Podcasts about Software Freedom Conservancy

This week, we're talking accounting... while not giving any financial advice. Then we talk QEMU and virtualization, the Linux Steam Survey, and the CachyOS server. Then, Torvalds isn't super happy with the SFC lawsuit, Linux is headed to space, and Phoenix attempts to resurrect the ashes of X Server. You can find the show notes at https://bit.ly/49qpcbN and happy new year! Host: Jonathan Bennett Co-Hosts: Ken McDonald and Rob Campbell Download or subscribe to Untitled Linux Show at https://twit.tv/shows/untitled-linux-show Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsor: bitwarden.com/twit

This week, we're talking accounting... while not giving any financial advice. Then we talk QEMU and virtualization, the Linux Steam Survey, and the CachyOS server. Then, Torvalds isn't super happy with the SFC lawsuit, Linux is headed to space, and Phoenix attempts to resurrect the ashes of X Server. You can find the show notes at https://bit.ly/49qpcbN and happy new year! Host: Jonathan Bennett Co-Hosts: Ken McDonald and Rob Campbell Download or subscribe to Untitled Linux Show at https://twit.tv/shows/untitled-linux-show Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsor: bitwarden.com/twit

Following his criticism of their lawsuit against Vizio, the Linux creator says the Software Freedom Conservancy "is trying to further an agenda", & "is a racket, plain and simple".More from The Lunduke Journal:https://lunduke.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lunduke.substack.com/subscribe

Regarding a recent ruling, in SFC v. Vizio, Karen Sandler (SFC Director, former GNOME Director), responds to the Linux creator by saying "maybe you didn't read".More from The Lunduke Journal:https://lunduke.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lunduke.substack.com/subscribe

GNOME, Software Freedom Conservancy, Elementary OS, & more declare Lunduke the "Fox News of FOSS", "He has a *lot* of viewers [who] get FOSS news nowhere else." More from The Lunduke Journal: https://lunduke.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lunduke.substack.com/subscribe

The "Hacker-in-Residence" of the Software Freedom Conservancy (and past Executive Director of the Free Software Foundation) talks about Open Source Initiative election rigging. More from The Lunduke Journal: https://lunduke.com/ This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit lunduke.substack.com/subscribe

Guests Caleb Connolly | Pablo Correa Gómez Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, host Richard Littauer is joined by guests Pablo Correa Gómez and Caleb Connolly to explore the development and sustainability of postmarketOS, an open-source Linux distribution designed to extend the life of mobile devices. The team dives into the project's mission, governance, and the community-driven nature of its work. They discuss the challenges related to funding, primarily through grants and Open Collective donations, and the significance of upstreaming Linux kernel support to collaborate with other communities like Alpine Linux. The conversation also highlights the growth of the postmarketOS community, encouraging contributions from both technical and non-technical supporters, and the importance of comprehensive documentation. Additionally, issues of privacy, telemetry, and user support are examined, alongside the steps towards making postmarketOS more professional and economically sustainable. Press download now to hear more! [00:01:30] Pablo explains postmarketOS and its mission to empower people to have full control over their devices and promote sustainability. [00:02:12] Caleb talks about the governance of postmarketOS that started with a few contributors working on a package repository on top of Alpine Linux and overtime more maintainers were added. [00:03:59] There's a discussion on the structure of the team, how the community around hardware components forms sub-communities bases on common SOCs, and the focus on improving tooling and the ecosystem rather than building a product for end users. [00:06:29] Richard discusses the massive, refurbished phone market and asks about how postmarketOS fits into this ecosystem. Caleb shares their experience working on the OnePlus 6 phone and explains the technical process of making the device work on upstream Linux and the challenges of hardware enablement. [00:10:05] Pablo explains that the project is largely funded by volunteer work and Caleb describes the challenges in deciding which devices to prioritize for hardware enablement and how all hardware work so far has been done by volunteers. [00:14:09] On the importance of upstreaming, Pablo explains that postmarketOS works hard to contribute back to the Linux ecosystem rather that maintaining device-specific patches and postmarketOS is downstream to Alpine Linux but contributes much of its work upstream to maintain sustainability. [00:20:09] Richard asks about how the project builds shared context and onboards new developers and Pablo and Caleb explain how the project relies on its wiki page to provide extensive documentation and how the pmbootstrap tool makes it easier for new contributors to get started with porting new devices to postmarketOS. [00:25:01] Richard asks about telemetry and how the team tracks their impact. [00:25:39] Pablo talks about how they receive community feedback through events like FOSDEM and have seen an increase in donations, social media engagement, and community members. [00:28:39] Caleb reflects on the pros and cons of collecting telemetry, which could help guide development but may also create unwanted challenges by focusing too heavily on specific devices. [00:31:30] What are Pablo and Caleb most excited about for the next year? Pablo is excited about professionalizing the project, starting to pay contributors, and scaling the project's growth sustainably, and Caleb jokes about looking forward to the “pre-market OS.” Quotes [00:12:00] “We are trying to grow organically, bit by bit, and be able to pay people to do core things where volunteer work doesn't reach.” [00:15:06] “In the environment we live in, where you have X amount of code per update, it is totally unsustainable.” [00:16:18] “As a distro, we predominately put together the pieces that other people give us.” [00:19:13] “Downstream patches allow to experiment, but long term are a burden. That's the same for every project.” [00:19:22] “The sustainability goes beyond reducing waste and also goes into the social ecosystem and how we maintain projects.” [00:30:33] “We know we are not ready for end users, but we need to build the structure and economic support.” Spotlight [00:32:32] Richard's spotlight is DOSBox. [00:33:03] Pablo's spotlight is FOSDEM and the FOSDEM team. [00:33:57] Caleb's spotlight is processing.org. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) richard@sustainoss.org (mailto:richard@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Open Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute) (https://opencollective.com/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Socials (https://www.burntfen.com/2023-05-30/socials) Caleb Connolly Website (https://connolly.tech/) Caleb Connolly-treehouse (https://social.treehouse.systems/@cas) Pablo Correa Gómez Website (https://postmarketos.org/core-contributors/#pablo-correa-gomez-pabloyoyoista) Pablo Correa Gómez LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/pablo-correa-gomez/) postmarketOS (https://postmarketos.org/) postmarketOS (Open Collective Contribute) (https://opencollective.com/postmarketos) Gnome Shell & Mutter (https://blogs.gnome.org/shell-dev/2022/09/09/gnome-shell-on-mobile-an-update/) postmarketOS Devices (https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices) Sustain Podcast-Episode 195: FOSSY 2023 with Denver Gingerich (https://podcast.sustainoss.org/195) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) FOSSY 2025:July 31-August 1 (https://2025.fossy.us/) linaro (https://www.linaro.org/) postmarketOS Wiki (https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Devices) pmbootstrap (https://wiki.postmarketos.org/wiki/Pmbootstrap) compost.party (https://compost.party/) pmbootstrap v3 by Caleb Connolly (https://connolly.tech/posts/2024_06_15-pmbootstrap-v3/) DOSBox (https://www.dosbox.com/) FOSDEM 2025 (https://fosdem.org/2025/) Processing (https://processing.org/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guests: Caleb Connolly and Pablo Correa Gomez.

Every year some months have five Fridays, and every time this happens we find something to do there: something out of our normal schedule. We try to adopt an annual theme. In 2021 we played music licensed under creative commons licences; in 2022 we found four old radio shows; and in 2023 we looked back to four early episodes of Meanwhile in an Abandoned Warehouse. This year whenever we stumble into the fifth Friday of a month we will look around us and find a podcast that interests us: one published under a Creative Commons licence that relates in one way or another to our areas of interest. This show brings you Episode 69 of a podcast called Free as in Freedom, and was released on Tuesday 12 November 2019. It was produced by The Software Freedom Conservancy. Karen M. Sandler and Bradley M Kuhn discuss the end to Microsoft's e-book platform and move on to talk more generally about the dangers and disasters that Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) causes for software users and developers

Guest Angie Byron Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. In this episode, we're joined by Angie Byron, the Director of Community at Aiven, a leading open source data platform. Angie brings us insights from her role overseeing 11 open source projects, explaining how they provide managed services and security updates for several data projects, and highlighting the importance of prioritizing by impact. She also gives us a peek into their “start at the end” exercise used for goal setting and talks about the challenges of transparency and confidentiality in open source projects. Tune in now and download this episode to hear more! [00:00:39] Angie explains that Aiven is an open source data platform that provides managed services and security updates for several open source data projects such as Apache Kafka, MySQL, Postgres, Redis, and Grafana. [00:01:30] Angie shares that she's the Director of Community at Aiven and has been there for a couple of months. She talks about her role as a meta community manager, overseeing 11 open source projects with a small team. [00:02:32] There's a discussion by Angie on the importance of prioritizing by impact and empowering community members, and she explains the “start at the end” exercise she uses for setting their goals, and she explains using the Open Practice Library, which is a division of Red Hat. [00:07:17] Richard asks about the challenges of balancing transparency and confidentiality in open source projects. Angie shares that they're working on a public-facing version of a roadmap with an ideation system. [00:08:23] Angie discusses three main goals of their work: increasing revenue, reducing costs, and mitigating risk. [00:09:59] Angie explains that she internalizes achievement by helping others grow, thrive, and accomplish their goals, with her success and that of her team tied to the success of others. [00:11:24] Find out where you can learn more about Aiven's community efforts, and where you can learn more about Angie online. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Angie Byron Tech Blog (https://openpracticelibrary.com/) Angie Byron Twitter (https://twitter.com/webchick) Angie Byron LinkedIn (https://ca.linkedin.com/in/webchick?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F) Angie Byron Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/@webchick) Aiven (https://aiven.io/) Open Practice Library (https://openpracticelibrary.com/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Angie Byron.

