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73-617: FSFE was founded in 2001. It is the European sister organization of the US‑;based Free Software Foundation (FSF), although each foundation exists as a separate organization. Following the return of Richard Stallman to the FSF in 2021 , the FSFE declared themselves "unable to collaborate" with the FSF. FSFE believes that access to (and control of) software determines who may participate in

146-465: A tape mark that can be detected while winding the tape at high speed. Most tape drives now include some kind of lossless data compression . There are several algorithms that provide similar results: LZW (widely supported), IDRC (Exabyte), ALDC (IBM, QIC) and DLZ1 (DLT). Embedded in tape drive hardware, these compress a relatively small buffer of data at a time, so cannot achieve extremely high compression even of highly redundant data. A ratio of 2:1

219-488: A web store . FSF offers speakers and seminars for pay, and all FSF projects accept donations. Revenues fund free-software programs and campaigns, while cash is invested conservatively in socially responsible investing . The financial strategy is designed to maintain the Foundation's long-term future through economic stability. The FSF is a tax-exempt organization and posts annual IRS Form 990 filings online. Through

292-497: A "Respects Your Freedom" (RYF) hardware certification program. To be granted certification, a product must use 100% Free Software, allow user installation of modified software, be free of backdoors and conform with several other requirements. The FSF's board of directors includes professors at leading universities, senior engineers, and founders. Current board members are: Previous board members include: Executive directors include: The FSF Articles of Organization state that

365-661: A cost-saving measure. CDC used IBM-compatible 1 ⁄ 2 -inch (13 mm) magnetic tapes, but also offered a 1-inch-wide (25 mm) variant, with 14 tracks (12 data tracks corresponding to the 12-bit word of CDC 6000 series peripheral processors, plus 2 parity bits) in the CDC ;626 drive. Early IBM tape drives, such as the IBM ;727 and IBM 729 , were mechanically sophisticated floor-standing drives that used vacuum columns to buffer long u-shaped loops of tape. Between servo control of powerful reel motors,

438-643: A digital society. Consequently, FSFE believes, the freedoms to use, copy, modify and redistribute software, as described in The Free Software Definition , are necessary for equal participation in the Information Age . The focus of FSFE's work is political, legal, and social, with the aim of promoting free software and the ethical, philosophical, social, political and commercial values that it implements. In particular, it: Projects undertaken by FSFE include: Each month, FSFE publishes

511-630: A free smartphone operating system and creating replacements for Skype and Siri . Previous projects highlighted as needing work included the Free Java implementations , GNU Classpath , and GNU Compiler for Java , which ensure compatibility for the Java part of OpenOffice.org , and the GNOME desktop environment (see Java: Licensing ). The effort has been criticized by Michael Larabel for either not instigating active development or for being slow at

584-434: A low-mass capstan drive, and the low-friction and controlled tension of the vacuum columns, fast start and stop of the tape at the tape-to-head interface could be achieved. The fast acceleration is possible because the tape mass in the vacuum columns is small; the length of tape buffered in the columns provides time to accelerate the high- inertia reels. When active, the two tape reels thus fed tape into or pulled tape out of

657-410: A native capacity of 20 terabytes. Linear Tape-Open (LTO) single-reel cartridge was announced in 1997 at 100 gigabytes and in its eighth generation supports 12 terabytes in the same sized cartridge. As of 2019 LTO has completely displaced all other tape technologies in computer applications, with the exception of some IBM 3592 family at the high-end. Bytes per inch ( BPI ) is the metric for

730-567: A native tape capacity of 185 TB. It was further developed by Sony , with announcement in 2017, about reported data density of 201 Gbit/in² (31 Gbit/cm²), giving standard compressed tape capacity of 330 TB. In May 2014, Fujifilm followed Sony and made an announcement that it will develop a 154 TB tape cartridge in conjunction with IBM , which will have an areal data storage density of 85.9 GBit/in² (13.3 billion bits per cm²) on linear magnetic particulate tape. The technology developed by Fujifilm, called NANOCUBIC, reduces

