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In the paper, the FSF outlines the difficulties Secure Boot poses for the free software movement and free software adoption, warns against the threat of Restricted Boot, and gives recommendations for how free software developers and users can best address the issues.

BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Saturday, June 30th, 2012-- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today published a whitepaper entitled, "Free Software Foundation recommendations for free operating system distributions considering Secure Boot."

The paper can be downloaded as a PDF from http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/secure-boot-vs-restricted-boot/whitepaper.pdf or read online at http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/secure-boot-vs-restricted-boot/whitepaper-web.

In the paper, the FSF outlines the difficulties Secure Boot poses for the free software movement and free software adoption, warns against the threat of Restricted Boot, and gives recommendations for how free software developers and users can best address the issues. The paper also responds to recent announcements made by two popular GNU/Linux distributions, Ubuntu and Fedora, detailing their intended approaches to implementing Secure Boot.

Because Microsoft's security key will be installed on nearly every laptop and desktop sold, there is a temptation for free software operating system distributions to connect their key to Microsoft's in order to facilitate easy installation.

The FSF rejects any approach to computer security which requires users or computer distributors to place their trust in Microsoft or any other proprietary software company, and instead stresses the importance of enabling users to both easily disable Secure Boot and to use security keys they generate themselves, so that they -- and not a third party -- can determine which software should and should not run on their computers.

"We will do what we can to help all free software operating system distributions follow this path, and we will work on a political level to reduce the practical difficulties that adhering to these principles might pose for expedient installation of free software. The FSF does want everyone to be able to easily install a free operating system -- our ultimate goal is for everyone to do so, and the experience of trying out free software is a powerful way to communicate the importance of free software ideals to new people. But we cannot in the name of expediency or simplicity accept systems that direct users to put their trust in entities whose goal it is to extinguish free software. If that's the tradeoff, we better just turn Secure Boot off," writes John Sullivan, FSF's executive director.

About the Free Software Foundation

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, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at http://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

About the GNU Operating System and Linux

Richard Stallman announced in September 1983 the plan to develop a free software Unix-like operating system called GNU. GNU is the only operating system developed specifically for the sake of users' freedom. See http://www.gnu.org/gnu/the-gnu-project.html.

In 1992, the essential components of GNU were complete, except for one, the kernel. When in 1992 the kernel Linux was re-released under the GNU GPL, making it free software, the combination of GNU and Linux formed a complete free operating system, which made it possible for the first time to run a PC without non-free software. This combination is the GNU/Linux system. For more explanation, see http://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu-linux-faq.html.

Media Contacts

John Sullivan
Executive Director
Free Software Foundation
+1 (617) 542 5942
campaigns@fsf.org

Joshua Gay
Licensing and Compliance Manager
Free Software Foundation
+1 (617} 542-5942
licensing@fsf.org

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The Free Software Foundation (FSF), a Massachusetts 501(c)(3) charity with a worldwide mission to protect freedoms critical to the computer-using public, seeks *two* motivated and organized tech-friendly Boston-based individuals to be its full-time campaigns managers.

Together, these positions form a team working closely with the executive director and members of the FSF's board of directors to plan, carry out, evaluate, and improve FSF's advocacy and education campaigns.

The team will start by taking up responsibility for our existing campaigns in support of the GNU Project, free software adoption, free media formats, and freedom on the network; and against DRM, software patents, and proprietary software.

Such responsibility includes:

• planning both online and physical actions to achieve our campaign goals,

• setting specific goals for each action and then measuring our success in achieving them,

• doing the writing and messaging work needed to effectively explain our campaigns and motivate people to support them,

• overseeing or doing the graphic design work to make our campaigns and their Web sites attractive,

• working with our systems administrators on the technology choices and deployments -- especially of web publication systems like Drupal and Plone -- for our campaign sites, and

• being an approachable, humble, and friendly representative of the FSF to our worldwide community of existing supporters and the broader public, both in person and online.

The campaigns team is also empowered and encouraged to develop new campaigns to advance the FSF's charitable mission. If you can look at http://www.fsf.org/campaigns and come up with proposals to improve both the quality and appearance of the work described there, along with ways to measure the success of your proposals if implemented, you should apply.

In your cover letter, please tell us a story of a time you motivated and organized others to take action on an issue important to you.

With our small staff of twelve, each person makes a clear contribution. We work hard, but offer a humane and fun work environment.

The FSF is a mature but growing organization that provides great potential for advancement; existing staff get the first chance at any new job openings.

Benefits and salary

The job must be worked on-site at FSF's downtown Boston offices. An on-site interview will be required with the executive director.

This job is a union position. The salary is fixed at $56,920/year and is non-negotiable. Other benefits include:

• full family health coverage through Blue Cross/Blue Shield's HMO Blue program,
• subsidized dental plan,
• four weeks of paid vacation annually,
• seventeen paid holidays annually,
• public transit commuting cost reimbursement,
• 403(b) program through TIAA-CREF, and
• yearly cost-of-living pay increases.