Guest Kyle Wiens Panelist Richard Littaueropen-source Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. In this exciting episode, Richard welcomes Kyle Wiens, the driving force behind iFixit, a large open source collection of user-generated repair manuals. Born out of a response to Apple's stringent copyright regime on their service manuals, iFixit has grown into the most extensive collection of medical service manuals for hospitals. Kyle shares his journey from combating copyright laws to working on right to repair laws for everyday devices like tractors. From discussing locks on toasters to exploring the use of Linux and WINE on John Deere tractors, Kyle offers an insightful glimpse into the world of repair, open source contributions, and the potential futures of hardware. Press download now to hear more cool stuff! [00:00:46] Kyle explains that iFixit is a large open source collection of repair manuals. The manuals are created by the users, not sources from other companies, and they are the largest collection of medical service manuals for hospitals, from ventilators to vital sign monitors since the COVID-19 pandemic. [00:02:08] Kyle explains that iFixit is a for-profit company that sells parts and tools. He also mentions his friendship with Scotty Allen from Strange Parts. [00:03:08] Richard brings up the topic of legal implications surrounding iFixit and Kyle explains that while they do receive takedown notices, they've never been sued. He discusses how they deal with these notices, providing a detailed analysis of fair use. [00:05:27] Richard asks about LEGO building guides on iFixit, to which Kyle mentions a separate website dedicated to it. [00:06:04] We hear about the “Right to Repair” laws they are advocating for in various states. Kyle discusses the success of passing four bills in three states, focusing on electric wheelchairs and tractors, a consumer electronics bill passes in New York, and a law passed in Minnesota. [00:09:00] Kyle tells us his perspective about the intersection between right to repair and open source. [00:11:07] Richard asks Kyle if he collaborates with groups like Software Freedom Conservancy to circumvent these protections, and he confirms and gives an example of their work with “Right to Repair” laws for tractors. [00:12:46] What's exciting for Kyle about this conference? Kyle expresses optimism about the conference and the potential of transferring the momentum from the right to repair movement to the open source world. [00:13:33] Kyle suggests that open source contributors can help by assigning their copyrights to the Conservancy, aiming to get GPL software into as much physical hardware as possible. [00:14:46] You can go to iFixit.com for guidance on fixing their devices and find out where you can follow Kyle online. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) Open Collective-SustainOSS Contribute (https://opencollective.com/sustainoss) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Kyle Wiens Website (https://kylewiens.com/) Kyle Wiens Twitter (https://twitter.com/kwiens?lang=en) Kyle Wiens LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kylewiens?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F) iFixit (https://www.ifixit.com/) Strange Parts (https://www.strangeparts.com/author/scotty/) The Repair Association (https://www.repair.org/) The End of Ownership: Why You Need to Fight America's Copyright Laws by Kyle Wiens (Wired) (https://www.wired.com/2014/01/174071/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Kyle Wiens.

Guest Emily Omier Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. Today, we chat with Emily Omier, a revenue strategy and positioning consultant who helps open source startups accelerate revenue and community growth. Based in Paris, Emily lends her expertise to primarily European startups, helping them navigate their unique challenges and carve out a profitable strategy. We discuss her approach, which connects perfectly with her marketing background with company and product alignment in the open source space. We also touch on the critical role open source workers play in business profitability. Press download now to hear more! [00:00:47] Emily explains her role as a consultant who works with open source businesses to help them clarify their commercial strategy and positioning. [00:01:24] Emily reveals that she's originally from Portland but currently resides in Paris. She serves both the European and American market and shares why she finds the European ecosystem more interesting. [00:03:00] Richard inquires about Emily's approach to improving profit margins for European startups through open source strategy. Emily explains that her clients are typically companies that have already decided to be open. [00:05:56] Emily tells us that her ideal clients are relatively small startups that have some revenue and a commercial offering. [00:07:21] The topic of marketing comes up and Emily explains that although her background is in marketing, her current role involves various parts of a company, not just marketing. She discusses the importance of knowing the company's identity, understanding the target user for the opens source project, and aligning product development with the company's story. [00:10:06] We find out that Emily works mainly with founders and has never worked directly with a community or an Open Source Program Office (OSPO). She emphasizes the importance of open source workers in big businesses being able to articulate how their work in open source contributes to the company's bottom line. [00:11:45] How did Emily get into this field if she hasn't worked with open source communities? She goes in depth how she was working in marketing with Kubernetes companies in the cloud native sphere, where she found a significant overlap with open source communities. [00:13:43] Find out where you can learn more about Emily online. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Emily Omier Website (https://www.emilyomier.com/) The Business of Open Source Podcast (https://www.emilyomier.com/podcast) Emily Omier Twitter (https://twitter.com/EmilyOmier?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) Emily Omier LinkedIn (https://fr.linkedin.com/in/emilyomier?challengeId=AQHJRrJupUzrmAAAAYmn4QujXz32UfFYYdOJu6Cwe8np9YMXmh2KyyQTSopAxSC0DOoo2UQR1RVR5_3WnrQ5dUEB_ACLVd1nlQ&submissionId=8fe02694-e1b5-7617-5a1c-ad714a549b7f&challengeSource=AgGQwK0uUAAOQQAAAYmn4UKDUfqqgKKeE4IgYfXz2zitfD0NjjWc4ZlBEVCHufA&challegeType=AgEU8E9XcIwLhQAAAYmn4UKGTco4NnuMpQ_7KshxTbqlpYZsv3Mqpe0&memberId=AgE1fNY20cuH2AAAAYmn4UKJNK_nVe-y3Y6S8Exd8XMDdOg&recognizeDevice=AgHGFy9fem4K2AAAAYmn4UKMAGkvgKlal2Kdg8CJ9dDoydDseQXZ) The New Stack-Entrepreneurship for Engineers (https://thenewstack.io/author/emily-omier/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Emily Omier.

Guest Karen Sandler Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. In this episode, Richard is joined by Karen Sandler, Executive Director at Software Freedom Conservancy. Today, they discuss the various aspects of organizing a conference, emphasizing ethical considerations, precautions taken, software freedom, community involvement, GNOME pronunciation, and highlight community contributions and the balance between using open source and proprietary software. They explore topics like DRM, exemptions, coordination on renewals, the challenge of “trafficking provision,” and the global influence of U.S. law. Hit download now to hear more! [00:00:35] Karen discusses the challenges of organizing the conference but praises her staff. [00:01:18] Richard and Karen discuss conference inspiration, focus on software freedom, and avoiding corporate noise. There's an overview of talks and speakers, and a discussion on the correct pronunciation of “GNOME.” [00:03:46] Karen mentions attending the keynote session, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and reflects on the complexity of organizing with ethical considerations. [00:04:22] Richard asks Karen if there's any controversies she's had to weather at the conference, and she talks about COVID precautions, collaboration with charities, ethical practices in organizing, and how high school students have contributed to the event's success. [00:06:53] Richard questions Karen about the balance between using open source and proprietary software for practicality. Karen emphasizes the need for thoughtful decisions about using proprietary software, reflecting on the realistic choices to ensure software freedom. [00:09:14] Karen mentions having a nice coffee chat session with Kyle Wiens, and working together on 1201 materials, referring to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). She further discusses about how the 1201 provision affects people. [00:11:27] The conversation takes a shift to discussing the trafficking term. They begin discussing potential legislation and the frustrations around applying for limited exemptions. [00:12:28] Richard questions why they focus so much on U.S. law instead of working in a country without restrictive laws. Karen explains the global impact of the U.S. law and how other countries often follow suit. [00:14:15] They discuss the lobbying impact of big companies and how they can influence laws even in small countries. Also, Karen shares being grateful for the ability to criticize and work within the system, the idea of working in another place, and the need for a global movement. [00:15:25] Find out where you can learn more about Software Freedom Conservancy and Karen. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Open Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute) (https://opencollective.com/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Karen Sandler Twitter (https://twitter.com/o0karen0o?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) GNOME (https://www.gnome.org/) Digital Millennium Copyright Act (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Karen Sandler.

Guest Richard Littauer Panelist Karen Sandler Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! In this episode, the tables are turned today as Karen Sandler takes over as host, interviewing our very own Richard Littauer. Recorded at the Free and Open Source Yearly conference, the discussion delves into Richard's evolving perspective on sustainability in open source projects. His experiences attending multiple conferences have led him to question the term ‘sustainability,' advocating instead for a shift towards values such as human rights, joy, and mitigating harm. Also, Richard and Karen explore the significance of user rights, copyleft licensing, and GPL, voicing concerns over the erosion of these rights. They end with a discussion on the systemic complexities in the open source world, the potential for a new community approach to sustainable code, and an emphasis on collective action and personal joy. Press download to hear more cool stuff! [00:00:58] Richard offers a detailed insight into his talk. He explains his perspective on sustainability, suggesting it may not be the most fitting term when applied to the open source community. He shares his experience attending multiple sustain conferences and how it shaped his views, and discusses sustainability for developers, touching upon burnout, recognition, and issues of dependency, supply chain, security, and legal issues. [00:03:31] He notes the wide range of topics covered in the Sustain podcasts, highlighting the complexity of sustainability. He questions the usefulness of the term ‘sustainability' and suggests we need to focus on what truly matters in life, such as human rights, mitigating harm, and seeking joy. [00:04:39] Karen reviews the flow of Richard's talk, and he summarizes his talk questioning the emphasis on sustainability and growth, recommending instead to focus on joy and relieving suffering. [00:05:55] Richard advocates for focusing on personal fulfillment and societal impact instead of simply growth and funding. He emphasizes that the ultimate goal should be about human rights, liberties, and happiness. [00:07:20] Karen wonders if Richard is going to rename the podcast. He maintains his support for open source but stresses the importance of focusing on impact and human values. He emphasizes the importance of considering one's own project in the larger context and evaluating its actual importance. [00:08:47] Richard discusses the importance of GPL for user protections and shares concerns about devices locking users out, he shares his changing stance towards GPL and the impact of his code. [00:09:36] Karen and Richard discuss the potential for a new community approach to sustainable code, and Richard suggests that sharing stories and rethinking relationships with technology is a way forward. [00:10:46] Karen asks Richard about his views on corporate power, and he explains how his view has evolved. [00:12:04] They discuss the systematic problems and individual roles within them. Richard explores the conundrum of trying to change a system from the inside or outside, and he prefers to use his knowledge and privilege to make an impact rather than disengage from the system. [00:13:41] Thinking back to all the conversations Richard's had about the sustain movement, he shares his favorite conversation with Dominic Tarr, who left coding to pursue personal joy. Karen emphasizes the need for collective action to address systemic problems. [00:16:01] Find out where you can follow Richard and his projects online. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Open Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute) (https://opencollective.com/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Richard Littauer Website (https://www.burntfen.com/2023-05-30/socials) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Dominic Tarr (YouTube) (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMSmy7qF24q4f_y6L86zNMA) Sustain Podcast-Episode 56: Dominic Tarr on Coding What You Want, Living On a Boat, and the Early Days of Node.js (https://podcast.sustainoss.org/guests/dominic) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Richard Littauer.

