Richard Stallman Speaks

khess 3 1K Views

I had the honor and pleasure of speaking to Richard Stallman a few days ago while he was in New Zealand on a speaking tour. I had been in an email conversation with him over several days asking about which software programs he uses and I finally connected with him for some clarification and more details. So, if you've ever wanted to get the scoop straight from the man himself, you'll want to listen to the .

The conversation begins abruptly because the phone conversation is a continuation of that email dialog. We also got cut off at one point during the interview and I had to call back.
I found him to be very personable, articulate and a pleasure to speak with. He was very patient with my nervous fumbling and was quite happy to discuss free software, his software choices and even his choice of .

To begin, I wanted to know not just about free software and the movement but his personal choices and I got quite a surprise. He is definitely no hypocrite. He is so much of a free software advocate that he even chose his personal computer because of the type of BIOS it uses.

I personally feel that using only free software is very limiting and would be very difficult to successfully accomplish. Richard Stallman doesn't find it difficult at all.

After speaking with him, I wrote "What Free Software Means" and placed it over in the *nix Software forum. Our conversation has certainly changed the way I speak of free software and my perspective on the whole movement.

For the bits that we didn't get to in the phone call, here is the list of software that Richard Stallman uses on a daily basis:

Operating System:
Email:
Editor: Emacs
PDF Viewer:
Audio: Audacity

He doesn't typically use a browser unless he views html offline. He only uses OpenOffice.org when someone sends him a file in those formats. My guess is that if you send him a proprietary file formatted file, he would either not open it or send you back a message stating that you need to convert the file to a free software alternative.

I liked speaking with him so much that I asked for another interview where we could actually have some time to sit down and do something in-depth. He agreed. He will be in southeast Asia next month and I'll catch up with him for that interview. Stay tuned for that one.

For more information on Richard Stallman, go to the Free Software Foundation site and GNU.org.

KonkaNok commented: cool interview +1

Dani AI

Generated

Great capture of RMS, — the thread nicely shows both the principle and the friction in running an all-free setup. As @dandart and point out, wireless and video support are the usual practical blockers. Below is a short, concrete checklist and some workflow tips that stay useful years on.

  • Inventory the critical devices (Wi-Fi, GPU, webcam, Bluetooth, printers) and record vendor/product IDs with lspci -nn and lsusb -v.
  • Test on the exact hardware first by booting a live image that intentionally omits non-free firmware. Confirm which devices work and which do not.
  • Inspect kernel logs for missing firmware: dmesg | grep -i firmware (or journalctl -k) and note failing device IDs. Also capture uname -a so helpers know the kernel in use.
  • When firmware is missing: (1) search for a libre firmware replacement, (2) replace the device with hardware known to have upstream open drivers, or (3) keep a documented fallback (a tiny USB stick or spare device) for the rare tasks needing non-free blobs.
  • When requesting help in the thread, include the lspci/lsusb outputs and the relevant dmesg lines — that makes troubleshooting far faster.

Practical habits: keep a safe backup before experimenting, export/share documents in open formats when possible, and maintain a short, tested fallback plan so daily work is not interrupted. For the promised follow-up interview it would be valuable to ask RMS about web/cloud workflows, mobile-device strategies, and the minimal compromises he personally tolerates — those specifics help readers bridge ideal and real-world use.

Member Avatar for Member #421368
Member #421368

I'd use free software completely if I could - but for me, I'd rather have my hardware work - but I might move to gnash. I have to have firmware for my wifi card... I can't think of anywhere else.

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Techwriter10 42 Practically a Posting Shark

Nice going, Ken. Great stuff.

Ron

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zcat 0 Newbie Poster

I ran gnusense on my laptop for a month.

No wireless was a bit of a pain, and the video drivers were a bit messed up, but with a better chipset (not necessarily a lemote, I believe something like a lenovo works pretty well with only free software) these wouldn't have been a problem.

Gnash was hopeless (this was a while back, it may have improved) but I found that swfdec was just fine for watching flash videos and funny animations like weebls stuff. Even better than the Adobe flash plugin, because swfdec includes the ability to download the media.

In fact I got through all of planning WLUG's Software Freedom Day 2008 and demonstrating lots of Free software on the day itself using only Free software, and I really didn't find it all that restrictive at all.

What made me go back to my less-free Ubuntu was mostly the lack of video and wireless support (which is more a problem with not having chosen well supported hardware) and interactive flash games. If I can get a better laptop I do plan to move to Gnusense permanently.

Edited by zcat because: n/a
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wbmulia 0 Newbie Poster

The day after (Glabal Conferrence on Open Source) ends, Oct 28, there will be a Free (Bebas) Software event:

Richard M. Stallman, founder of the Free Software Movement (gerakan perangkat lunak bebas) and leader of development of the GNU operating system (with which the kernel Linux is typically used) will give a speech to explain the ethical and political ideas of free software, which are differ from the ideas of open source, and how GNU was developed to realize these ethical goals.

The talk, entitled: "The Free (Bebas) Software Movement and the GNU/Linux Operating System"

Host by: InfoLinux Magazine
Date/time : October 28th, 2009 / 9:00 - 11:30
Place : Auditorium, Gedung II BPPT 3rd Floor,
Jl. MH Thamrin 8, Jakarta 10340 Indonesia

Link: http://www.fsf.org/events/20091028jakarta

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sureronald 0 Junior Poster

I wonder whether the word "free" (not in price but freedom) would have been part of the software,OS and web development "dictionary" if it were not for this man (R.M.S).
This man is an inspiration.
Long live RMS, long live free software, long live FSF, long live GNU!!

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Grepnix 0 Newbie Poster

Would have liked a listen but using Debian Lenny it hung with Iceweasel everytime I went to the podcast page :-(

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khess 95 Practically a Master Poster

:
Sorry, if you have a problem listening with the embedded player, please download a copy of the podcast with the provided link. You might have to right click the link to grab it in certain browsers.


You are correct. RMS is a genius and I've had the honor to speak with him and am invited to speak with him again. I hope you'll all tune in for that one. He is truly one of the greats of our generation and of the Internet Age.

Edited by khess because: n/a
Member Avatar for Grepnix
Grepnix 0 Newbie Poster

Don't know why but its working for me now... Perhaps I was just over impatient waiting for the java applet to load...

Well worth listening to. RMS always impresses me with his absolute loyalty to his beliefs. Something sadly lacking in our politicians.

Edited by Grepnix because: typo
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Kinox 0 Newbie Poster

> He doesn't typically use a browser unless he views html offline.

Eh, these days most of us practically live in our web browsers. Richard doesn't need anything from the www? Hmm...

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KonkaNok 36 Light Poster

>Eh, these days most of us practically live in our web browsers. Richard doesn't need anything from the www? Hmm...

Yea, I found that kinda weird too..

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KonkaNok 36 Light Poster

English link:
Looks pretty cool..

Edited by KonkaNok because: n/a
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Grepnix 0 Newbie Poster

Yeah..... Thats one thing that puzzles me...RMS has personal reasons why he doesn't use the web? Personal reasons? What the hell does he mean?

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