“We at freshmeat regularly receive submissions of Windows
software for inclusion in the appindex. Sometimes it’s something
that obviously doesn’t belong here, like a commercially-licensed
closed-sourced word processor. Other times, it’s not as clear
whether we should include it or not, as when we get a Windows port
of a GNU utility or a piece of software that helps dual-booters
access the data stored on their ext2 partitions when they’re booted
into Windows. In today’s editorial, Steve Killen discusses the
possibilities of free software in an unfree world. We look forward
to hearing your own ideas on the subject and on whether such
software belongs on freshmeat….”
“With the Free Software/Open Source movement well under way in
the Linux community, we have transformed from crusaders and
vigilantes to explorers and conquistadors. Where we were once
aggressively defending a scorned corner of “enterprise computing,”
we now stand by our achievements and the newfound recognition (and
investors and developers) they bring. At this point, it’s time to
think about where to go from here — to begin to focus not inward,
but outward. If free software can propel the GNU/Linux community to
stardom in just 8 years, what could it do to an existing,
well-established platform such as Microsoft Windows?…”
“What if, however, instead of binary-only releases, nag
boxes, and sometimes poorly functional, overpriced software,
Windows users could also download (and even compile) their favorite
utilities, games, and applications? What if they could take
advantage of the free software development cycle, added to the
familiarity of the Windows platform?…“