Guest Adam Monsen Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. In today's episode, Richard is joined by Adam Monsen, co-founder of the open source conference, SeaGL, and author of the soon-to-be-published book, Steadfast Self-Hosting: Rapid-Rise Personal Cloud, which aims to guide individuals and groups towards personal data control, an important step towards autonomy, agency, and freedom. The discussion highlights the value of self-hosting data, its potential applications, and the benefits it can bring to small and mid-sized businesses. Adam shares that his book is free and open for remixing and reprinting, and it will not only be a guide but also serve as a starting point for tech authors. Hit download now to hear more! [00:01:36] Adam talks about his book which aims to guide people on how to maintain control over their personal data. [00:02:33] The conversation moves towards the difficulties faced while extracting personal data from large tech companies, and Adam suggests the use of open source servers and software like Nextcloud to migrate data. [00:03:31] Adam mentions that the first step towards data sovereignty could be purchasing his book, which provides guidance on setting up personal servers and services. [00:06:11] Why did Adam write this book? He explains why and shares his experience with self-hosting data for his family and emphasizes that doing this for a group can be empowering and meaningful. [00:07:27] Richard brings up the shift from cloud to self-hosting by Basecamp and he wonders if Adam thought about pitching any of his book towards businesses to host their own data. [00:09:53] Richard mentions a group in the UK working to create a standard for APIs to allow users to extract their data from big tech companies and maintain ownership. [00:11:11] Adam affirms his willingness to contribute and underscores the value of individual data ownership, using healthcare records as an example of a system that could greatly benefit from more seamless data sharing. [00:12:12] Richard brings up the topic of digital sovereignty, and Adam tells us his view that data sovereignty should be more about serving individuals and small groups, transcending politics, and should be capable of crossing borders. [00:13:52] Adam tells us where you can find his book online and he reveals that the book will serve as a starting point for tech authors who are stuck or uncertain about where you begin. Also, the book build system itself will be free and open source. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Adam Monsen LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/amonsen) Adam Monsen Website (https://adammonsen.com/) Steadfast Self-Hosting: Rapid-Rise Personal Cloud (https://selfhostbook.com/) SeaGL (http://seagl.org/) Sustain Podcast-Episode 75: Deb Nicholson on the OSI, the future of open source, and SeaGL (https://podcast.sustainoss.org/guests/debofthenorth) Nextcloud (https://nextcloud.com/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Adam Monsen.

Back again with governance... part two! (See also: part one!) Here we talk about some organizations and how they can be seen as "templates" for certain governance archetypes.Links:Cygnus, CygwinMastodonAndroidFree Software Foundation, GNUSoftware Freedom Conservancy, Outreachy, Conservancy's copyleft compliance projectsCommons ConservancyF-DroidOpen CollectiveLinux Foundation501(c)(3) vs 501(c)(6)StitchtingFree as in FreedomLKML (the Linux Kernel Mailing List)Linus Doesn't ScaleSpritely Networked Communities InstitutePython and the Python Software Foundation, PyCon, the Python Package IndexPython PEPs (Python Enhancement Proposals), XMPP XEPs, Fediverse FEPs, Rust RFCsBlender, Blender Foundation, Blender Institute, Blender StudioBlender's historyElephants DreamMozilla Foundation and Mozilla CorporationDebian, Debian's organizational structure, and Debian's constitutionEFFOh yeah and I guess we should link the World History Association!

Guest Josh Simmons Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. In this exciting episode, we welcome guest Josh Simmons, a notable figure with an illustrious career in the open source community. We hear about Josh's important contributions, particularly his involvement with OSCON as a community manager and now, a co-organizer and program chair of the community track. Josh also outlines his talk on health and safety policies in the diversity, equity, and inclusion track, focusing on minimizing risks and promoting inclusivity at events. Josh also introduces his exciting new venture, Open Chapters, a consultancy designed to support and elevate open source projects, community organizers, and institutions. If you're curious about the dynamics and challenges of open source communities, this episode is a must listen! Hit download now! [00:00:41] Josh talks about his involvement in OSCON as a community manager and how he's now involved in the community track, as a co-organizer and program chair and mentions his fellow organizers. He also mentions his upcoming talk on health and safety policies in the diversity, equity, and inclusion track. [00:02:14] Richard shares his experience of traveling and getting COVID twice, and asks Josh provides an overview of health and safety practices. [00:05:05] Josh shares about his newly launched consultancy with Julia Ferraioli called Open Chapters, which focuses on social and technical systems in open source projects. [00:06:00] He explains his ideal clients for their consultancy for profit or non-profit organizations looking to benefit from or contribute to open source and free software. [00:07:03] Josh discusses the “community manager trap” and how they plan to avoid it by providing coaching, strategy, and educational materials to mentor new community managers into those roles. [00:07:50] Josh acknowledges the resource disparities in open source and his hopes to level the playing field. [00:10:40] Richard presents a devil's advocate stance, challenging the approach of trying to help maintainers and suggesting that they should be encouraged to set boundaries instead. Josh agrees with Richard's stance and highlights the importance of maintainers and suggesting that they should be encouraged to set boundaries instead. [00:12:47] Find out where you can follow Josh, Open Chapters, and his health and safety policy work online. Links Sustain OSS (https://sustainoss.org/) Sustain OSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) Sustain OSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) Sustain OSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Josh Simmons Website (https://joshsimmons.com/) Josh Simmons Mastodon (https://josh.tel/@josh) Josh Simmons LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshsimmons) Open Chapters (https://openchapters.tech/) The Public Health Pledge (https://publichealthpledge.com/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Josh Simmons.

Guest Stuart Geiger Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. In today's episode, we're joined by Stuart Geiger, and Assistant Professor at University of California, San Diego. Stuart shares his unique expertise on “invisible work” in the open source communities, discussing his research funded by the Digital Infrastructure Fund and emphasizing the importance of documenting and valuing such efforts. The conversation delves into the gendered aspects of invisible work, the intersection between capitalism and open source work, and the emotional impact of burnout in emotionally demanding and undervalued roles. Richard and Stuart also explore the motivations of open source practitioners, potential links between religious backgrounds and open source evangelism, and the intriguing implications of large language model AI in the open source world. Hit download now to hear more! [00:00:32] Stuart tells us his focus area and explains that he also studies a range of decentralized, volunteer-based, peer production communities. [00:00:57] Stuart was one of the first recipients of funding from the Digital Infrastructure Fund, aimed at researching the unseen aspects of open source software. [00:01:31] What does Stuart mean by “invisible work?” In open source projects they are things that aren't tracked on public code repositories. He shares that they have conducted over 50 interviews to learn more about the “invisible work”, and discusses the importance of documenting “invisible work.” [00:04:56] Richard and Stuart discuss the need for environmentally friendly alternatives to in-person meetings or conferences. Stuart suggests using tools like Open Collective to and the All Contributors project. [00:05:57] Richard asks if there are parallels between invisible work in open source and societal invisible work, particularly regarding women. Stuart affirms this and mentions that some of this labor can be gendered, especially work marked as more social. Richard and Stuart brainstorm a slogan to describe the transition from non-contributors to contributors in open source projects, so if you have any suggestions send an email. [00:08:48] The topic about the intersection between capitalism and open source work is brought up, and Stuart discusses burnout, explaining that if often occurs in professions that are emotionally demanding and undervalued. [00:11:29] Richard asks Stuart if open source practitioners see it as a calling. Stuart explains that some do while others are motivated by business necessity. [00:12:57] A question arises around the potential religious backgrounds of open source evangelists, and Stuart shares he has not specifically investigated this connection, though he has observed comparisons with political activism. [00:14:22] What is Stuart working on right now? He mentions exploring the implications of large language model AI in the open source world. [00:16:32] Find out where you can follow Stuart and his work online. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) All Contributors (https://allcontributors.org/) Stuart Geiger Website (https://stuartgeiger.com/) Stuart Geiger Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0AvWi3wAAAAJ&hl=en) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Stuart Geiger.

