Danny Yee

Free Software Advocacy and Politics

I'm interested in linking the free software movement with the struggle for social justice and developing the synergies between them, and in connecting free software with freedom of information issues in other areas. (For freedom of speech issues, see my fighting Internet censorship in Australia.)

Local Documents

Free Software as Appropriate Technology
Imagine you are putting water pumps into a village in Africa... GNU/Linux vs Microsoft Windows.
Development, Ethical Trading + Free Software
My own attempt to explore connections between community development and free software.
Against intellectual property
Brian Martin puts the case against intellectual property.
Information as a Global Public Good
A proposal for an Oxfam International advocacy campaign focused on the right to knowledge and communication.
Frequently Asked Questions
on information and development.

Book Reviews

More: civil liberties, the Internet, other book reviews.

Political Lobbying

Governments in France, Denmark, Brazil, and many other countries have made moves towards free software. In Australia, legislation has been considered by the South Australian government.

Certainly it would be good to get a better turnout in community submissions to bodies such as the Intellectual Property and Competition Review Committee.

Note: I try to avoid the term "open source". While it avoids the ambiguity of "free software", it emphasizes "access to source code" at the expense of other important ideas. Also, people outside the computing industry tend not to understand either "open" or "source".

News and Links

Moodle is free and open, but almost all content in it is locked away - OpenSource
the iPad is a threat to creativity - DiveIntoMark - AlexPayne
Red Hat launches a new portal/hub/forum - OpenSource.com
the core reason why I won't buy an iPhone or iPad - DefectiveByDesign
the BBC's digital rights plans are incompatible with free software - Guardian
Panasonic now has "copy protected" batteries - APCmag
cameras that shut down if anything other than an official Panasonic battery is inserted

(For more links, see my blog.)

Other Documents

Radio National interviews me
August 2001

Australian Organisations

the Australian Digital Alliance
defends the public interest in the copyright debate.
Linux Australia
has a directory of Australian GNU/Linux resources.
Open Source Victoria
an industry forum
Open Source Law
Brendan Scott runs a micro-boutique legal practice and publishes a weekly digest
Project Computerbank
works to provide computers and training in their use to those who couldn't otherwise afford them.
Community Activist Technology
is an anarchist group exploring the possibilities of online activism. The CAT is currently hibernating.

International Resources

The Free Software Foundation
is the guiding light of the free software movement.
Public Library of Science
Russell McOrmond's links
Danny Yee