Companies like Apple make software freedom hard to achieve. One majorobstacle is their graphics hardware, which often ships without publicspecifications, free drivers, or native support for free operating systemssuch asGNU/Linux. On top of that, Apple's drivers are not conformantto any industry standard. But there are free software projects like Panfrost,which defy these companies and build a graphics stack that respects theusers' freedom. Alyssa Rosenzweig, who spearheaded thereverse-engineering of the Apple GPU, will keynoteLibrePlanet 2024andexplain how the conformant OpenGL® 4.6 support beats Apple and therebyprotectssoftware freedom, i.e. the freedom to run, copy, distribute, study,change, and improve the software that surrounds us. About her work,Rosenzweig says: "The heart of the software freedom fight is resisting abusesof power: surveillance capitalism, vendor lock-in, planned obsolescence, andmore. As software freedom activists, we stand in solidarity with marginalizedpeople against oppression, laborers against exploitation, dissidents againstauthoritarianism. I am merely a graphics developer, but I am glad to do mypart, reverse-engineering the way towards a more just world."
"We are thrilled that Alyssa Rosenzweig will keynote LibrePlanet 2024. Herwork is fascinating and trailblazing. As long as companies like Apple denyits users the freedoms we all deserve, we rely on free software developerslike Rosenzweig to defend it," says Zoë Kooyman, executive director of theFSF. Rosenzweig alreadykeynoted LibrePlanet once before, in 2020,and she received the 2020Award for Outstanding New Free SoftwareContributor.
This is the third keynote the FSF has announced for LibrePlanet 2024:Cultivating Community. The other keynote speakers will be ElectronicFrontier Foundation (EFF) associate director of legislative activismHayleyTsukayama, andDavid Wilson, the creator of the System Crafterschannel. In addition to the keynotes,the LibrePlanet 2024 schedulefeatures more than thirty thrilling talks, panels, and workshops. Thetopics range from how tomake a libre movie with only libre softwareto thethreats of so-called "artificial intelligence"and the popularfree chess platform Lichess.
About LibrePlanet
LibrePlanet is the annual conference of the FSF. Over the last decade,LibrePlanet has blossomed from a small gathering of FSF associatemembers into a vibrant multi-day event that attracts a broad audienceof people who are interested in the values of software freedom.LibrePlanet 2024: Cultivating Community will be held on May 4 and 5 bothonline, and in person, at the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston,MA. To receive announcements about LibrePlanet 2024, visit theconference websiteand sign up for the email updates.
Attendees may register to attendLibrePlanet: CultivatingCommunity in personorremotely. Attendance is free ofcharge for FSFassociate membersand students.
For information on how your company or organization can sponsorLibrePlanet or have a table in the lively and centrally locatedexhibit hall, see theconference website, or send an emailtocampaigns@fsf.org.
About the Free Software Foundation
The FSF, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting computer users'right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computerprograms. The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as infreedom) software -- particularly the GNU operating system and itsGNU/Linux variants -- and free documentation for free software. TheFSF also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issuesof freedom in the use of software, and its websites, located athttps://www.fsf.organdhttps://www.gnu.org, are an importantsource of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF'swork can be made athttps://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are inBoston, MA, USA.
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Image Copyright © 2019, Michael Rosenzweig, licensed under theCreative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