Guest Aaron Wolf Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. Join us on a captivating journey with guest Aaron Wolf, the co-founder of Snowdrift.coop, as he unravels the story behind the innovative crowdfunding platform for open source projects. From his initial resistance to founding something, through his eye-opening Linux experience and a friend's prompt to solve a pressing problem, Aaron details how he ended up creating Snowdrift.coop. Learn about the platform's unique funding model, the early challenges and progress made over a decade, and its exciting recent developments. Despite not being a programmer, but a music teacher, Aaron finds parallels between his profession and the open source world, while he passionately advocates for the open source process in other industries. Discover the ups and downs faced by Snowdrift, the challenges of running a campaign, its current standing as a debt-free entity with a dedicated team, and a recent major milestone is revealed. Download this episode now! [00:00:29] Aaron tells us about himself and being a co-founder, and how his friend encouraged him to act on a problem he was complaining about which is the lack of funding for public goods. He was frustrated with certain software limitations and desired improvements, which led to his idea for Snowdrift. [00:03:38] How does Snowdrift work? Patrons pledge to donate more to a project when others join the crowd that gives together, a method they call 'crowdmatching'. Aaron expresses his reluctance to start something like Snowdrift due to the complexities involved, but his friend convinced him to give it a shot. [00:04:47] Aaron talks about the challenges faced and progress made over the past 10 ten years, and the importance of early adopters. He also tells us he's not a programmer but a music teacher and discusses the similarities he sees between open source software and the process of creating music. [00:06:26] He talks about his frustration with the copyright system and how it hampers creativity, discusses his belief in the need for an open source process in other industries, like music education, and discusses the obstacles encountered when trying to use open source software and run Snowdrift as a co-op. He shares the Snowdrift gained early attention and interest but struggled to secure funding. [00:09:30] Aaron shares that despite difficulties, Snowdrift is debt-free, has a small, dedicated team, and 156 patrons with real money. [00:11:52] Richard and Aaron discuss the difficulties of applying for and giving grants. Aaron mentions they have not focused much on this aspect as it requires a lot of time and expresses that their work is still relevant and needed as it was 10 years ago. He also reveals a recent major milestone. [00:13:55] Aaron mentions their early effort in reviewing around 760 crowdfunding sites to understand the landscape. They found many people working on similar projects but not collaborating, leading to many of these projects disappearing after a few months. [00:15:31] Aaron highlights Open Collective as the closest to their own project, and mentions the benefits of Open Collective, including their legal foundation and handling of money, which Snowdrift has struggled with. [00:17:37] We hear about Aaron's talk on the nature of public goods and why coordination is necessary for their type of solution. [00:18:02] Find out where you can follow Aaron online. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Aaron Wolf social.coop Mastodon (https://social.coop/@wolftune) Aaron Wolf LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/wolftune/) Aaron Wolf Website (https://blog.wolftune.com/) Snowdrift.coop (https://snowdrift.coop/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Aaron Wolf.

Guest Joe Castle Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. Today, Richard speaks with Joe Castle from SAS, a global analytics and AI company, about the fascinating world of open source software. Joe, who supports the federal team at SAS, shares the company's journey from its roots as a statistical software company in the 1970s to its current role as an AI leader. We'll dive into SAS's integral involvement with open source software, how it supports and contributes to the community, and its ambitious plans for future engagement. Explore Joe's unique insights into the motivations and sustainability of corporate open source efforts and discover how SAS balances financial incentive with authentic community engagement. Tune in for an exciting conversation about SAS's shift towards greater open source integration and its commitment to building superior products, and ongoing discussions about making Python packages a first-class citizen in SAS. Hit download now! [00:00:30] Joe explains his role at SAS, explaining how he supports the federal team at SAS and how it involves business development with government executives and advocating for and developing open source software. [00:00:54] What does SAS do? Joe describes it as an analytics and AI company, and SAS clients are not just federal governments but also span industries such as banking, insurance, and more across the globe. [00:01:51] Joe discusses how SAS uses and supports open source. Their product suite allows integration with Python, R, Lua, and JavaScript. [00:03:33] Richard asks Joe to explain where SAS fits on the spectrum of corporate influence on open source. Joe tells us that SAS is involved in all aspects of open source usage, development, and contribution. [00:05:36] Joe talks about SAS's evolution from being a statistical software company to an AI company and how open source figures in their AI offerings. Developers can use Python to develop AI models using SAS's packages and run it through their large compute engines. [00:07:09] Joe explains his talk about the architecture of the CAS (Cloud Analytic Service), which is a Python package that allows for the sequential processing of large datasets. [00:07:57] On the question of open source vs closed source, Joe says it depends on the context. While SAS has proprietary algorithms for model processing, developers can use their own python code to interact with these models. [00:08:30] SAS's primary audience includes data scientists, developers, and data engineers who have an understanding of Python and R. [00:13:46] Richard inquires about the experiences of SAS in the realm of open source. Joe tells us they're competitive motivations and they want to help users and capture a wider audience by signaling that they are open source friendly. He brings up the financial incentive for companies to engage with open source. [00:15:27] Joe provides an example of a large financial customer who's using their software for significant data processing and analysis. [00:16:21] What's Joe most excited to open source? He admits that some proprietary elements will remain closed due to business reasons. However, he mentions that there are ongoing discussions about making Python packages a first-class citizen. [00:19:06] Find out you can follow Joe and SAS developer stuff online. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Joseph Castle Twitter (https://twitter.com/jrcastle_vt) Joseph Castle, PhD LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrcastle/) SAS (https://www.sas.com/en_us/home.html) SAS Developer Home (https://developer.sas.com/home.html) Python SWAT Library (https://developer.sas.com/guides/python-swat.html) SAS Explore (https://explore.sas.com/event/33f11b50-88c8-4525-ad70-86a5b527d441/websitePage:3169d95a-1f77-45e2-93fd-968feb1a813e?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=events-us-non-non-americas&utm_content=PLN_14503&dclid=&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5f2lBhCkARIsAHeTvljmteuPr6RqTDiqjKKQzR0uPyKW0M8P_aPQv0NzawePK2tmPlN5VAIaAmY_EALw_wcB) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Joseph Castle, PhD.

Guest Vagrant Cascadian Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. In this episode, Richard invites guest Vagrant Cascadian to delve into the world of Reproducible Builds. Vagrant walks us through his role in the project where the aim is to ensure identical results in software builds across various machines and times, enhancing software security and creating a seamless developer experience. Discover how this mission, supported by the Software Freedom Conservancy and a broad community, is changing the face of Linux distros, Arch Linux, openSUSE, and F-Droid. They also explore the challenges of managing random elements in software, and Vagrant's vision to make reproducible builds a standard best practice that will ideally become automatic for users. Vagrant shares his work in progress and their commitment to the “last mile problem.” Hit download now to hear more! [00:00:47] Vagrant talks about their work at Reproducible Builds and details their responsibilities, including removing timestamps from Debian packages to enable reproducibility and maintaining infrastructure on ARM-based machines. [00:02:25] Why do reproducible builds matter? Well, they allow verification that the source code matches the binary code that runs on a computer, enhancing security and preventing potential exploits. Also, they are important in scientific principles and for developers during code refactoring. [00:03:41] The Reproducible Project is made up of a few developers under the Software Freedom Conservancy, but also includes a large community working on different projects. The project receives funding from various grants and sometimes corporate sponsors. [00:05:56] We hear about the challenge of managing random elements in software to achieve reproducible builds. Vagrant talks about their goal to make reproducible builds a standard best proactive in the industry, benefitting software users. [00:08:27] Vagrant shares their challenge in educating people about reproducible builds while also trying to make it a standard practice. [00:09:09] How can open source projects help? They can help by setting up reproducibility testing in their continuous integration frameworks. [00:10:24] Richard asks how large companies can benefit from and contribute to reproducible builds. Vagrant mentions how companies like Google find value in reproducible builds as it saves time, energy, and money by not having to rebuild things when they know they don't have to. [00:11:56] Vagrant mentions that they're in the proof of concept phase of making Debian 96% reproducible, which includes over 30,000 source packages and over 50,000 binary packages. Richard asks about the project's expected completion date, which Vagrant responds it's his last mile problem to some degree, but they're close. [00:12:51] Find out where you can find Vagrant and Reproducible Builds on the internet. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Vagrant Cascadian Mastodon (https://floss.social/@vagrantc) Aikidev, LLC (https://www.aikidev.net/about/story/) Reproducible Builds (https://reproducible-builds.org/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Vagrant Cascadian.

Episode #28 of "Can I get that software in blue?", a podcast by and for people engaged in technology sales. If you are in the technology presales, solution architecture, sales, support or professional services career paths then this show is for you! Stormy Peters began her journey into the world of open source in 2002 when she created and managed HP's Open Source Program Office and ever since then she's been high-flying in various open source ecosystems. She was the executive director and later a board member of the Gnome Foundation, a director of the Mozilla development network, she sat on the board of directors for the Software Freedom Conservancy, she was VP of Developer Relations for the Cloud Foundry Foundation, and she was Director of the Open Source Programs Office at Microsoft. Currently she is on the board of directors at the Linux Foundation and is Vice President of Communities at GitHub and she also runs a non-profit called Kids on Computers which is a charity she founded to set up computer labs in schools for kids with no access to technology. Come listen to Stormy talk about the new innovations GitHub is making for the funding and financing of critical open source components as well as her thoughts about AI and how it will be impact the future of open source. Our website: https://softwareinblue.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/softwareinblue LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/softwareinblue Make sure to subscribe or follow us to get notified about our upcoming episodes: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8qfPUKO_rPmtvuB4nV87rg Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/can-i-get-that-software-in-blue/id1561899125 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/25r9ckggqIv6rGU8ca0WP2 Links mentioned in the episode: https://www.kidsoncomputers.org/

Guest Denver Gingerich Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. In this episode, Richard hosts Denver Gingerich, a member of the Software Freedom Conservancy and Founder of JMP. Denver dives into the backstory of JMP, the initiative to make phone numbers as flexible as emails. They explore Denver's role as the Director of Compliance at the Software Freedom Conservancy, where he ensures companies comply with open source software licenses. Then, the conversation takes a turn to tackle a range of software compliance controversies, from Vizio's violation of GPL to John Deere's restrictive software that hinders farmers' right to repair their machines. Denver provides an invaluable perspective on the work being done to protect users from software licensing malpractices. Press download now to hear more! [00:01:22] Denver tells us how he started JMP and the motivation behind it. [00:02:52] Richard asks Denver about the funding model for JMP and how he supports himself financially, and Denver explains his role at the Software Freedom Conservancy, a non-profit charity based in New York. [00:05:35] The Vizio lawsuit is talked about and Denver outlines how GPL enforcement lawsuits traditionally focus on copyrights but argues that the direct harm is usually done to the users of the software who receive it out of compliance. [00:06:58] Denver shares that he's not a lawyer by training, but he ended up in his role after reporting a GPL violation he encountered with an Insignia Blu-ray player to Bradley Kuhn at a conference. [00:08:44] Richard asks if XMPP, the protocol uses by JMP, has license or compliance issues, and Denver explains that it's not a software license issue and that XMPP, made through the IETF, doesn't pose any licensing concerns. [00:09:48] Richard discusses companies with bad track records in software licensing compliance and the right to repair, using John Deere as an example, and asks how anyone could know if a that company is violating software license agreements. Denver explains that the first step is to investigate what software is used on the machines. He also highlights the issues with modern agricultural technology. [00:12:20] Denver tells us there are around eight employees at the Software Freedom Conservancy. [00:12:47] Richard wonders about potential lawsuits against John Deere and Denver clarifies while they haven't sued, they did make a public post about their concerns after private discussions didn't lead to resolution. [00:13:41] Richard asks if there are similar user protection efforts in other countries, and Denver assures there are, citing examples in Germany and mentioning other organizations, such as FSFE. [00:14:50] Find out where you can learn more about Denver's work and the Software Freedom Conservancy. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Denver Gingerich Website (https://ossguy.com/) JMP (https://jmp.chat/) FSFE (Free Software Foundation Europe) (https://fsfe.org/index.en.html) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Denver Gingerich.