803-505: A newsletter, in multiple languages (including English, French , German , Italian , and Spanish ), of their activities that can be mentioned in public. From FSFE's published "Self-Conception": The people of the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE), see ourselves as Europeans from different cultures with the shared goal of co-operation across cultures and of developing a common culture of co-operation from

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876-424: A regional to a global level. We form a non-profit non-governmental organisation and network that itself is part of a global network of people with common goals and visions. We are not representative for anyone but ourselves and our work. Our common work and dedication to freedom in all aspects of digital society is what defines us. Internally, the FSFE has a consensus-oriented team structure, in which participation

949-460: A single medium. This method was used in early tape drives. It is the simplest recording method, but also has the lowest data density. A variation on linear technology is linear serpentine recording, which uses more tracks than tape heads. Each head still writes one track at a time. After making a pass over the whole length of the tape, all heads shift slightly and make another pass in the reverse direction, writing another set of tracks. This procedure

1022-431: A single-reel cartridge, there is a takeup reel in the drive while a dual reel cartridge has both takeup and supply reels in the cartridge. A tape drive uses one or more precisely controlled motors to wind the tape from one reel to the other, passing a read/write head as it does. A different type is the endless tape cartridge , which has a continuous loop of tape wound on a special reel that allows tape to be withdrawn from

1095-793: A sparse database may offer much larger factors. Software compression can achieve much better results with sparse data, but uses the host computer's processor, and can slow the backup if the host computer is unable to compress as fast as the data is written. The compression algorithms used in low-end products are not optimally effective, and better results may be obtained by turning off hardware compression and using software compression (and encryption if desired) instead. Plain text, raw images, and database files ( TXT , ASCII , BMP , DBF , etc.) typically compress much better than other types of data stored on computer systems. By contrast, encrypted data and pre-compressed data ( PGP , ZIP , JPEG , MPEG , MP3 , etc.) normally increase in size if data compression

1168-407: A typical format, data is written to tape in blocks with inter-block gaps between them, and each block is written in a single operation with the tape running continuously during the write. However, since the rate at which data is written or read to the tape drive varies as a tape drive usually has to cope with a difference between the rate at which data goes on and off the tape and the rate at which data

1241-574: Is a fundamental difference between speaking out against policies or actions and smear campaigns", and "that if one is taking an ethical position, it is justified, and often necessary, to not only speak about the benefits of freedom but against acts of dispossession and disenfranchisement." In 2009, a license update of LibDWG/ LibreDWG to version 3 of the GNU GPL made it impossible for the free software projects LibreCAD and FreeCAD to use LibreDWG legally. Many projects voiced their unhappiness about

1314-569: Is also the steward of several free software licenses, meaning it publishes them and has the ability to make revisions as needed. The FSF holds the copyrights on many pieces of the GNU system, such as GNU Compiler Collection . As the holder of these copyrights, it has authority to enforce the copyleft requirements of the GNU General Public License (GPL) when copyright infringement occurs. From 1991 until 2001, GPL enforcement

1387-624: Is an FSF-initiated campaign against DRM. It also has a campaign to promote Ogg + Vorbis , a free alternative to proprietary formats like AAC and MQA . FSF also sponsors free software projects it deems "high-priority". " Outstanding new Free Software contributor ", " Award for the Advancement of Free Software " and " Free Software Award for Projects of Social Benefit " The LibrePlanet wiki organizes FSF members into regional groups in order to promote free software activism against digital restrictions management and other issues promoted by

1460-599: Is applied. In some cases, this data expansion can be as much as 15%. Standards exist to encrypt tapes. Encryption is used so that even if a tape is stolen, the thieves cannot use the data on the tape. Key management is crucial to maintain security. Compression is more efficient if done before encryption, as encrypted data cannot be compressed effectively due to the entropy it introduces. Some enterprise tape drives include hardware that can quickly encrypt data. Some tape cartridges, notably LTO cartridges , have small associated data storage chips built in to record metadata about

