free Software Melbourne, Thu 2016-07-12: Scientific Hooliganism
by Ben Finney 21 Jul '16

21 Jul '16

Howdy all, “Are you a good witch, or a bad witch?” —Glinda the Good Witch; The Wizard of Oz In the drive to bring software quickly to our devices, and to lock it down so its users have no legitimate access to it, who is motivated to verify the security of the software we rely on for our communication and identity? In 1903, Guglielmo Marconi prepared to unveil his world-first, long-distance wireless communication technology to the Royal Institution in London. He was looking forward to roaring success — but he didn't count upon falling victim to the first crack in history. Over a century later, the tech industry is still repeating Marconi's mistakes. Lilly Ryan, a software developer and digital rights activist, joins us at this month's Free Software Melbourne meeting, with the topic of Scientific Hooliganism: What we can learn from the first hack in history. Come to talk with Lilly about claims of security, software freedom, and what security cracking means for the technology we all use. We will also discuss the latest Gnews, and our involvement in the recent City of Casey budget for software. Then we'll head out for dinner and continued chatting in North Melbourne. Electron Workshop, 31 Arden Street, North Melbourne <URL:https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/2556615434#map=19/-37.80118/144.95071> on Thursday 2016-07-21, 18:00 (6p.m.) until dinner at 20:00. Bring a friend, bring a question or three. See you all there! -- \ “I'd take the awe of understanding over the awe of ignorance | `\ any day.” —Douglas Adams | _o__) | Ben Finney

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