Re: School encouraging non-free software

[Rob Emmons]

> It's going to be hard not to print because I personally don't have a
> printer at home. Maybe I can ask someone to print it for me, or buy a
> printer and get it working under debian. If I ask someone to print it
> for me I'd still be encouraging the use of non-free software.

Printing should not be that hard.  Use OO and print to PDF.  Put the PDF
on a USB Flash drive, take it to windows, and print.

> It seems almost impossible to use all free software in ones life, and
> live "ethically pure" as I'm sure the GNU project would put it. I mean
> airplanes use HP-UX, so would I quit flying? Should I not use the
> internet because some sites run on IIS/Windows? Is that considered
> "using" software in the free software sense? Even cars must have some
> non-free software in them. The new plasma televisions almost run OS's
> (non-free), and I'm sure even old tvs use non-free roms etc... Even
> the Electronic Switching Stations on the public swtiched telephone
> network are non-free. Should I not use phones?

Over analysis -- consider all ethical factors in production of a product
or service as factors on which is best to use or buy.  There are many
ethics to purchase -- is the company competitive or anti-competitive, how
does the company treat it's workers, and yes -- is your use of software
free and open.

These are all factors.  Then decide.

As for what the fsf things -- they'll have to comment -- but I would
suspect they would say -- products including software that guarantees the 
user's freedom to copy, use, modify, and redistribute are free and ethical.
Or something like that.  Any product that does not allow this should be
avoided.  And I agree with that... though it's probably not always
convenient.

Rob