<nettime> BadVista.org: FSF launches campaign against Microsoft Windows Vista

["Frederick Noronha" <fred@bytesforall.org>]

BadVista.org: FSF launches campaign against Microsoft Windows Vista

Boston, MA--December 15, 2006--The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today
launched BadVista.org, a campaign with a twofold mission of exposing the
harms inflicted on computer users by the new Microsoft Windows Vista and
promoting free software alternatives that respect users' security and
privacy rights.

"Vista is an upsell masquerading as an upgrade. It is an overall regression
when you look at the most important aspect of owning and using a computer:
your control over what it does. Obviously MS Windows is already proprietary
and very restrictive, and well worth rejecting. But the new 'features' in
Vista are a Trojan Horse to smuggle in even more restrictions. We'll be
focusing attention on detailing how they work, how to resist them, and why
people should care", said FSF program administrator John Sullivan.

The campaign will organize supporters into effective and unusual actions
drawing attention to this daylight theft of computer users' rights,
aggregate news stories cutting through the Vista marketing propaganda, and
provide a user-friendly gateway to the adoption of free software operating
systems like gNewSense (http://www.gnewsense.org).

Peter Brown, executive director of the FSF said, "Whilst Microsoft embarks
upon its largest ever product launch, its marketing dollars will be spent in
an effort to fool the media and user community about the goals of Vista. Our
campaign will ask the important questions. Can you set yourself or your
company free? Can you ever be free from Microsoft? As with our campaign
against Digital Restrictions Management, we aim to demonstrate that
technologists can be social activists, because we know the harm that Vista
will cause".

Among other harms, BadVista.org will focus on the danger posed by
Treacherous Computing in Vista. Commonly called Trusted Computing in the
industry, it is an attempt to turn computers from machines controlled by
their user into machines that monitor their user and refuse to operate in
ways that manufacturers don't authorize.

Supporters can sign up to receive more information and participate in the
campaign at http://badvista.org.
------------------------------

The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting
computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer
programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as in freedom)
software--particularly the GNU operating system and its GNU/Linux variants--
and free documentation for free software. The FSF also helps to spread
awareness of the ethical and political issues of freedom in the use of
software. Their Web site, located at www.fsf.org, is an important source of
information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support their work can be made at
http://donate.fsf.org. They are headquartered in Boston, MA, USA.

Press Contact: For more information about this announcement or to schedule
an interview, please contact Peter Brown or John Sullivan at +1-617-542-5942
or <pr@fsf.org> <pr@fsf.org>.

--
FN M: 0091 9822122436 P: +91-832-240-9490


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