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www/philosophy android-and-users-freedom.html
|
From: |
Dora Scilipoti |
|
Subject: |
www/philosophy android-and-users-freedom.html |
|
Date: |
Thu, 12 Apr 2012 21:40:00 +0000 |
CVSROOT: /web/www
Module name: www
Changes by: Dora Scilipoti <dora> 12/04/12 21:40:00
Modified files:
philosophy : android-and-users-freedom.html
Log message:
Fix link. Set class center. Line length. Copyright year.
CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.12&r2=1.13
Patches:
Index: android-and-users-freedom.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/philosophy/android-and-users-freedom.html,v
retrieving revision 1.12
retrieving revision 1.13
diff -u -b -r1.12 -r1.13
--- android-and-users-freedom.html 12 Apr 2012 17:48:51 -0000 1.12
+++ android-and-users-freedom.html 12 Apr 2012 21:39:12 -0000 1.13
@@ -9,23 +9,22 @@
href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/sep/19/android-free-software-stallman";>
The Guardian</a></p>
-<center>
-<h3>Support the <a href="FreeYourAndroid.org"> Free Your Android</a>
-campaign.</h3></center>
-
+<h3 class="center">Support the <a
+href="http://fsfe.org/campaigns/android/android.html";> Free Your
+Android</a> campaign.</h3>
<p>To what extent does Android respect the freedom of its users? For a
computer user that values freedom, that is the most important question
to ask about any software system.</p>
-<p>In the <a href="http://fsf.org";>free/libre software movement</a>, we develop
-software that respects users' freedom, so we and you can escape from
-software that doesn't. By contrast, the idea of “open
-source” focuses on how to develop code; it is a different current of
-thought whose principal value is <a
+<p>In the <a href="http://fsf.org";>free/libre software movement</a>, we
+develop software that respects users' freedom, so we and you can escape
+from software that doesn't. By contrast, the idea of “open
+source” focuses on how to develop code; it is a different current
+of thought whose principal value is <a
href="/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html">code
-quality rather than freedom</a>. Thus, the concern here is not whether Android
is
-“open”, but whether it allows users to be free.</p>
+quality rather than freedom</a>. Thus, the concern here is not whether
+Android is “open”, but whether it allows users to be free.</p>
<p>Android is an operating system primarily for mobile phones, which
consists of Linux (Torvalds' kernel), some libraries, a Java platform
@@ -35,8 +34,8 @@
<a href="/copyleft/copyleft.html">copyleft</a>.</p>
<p>The version of Linux included in Android is not entirely free
-software, since it contains nonfree “binary blobs” (just like
-Torvalds' version of Linux), some of which are really used in some
+software, since it contains nonfree “binary blobs” (just
+like Torvalds' version of Linux), some of which are really used in some
Android devices. Android platforms use other nonfree firmware, too,
and nonfree libraries. Aside from those, the source code of Android
versions 1 and 2, as released by Google, is free software—but this
@@ -45,22 +44,23 @@
<p>Android is very different from the <a
href="/gnu/the-gnu-project.html">GNU/Linux operating
-system</a> because it contains very little of GNU. Indeed, just about the
-only component in common between Android and GNU/Linux is Linux, the kernel.
-People who erroneously think “Linux” refers to the entire GNU/Linux
-combination get tied in knots by these facts, and make paradoxical statements
-such as “Android contains Linux, but it isn't Linux.” If we avoid
-starting from the confusion, the situation is simple: Android contains Linux,
-but not GNU; thus, Android and GNU/Linux are mostly different.</p>
+system</a> because it contains very little of GNU. Indeed, just about
+the only component in common between Android and GNU/Linux is Linux, the
+kernel. People who erroneously think “Linux” refers to the
+entire GNU/Linux combination get tied in knots by these facts, and make
+paradoxical statements such as “Android contains Linux, but it
+isn't Linux.” If we avoid starting from the confusion, the
+situation is simple: Android contains Linux, but not GNU; thus, Android
+and GNU/Linux are mostly different.</p>
<p>Within Android, Linux the kernel remains a separate program, with its
source code under <a href="/licenses/gpl-2.0.html">GNU GPL
-version 2</a>. To combine Linux with code under the Apache 2.0 license would
-be copyright infringement, since GPL version 2 and Apache 2.0 are <a
-href="/licenses/license-list.html#apache2">incompatible</a>.
+version 2</a>. To combine Linux with code under the Apache 2.0 license
+would be copyright infringement, since GPL version 2 and Apache 2.0 are
+<a href="/licenses/license-list.html#apache2">incompatible</a>.
Rumors that Google has somehow converted Linux to the Apache license are
-erroneous; Google has no power to change the license on the code of Linux, and
-did not try. If the authors of Linux allowed its use under <a
+erroneous; Google has no power to change the license on the code of
+Linux, and did not try. If the authors of Linux allowed its use under <a
href="/licenses/gpl.html">GPL version 3</a>,
then that code could be combined with Apache-licensed code, with the
combination could be released under GPL version 3. But Linux has not
@@ -106,7 +106,8 @@
version that they really use.</p>
<p>One change that some manufacturers make in Android is the addition
-of <a
href="http://androidsecuritytest.com/features/logs-and-services/loggers/carrieriq/";>
+of <a
+href="http://androidsecuritytest.com/features/logs-and-services/loggers/carrieriq/";>
a hidden general surveillance package</a> such as Carrier IQ.</p>
<p><a href="http://replicant.us";>Replicant</a>, a free version of
@@ -124,8 +125,8 @@
handle the phone network radio, WiFi, bluetooth, GPS, 3D graphics, the
camera, the speaker, and in some cases the microphone too. On some
models, a few of these drivers are free, and there are some that you
-can do without—but you can't do without the microphone or the phone
-network radio.</p>
+can do without—but you can't do without the microphone or the
+phone network radio.</p>
<p>The phone network firmware comes preinstalled. If all it did was sit
there and run, we could regard it as equivalent to a circuit. When we
@@ -209,7 +210,7 @@
README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting translations
of this article.</p>
-<p>Copyright © 2011 Richard Stallman</p>
+<p>Copyright © 2011, 2012 Richard Stallman</p>
<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license"
href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/us/";>Creative
@@ -217,7 +218,7 @@
<p>Updated:
<!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2012/04/12 17:48:51 $
+$Date: 2012/04/12 21:39:12 $
<!-- timestamp end -->
</p>
</div>