Quotes on rms essays.
Richard Stallman is the prophet of the free software movement. He understood the dangers of software patents years ago. Now that this has become a crucial issue in the world, buy this book and read what he said.
– Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World-Wide Web.
For the first time this book collects the writing and lectures of Richard Stallman in a manner that will make their subtlety and power clear. The essays span a wide range, from copyright to the history of the free software movement. They include many arguments not well known, and…will serve as a resource for those who seek to understand the thought of this most powerful man…
– Lawrence Lessig, Stanford University Law School professor and expert on Cyberlaw.
Richard Stallman is the philosopher king of software. He single-handedly ignited what has become world-wide movement to create software that is Free, with a capital F. He has toiled for years at a project that many once considered a fool’s errand, and now that is widely seen as “inevitable.” We stand today not at the brink of the Free Software revolution, but in the middle. From today’s perspective it is hard to remember a time when free software was not widely available and the concept of Free Software was not widely understood. Yet this was not always the case. Fifteen years ago, Stallman was widely seen as a person tilting at windmills; people jeered at him and told him to “move to Russia.” Today Stallman’s views on the usefulness and role of Free Software are understood and, to a great extent, accepted. On the other hand, Stallman’s views on Copyright (and Copyleft), Digital Restrictions Management, and the poisonous role of patents are only beginning to meet with acceptance.
– Simson L. Garfinkel, computer science author and columnist