"Richard is the perfect example of somebody who, by
acting locally, started thinking globally [about]
problems concerning the unavailability of source code,"
says Schonberg. "He has developed a coherent philosophy
that has forced all of us to reexamine our ideas of how
software is produced, of what intellectual property
means, and of what the software community actually represents."
Schonberg welcomes Stallman to more applause. Stallman
takes a moment to shut off his laptop, rises out of his
chair, and takes the stage.
At first, Stallman's address seems more Catskills
comedy routine than political speech. "I'd like to
thank Microsoft for providing me the opportunity to be
on this platform," Stallman wisecracks. "For the past
few weeks, I have felt like an author whose book was
fortuitously banned somewhere."
For the uninitiated, Stallman dives into a quick free
software warm-up analogy. He likens a software program
to a cooking recipe. Both provide useful step-by-step
instructions on how to complete a desired task and can
be easily modified if a user has special desires or
circumstances.
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