News

FSF News: Worldwide community of activists protest OverDrive and others forcing DRM upon libraries

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BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA — Tuesday, November 28, 2023 — The Free
Software Foundation (FSF) has announced its Defective by Design
campaign’s 17th annual International Day Against DRM (IDAD). It
will protest uses of Digital Restrictions Management technology’s
hold over public libraries around the world, exemplified by
corporations like OverDrive and Follett Destiny. IDAD will take place
digitally and worldwide on December 8, 2023.

Windows NT: peeking into the cradle

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Reading the story of how Windows NT came to be was entertaining, as it is a story of the system itself and the dynamics between Dave Cutler, the original designer and lead for NT, and the other people involved in the project. I was shy of being 10 years old when Windows NT launched and I didn’t comprehend what was going on in the operating systems world and why this release was such a big deal. Reading the book made me learn various new things about the development process, the role of Microsoft in that era, and allowed me to settle some questions I’ve had over the years. This article is a mixture of a book review and a collection of thoughts and reflections that the book evoked. Let’s begin because we have a lot of ground to cover. Dave Cutler’s impact on the word of computing really can’t be understated. I often wonder how he truly feels about what his and his team’s creation turned into today – does he like what Windows NT has become? Does he consider Windows 11 worthy of carrying on the torch of NT? As Cutler still works at Microsoft, we won’t get an answer any time soon, but I sure do hope he intends to write down his memoirs in a tell-all book about his life and career, because I’d be down for reading that.