Guests Timmy Barnett | Devin Ulibarri Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain!  Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. In this podcast episode, Richard interviews Devin Ulibarri and Timmy Barnett about their work with Music Blocks and Sugar Labs. Music Blocks is a visual programming language that combines music and computation, allowing users to explore musical and computational concepts. Sugar Labs is a non-profit organization focused on providing free software learning activities for kids and teachers. Devin explains that Music Blocks started as a collaboration with Walter Bender, co-founder of Sugar Labs, to create a tool that empowers kids to learn and create music using free software. The software aims to offer a creative approach to music education, helping students explore concepts and compose music from the very beginning. Download this episode now to hear more! [00:01:28] Devin Ulibarri introduces Music Blocks. It's a visual programming language for music developed in collaboration with Sugar Labs, a non-profit organization promoting free software for education. Music Blocks combines music and computation, allowing users to explore both musical and computational concepts. [00:02:26] Devin explains how it got started. He was interested in free software in education and attended a talk by Walter Bender, co-founder of Sugar Labs. They collaborated to create Music Blocks. [00:03:43] There are more than 150 contributors to the Music Blocks project, and Japan has shown interest in using it in their national elementary school curriculum for teaching programming. [00:04:21] Devin explains how you can use different instruments or even record a sample of a sound to create an instrument. [00:05:14] Devin talks about being a musician and started a job at the Free Software Foundation last year, having played a significant role in incorporating Sugar Labs. [00:06:20] Sugar Labs is used across the world and it's impossible to really know with the nature of the software. However, there isn't nearly enough people operating it in the U.S. [00:08:23] Music Blocks is seen as an instrument, and the team focuses on reaching a critical mass of users to create a culture that promotes active learning and creativity. [00:09:16] The main challenge is educating the public about Music Blocks and providing teachers with the necessary tools and materials to integrate it into classrooms effectively. Also. there needs to be a culture with it. [00:10:15] There's Music Blocks for musicians and music educators. It offers a creative approach to music composition and exploration of musical concepts from the very beginning, which can be beneficial for music education. [00:11:15] They use an active approach to technology rather than passive. They hire students from music colleges to teach the kids via Music Blocks. [00:13:39] Music Blocks allows students to explore musical concepts and start composing music from the very beginning, promoting a more active and engaging learning experience. [00:14:35] Find out where you can follow Devin and Timmy on the internet. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Devin Ulibarri's Website (https://www.devinulibarri.com/) Timmy Barnett's Website (https://timmybarnett.com/) Music Blocks (https://musicblocks.net/) Music Blocks Mastodon (https://mastodon.education/@musicblocks) Sugar Labs (https://www.sugarlabs.org/) Free Software Foundation (https://www.fsf.org/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guests: Devin Ulibarri and Timmy Barnet.

Guests Matthew Wild | Stephen Paul Weber Panelists Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. Today, he engages with XMPP protocol experts Matthew Wild and Stephen Paul. Matthew shares about his project, Snikket, which aims to make XMPP more accessible for everyday communication among friends and family groups. Stephen introduces JMP, a project designed to facilitate connections using an XMPP based stack, allowing smoother transitions from other communication platforms. They explore why XMPP stands out against competitors, and you'll get a glimpse into JMP's transparent funding model, Snikket's user base, and the open source projects it's built upon. Our guests also discuss their future visions, highlighting the importance of open communication and the potential for growth in the XMPP ecosystem. Hit download to hear more! [00:00:48] Matthew talks about his work with Snikket, and Stephen talks about the project JMP, which helps people connect with their friends and family using XMPP based stack and transition from other communication platforms. [00:01:57] Matthew explains why XMPP is a better protocol for Snikket compared to Signal; the main reason being that XMPP is federated, giving users more choice. [00:02:42] Matthew tells us how XMPP is different from Matrix and Delta Chat. [00:04:06] Stephen agrees with Matthew, stating that JMP also supports multiple protocols and wishes to promote open communication, and acknowledges concerns around Matrix's scalability and funding models. [00:04:47] Stephen describes JMP's straightforward funding model with customers paying a monthly fee for their services. Matthew reveals that Snicket's user base is hard to determine due to self-hosting and different statistics. [00:06:21] Matthew explains that Snicket is built on a variety of XMPP-based open-source projects, including Prosody, Conversations on Android, and Siskin on iOS. Stephen mentions that JMP is a five-member team. [00:07:37] Stephen explains JMP's business model, stating they function on a traditional business model where customer directly pay for the services they receive, and they operate as a cooperative. [00:08:59] JMP has about 3,300 paying customers and Stephen explains they don't have a dedicated marketing team, but they use blogs. [00:10:03] Stephen explains that he and the other primary founder of JMP do not currently draw income from the project. [00:10:54] Richard asks Matthew and Stephen about their long-term vision for their projects. Matthew explains his goal is open communication and Stephen shares his goal is create sustainable funding for the XMPP ecosystem. [00:13:22] Why are Matthew and Stephen focused on XMPP? Matthew tells us he always had a passion for communication and Stephen emphasizes the importance of communication, stating it's often overlooked and consumes by proprietary silos, which can be harmful. [00:14:47] Find out where you can follow Matthew and Stephen and learn more about JMP and Snikket. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Matthew Wild Website (https://matthewwild.co.uk/) Stephen Paul Weber Website (https://singpolyma.net/) Snikket (https://snikket.org/) JMP (https://jmp.chat/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guests: Matthew Wild and Stephen Paul Weber.

Guest Erik Benner Panelists Richard Littauer | Eriol Fox Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! We are in Portland at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. Richard and Eriol are joined by Erik Benner, who works for Mythics, a large public sector IT company specializing in cloud migration and traditional legacy applications. Today, they discuss the challenges of transitioning open source software to government departments and the need for technical and cultural support in sustaining open source in the public sector. Erik emphasizes the importance of verifying true open source software and shares insights on Mythics role in providing services and support for government organizations. They also dive into the usability of open source applications, Erik's background in Unix and Linux, and the potential benefits and considerations of government involvement in open source. Hit download to hear more! [00:00:57] Erik tells us about Mythics. [00:01:43] Eriol asks Erik about the challenges of transitioning open source software to government departments and their familiarity with it. He also mentions the challenge of companies misrepresenting proprietary software as open source. [00:04:43] Erik suggests that governments should be more diligent in verifying if technology marketed as open source is truly open source and not modified. [00:05:56] Richard is curious about Mythics and Erik clarifies that Mythics helps government organizations procure and support commercial distributions like Oracle, providing services and knowledge base for technical support and education. [00:08:16] We learn about Mythics responsibility for fixing dependencies in the tech stack as Erik emphasizes the need for education and enablement in the public sector where training may be limited. He gives an example of cities adopting open source and highlights Mythics role in providing assistance. [00:09:44] Eriol expresses interest in the usability and user design of open source software, suggesting it could be more user-friendly, and Erik agrees and mentions that open source applications in the UI space have room for improvement in terms of user experience. [00:10:56] Erik talks about his early experience with Unix systems and his introduction to Linux, he mentions his involvement in kernel hacks, bug finding, and bug fixes. Then, he explains his career transition, how he became more involved with technologies and open source and discusses the importance of using the right tools for the right job. [00:13:04] Richard asks Erik about his opinion on government subsidizing or paying for open source to improve cybersecurity and make it a part of shared infrastructure. Erik mentions the MITRE Corporation and other government-funded initiatives that contribute to open source, highlighting existing grants and funding mechanisms. He compares government involvement in open source to examples like the post office and Amtrak, noting that a mix of government funding and other approaches can be effective. [00:15:09] Find out where you can follow Erik online. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Erik Benner Twitter (https://twitter.com/Erik_Benner) Erik Benner LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikbenner) Tales from the Datacenter v2.0 (Erik's Blog) (https://talesfromthedatacenter.com/) Mythics (https://mythics.com/) MITRE Corporation (https://www.mitre.org/) CVE (https://cve.mitre.org/) Security Technical Implementation Guides (STIGs) (https://public.cyber.mil/stigs/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Erik Benner.