Application instructions

Resumes and cover letters must be submitted via email to hiring@fsf.org. The email must contain the subject line, "Campaigns Manager." Resumes and cover letters should be attached in a free format. Email submissions that do not follow these instructions will be ignored.

Applications must be received by Monday, July 23rd, 2012.

The FSF is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any employee or application for employment on the basis of race, color, marital status, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, handicap, or any other legally protected status recognized by federal, state or local law.

About the Free Software Foundation

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, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at http://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

At an event on May 10th in Barcelona, Spain, FSF president Richard Stallman was not feeling well and paramedics were called.

He was taken to the hospital but did not stay overnight. He did not have a heart attack, as has been reported in some places.

He returned to Boston on his previously scheduled flight and is now home safe.

He is well and will make a renewed effort to lose weight.

This text has been updated several times since its initial publication.

This position is now closed for applications. Thank you to everyone who applied.

The Free Software Foundation (FSF), a 501(c)(3) charity with a worldwide mission to protect freedoms critical to the computer-using public, seeks a motivated and organized Boston-based individual to be its full-time Operations Assistant.

This position works closely with the Executive Director and Business Operations Manager to ensure all administrative functions of the FSF run smoothly and efficiently, preserving our 4-star Charity Navigator rating and boosting all areas of our work.

In addition to handling phone calls and being a friendly face for visitors to our office at the center of Boston's Downtown Crossing, these functions include:

• fulfilling orders for FSF merchandise,
• blogging about merchandise-related news,
• processing incoming donations,
• coordinating volunteers,
• updating our contact database,
• organizing fundraising mailings,
• diverting sales calls to the appropriate fake voicemail box,
• assisting with occasional local events,
• maintaining a few areas of our Web site, and
• looking after the office space.

This is a great position for a recent graduate who thrives on multitasking, has an eye for detail, lives in the Boston area, and wants to make a difference. With our small staff of ten, each person makes a clear contribution. We work hard, but offer a humane and fun work environment.

Because our mission is worldwide, language skills and a demonstrated ability to interact with people across cultures and age groups will be highly valued. While the position does not require advanced computer skills, a willingness to learn and work with new software is a must. We use free software like CiviCRM, Plone, Emacs, and LibreOffice, all running on GNU/Linux.

The FSF is a growing organization and provides great potential for advancement; existing staff get the first chance at any new job openings. Previous Operations Assistants have often gone on to hold other positions within the organization.

Benefits and salary

This job is a union position. The salary is fixed at $49,140/year and is non-negotiable. Other benefits include the following:

• full family health coverage through Blue Cross/Blue Shield's HMO Blue program,
• subsidized dental plan,
• four weeks of paid vacation annually,
• seventeen paid holidays annually,
• public transit commuting cost reimbursement,
• 403(b) program through TIAA-CREF, and
• yearly cost-of-living pay increases.

This position is now closed for applications. Thank you to everyone who applied.

The FSF is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any employee or application for employment on the basis of race, color, marital status, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, handicap, or any other legally protected status recognized by federal, state or local law.

About the Free Software Foundation

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, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at http://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

Were it grounded in reality, Oracle's claim that copyright law gives them proprietary control over any software that uses a particular functional API would be terrible for free software and programmers everywhere.

On Monday, May 7th, the jury in Oracle v Google reached a partial verdict, which was based on instructions from Judge Alsup to assume that the structure, sequence, and arrangement of Oracle's Java APIs are subject to copyright. Whether or not Oracle can actually claim copyright on the Java API will be determined by Judge Alsup at a later date.

The following statement is attributed to John Sullivan, executive director of the Free Software Foundation:

Were it grounded in reality, Oracle's claim that copyright law gives them proprietary control over any software that uses a particular functional API would be terrible for free software and programmers everywhere. It is an unethical and greedy interpretation created with the express purpose of subjugating as many computer users as possible, and is particularly bad in this context because it comes at a time when the sun has barely set on the free software community's celebration of Java as a language newly suitable for use in the free world. Fortunately, the claim is not yet reality, and we hope Judge Alsup will keep it that way.

The FSF first responded to Oracle v Google in September 2010, but at the time we focused more on the patent aspect of the case since details about Oracle's copyright infringement claims had not yet been published.

For more information on Monday's ruling, we recommend Groklaw's coverage, as well as EFF lawyer Julie Samuels's article on why APIs should not be subject to copyright.

About the Free Software Foundation

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, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at http://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

About Free Software and Open Source

The free software movement's goal is freedom for computer users. Some, especially corporations, advocate a different viewpoint, known as "open source," which cites only practical goals such as making software powerful and reliable, focuses on development models, and avoids discussion of ethics and freedom. These two viewpoints are different at the deepest level. For more explanation, see http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html.