1533-426: Is determined by each person's willingness to participate and do work. A democratic and representative-democratic model functions as a fallback when the consensus-based approach accomplishes no results, or when a quick decision is needed. The FSFE has a modular legal structure with a central "Hub" organization and the possibility of local legal bodies, called "chapters". The Hub is a charitable association ("e.V.") which

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1606-581: Is registered in Germany . As well as being in regular contact with the other FSFs — FSF , Free Software Foundation India (FSFI), Free Software Foundation Latin America (FSFLA) — FSFE has a structure of organizations which are official associates. These are mostly national-level free software groups. In 2010, FSFE received the Theodor Heuss Medal in recognition of its work for freedom in

1679-402: Is repeated until all tracks have been read or written. By using the linear serpentine method, the tape medium can have many more tracks than read/write heads. Compared to simple linear recording, using the same tape length and the same number of heads, data storage capacity is substantially higher. Scanning recording methods write short dense tracks across the width of the tape medium, not along

1752-485: Is solicited. Eben Moglen and Dan Ravicher previously served individually as pro bono legal counsel to the FSF. After forming the Software Freedom Law Center , Eben Moglen continued to serve as the FSF's general counsel until 2016. Most of the FSF funding comes from patrons and members. Revenue streams also come from free-software-related compliance labs, job postings, published works, and

1825-418: Is supplied or demanded by its host. Various methods have been used alone and in combination to cope with this difference. If the host cannot keep up with the tape drive transfer rate, the tape drive can be stopped, backed up, and restarted (known as shoe-shining ). A large memory buffer can be used to queue the data. In the past, the host block size affected the data density on tape, but on modern drives, data

1898-411: Is typical, with some vendors claiming 2.6:1 or 3:1. The ratio actually obtained depends on the nature of the data so the compression ratio cannot be relied upon when specifying the capacity of equipment, e.g., a drive claiming a compressed capacity of 500 GB may not be adequate to back up 500 GB of real data. Data that is already stored efficiently may not allow any significant compression and

1971-399: Is typically organized into fixed-sized blocks which may or may not be compressed or encrypted, and host block size no longer affects data density on tape. Modern tape drives offer a speed matching feature, where the drive can dynamically decrease the physical tape speed as needed to avoid shoe-shining. In the past, the size of the inter-block gap was constant, while the size of the data block

2044-691: The GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), the GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL), and the GNU Affero General Public License (AGPL). The FSF's publishing department, responsible for "publishing affordable books on computer science using freely distributable licenses." This is a list of software packages that have been verified as free software. Each package entry contains up to 47 pieces of information such as

2117-520: The board of directors are elected. The bylaws say who can vote for them. The board can grant powers to the Voting Membership. At any given time, there are usually around a dozen employees. Most, but not all, worked at the FSF headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts until August 2024 when the FSF closed its offices and switched to remote work. On November 25, 2002, the FSF launched

2190-405: The diskettes that displaced them, but their access times were on the order of thirty seconds to a minute. In the context of magnetic tape, the term cassette or cartridge means a length of magnetic tape in a plastic enclosure with one or two reels for controlling the motion of the tape. The type of packaging affects the load and unload times as well as the length of tape that can be held. In

2263-618: The h-node website lists hardware and device drivers that have been verified as compatible with free software. It is user-edited and volunteer supported with hardware entries tested by users before publication. FSF sponsors a number of campaigns against what it perceives as dangers to software freedom, including software patents , digital rights management (which the FSF and others have re-termed "digital restrictions management", as part of its effort to highlight technologies that are "designed to take away and limit your rights", ) and user interface copyright. Since 2012, Defective by Design

