This year FOSDEM is supported by CodePlex (among other sponsors). CodePlex is Microsoft's vision/version of an "Open Source" project hub.

I don't know what strikes me more, that FOSDEM would accept dirty money or the realisation that Microsoft has completely (or so it seems) changed their minds about open source.

It was only in 2008, before Bill Gates retired from Microsoft that he said such things like:

"there is this thing called the GPL, which we disagree with."

[Open source creates a license] "so that nobody can ever improve the software,"

It still seems difficult for MS to integrate the term "open source" completely, it's all over the CodePlex website, but on the FOSDEM page there is a link to www.microsoft.com/opensource which redirects to www.microsoft.com/en-us/openness/default.aspx. It's as if it's too much too soon to have the term "opensource" in a microsoft url. : ]

In the end I guess one could say that Microsoft is a better place without Bill Gates. Maybe Apple will soon follow .. HAHAHAHHAHA!!

The other evening I attended a conference by RMS on Free Software and digital exclusion. The talk was interesting and motivating as usual, even though I already agree with 99.99% of what he had to say. There was one point however where in response to a question he said:

I could not help myself from noticing that even at a Free Software conference by RMS himself so many people were armed with computer-phones running one of the most (if not the most) restrictive operating systems known to human kind. And many of these people seemed to be big fans of Richard Stallman.

Today while writing this up I found an audio recording of the talk in mp3 format as well as a video... . in Flash format on Indymedia !! Really ? Yes really. The same on another site, although there is a an "alternative" OGV format.. Shouldn't it at least be the other way around ?

So tell me, how can I not be defeatist ? And what do RMS fans think when they take a picture of themselves with RMS using their Iphone ? Are they totally missing the point ? Which brings me to my first question.

The strongest point (most probably went unnoticed) in my humble IMHO was: If we encourage people to use Free Software by pointing at some kind of practical advantage and not talking about it as justice versus injustice we wont teach people to keep their Freedom. This is precisely the root of the Freedom issue, digital or analog.

• Richard Stallman's personal home page
• Free Software Foundation
• The GNU Project

After many discussions with many people over many years concerning the Open Source "problem", things are becoming clearer. Some have said that it will just die off as there is no way of making any money out of it and hence no way of surviving in today's economic system.

About a week ago Symbian has switched to Open Source, they have about 50% of the mobile market according to this article but I'm sure they have started to lose some points to i-phone and maybe a bit Android.. In any case, if they moved to Open Source it's probably has something to do with being more viable.. how things change.

: ]

Symbian website