We’re Freedom Socks! a podcast (availible as ogg varbis and mp3) all about free software and GNU/Linux in particular. And, after another random “season break”, we’re back. This week we run over whats been in the freedom news recently, get all angry about normal people, do an interview with one of our own hosts about the AGPLmail project.

Freedom Socks is a podcast (availible as ogg varbis and mp3) all about free software and GNU/Linux in particular.

Freedom Socks is a podcast about Linux and freedom in general. In our fourth installment, we go over this weeks news, review dvorak and the naughty ktouch and vent our fustration with jokoster. Then, we review some Linux games, and discuss their ethics, before finishing off with some feedback. Availible in ogg and mp3.

So, we’re back after our little break, with better sound quality. We sink our teeth right into the latest and greatest news, including the amazing news from SGI. Then, we send a shipment of hate to the evil DRM fiends at Spore, review TuxGuitar and cleverly discuss the links between Science and free software. Finally, we wrap up the show with some listener feedback.

This week is going to be a little different - the show is longer for a start. We cover this weeks news and express our anger in the Two Minutes Hate as usual, but we also have an interview with Matt Lee from the FSF, mainly about the the recent Stephen Fry video. Remember, you can discuss the show on IRC, the forum or email us feedback.

The free software community understands that free software gives the user more freedom than proprietary software. Proprietary software confines its users, prohibits them from making changes that would allow everyone to benefit, etc. Free software advocates (myself included) have a habit of claiming that using free (libre) software means the same thing as having freedom.

"Why should we care to have a 100 per cent free operating system? Isn't being almost free enough? Not if you value freedom itself.

The Free Software Movement was founded to win freedom for software users. Its offshoot, Open Source, was founded to downplay freedom as a value. This difference, which may seem subtle, has big consequences and this is one example of them..."

"... «I ask you to please always call it Free Software because that way you will encourage other people to pay attention to the question of freedom. The term Open Source was formulated by people who did not want to talk about freedom and that is the stupidest thing any people can do.

"...OpenFest is an idea for a celebration, which should exceed the boundaries set by differences and morals. Let there be a day each year in which we, the upholders of free software all over the world try to make this a day when all people could get in touch with the freedom on the Internet, with the freedom of open source software, with free software..."