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2336-586: The 1970s and 1980s, audio Compact Cassettes were frequently used as an inexpensive data storage system for home computers , or in some cases for diagnostics or boot code for larger systems such as the Burroughs B1700 . Compact cassettes are logically, as well as physically, sequential; they must be rewound and read from the start to load data. Early cartridges were available before personal computers had affordable disk drives, and could be used as random access devices, automatically winding and positioning

2409-573: The 1970s and 1980s. IBM discontinued new reel-to-reel products replacing them with cartridge based products beginning with its 1984 introduction of the cartridge-based 3480 family . LINCtape , and its derivative, DECtape were variations on this "round tape". They were essentially a personal storage medium, used tape that was 0.75 inches (19 mm) wide and featured a fixed formatting track which, unlike standard tape, made it feasible to read and rewrite blocks repeatedly in place. LINCtapes and DECtapes had similar capacity and data transfer rate to

2482-422: The 1980s, longer tape lengths such as 3,600 feet (1,100 m) became available using a much thinner PET film . Most tape drives could support a maximum reel size of 10.5 inches (267 mm). A so-called mini-reel was common for smaller data sets, such as for software distribution. These were 7-inch (18 cm) reels, often with no fixed length—the tape was sized to fit the amount of data recorded on it as

2555-556: The FSF Associate Membership program for individuals. Bradley M. Kuhn (FSF executive director, 2001–2005) launched the program and also signed up as the first Associate Member Associate members are primarily an honorary and funding support role. In 2023, associate members gained the ability to make board nominations, along with FSF staff and FSF voting members. There is also an annual meeting of FSF members, usually during lunch at LibrePlanet, in which feedback for FSF

2628-421: The FSF aims to use only free software on its own computers. The Free Software Foundation was founded in 1985 as a non-profit corporation supporting free software development. It continued existing GNU projects such as the sale of manuals and tapes , and employed developers of the free software system. Since then, it has continued these activities, as well as advocating for the free software movement. The FSF

2701-649: The FSF. The FSF maintains a list of "high-priority projects" to which the Foundation claims that "there is a vital need to draw the free software community 's attention". The FSF considers these projects "important because computer users are continually being seduced into using non-free software , because there is no adequate free replacement." As of 2021, high-priority tasks include reverse engineering proprietary firmware, reversible debugging in GNU Debugger ; developing automatic transcription and video editing software, Coreboot , drivers for network routers ,

2774-568: The GNU Project and in 2021, he returned to the FSF board of directors. The original purpose of the FSF was to promote the ideals of free software. The organization envisaged the GNU operating system as an example of this. The GNU General Public License (GPL) is a widely used license for free software projects. The current version (version 3) was released in June 2007. The FSF has also published

2847-654: The GPL. In May 2009, Cisco and FSF reached settlement under which Cisco agreed to make a monetary donation to the FSF and appoint a Free Software Director to conduct continuous reviews of the company's license compliance practices. In September 2019, Richard Stallman resigned as president of the FSF after pressure from journalists and members of the open source community in response to him making controversial comments in defense of Marvin Minsky on Jeffrey Epstein 's sex trafficking scandal. Nevertheless, Stallman remained head of

2920-587: The GPLv3 license selection for LibreDWG, such as FreeCAD , LibreCAD , Assimp , and Blender . Some suggested the selection of a license with a broader license compatibility , for instance the MIT , BSD , or LGPL 2.1. A request went to the FSF to relicense GNU LibreDWG as GPLv2, which was rejected in 2012. Magnetic tape data storage Magnetic-tape data storage is a system for storing digital information on magnetic tape using digital recording . Tape

2993-493: The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology for research into increasing the data capacity of magnetic tape. In 2014, Sony and IBM announced that they had been able to record 148 gigabits per square inch with magnetic tape media developed using a new vacuum thin-film forming technology able to form extremely fine crystal particles, a tape storage technology with the highest reported magnetic tape data density, 148 Gbit/in² (23 Gbit/cm²), potentially allowing

