Richard Stallman Calls Azure Sphere OS a Positive Step
Stallman is glad that Microsoft will respect user’s freedom.
Earlier this month, Microsoft shook the world with the announcement of Azure Sphere OS, an operating system designed to run on IoT devices. The OS is powered by a customized version of Linux kernel. This marks the first product by Microsoft that runs on the Linux kernel. What’s even more interesting is that Microsoft will be shipping a product that has code released under the GNU GPL v2. We talked to Galen Hunt, Partner Managing Director, Microsoft Azure Sphere, who confirmed that Microsoft will comply with the licenses used for the code.
Last week we met with Richard M. Stallman in his hometown of Boston to get his reaction to the announcement, “That’s good. That program is free software. It’s released under a free software license I wrote, which requires redistributors to respect the freedom of users and Microsoft is even going to respect the users freedom with regards to that particular program. Well, I’m glad about that,” said Stallman.
However, he also criticized the community that coined the term "open source" to make copyleft licenses more acceptable for companies. He said that Open Source has done harm to the mission and goal of the Free Software Foundation, “...they coined the term open source to disconnect our software from our ethical ideas and they were fairly effective at that. Since then, we have to work hard to teach people, even the users of our software, that there’s such a thing as the Free Software movement. That it’s a movement for their freedom, that this is not just a matter of more convenient, more reliable software. Those are secondary desirable things, but they’re not as important as freedom. Freedom is crucial." he said. Stallman said that he didn’t use the term as it would have buried the idea behind the Free Software movement.
When asked how he really feels about Microsoft releasing code that’s guided by the license he wrote, Stallman sounded positive, “It’s just a beginning; I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of non-free software in it. I see it as a small step. Remember, the goal is to kick non-free software out of your life; kick it out of our society. We should all be free. So when you compare this step with that goal, I see it as a small positive step.”
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Plasma 6.3 Now Available
Plasma desktop v6.3 has a couple of pretty nifty tricks up its sleeve.
-
LibreOffice 25.2 Has Arrived
If you've been hoping for a release that offers more UI customizations, you're in for a treat.
-
TuxCare Has a Big AlmaLinux 9 Announcement in Store
TuxCare announced it has successfully completed a Security Technical Implementation Guide for AlmaLinux OS 9.
-
First Release Candidate for Linux Kernel 6.14 Now Available
Linus Torvalds has officially released the first release candidate for kernel 6.14 and it includes over 500,000 lines of modified code, making for a small release.
-
System76 Refreshes Meerkat Mini PC
If you're looking for a small form factor PC powered by Linux, System76 has exactly what you need in the Meerkat mini PC.
-
Gnome 48 Alpha Ready for Testing
The latest Gnome desktop alpha is now available with plenty of new features and improvements.
-
Wine 10 Includes Plenty to Excite Users
With its latest release, Wine has the usual crop of bug fixes and improvements, along with some exciting new features.
-
Linux Kernel 6.13 Offers Improvements for AMD/Apple Users
The latest Linux kernel is now available, and it includes plenty of improvements, especially for those who use AMD or Apple-based systems.
-
Gnome 48 Debuts New Audio Player
To date, the audio player found within the Gnome desktop has been meh at best, but with the upcoming release that all changes.
-
Plasma 6.3 Ready for Public Beta Testing
Plasma 6.3 will ship with KDE Gear 24.12.1 and KDE Frameworks 6.10, along with some new and exciting features.