Among it’s numerous productions, we can cite the very popular Emacs code editor, the Linux OS kernel and the mythic GCC (GNU C Compiler) used to build applications from the source code.

The documentary video we present in this article relates the story of the GNU-Linux system which is commonly called Linux by reference to Torvald Linus, the creator of the Linux kernel.

Watch the video:

The Code Linux (english)

Nom de code Linux (french)

However, we can object against the supposed huge contribution which is attributed to Linus in the “Linux phenomena”.

Verily, the role of Stallman and the FSF (Free Software Foundation) were strategic in the movements of Free Sofware and Open Source. It is sure that Linux wouldn’t have been free without them for these reasons :

• Linus wasn’t inspired by the Free Software philosophy at the time he created the Linux kernel. He was about to put it under a proprietary/privative licence. The lobbying of some members of the FSF on Linus had a positive result for putting the Linux kernel inside the public domain (GNU Licence).
• Linux kernel was compiled using the GCC which makes it automatically under the GNU Licence. So if Linus wanted to put it under a privative licence, it would have required from him to recompile his kernel sources with an other C compiler.
• Linus was a great software developer, however, he wasn’t a great defender of the Free Software philosophy and is neither a convinced man in this path.

I propose know the reading of a book that I consider important to be read by every computer science students, by every developers and by every persons who are interested by matters of science and the question of the intellectual property :

Free Software, Free Society (pdf)

A french-written version of the book also exists :

Richard Stallman, la révolution du logiciel libre (pdf)

The benefits of reading this book are multiple :

1. Understanding the contribution of the GNU Project to the humanity patrimony in 3 fields :
   • Free softwares.
   • World wide collaboration thrue the web.
   • Hackers ethic and knwoledge sharing.
2. Putting in mind that computer sciences have great social implications which can be beneficial or problematic.
3. Discovering a man’s life who, even if he present’s himself as an atheist, is a real believer, believing in virtuous ideas, believing in honesty against hypocrisy, believing in the common interest which is the best gardian of Freedom. He is a nephew of Moses and he is the Moses of the software, full of courage and patience. Doesn’t his look make us think to Moses ?
4. Understanding the power of having goal oriented ideas implemented by goal oriented actions. This was one of the power engine of the FSF and his founder.

“Science without conscience is the destruction of the soul.”
Rabelais. 

Security becomes more and more needed in our days. The different events about terrorism attacks, violence facts and very recently the Virginia University gunshot made the Rave company to propose a new service : the Rave Guardian.

What is Rave Guardian ?

Rave Guardian is a GPS-based security system for organizations. It is three part composed.

• A central system (called the server-side application) which contains user profiles and monitoring informations.
• The users mobiles containing an installed application (called the client-side application) which allows to configure personal security parameters and to send alerts.
• A satellite who links between Users mobiles and the central system.

How does the Rave Guardian works ?
Its major security function works as follows :

• The user sets a timer on his Rave Guard mobile application if he feels unsafe, for example when crossing a long distance by night or when making a hard trip through mountains or forests …
• While the timer is running, the mobile sends user’s location with date/time and profile to the central application via the satellite.
• The user turns off the timer once he doesn’t need the security function.
• If the timer expires and if the Rave Guardian application on the client-side is still activated (it means the critical state is reached), an emergency signal is sent to the central application. The police is then notified with profile, date/time and positions of the user. Virtually, the chronology and the path of the user are build to make the police intervention in real time and easier.

At this time, Rave Guardian is being tested on campus communities. We can easily imagine that they are their self guinea-pig (because the system has been developed by American universities ), but is seems natural that in a near future the system will be proposed to the general public and enterprises once it will be improved and approved. Rave Guardian would be also adapted for applications such as medical assistance.

Can we say that Rave Guardian is a new angel guardian ?
Such system is not an innovation. The army and police have been using for many years this kind of systems to track peoples either for their security or for catching them. So is the Rave company announce really serious evoking virtuous goals of safety, or just a way for governments to impose or legalize a real spy system on the pretext of security and safety ? It is know that these systems are really feared by peoples for their liberty and too less debates and discussions have been made in order to understand problems and limits of these systems and particularly their applications …

Restyled by Rabah LEKHEBASSENE.

Inventions have been for centuries a subject that interested a lot of people, because new things are most of time seen as strange and stimulate their curiosity. They give fear, joy, astonishment, laugh, amazement, anger, and a lot of other feelings. In this article, we are going to present some of the most important inventions of the humanity since it exists.