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3066-517: The assistance of Moglen, David Turner, and Peter T. Brown , formalized these efforts into FSF's GPL Compliance Labs. From 2002–2004, high-profile GPL enforcement cases, such as those against Linksys and OpenTV, became frequent. GPL enforcement and educational campaigns on GPL compliance was a major focus of the FSF's efforts during this period. In March 2003, SCO filed suit against IBM alleging that IBM's contributions to various free software, including FSF's GNU, violated SCO's rights. While FSF

3139-420: The backside. Recording density increased over time. Common 7-track densities started at 200 characters per inch (CPI), then 556, and finally 800; 9-track tapes had densities of 800 (using NRZI ), then 1600 (using PE ), and finally 6250 (using GCR ). This translates into about 5 megabytes to 140 megabytes per standard length (2,400 ft, 730 m) reel of tape. Effective density also increased as

3212-399: The center of the reel and then wrapped up around the edge, and therefore does not need to rewind to repeat. This type is similar to a single-reel cartridge in that there is no take-up reel inside the tape drive. The IBM 7340 Hypertape drive, introduced in 1961, used a dual reel cassette with a 1-inch-wide (2.5 cm) tape capable of holding 2 million six-bit characters per cassette. In

3285-527: The data storage medium. Storing metadata in one place and data in another, as is done with disk-based file systems, requires repositioning activity. As a result, most tape systems use a simplified filesystem in which files are addressed by number, not by filename. Metadata such as file name or modification time is typically not stored at all. Tape labels store such metadata, and they are used for interchanging data between systems. File archiver and backup tools have been created to pack multiple files along with

3358-465: The data will affect the capacity. Tape is characterized by sequential access to data. While tape can provide fast data transfer, it takes tens of seconds to load a cassette and position the tape head to selected data. By contrast, hard disk technology can perform the equivalent action in tens of milliseconds (3 orders of magnitude faster) and can be thought of as offering random access to data. File systems require data and metadata to be stored on

3431-409: The density at which data is stored on magnetic media. The term BPI can refer to bits per inch , but more often refers to bytes per inch. The term BPI can mean bytes per inch when the tracks of a particular format are byte-organized, as in nine-track tapes. The width of the media is the primary classification criterion for tape technologies. One-half-inch (13 mm) has historically been

3504-617: The empty space between tape blocks, the actual transfer rate was around 7,200 characters per second. A small reel of mylar tape provided separation between the metal tape and the read/write head. IBM computers from the 1950s used ferric-oxide -coated tape similar to that used in audio recording. IBM's technology soon became the de facto industry standard . Magnetic tape dimensions were 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) wide and wound on removable reels. Different tape lengths were available with 1,200 feet (370 m) and 2,400 feet (730 m) on mil and one half thickness being somewhat standard. During

3577-406: The first effort to give formal legal education on the GPL. In 2007, the FSF published the third version of the GNU General Public License after significant outside input. In December 2008, FSF filed a lawsuit against Cisco for using GPL-licensed components shipped with Linksys products. Cisco was notified of the licensing issue in 2003 but Cisco repeatedly disregarded its obligations under

3650-475: The fundamental sequential access nature of tape. Tape has a long random access time since the deck must wind an average of one-third the tape length to move from one arbitrary position to another. Tape systems attempt to alleviate the intrinsic long latency, either using indexing, where a separate lookup table ( tape directory ) is maintained which gives the physical tape location for a given data block number (a must for serpentine drives), or by marking blocks with

3723-601: The information society. The medal is awarded once a year in Stuttgart by a non-partisan foundation named after West Germany 's first president. Free Software Foundation The Free Software Foundation ( FSF ) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded by Richard Stallman on October 4, 1985. The organisation supports the free software movement , with the organization's preference for software being distributed under copyleft ("share alike") terms, such as with its own GNU General Public License . The FSF

