[IoMLUG] Linux advocacy today - not the desktop, but the Smartphone and Tablet are relevant

[Chris Kohlhepp]

Dear All,

Recently I read an article that questioned if Linux advocacy was still 
relevant today. The article suggested that the goal of Linux advocacy 
had been attained: an open platform for computing that enjoys 
preeminence. Linux is everywhere, on the desktop and in the corporation. 
The article can be viewed at this link:

     http://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/need-for-linux-advocacy/1697

You can read my reply at the bottom of that page  - or here.

What is forgotten perhaps, like any other freedom, the democratic 
freedom afforded by Linux is preserved only by vigilance. Witness the 
erosion of freedom attained by Linux on the now dominant computing 
platform: the smartphone. Is your iPhone locked in what software you can 
run? Is your iPad?

More about this topic can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/qmolelinux

QMole – A Linux Distribution for the IPad

The IPhone and IPad have become a commodity that has subsumed the common 
Personal Computer of yesteryear. Look around any train, subway, airport 
or even any restaurant. Commuters and diners used to read newspapers. 
Today their gaze is solidly fixed on what is predominantly an 
"i-device." Computers used to be "personal." Now they are in your 
pocket. Yet, the freedom to operate your PC with software of your 
choice, that made it "personal" has all but disappeared from this new 
computer in your pocket. Do you feel restricted in what software you can 
run on your IPad? Do you like Linux but cannot run your favorite Linux 
software on your IPad? Do you feel that established and free Linux 
software is better than IOS software sold for a fee? Or perhaps you are 
a Linux software vendor and would like sell to IPad users free of 
development costs. Maybe you are just a hacker who loves Linux for the 
breeding ground of ideas that it is. If you would like to see Linux and 
personal choice return to your computer tomorrow, we need your help today!

https://www.facebook.com/qmolelinux

The Free Software Foundation also has a write-up on this topic here:

http://www.defectivebydesign.org/ipad

Chris Kohlhepp
chrisk at manx.net