George Mari @GeorgeMari@qoto.org

GPLv2 affirmation…

I don’t generally post here as people have probably noticed, but here’s a pdf of a recent court ruling, and this turns out to be the easiest way for me to link to a copy of it, since I don’t really maintain any web presence normally and I don’t want to post pdf’s to the kernel mailing lists or anything like that.

And the reason I want to post about it, is that it basically validates my long-held views that the GPLv2 is about making source code available, not controlling the access to the hardware that it runs on.

The court case itself is a mess of two bad parties: Vizio and the SFC. Both of them look horribly bad in court - for different reasons.

Vizio used Linux in their TVs without originally making the source code available, and that was obviously not ok.

And the Software Freedom Conservancy then tries to make the argument that the license forces you to make your installation keys etc available, even though that is not the case, and the reason why the kernel is very much GPLv2 only. The people involved know that very well, but have argued otherwise in court.

End result: both parties have acted badly. But at least Vizio did fix their behavior, even if it apparently took this lawsuit to do so. I can’t say the same about the SFC.

Please, SFC - stop using the kernel for your bogus legal arguments where you try to expand the GPLv2 to be something it isn’t. You just look like a bunch of incompetent a**holes.

The only party that looks competent here is the judge, which in this ruling says

Plaintiff contends the phrases, “machine-readable” and “scripts used to control compilation and installation” support their assertion in response to special interrogatory no. 4 that Defendant should “deliver files such that a person of ordinary skill can compile the source code into a functional executable and install it onto the same device, such that all features of the original program are retained, without undue difficulty.”

The language of the Agreements is unambiguous. It does not impose the duty which is the subject of this motion.

Read as a whole, the Agreements require Vizio to make the source code available in such a manner that the source code can be readily obtained and modified by Plaintiff or other third parties. While source code is defined to include “the scripts used to control compilation and installation,” this does not mean that Vizio must allow users to reinstall the software, modified or otherwise, back onto its smart TVs in a manner that preserves all features of the original program and/or ensures the smart TVs continue to function properly. Rather, in the context of the Agreements, the disputed language means that Vizio must provide the source code in a manner that allows the source code to be obtained and revised by Plaintiff or others for use in other applications.

In other words, Vizio must ensure the ability of users to copy, change/modify, and distribute the source code, including using the code in other free programs consistent with the Preamble and Terms and Conditions of the Agreements. However, nothing in the language of the Agreements requires Vizio to allow modified source code to be reinstalled on its devices while ensuring the devices remain operable after the source code is modified. If this was the intent of the Agreements, the Agreements could have been readily modified to state that users must be permitted to modify and reinstall modified software on products which use the program while ensuring the products continue to function. The absence of such language is dispositive and there is no basis to find that such a term was implied here. Therefore, the motion is granted.

IOW, this makes it clear that yes, you have to make source code available, but no, the GPLv2 does not in any way force you to then open up your hardware.

My intention - and the GPLv2 - is clear: the kernel copyright licence covers the software, and does not extend to the hardware it runs on. The same way the kernel copyright license does not extend to user space programs that run on it.

9 days after Inauguration Day, 404 Media wrote about how this declassified World War II-era government guide to sabotaging fascism became one of the most popular open source books on the internet.

One of our top stories this year: https://www.404media.co/declassified-cia-guide-to-sabotaging-fascism-is-suddenly-viral/

When an entire class of technology states on the packaging that it was made in China but intended "for overseas use only," this should really give you pause before plugging it into your network.

You will find this verbiage on a lot of Android TV streaming boxes for sale at the major retailers. There's a very good reason the country that makes this crap doesn't want it on their own networks. My advice: If you have one of these Android streaming boxes on your network or get one as a gift, toss it in the trash. I'll have a lot more about this in the New Year, but these things are responsible for building out a botnet that currently has ~2M devices and is growing rapidly. https://blog.xlab.qianxin.com/kimwolf-botnet-en/

Mastodon has the most thoughtful discussions I’ve seen on the internet.

Mastodon attracts the most intelligent users of any platform.

Real conversations. No "Brain Rot." People actually read. Less rage, more jokes. Better humor.

Every platform has users. Mastodon has thinkers.

My Commodore 64 Ultimate review: https://bigzaphod.com/blog/commodore-64-ultimate/

Joined #Fedi and Bsky on the same evening. Made basically the same intro post on both.