Guest Sam Whited Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Richard is in Portland, OR at FOSSY, the Free and Open Source Software Yearly conference that is held by the Software Freedom Conservancy. Today, our guest is Sam Whited, a bicycle mechanic with a deep involvement in open source software development. His contributions include work with the XMPP Standards Foundation, the Internet Engineering Task Force, and the creation of Mellium, an XMPP library in Go. The conversation delves into the sustainability challenges faced by Mellium and similar projects with Sam advocating for support from larger companies and well-funded open source initiatives. Sam, a strong supporter of open source co-op consultancies, also shares his personal journey from tech to bicycle mechanic, underscoring the struggle of maintaining open source projects while managing living expenses. Go ahead and download this episode now to hear more! [00:00:38] Sam tells us about himself, working as a bicycle mechanic while contributing to open source software in his free time. He's worked with the XMPP Standards Foundation, the Internet Engineering Task Force, and maintains an XMPP library called Mellium. [00:01:45] He explains XMPP stands for Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol and is an open standard communication protocol. He believes in it because of its recognized standards body, resilience, and the continuing work to keep it open, free, and sustainable. [00:02:38] XMPP sits at several levels in the communication stack. It's used in various applications like Snikket, Cisco's mobile video conferencing, Grindr, Zoom, and Jitsi. [00:04:11] Mellium is explained as an implementation of XMPP in Go. [00:05:13] Richard asks about the sustainability of Mellium. Sam acknowledges the challenges of attracting maintainers and funding for the project, and he explains his goal is to operate Mellium as a cooperative. [00:08:00] The conversation turns to funding for protocol implementation and Sam suggests that companies and well-funded open source projects should give back to the smaller projects they utilize. He mentions that Mellium sets aside a portion of their donations for upstream projects that helped him. [00:10:38] Sam explains “The Seven Cooperative Principles” from the International Cooperative Alliance. [00:11:30] Sam explains why he decided to work as a bike mechanic instead of pursuing work related to his expertise in using Golang. [00:13:43] Find out where you can find Sam on the internet. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS mastodon (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Open OSS (https://openoss.sourceforge.net/) Sam Whited-social.coop (https://social.coop/@sam) Sam Whited Blog (https://blog.samwhited.com/) Mellium-Go XMPP library (https://xmpp.org/software/mellium/) XMPP Standards Foundation (XSF) (https://xmpp.org/about/xmpp-standards-foundation/) Go (https://go.dev/) Snikket (https://snikket.org/) Jitsi (https://jitsi.org/) Grindr (https://www.grindr.com/) The Seven Cooperative Principles (International Cooperative Alliance) (https://www.ica.coop/en/cooperatives/cooperative-identity) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Sam Whited.

This week Bradley Kuhn from Software Freedom Conservancy joins Ask Noah to discuss the Red Hat situation and what if any GPL violations there are. Read Bradley's Blog Post Here! (https://sfconservancy.org/blog/2023/jun/23/rhel-gpl-analysis/) -- The Extra Credit Section -- For links to the articles and material referenced in this week's episode check out this week's page from our podcast dashboard! This Episode's Podcast Dashboard (http://podcast.asknoahshow.com/344) Phone Systems for Ask Noah provided by Voxtelesys (http://www.voxtelesys.com/asknoah) Join us in our dedicated chatroom #GeekLab:linuxdelta.com on Matrix (https://element.linuxdelta.com/#/room/#geeklab:linuxdelta.com) -- Stay In Touch -- Find all the resources for this show on the Ask Noah Dashboard Ask Noah Dashboard (http://www.asknoahshow.com) Need more help than a radio show can offer? Altispeed provides commercial IT services and they're excited to offer you a great deal for listening to the Ask Noah Show. Call today and ask about the discount for listeners of the Ask Noah Show! Altispeed Technologies (http://www.altispeed.com/) Contact Noah live [at] asknoahshow.com -- Twitter -- Noah - Kernellinux (https://twitter.com/kernellinux) Ask Noah Show (https://twitter.com/asknoahshow) Altispeed Technologies (https://twitter.com/altispeed) Special Guest: Bradley M. Kuhn.

Guest Karen M. Sandler Panelists Richard Littauer | Justin Dorfman Show Notes In this episode of Sustain, hosts Richard and Justin welcome Karen Sandler, Executive Director of the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC). Karen shares her journey from engineer to lawyer, and how her personal health condition led her to the world of open source. She discusses her role at SFC, the importance of Copyleft licenses, and the organization's diversity initiative, Outreachy. Karen also shares her personal experience with her defibrillator pacemaker, emphasizing the need for more control over technology. The conversation then turns to SFC's role as a fiscal sponsor, its support for alternatives to proprietary software, and its work in enforcing Copyleft licenses. The episode concludes with a discussion about SFC's ongoing lawsuit with Vizio over Copyleft license obligations. Hit download to hear much more! [00:01:46] Karen discusses her background and how she got involved in open source and her role at the Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC). [00:04:44] Karen shares her personal experience with her defibrillator pacemaker, emphasizing the need for more control over technology. [00:09:34] Richard wants to know about how Software Freedom Conservancy came about, and if she helped found it. [00:10:58] Karen goes onto explain SFC's role as a fiscal sponsor, its support for alternatives to proprietary software, and its work in enforcing Copyleft licenses. [00:12:52] Justin is curious to find out the status of the Vizio lawsuit, so the group discusses SFC's ongoing lawsuit with Vizio over Copyleft license obligations. [00:15:08] Karen explains the difference between Copyleft and Copyright, emphasizing the importance of Copyleft. [00:17:30] Why is this lawsuit so important? Karen explains how companies like Vizio are not sharing source code under the terms of the Copyleft license. [00:26:54] Richard shares the news he read about how Japan says, “AI Model Training Doesn't Violate Copyright,” and Karen shares her thoughts and how it could be playing a role with things like Microsoft Co-pilot and its effect on Open Source Code. [00:31:55] We find out what software freedom means to Karen and the importance of holding companies accountable for their responsibilities under Copyleft licenses. Quotes [00:03:43] “Our technology may not be made for us, and what are we going to do when it's not.” [00:12:29] “It was never our purpose to just be a fiscal sponsor. It was our purpose to support software freedom.” [00:13:32] “The really deep thinking about licensing and whether or not how it works out to have non Copyleft licensing and Copyleft Licensing, how that impacts the longevity of a community and the ability to maintain the software as open source.” [00:17:10] “There's so much promise in devices where you can get access to the software because you can create alternative builds, you can do really cool stuff with them.” [00:19:42] “It's really the downstream recipients who are the ones who are hurt by the lack of compliance.” [00:24:03] “We're in it for the long haul. Going to do this slog so that we can come out at the other end and do our best and see if we can get a good result for software freedom.” [00:25:49] “Almost no business models rely on proprietary source code anymore. Very few are like royalty based.” [00:29:54] “I don't care about Copyleft necessarily. It's a strategy to get us to that goal of software freedom.” Spotlight [00:31:55] Justin's spotlight is py-cord, which allows you to create Discord bots. [00:35:49] Richard spotlights Kevin Kelly, and the Tim Ferriss Show podcast episode he was on. [00:36:20] Karen shares a personal spotlight, the late Marina Zhurakhinskaya. Marina helped found Outreachy and passed away just over a year ago. Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) SustainOSS Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/tags/sustainoss) Open Collective-SustainOSS (Contribute) (https://opencollective.com/sustainoss) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) Richard Littauer Mastodon (https://mastodon.social/@richlitt) Justin Dorfman Twitter (https://twitter.com/jdorfman?lang=en) Software Freedom Conservancy (https://sfconservancy.org/) Outreachy (https://www.outreachy.org/) The GNOME Foundation (https://foundation.gnome.org/) Karen Sandler Twitter (https://twitter.com/o0karen0o?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) Karen Sandler FLOSS Social (https://social.joshtriplett.org/@karen@floss.social) Karen Sandler LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/karensandler/) Vizio Lawsuit Article (https://www.thestack.technology/vizio-sued-open-source-gpl-copyleft/) FOSSY 2023 (https://2023.fossy.us/) py-cord (https://pypi.org/project/py-cord/) Tim Ferriss Show – Kevin Kelly “Excellent Advice for Living” Episode (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/669-kevin-kelly-excellent-advice-for-living/id863897795?i=1000610782498) Tim Ferris Show Blog – Kevin Kelly (https://tim.blog/2023/04/26/kevin-kelly-excellent-advice-for-living/) Marina Zhurakhinskaya (https://www.outreachy.org/blog/2022-06-14/remembering-and-honoring-marina-zhurakhinskaya-founder-of-outreachy/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guest: Karen Sandler.

Guests Omotola Eunice Omotayo | Jan Ainali Panelist Richard Littauer Show Notes Hello and welcome to Sustain! Today, Richard's live at FOSS Backstage 2023 in Berlin, and on this episode, he's joined by two guests. His first guest is Omotola Eunice Omotayo, who works as a community manager and organizer for Outreachy, which is a fellowship under Software Freedom Conservancy. She gave a talk about “Contributor engagement and monetization opportunities” at the event. They discuss the number of applications Outreachy received, the number of interns, and how she manages to keep up with social media and meetings with each intern. Finally, we learn about the HUGE open source community in Africa and OSCA. Richard's next guest is Jan Ainali, who's here to discuss a card game. Seriously! The Governance Game is a card game designed to encourage discussion about governance in open-source code bases. The game was created by publiccode.net, which helps public organizations collaborate on developing software for public purposes. The game includes starting states, bugs, and scenarios that are based on calamities observed in the real world. Jan also talks about the Foundation for Public Code, what they do, and how they are funded. Download this episode now to learn more! Links SustainOSS (https://sustainoss.org/) SustainOSS Twitter (https://twitter.com/SustainOSS?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) SustainOSS Discourse (https://discourse.sustainoss.org/) podcast@sustainoss.org (mailto:podcast@sustainoss.org) Richard Littauer Twitter (https://twitter.com/richlitt?lang=en) FOSS Backstage 2023 (https://foss-backstage.de/) Omotola Eunice Omotayo Twitter (https://twitter.com/elegant_tolly?lang=en) Omotola Eunice Omotayo LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/omotola-omotayo-9406b8162) Outreachy (https://www.outreachy.org/) Open Source Community Africa (OSCA) (https://oscafrica.org/) She Code Africa (https://shecodeafrica.org/) Jan Ainali Twitter (https://twitter.com/Jan_Ainali?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor) Jan Ainali LinkedIn (https://nl.linkedin.com/in/janainali) Jan Ainali Website (https://ainali.com/) Foundation for Public Code (https://publiccode.net/) The Governance Game (https://governancegame.publiccode.net/) Signalen (https://signalen.org/) Credits Produced by Richard Littauer (https://www.burntfen.com/) Edited by Paul M. Bahr at Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Show notes by DeAnn Bahr Peachtree Sound (https://www.peachtreesound.com/) Special Guests: Jan Ainali and Omotola Eunice Omotayo.

