Happy American Independence Day to all our American OpenMandriva Lx users! (plus history)
Today we celebrate the independence and freedom of the United States, a beacon of human freedom in the current world. As members of the global OpenMandriva community, we recognize the importance of software freedom, and embody those same values of independence and self-determination that was birthed by patriots that stood up to the tyranny of the British Empire in the American’s faced leading up to the American Revolutionary War; without the major & decisive contribution of the Kingdom of France towards the United States’ victory in the war, the United States of America as a nation probably would not have existed. Consequently, without the US, the Freedom Software Movement, or nor the “open source” software movement as we know it today, would cease to exist.
Origin of the freedom software movement in the United States
Software was originally free but that right was eventually threatened
An excerpt from Wikipedia’s History of free and open-source software:
Software was not considered “copyrightable” before the 1974 US Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU) decided that “computer programs, to the extent that they embody an author’s original creation, are proper subject matter of copyright”.[16][17] Therefore, software had no licenses attached and was shared as public-domain software, typically with source code. The CONTU decision plus later court decisions such as Apple v. Franklin in 1983 for object code, gave computer programs the copyright status of literary works and started the licensing of software and the shrink-wrap closed source software business model.[18]
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, computer vendors and software-only companies began routinely charging for software licenses, marketing software as “Program Products” and imposing legal restrictions on new software developments, now seen as assets, through copyrights, trademarks, and leasing contracts. In 1976 Bill Gates wrote an essay entitled “Open Letter to Hobbyists”, in which he expressed dismay at the widespread sharing of Microsoft’s product Altair BASIC by hobbyists without paying its licensing fee. In 1979, AT&T began to enforce its licenses when the company decided it might profit by selling the Unix system.[19] In an announcement letter dated 8 February 1983 IBM inaugurated a policy of no longer distributing sources with purchased software.[20][21]
The GNU Project: the start of the Freedom Software Movement
The freedom software movement (from which the “open source” software movement also originated from later) started with the GNU project by Richard Stallman in a Usenet message on September 27, 1983 with the goal of creating a complete Unix-like operating system composed entirely of freedom software:
Free Unix!
Starting this Thanksgiving I am going to write a complete
Unix-compatible software system called GNU (for Gnu’s Not Unix), and
give it away free to everyone who can use it. Contributions of time,
money, programs and equipment are greatly needed.…
Why I Must Write GNU
I consider that the golden rule requires that if I like a program I
must share it with other people who like it. I cannot in good
conscience sign a nondisclosure agreement or a software license
agreement.So that I can continue to use computers without violating my principles,
I have decided to put together a sufficient body of free software so that
I will be able to get along without any software that is not free.
In 1985, Stallman later created the Free Software Foundation to support the GNU Project. Later, the Free Software Foundation published the Free Software Definition, outlining the four unalienable freedoms users have:
…
“Free software” is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of “free” as in “free speech,” not as in “free beer.”
…
A program is free software if the program’s users have the four essential freedoms: [1]
- The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose (freedom 0).
- The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
- The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others (freedom 2).
- The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3). By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
Linux: the final piece needed
By February of 1992, the GNU Project under the FSF had most of the software for a freedom software OS, with the exception of a kernel, which was the core component required to bridge computer hardware and the computer software running within it. Independently, Linus Torvalds, a computer science student at the University of Helsinki, started work on creating an operating system that could utilize the functions of his new PC with an 80386 processor to use at home. Initially, the license was not under a freedom software license, but with the release of Linux version 0.12 in February 1992, the kernel hackers were looking for became licensed under the GNU General Public License:
COPYRIGHT
The Linux copyright will change: I’ve had a couple of requests to make
it compatible with the GNU copyleft, removing the “you may not
distribute it for money” condition. I agree. I propose that the
copyright be changed so that it confirms to GNU - pending approval of
the persons who have helped write code. I assume this is going to be no
problem for anybody: If you have grievances (“I wrote that code assuming
the copyright would stay the same”) mail me. Otherwise The GNU copyleft
takes effect as of the first of February. If you do not know the gist
of the GNU copyright - read it.
