Richard Stallman

Richard Stallman spoke at the Yorktown High School Libre Users Group. It was only by chance I found out about it; if Argyn Akuketayev had not told me, I would never have known.

I will be writing about the substance of Stallman’s remarks later in the week; but as a flak I would like to say a few words about his presentation. Stallman had just come off a twelve hour flight from Vietnam. Most people would be reduced to babbling in such circumstances, so it is astonishing that he spoke with such eloquence. He had no PowerPoint presentation, but held the audience spellbound for ninety minutes with the story of the GNU operating system, the definition of free software and why it is important. Not once did he resort to jargon. Clearly he has much to teach the industry, both in terms of style and substance, and I would encourage anyone to see him speak, if you have the chance.