The controversial change for the GNU Toolchain, critical vulnerabilities in popular Matrix clients, and the significant milestone for the Ingenuity LinuxCopter this week.

The controversial change for the GNU Toolchain, critical vulnerabilities in popular Matrix clients, and the significant milestone for the Ingenuity LinuxCopter this week.

Why we feel recent attacks by the Software Freedom Conservancy against Microsoft are costing the SFC serious credibility.

Why we feel recent attacks by the Software Freedom Conservancy against Microsoft are costing the SFC serious credibility.

Why we feel recent attacks by the Software Freedom Conservancy against Microsoft are costing the SFC serious credibility.

The new movement to leave GitHub, an Ubuntu bug biting 22.04 users, the hardware platform Fedora might start taking seriously, and a major desktop dev departs Red Hat.

The new movement to leave GitHub, an Ubuntu bug biting 22.04 users, the hardware platform Fedora might start taking seriously, and a major desktop dev departs Red Hat.

Software Freedom Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization that provides support and legal services for open source software projects, has called on the open source community to ditch GitHub after quitting the code-hosting and collaboration platform itself.

Software Freedom Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization that provides support and legal services for open source software projects, has called on the open source community to ditch GitHub after quitting the code-hosting and collaboration platform itself.

Why Google's new open-source security effort might fall a bit short, the Arch snag this week, a big win for Right to Repair, and why you might soon have a new favorite filesystem.

Why Google's new open-source security effort might fall a bit short, the Arch snag this week, a big win for Right to Repair, and why you might soon have a new favorite filesystem.

One of the core beliefs in the many subsets of hacker culture is that information should be freely accessible and shared. But there are two distinct ways of achieving this freedom of information - Piracy, and The Open Source. Biella talks to Peter Sunde, co-founder of the Pirate bay, and Karen Sandler of the Software Freedom Conservancy, to discover how both movements have become entwined with the hacker community over the years, and which has the most potential to disrupt the increasingly monopolised world of tech development.

Major performance milestones are being hit with new code inbound for Linux, Plasma and GNOME desktops are set to run Wayland on NVIDIA's binary driver, and why the SFC's new GPL fight could have implications for you.

Karen and Bradley discuss two other DMCA exemptions filed by Software Freedom Conservancy during the 2020/2021 Triennial Rulemaking Process at the copyright office: one for wireless router firmwares and one for privacy research. Show Notes: Segment 0 (00:39) Supporters of Conservancy can join this mailing list to hear and see live recordings of every show! Segment 1 (06:30) Conservancy filed a DMCA exemption request for wireless routers, and updated it with their long comment on the issue. NPR's Planet Money had a show that discussed how recycling plastic in the USA was somewhat of a large con game funded by the plastics industry. Both audio a transcript is available. (19:32, 20:44) Segment 2 (29:10) Bradley and Karen discuss the third exemption request that Conservancy filed, for research to find privacy flaws, and updated it with a long comment on the issue. Karen and Bradley noted that individuals can file reply comments before the deadline of Wednesday 10 March 2021 at 23:59 US/Eastern. Note that the “neutral comment” requirement appears to no longer be listed; the 2021-03-10 (47:20) Send feedback and comments on the cast to . You can keep in touch with Free as in Freedom on our IRC channel, #faif on irc.freenode.net, and by following Conservancy on identi.ca and and Twitter. Free as in Freedom is produced by Dan Lynch of danlynch.org. Theme music written and performed by Mike Tarantino with Charlie Paxson on drums. The content of this audcast, and the accompanying show notes and music are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike 4.0 license (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Software Freedom Conservancy filed multiple exemptions in the USA Copyright Office Triennial Rulemaking Process under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In this episode, Karen and Bradley explore the details of Conservancy's filing to request permission to circumvent technological restriction measures in order to investigate infringement of other people's copyright, which is a necessary part of investigations of alleged violations of the GPL and other copyleft licenses. Show Notes: Segment 0 (00:39) Bradley claims that you'll now love the audcast more than ever (02:51) Conservancy filed many exemptions as part of the currently ongoing triennial DMCA Process. (02:50) Segment 1 (04:22) Everyone in the Free Software community wishes the USA's Digital Millennium Copyright Act didn't exist. (05:24) Bradley is currently doing research going to the year 1790 that shows the foundations of the copyright act, but Karen points out that Bradley isn't a professional copyright historian (yet). He points out he is an amateur copyright historian (05:45) DMCA is the USA's implementation of the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), but is more a restrictive copyright act than the WCT requires. (06:50) Bradley mentioned that the three videos from the Copyright Office, which are linked to from Conservancy's blog post on the subject that, while they are Copyright Office propaganda, that are helpful to explain the DMCA (10:57): A Legal Overview of § 1201 (PDF slides only). The Triennial Rulemaking Process for §1201 (PDF slides only). Streamlined Petitions for Renewed Exemptions (PDF slides only). Conservancy filed the most exemption requests in the 2020/2021 Rulemaking Process (21:25) Segment 2 (28:07) Conservancy filed an exemption request and a “Long Form” comment in support of it that was labeled “Class 16: Computer Programs &—; Copyright License Investigation” by the Copyright Office (29:00) Bradley mentioned that people can get arrested just for giving talks under the DMCA, referring to Dmitry Sklyarov. Adobe simply called the FBI and got him arrested under DMCA. (38:50) Segment 3 (34:36) If you are a Conservancy Supporter as well as being a FaiFCast listener, you can join this mailing list to receive announcements of live recordings and attend them through Conservancy's Big Blue Button (BBB) server. Send feedback and comments on the cast to . You can keep in touch with Free as in Freedom on our IRC channel, #faif on irc.freenode.net, and by following Conservancy on identi.ca and and Twitter. Free as in Freedom is produced by Dan Lynch of danlynch.org. Theme music written and performed by Mike Tarantino with Charlie Paxson on drums. The content of this audcast, and the accompanying show notes and music are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike 4.0 license (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Serge sits down with both Chris and Deb Nicholson to discuss building and maintaining a healthy Free Software community.Show Links:GNU MediagoblinSoftware Freedom ConservancySpinach ConContributor CovenantOpenHatchFirst Timers OnlyOpenBSD Release Songs

In their first interview, Chris and Serge interview Karen Sandler, Executive Director of Software Freedom Conservancy, Founder of Outreachy, and co-host of the Free as in Freedom podcast.Show Links:Software Freedom Conservancy (sfconservancy.org)Become a Software Freedom Conservancy Supporter! (sfconservancy.org)Free as in Freedom (faif.us)Git's Email from Karen (public-inbox.org)Gender Patch Study (livescience.com)Dark Hands and Soap Dispenders (mic.com)Audio from Software Freedom with Karen Sandler and Molly de Blanc at HOPE (hope.net)Video from Introduction to User Freedom at Debconf (youtube)The "Printer Story" (fsf)Ledger (the accounting system used by Conservancy) (ledger-cli.org)Beancount (the accounting system Conservnacy is considering) (furius.ca)Plain Text Accounting (plaintextaccounting.org)Gandi (the domain registrar that supports Conservancy) (gandi.net)

In their second episode, Serge and Chris return from Thanksgiving thinking about malware in Free Software, specifically the NPM bitcoin attack found in event-streamerShow links:Software Freedom Conservancy (conservancy)Backdoor in event-stream library dependency (hacker news)The event-stream bug report (github)Statement about the event-stream vulerability (bitpay)npm's statement on the event-stream incidentBug Report on ESLint (github)Malware in Linux kernel (lwn)Don't Download Software from Sourceforge (howtogeek.com)Let's Package jQuery: A Javascript Packaging Dystopian Novella (dustycloud.org)Reflections on Trusting Trust - aka the "Thompson attack" mentioned in the episode, a way of embedding malicious code in a compiler that embeds it into the next compiled version of the compilerZooko's Tweet (twitter)Linus's Law (wikipedia)Ka-Ping Yee's dissertation (zesty.ca) -Securing EcmaScript, presentation to Node Security (youtube)Mandatory Access Control (wikipedia)SE Linux Project (github)AppArmor (ubuntu)Docker For Development (medium)The Qubes Operating System (qubes)Android Application SandboxingChris's talk at Northeastern on December 5th - Chris gave the wrong date in the episode, it's on Wednesday... oops!Chris mentioned that they changed their org-mode configuration inspired by the chat from our first episode to incorporate a priorities-based workflow. Maybe you want to look at Chris's updated org-mode configuration! It looks like so:;; (c) 2018 by Christopher Lemmer Webber ;; Under GPLv3 or later as published by the FSF ;; We want the lowest and "default" priority to be D. That way ;; when we calculate the agenda, any task that isn't specifically ;; marked with a priority or SCHEDULED/DEADLINE won't show up. (setq org-default-priority ?D) (setq org-lowest-priority ?D) ;; Custom agenda dispatch commands which allow you to look at ;; priorities while still being able to see when deadlines, appointments ;; are coming up. Very often you'll just be looking at the A or B tasks, ;; and when you clear off enough of those or have some time you might ;; look also at the C tasks ;; ;; Hit "C-c a" then one of the following key sequences... ;; - a for the A priority items, plus the agenda below it ;; - b for A-B priority items, plus the agenda below it ;; - c for A-C priority items, plus the agenda below it ;; - A for just the agenda ;; - t for just the A-C priority TODOs (setq org-agenda-custom-commands '(("a" "Agenda plus A items" ((tags-todo "+PRIORITY="A"" ((org-agenda-sorting-strategy '(priority-down)))) (agenda ""))) ("b" "Agenda plus A+B items" ((tags-todo "+PRIORITY="A"|+PRIORITY="B"" ((org-agenda-sorting-strategy '(priority-down)))) (agenda ""))) ("c" "Agenda plus A+B+C items" ((tags-todo "+PRIORITY="A"|+PRIORITY="B"|+PRIORITY="C"" ((org-agenda-sorting-strategy '(priority-down)))) (agenda ""))) ("A" "Agenda" ((agenda ""))) ("t" "Just TODO items" ((tags-todo "+PRIORITY="A"|+PRIORITY="B"|+PRIORITY="C"" ((org-agenda-sorting-strategy '(priority-down))))))))