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3796-470: The interblock gap ( inter-record gap ) decreased from a nominal 3 ⁄ 4 inch (19 mm) on 7-track tape reel to a nominal 0.30 inches (7.6 mm) on a 6250 bpi 9-track tape reel. At least partly due to the success of the System/360, and the resultant standardization on 8-bit character codes and byte addressing, 9-track tapes were very widely used throughout the computer industry during

3869-482: The length. Tape heads are placed on a drum or disk which rapidly rotates while the relatively slow-moving tape passes it. An early method used to get a higher data rate than the prevailing linear method was transverse scan . In this method, a spinning disk with the tape heads embedded in the outer edge is placed perpendicular to the path of the tape. This method is used in Ampex 's DCRsi instrumentation data recorders and

3942-591: The license itself. Linus Torvalds has criticized FSF for using GPLv3 as a weapon in the fight against DRM. Torvalds argues that the issue of DRM and that of a software license should be treated as two separate issues. On June 16, 2010, Joe Brockmeier, a journalist at Linux Magazine , criticized the Defective by Design campaign by the FSF as "negative" and "juvenile" and not being adequate for providing users with "credible alternatives" to proprietary software. FSF responded to this criticism by saying "that there

4015-536: The mid-1970s and were frequently used with small computer systems. With the introduction of the IBM 3480 cartridge in 1984, described as "about one-fourth the size ... yet it stored up to 20 percent more data", large computer systems started to move away from open-reel tapes and towards cartridges. Magnetic tape was first used to record computer data in 1951 on the UNIVAC ;I . The UNISERVO drive recording medium

4088-456: The most common width of tape for high-capacity data storage. Many other sizes exist and most were developed to either have smaller packaging or higher capacity. Recording method is also an important way to classify tape technologies, generally falling into two categories: linear and scanning. The linear method arranges data in long parallel tracks that span the length of the tape. Multiple tape heads simultaneously write parallel tape tracks on

4161-404: The old Ampex quadruplex videotape system. Another early method was arcuate scan . In this method, the heads are on the face of a spinning disk which is laid flat against the tape. The path of the tape heads forms an arc. Helical scan recording writes short dense tracks in a diagonal manner. This method is used by virtually all current videotape systems and several data tape formats. In

4234-495: The project's homepage, developers, programming language, etc. The goals are to provide a search engine for free software, and to provide a cross-reference for users to check if a package has been verified as being free software. The FSF has received a small amount of funding from UNESCO for this project. FSF maintains many of the documents that define the free software movement. FSF hosts software development projects on its Savannah website. An abbreviation for "Hardware-Node",

4307-416: The related metadata into a single tape file. Serpentine tape drives (e.g., QIC ) offer improved access time by switching to the appropriate track; tape partitions are used for directory information. The Linear Tape File System is a method of storing file metadata on a separate part of the tape. This makes it possible to copy and paste files or directories to a tape as if it were a disk, but does not change

4380-454: The tape, albeit with access times of many seconds. In 1984 IBM introduced the 3480 family of single reel cartridges and tape drives which were then manufactured by a number of vendors through at least 2004. Initially providing 200 megabytes per cartridge, the family capacity increased over time to 2.4 gigabytes per cartridge. DLT (Digital Linear Tape), also a cartridge-based tape, was available beginning 1984 but as of 2007 future development

4453-399: The tape, such as the type of encoding, the size of the storage, dates and other information. It is also common for tape cartridges to have bar codes on their labels in order to assist an automated tape library. Tape remains viable in modern data centers because: The lowest cost tiers of cloud storage can be supported by tape. In 2002, Imation received a US$ 11.9 million grant from

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4526-516: The tape. This was known as 7-track tape . With the introduction of the IBM System/360 mainframe, 9-track tapes were introduced to support the new 8-bit characters that it used. The end of a file was designated by a special recorded pattern called a tape mark , and end of the recorded data on a tape by two successive tape marks. The physical beginning and end of usable tape was indicated by reflective adhesive strips of aluminum foil placed on

