To our faithful readers:

We here at the Free Line, being of sound mind and body, hereby swear that for the next thirty days, we will use nothing but software covered under the GNU Public License. For those unaware, the GNU Public License – GPL for short — is “a free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works” authored by a group called the Free Software Foundation. According to the FSF, companies like Microsoft are “limiting your freedom” by not letting you modify their code. The GPL is meant to change all of that. “The GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change all versions of a program–to make sure it remains free software for all its users,” writes founder Richard Stallman. “Our General Public Licenses are designed to make sure that you have the freedom to distribute copies of free software (and charge for them if you wish), that you receive source code or can get it if you want it, that you can change the software or use pieces of it in new free programs, and that you know you can do these things.” To some, living and dying by the GPL makes you a true computer user. To others, it’s a near impossible feat, like outrunning a cheetah or flying to Neptune in a biplane. Simply put, everyone has an opinion, and they aren’t all exactly “complimentary.”

“So…” we hear you asking through your computer screen, smartphone, or video game console, “who’s ‘in the right’ here? Is it really that hard? I like free things. Is it worth switching my business over to GPL-approved software?” Well, we are about to find out.

What We Will Do:

• We will switch nearly every piece of software we use over to its open source equivalent. This includes drivers as well.
• We will post all of the software we use right here so you can use it too.
• We promise to keep you updated on our successes and failures.

What We Will Not Do:

• We will not be switching to Linux. Let’s face it: a business person wouldn’t simply drop Windows or OS X immediately just because they want to “stay free.” Switching your OS is a hard decision. Besides, we already did a Linux arc.
• Programs that are integral to our daily lives (Skype, the Slacker Radio station update program, etc) are exempt.
• While we will try our best to stick within the guidelines set by the GPL, we won’t be fanatics about it. We won’t stop playing our Wiis, DSes, and PSPs just because it’s not GPL compatible. We will not stop using our Blackberrys, Nokia mobile devices, Cowon media players, and handmade Windows Home Servers just becaude they pretend the GPL doesn’t exist. We’re trying to keep things realistic here.

…And there you have it. Needless to say, this is going to be a very interesting month…