Stallman, known for years of opposition to proprietary software, and creator of the GNU operating system, tells Network World:
"I don't have a cell phone. I won't carry a cell phone. It's Stalin's dream. Cell phones are tools of Big Brother. I'm not going to carry a tracking device that records where I go all the time, and I'm not going to carry a surveillance device that can be turned on to eavesdrop."
Geez. Aside from the fact that there are easy ways to use smartphones without running the risk of surveillance, these comments reflect little connection to some of the most important technology trends. Stallman does give the Android OS some nods in the Network World interview, but only the third-party version where all proprietary software is taken out:
"It just recently became possible to run some very widely used phones with free software. There's a version of Android called Replicant that can run on the HTC Dream phone without proprietary software, except in the U.S. In the U.S., as of a few weeks ago there was still a problem in some dialing library, although it worked in Europe. By now, maybe it works. Maybe it doesn't. I don't know."
Smartphones and other mobile devices with small form factors are an inevitable product of the downsizing of technology components that has continued from mainframes, to personal computers, to today's pocket-sized gadgets. That trend won't stop, and the free software movement and world of open source shouldn't oppose the trend.
Even if you agree that smartphones imply lack of privacy and vulnerability to surveillance, the right path forward is to develop secure ways to use mobile devices, instead of writing them off altogether. Ironically, Network World reports that Stallman did his interview while talking on a cell phone--apparently a friend's. That's proof enough that writing mobile technology off is a questionable plan.
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