Tag: GNU

The GNU Project has begun laying the groundwork for another piece of "Free as in Freedom" software. This time, the group has its sights set on developing a Skype alternative which rivals the original in ease of use and functionality. Dubbed GNU Free Call, the program will rely on a "self-aware, meshed calling network" to deliver secure, anonymous VoIP. The GNU SIP Witch server will provide the ...

The development version of Wine 1.3 has just been released, bringing with it a ton of bug fixes, improved JavaScript performance, and -- at long last -- GNU gettext support, making localization and translation a whole lot easier. For many Linux users, though, Wine 1.3.11 will be known as the build that finally fixed MS Hearts, which has been broken under Wine since 2006. Of course, there is a ...

Before I start, I'm not quite sure why you'd want to do this: why not just drag out a Google Docs tab and pretend it's Notepad? That's the whole point of Chrome and other minimalist browsers: they want to be an application platform! But, anyway, if you do want to edit Google Docs from your desktop, Nocs is an excellent solution. It's just like a super-powered, cloud-enabled Windows Notepad. As ...

When you ask about a free alternative to Windows Notepad, chances are good that Notepad ++ will be recommended to you. Another alternative which doesn't get mentioned as often is Notepad GNU. It occupies the space in between Notepad and Notepad ++. Notepad GNU does offer loads of features, though not quite as many as Notepad ++. Which is fine, because plenty of people just want Notepad with a ...

Have a doctorate? Hate web design, razors, soap and capitalism? Able to get by in Boston on $53,849 a year? You may be in luck. The Free Software Foundation is hiring a Campaigns Manager! According to the FSF's own site, "The campaigns manager implements the FSF communications strategy and works as part of a team to develop and implement issue campaigns and community resources, acting as a ...

Open source financial management application GnuCash hit version 2.2.0 this week. Updates include automatic saving, an improved scheduled transaction view, and oh yeah, support for Windows. GnuCash now runs on GNU/Linu, BSD, Solaris, OSX and Windows. While the last few releases have include limited Windows support, the development team says the port is now complete. The program is designed for ...

Firefox is indeed free software, but not in every sense of the word. It's an open source product, but the binaries that they ship contain proprietary plugins and artwork. I'm not too scandalized by this knowledge, but in case your ideological sensibilities are offended, know that you're not alone: IceWeasel is a version of Firefox from the GNU Project that omits all non-free-as-in-speech art and ...

The Ubuntu Linux distribution has made incredible strides since its launch in 2004. Sure, giant stacks of cash in Mark Shuttleworth's war chest, used to conquer programming "bounties" for usability, features and bugfixes, have helped to aid the fledgling distribution. Still, the rapid advance of Ubuntu towards the mainstream desktop cannot be ignored. If you're driving up the 101, Northbound, just ...

The Haz-Mat suited activists of DefectiveByDesign gained quite a bit of exposure when they waltzed into Apple stores across the country carrying signs and informing customers about the rights they give up when buying DRM controlled music from the iTunes Music Store. Our sister site, The Digital Music Weblog (she prefers to be called TDMW for short) caught up with the crafty folks at ...

As reported last month, this year will see the first update of the GNU General Public License—the license employed by, depending on who you ask, half to three-fourths of all free software—since 1991, and the Free Software Foundation has posted the first draft of the new GPLv3. It's no easy read, but luckily there's a Rationale Document that describes all of the changes in the new ...