First : who will contest that the fire is not one of the earliest discoveries ? The power of the fire gave to a lot of tribes the domination in the first ages of humanity. It has been used as a lightening mean which protected them from savage creatures. It is believed the fire was discovered have million years ago.

Second : some bad jokers say the Yeti is a big engineer. Why, lets make our brains turning … do you see, or do you turn ? That’s it ! Once upon a mountain, a big white monkey jumped and fall down and turned on his self and become a snow ball. Someone had the get the idea of the wheel ! Well, that’s the wheel could have been invented. Seriously, historians locate invention of the wheel in Asia by 3500 B.C. .

Third : writing. Writing is one of my favorite inventions. The animals have a kind of clever sense even if it is not as developed as the human one. But the fact they have some is true : they have feelings, reactions, oral an gestural communication, they have some ingenious skills as the bees can build their home, as monkeys who can imitate humans … However, given what we know about animals, none of them have the writing. It is the beginning of material information backup, appeared in the same time as the wheel (3500 B.C.) in the city of Sumer in Mesopotamia.

Fourth : did you lost your way in this wide world ? Fortunately, there was at least one clever in the fabulous country of China who discovered the earth magnetic field in the 11th century of our era. The invention is the compass which guided over all the planet many travelers and sailors for a while !

Fifth : electricity ! That’s a great transition from the world of simple matter to an electron word ! First time people saw electric light, they said it was witchcraft ! So worry about yourself, It is even inside you ! Well, this invention appeared at the end of 19th century.

Sixth : time watch. How humanity did discover the concept of time. Nobody can see the time with his eyes, nor catch it ! Only brighten wide minds can imagine such an idea ! We know that first solar watches existed by 550 B.C. . It is also reported that Egyptians had been using water clocks by 3000 B.C. , a kind of clocks that are using water circuits filling graduated recipients. Graduations are so indicating time.

Seventh : “Hello ? How did you entered in this small box ? Is your voice hanged by this wire ? Hello ?” – This is an imaginable scenario that could happened when people discovered usage of the telephone invented in1876. The author of this invention is Alexander Graham Bell.

Eighth : the computer. It is undeniable that this machine is the best symbol of modern technology at these days. It has revolutionized humanity way of working. They are automated brain slaves, for some ones, entertainment box for others, a memory station, or even an enemy ! It is at same time a threat and an opportunity for people ! The concept of computer exists since the antiquity (they were mechanical automates) and is improved until our days.

Which things are the best inventions ? Answering to this question has a part of subjectivity. But We can use some indicators to give them a mark. God indicators can be these : % of usage in the world, propagation time since its apparition, existence duration, integration level (an invention can be used as a component in many things, and the level is the number of things it is used by), contribution to society development … maybe we can find many other ones, but the most important thing I want to say to readers, is : if you want to be an inventor, you can dream, you can, fly high in the sky, be a philosopher, but 2 things : be careful on your intentions and think a lot about what for your inventions can be used …

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Restyled by Rabah LEKHEBASSENE.

Fortunately, in the era of the Web, ADELE makes the life easier for citizens of France.

ADELE is a french governement service which allows to notify your new address at once to concerned parties. The service is available for citizens of France.

What are advantages ? First, It is free. The procedure takes about 10 minutes and appliable for many persons. Example : if a family moves to a new location, it is possible on ADELE application to notify the Health Care Insurance office (Assurance Maladie) but also the Unemployent Insurance office (Assurance Chômage) for members of the familly who are seeking a job. We can customize the list of offices for each member concerned by the address change. The service is still being improved. Step by step, it includes new offices and administrations. Their are remaining some important ones who are not in the service as the Prefecture (or maybe implicitly done ?), but it should be a matter of time.

You can discover this e-service at the following link : http://www.changement-adresse.gouv.fr/

This will allow to have smaller and faster processors. Researchers have already built prototypes of these chipsets but some improvements are still remaining to be done. At first speeding up the production time which is actually very long for an industrial context. Secondly, integrating some basic logical operations that exist on actual processors. This needs to set up special molecular electric interactions.

Molecular processor technology is expected to be industrialized starting from 2013 but not more far then 2020. But now, let software thinkers imagine what we will use them for in the future !

Restyled by Rabah LEKHEBASSENE.