4599-402: The vacuum columns, intermittently spinning in rapid, unsynchronized bursts, resulting in visually striking action. Stock shots of such vacuum-column tape drives in motion were emblematically representative of computers in movies and television. Early half-inch tape had seven parallel tracks of data along the length of the tape, allowing 6-bit characters plus 1 bit of parity written across

4672-410: The work being done, even after certain projects were added to the list. The FSF maintains a list of approved Linux operating systems that maintain free software by default: The project also maintains a list of operating systems that are not versions of the GNU system: The following are previously endorsed operating systems that are no longer actively maintained : Since 2012, the FSF maintains

4745-406: The years the FSF has had its postal address, and until August 31st 2024 when going all remote its physical headquarters, at different locations in Boston , Massachusetts , USA , as indicated in the table below. As the GNU GPL v2 included the FSF's postal address in one of the first lines of the introduction and the source code license notice template every change of address also caused updates to

4818-407: Was a thin metal strip of 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) wide nickel -plated phosphor bronze . Recording density was 128 characters per inch (198 micrometres per character) on eight tracks at a linear speed of 100 in/s (2.54 m/s), yielding a data rate of 12,800 characters per second. Of the eight tracks, six were data, one was for parity , and one was a clock, or timing track. Making allowances for

4891-491: Was an important medium for primary data storage in early computers, typically using large open reels of 7-track , later 9-track tape. Modern magnetic tape is most commonly packaged in cartridges and cassettes, such as the widely supported Linear Tape-Open (LTO) and IBM 3592 series. The device that performs the writing or reading of data is called a tape drive . Autoloaders and tape libraries are often used to automate cartridge handling and exchange. Compatibility

4964-415: Was based on host block size, affecting tape capacity – for example, on count key data storage. On most modern drives, this is no longer the case. Linear Tape-Open type drives use a fixed-size block for tape (a fixed-block architecture ), independent of the host block size, and the inter-block gap is variable to assist with speed matching during writes. On drives with compression, the compressibility of

5037-465: Was done informally, usually by Stallman himself, often with assistance from FSF's lawyer, Eben Moglen . Typically, GPL violations during this time were cleared up by short email exchanges between Stallman and the violator. In the interest of promoting copyleft assertiveness by software companies to the level that the FSF was already doing, in 2004 Harald Welte launched gpl-violations.org . In late 2001, Bradley M. Kuhn (then executive director), with

5110-515: Was important to enable transferring data. Tape data storage is now used more for system backup, data archive and data exchange. The low cost of tape has kept it viable for long-term storage and archive. Initially, magnetic tape for data storage was wound on 10.5-inch (27 cm) reels . This standard for large computer systems persisted through the late 1980s, with steadily increasing capacity due to thinner substrates and changes in encoding. Tape cartridges and cassettes were available starting in

5183-522: Was incorporated in Boston, Massachusetts , United States, where it is also based. From its founding until the mid-1990s, FSF's funds were mostly used to employ software developers to write free software for the GNU Project and its employees and volunteers have mostly worked on legal and structural issues for the free software movement and the free software community . Consistent with its goals,

5256-440: Was never a party to the lawsuit, FSF was subpoenaed on November 5, 2003. During 2003 and 2004, FSF put substantial advocacy effort into responding to the lawsuit and quelling its negative impact on the adoption and promotion of free software. From 2003 to 2005, FSF held legal seminars to explain the GPL and the surrounding law. Usually taught by Bradley M. Kuhn and Daniel Ravicher , these seminars offered CLE credit and were

5329-460: Was stopped in favor of LTO. In 2003 IBM introduced the 3592 family to supersede the IBM 3590 . While the name is similar, there is no compatibility between the 3590 and the 3592. Like the 3590 and 3480 before it, this tape format has 1 ⁄ 2 -inch (13 mm) tape spooled into a single reel cartridge. Initially introduced to support 300 gigabytes, the sixth generation released in 2018 supports

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