Bradley and Karen discuss Conservancy's ContractPatch Initiative that will help Free Software developers negotiate their agreements with employers. Show Notes: Segment 0 (00:38) Software Freedom Conservancy has two blog posts and a mailing list to discuss the Contract Patch initiative (02:40). Bradley searched for the NPR story he mentioned but just couldn't find it, but he did fine a similar one covering terms of service agreements (08:30) Karen mentioned the the Outreachy Project of Conservancy. (09:30) The Google Map API ToS states that you have to pay for it after a certain amount of usage (17:30) Bradley mentioned the book, What Color Is Your Parachute? (24:30) The “put it in writing” commercials from AT&T and MCI. (46:44) Send feedback and comments on the cast to . You can keep in touch with Free as in Freedom on our IRC channel, #faif on irc.freenode.net, and by following Conservancy on identi.ca and and Twitter. Free as in Freedom is produced by Dan Lynch of danlynch.org. Theme music written and performed by Mike Tarantino with Charlie Paxson on drums. The content of this audcast, and the accompanying show notes and music are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike 4.0 license (CC BY-SA 4.0).

This week on the show, we have an interview with Jamie This episode was brought to you by Headlines BSDCan 2016 List of Talks (http://www.bsdcan.org/2016/list-of-talks.txt) We are all looking forward to BSDCan Make sure you arrive in time for the Goat BoF, the evening of Tuesday June 7th at the Royal Oak, just up the street from the university residence There will also be a ZFS BoF during lunch of one of the conference days, be sure to grab your lunch and bring it to the BoF room Also, don't forget to get signed up for the various DevSummits taking place at BSDCan. *** What does Load Average really mean (https://utcc.utoronto.ca/~cks/space/blog/unix/ManyLoadAveragesOfUnix) Chris Siebenmann, a sysadmin at the University of Toronto, does some comparison of what “Load Average” means on different unix systems, including Solaris/IllumOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Linux It seems that no two OSes use the same definition, so comparing load averages is impossible On FreeBSD, where I/O does not affect load average, you can divide the load average by the number of CPU cores to be able to compare across machines with different core counts *** GPL violations related to combining ZFS and Linux (http://sfconservancy.org/blog/2016/feb/25/zfs-and-linux/) As we mentioned in last week's episode, Ubuntu was preparing to release their next version with native ZFS support. + As expected, the Software Freedom Conservancy has issued a statement detailing the legal argument why they believe this is a violation of the GPL license for the Linux kernel. It's a pretty long and complete article, but we wanted to bring you the summary of the whole, and encourage you to read the rest, since it's good to be knowledgeable about the various open-source projects and their license conditions. “We are sympathetic to Canonical's frustration in this desire to easily support more features for their users. However, as set out below, we have concluded that their distribution of zfs.ko violates the GPL. We have written this statement to answer, from the point of view of many key Linux copyright holders, the community questions that we've seen on this matter. Specifically, we provide our detailed analysis of the incompatibility between CDDLv1 and GPLv2 — and its potential impact on the trajectory of free software development — below. However, our conclusion is simple: Conservancy and the Linux copyright holders in the GPL Compliance Project for Linux Developers believe that distribution of ZFS binaries is a GPL violation and infringes Linux's copyright. We are also concerned that it may infringe Oracle's copyrights in ZFS. As such, we again ask Oracle to respect community norms against license proliferation and simply relicense its copyrights in ZFS under a GPLv2-compatible license.” The Software Freedom Law Center's take on the issue (https://softwarefreedom.org/resources/2016/linux-kernel-cddl.html) Linux SCSI subsystem Maintainer, James Bottomley, asks “where is the harm” (http://blog.hansenpartnership.com/are-gplv2-and-cddl-incompatible/) FreeBSD and ZFS (http://freebsdfoundation.blogspot.ca/2016/02/freebsd-and-zfs.html) *** DragonFly i915 reaches Linux 4.2 (https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=DragonFlyBSD-i915-4.2) The port of the Intel i915 DRM/KMS Linux driver to DragonFlyBSD has been updated to match Linux kernel 4.2 Various improvements and better support for new hardware are included One big difference, is that DragonFlyBSD will not require the binary firmware blob that Linux does François Tigeot explains: "starting from Linux 4.2, a separate firmware blob is required to save and restore the state of display engines in some low-power modes. These low-power modes have been forcibly disabled in the DragonFly version of this driver in order to keep it blob-free." Obviously this will have some disadvantage, but as those modes were never available on DragonFlyBSD before, users are not likely to miss them *** Interview - Jamie McParland - mcparlandj@newberg.k12.or.us (mailto:mcparlandj@newberg.k12.or.us) / @nsdjamie (https://twitter.com/nsdjamie) FreeBSD behind the chalkboard *** iXsystems My New IXSystems Mail Server (https://www.reddit.com/r/LinuxActionShow/comments/48c9nt/my_new_ixsystems_mail_server/) News Roundup Installing ELK on FreeBSD, Tutorial Part 1 (https://blog.gufi.org/2016/02/15/elk-first-part/) Are you an ELK user, or interested in becoming one? If so, Gruppo Utenti has a nice blog post / tutorial on how to get started with it on FreeBSD. Maybe you haven't heard of ELK, but its not the ELK in ports, specifically in this case he is referring to “ElasticSearch/Logstash/Kibana” as a stack. Getting started is relatively simply, first we install a few ports/packages: textproc/elasticsearch sysutils/logstash textproc/kibana43 www/nginx After enabling the various services for those (hint: sysrc may be easier), he then takes us through the configuration of ElasticSearch and LogStash. For the most part they are fairly straightforward, but you can always copy and paste his example config files as a template. Follow up to Installing ELK on FreeBSD (https://blog.gufi.org/2016/02/23/elk-second-part/) Jumping directly into the next blog entry, he then takes us through the “K” part of ELK, specifically setting up Kibana, and exposing it via nginx publically. At this point most of the CLI work is finished, and we have a great walkthrough of doing the Kibana configuration via their UI. We are still awaiting the final entry to the series, where the setup of ElastAlert will be detailed, and we will bring that to your attention when it lands. *** From 1989: An Empirical Study of the Reliablity of Unix Utilities (http://ftp.cs.wisc.edu/paradyn/technical_papers/fuzz.pdf) A paper from 1989 on the results of fuzz testing various unix utilities across a range of available unix operating systems Very interesting results, it is interesting to look back at before the start of the modern BSD projects New problems are still being found in utilities using similar testing methodologies, like afl (American Fuzzy lop) *** Google Summer of Code Both FreeBSD (https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/organizations/4892834293350400/) and NetBSD (https://summerofcode.withgoogle.com/organizations/6246531984261120/) Are running 2016 Google Summer of Code projects. Students can start submitting proposals on March 14th. In the meantime, if you have any ideas, please post them to the Summer Of Code Ideas Page (https://wiki.freebsd.org/SummerOfCodeIdeas) on the FreeBSD wiki Students can start looking at the list now and try to find mentors to get a jump start on their project. *** High Availablity Sync for ipfw3 in Dragonfly (http://lists.dragonflybsd.org/pipermail/commits/2016-February/459424.html) Similar to pfsync, this new protocol allows firewall dynamic rules (state) to be synchronized between two firewalls that are working together in HA with CARP Does not yet sync NAT state, it seems libalias will need some modernization first Apparently it will be relatively easy to port to FreeBSD This is one of the only features ipfw lacks when compared to pf *** Beastie Bits FreeBSD 10.3-BETA3 Now Available (https://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-stable/2016-February/084238.html) LibreSSL isnt affected by the OpenSSL DROWN attack (http://undeadly.org/cgi?action=article&sid=20160301141941&mode=expanded) NetBSD machines at the Open Source Conference 2016 in Toyko (http://mail-index.netbsd.org/netbsd-advocacy/2016/02/29/msg000703.html) OpenBSD removes Linux Emulation (https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-ports-cvs&m=145650279825695&w=2) Time is an illusion - George Neville-Neil (https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=2878574) OpenSSH 7.2 Released (http://www.openssh.com/txt/release-7.2) Feedback/Questions Shane - IPSEC (http://slexy.org/view/s2qCKWWKv0) Darrall - 14TB Zpool (http://slexy.org/view/s20CP3ty5P) Pedja - ZFS setup (http://slexy.org/view/s2qp7K9KBG) ***

Free as in Freedom host Christopher Allan Webber interviews Karen Sandler and Bradley Kuhn about their work on copyleft and at Software Freedom Conservancy. You can become a Supporter of this work! Show Notes: Bradley mentioned Cygnus Solutions, ultimately acquired by Red Hat, which was an early for-profit supporter of copylefted projects. Bradley and Karen discussed the VMware lawsuit. Chris Webber wrote this blog post in response to a Shane Curcuru, who is VP of Brand Management at the Apache Software Foundation, anti-copyleft talk at OSCON 2015. Shane's talk is consistent with Apache Software Foundation's historical and recent anti-copyleft positions (12:23) Send feedback and comments on the cast to . You can keep in touch with Free as in Freedom on our IRC channel, #faif on irc.freenode.net, and by following Conservancy on identi.ca and and Twitter. Free as in Freedom is produced by Dan Lynch of danlynch.org. Theme music written and performed by Mike Tarantino with Charlie Paxson on drums. The content of this audcast, and the accompanying show notes and music are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike 4.0 license (CC BY-SA 4.0).