BadVista.org: FSF launches campaign against Microsoft Windows Vista]

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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.
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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>.

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