Woke to 67 followers on #Mastodon, several encouraging responses, and tons of faves/shares on intro post.

Bluesky: 1 follower, 1 reply, 5 faves, zero reposts.

Pretty evident where the real community is, wouldn't you say?

Thank you for the warm welcome! ❤️

In my next life, I'm going to set up a think tank full of politicians dedicated to telling journalists how to do their jobs better.

Help me, please! This is my Reddit thread. This is a crisis.

If you cannot provide me tech support, then please share this post for signal boosting.

Thank you.

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux4noobs/comments/1pqairt/linux_partition_crisis_i_need_data_recovery_help/

For just a couple of months in the middle of 2025, it was an OK time to build a PC
I would avoid building a PC right now, but if you can't, here's our best advice.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/for-just-a-couple-of-months-in-the-middle-of-2025-it-was-an-ok-time-to-build-a-pc/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

I really need a job. I've been looking for 5 years. I make about $60k/yr building the occasional web app for one company and a non-profit, but it isn't cutting it.

I am hard to classify. I've been a CTO or chief architect of small startups and small companies. I have a agile, plastic mind, and I can figure out pretty much any problem thrown at me. I've designed pci cards, I've tuned dye lasers, I'm a reasonably good audio engineer, I can make furniture and frame a room, I can do nearly anything. Most of the things I've done well I've done without prior specific expertise. I'm good when I'm in over my head.

I've led small teams, sure, but that's nothing compared to having led punk bands on tour across the country, bringing everyone home alive and having no-one spend more than a few hours in police custody. I have a wildly diverse set of experiences, which I can apply in useful ways.

Most of all, I want useful work, to not be tossed into the trash because I'm over 50.

#getfedihired

PS: I live in SF

The Ars Technica guide to “dumb” TVs
Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/12/the-ars-technica-guide-to-dumb-tvs/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social

**PhD/Postdoc positions in programming languages and formal verification**

I'm taking on a faculty position at CISPA (Saarbrücken, Germany), and I'm looking for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to join me. I have a strong interest in topics such as separation logic, probabilistic programming, and (cryptographic) security. However, the positions come with academic freedom, and I'm happy to discuss other directions and ideas.

CISPA has announced a general PhD call (see below), but I encourage anyone interested to reach out to discuss further.

https://career.cispa.de/jobs/general-phd-call-51

When seven German journalist students do a better job of tracking down the sources of the drone flights over Europe than the security services...

https://www.digitaldigging.org/p/they-droned-back

I am building a new Linux disto called “Apt-get a Life.” It's an ultra lightweight distro that automatically removes all your installed packages & tells you to go outside before wiping out the disk 🤭

Clearly, ATS filters are not my friend. I've been applying for four months now, and nothing.

So, if you are a human being who wants to hire an experienced game writer, worldbuilder, and narrative designer (40+ shipped video games, 150+ tabletop game titles), cast your human eyes over my profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/graemedavis/. Or DM me, and I'll happily send you a human-written resume. Or we can talk, human to human.

(And if you're about to try and sell me an AI resume writing service, don't.)

Anyone hiring a frontend developer in Canada? Circumstances have led me to start looking for my next job sooner than I would have liked.

I excel at working on design systems, cultivating a frontend culture, building with the grain of the web, and creating inclusive user experiences. Reach out if you need help with any of these!

I have deep knowledge of the web fundamentals (HTML/ARIA, CSS, JS) and the frontend ecosystem at large (build tools, frameworks, design tools).

#GetFediHired #FediHire

They're Shipping! The C64 Ultimates are ready to go.📦 Commodore.Net shared this a few hours ago on Instagram 🥹 sorry but I had to make a copy 🫣❤️ #commodore64 #RetroTech #C64 #C64U #c64ultimate

Trump will deport an Afghani living in the US with Temporary Protected Status if he is *accused* of stealing $1000. But he’ll set a white dude free who was *convicted* of stealing $1.6B from American citizens to go commit more crime. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/us/politics/trump-david-gentile-commutation.html?smid=url-share

Migrating #Dillo from GitHub to our self-hosted server.

I wrote a post about the current situation with #GitHub and how we ended up self-hosting our own infrastructure to be robust against data loss. We now store all important data (including issues) in git repositories which are replicated accross #Codeberg and #Sourcehut.

https://dillo-browser.org/news/migration-from-github/