The creation of GNU/Linux distributions
With the release of Linux 0.12, people interested in a freedom software OS finally had an opportunity to do so, and so they did: the first distribution to include the X Windows System, the precursor to XLibre display server, which is used to display the GUI & windows from client applications, was the Softlanding Linux System in May 1992.
Origins of OpenMandriva Lx: assistance from France
Mandrake Linux
In July 1998, Gaël Duval, a French entrepreneur and co-founder of MandrakeSoft, created Mandrake Linux, a Linux distribution originally based on Red Hat Linux and KDE. Mandrake Linux gained a reputation as “one of the easiest to install and user-friendly Linux distributions” that users could use as their polished daily driver, without dual booting into another proprietary OS for website compatability or “just works” software.
Mandriva Linux
In February 2005, after a lengthy litigation with the Hearst Corporation over the name “Mandrake” (the Hearst Corporation owned a comic strip character named Mandrake the Magician), MandrakeSoft was eventually acquired by the Brazilian Linux distribution Conectiva to create Mandriva S.A., a public software company headquartered in Paris, France that specialized in Linux and open-source software. Mandriva S.A. immediately announced that Mandrake Linux would named Mandriva Linux.
OpenMandriva Lx
In May 2012, Mandriva S.A. avoided bankruptcy by abandoning its involvement of Mandriva Linux returning development to the community. On December 12, 2012, The OpenMandriva Association was established under 1901 French law to represent the OpenMandriva Community and continue Mandriva Linux under the banner of OpenMandriva Lx.
Declaration against the Woke/DEI political movement
On January 3, 2025, Brian Lunduke under the The Lunduke Journal, an independent technology news outlet, published a piece called Are There Any Non-Woke Operating Systems?, in which Lunduke highlights the issue of discrimination faced by targets of the controversial Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) movement (also known as Woke, Communism, Woke Communism, and other variations of the term) in the freedom software operating system community space:
“Are there any non-woke operating systems?”
…
Are there any ways to power a computer that are not run by extraordinarily racist, sexist, woke organizations and individuals? I get this question probably more than any other over the last year. And the reality is… the answer kind of sucks.
…
Most operating systems, most companies, foundations, organizations, and individuals building operating systems and the core components therein, are extraordinarily woke right now: that’s just the reality of the situation.
On Janurary 6th, 2025, Lunduke published a statement in OpenMandriva: The Non-Woke Linux Distro? which covered a private email exchange with Bernhard Rosenkränzer, the president of the OpenMandriva Association, in response to the piece:
We don’t do DEI (or DIE, as we prefer to call it), we look at the quality of contributors rather than the views, gender, or race of people trying to make them. We refuse to ban contributors for being conservative, straight, Russian, or anything else considered a no-go in mainstream projects.
We certainly do not adopt the Contributor Covenant, work with Outreachy, or use any more rust crust than absolutely necessary (sadly these days, Rust has invaded Mesa, so it’s getting harder and harder to avoid it altogether).
But of course, you rarely if ever hear we even exist - the media are doing a pretty good job at ignoring releases coming out of organizations not following the party line.
Since I think you may find it funny, I’ve attached the source for the “WokeOS” shell we’ve “developed” to where other OS projects seem to be headed. We’re convinced it will soon be the default shell in Red Hat and Ubuntu.
We are, of course, a Linux-based project (sadly, currently there’s nothing else with the same level of hardware support), so we certainly use some code from the woke crowd - but in our own project, we’re pretty much the opposite.
- Bernhard Rosenkränzer
President, OpenMandriva Association
Conclusion
In conclusion, the OpenMandriva community embodies the same values of independence, self-determination, and freedom that were fought for during the American Revolutionary War. As a Linux distribution, OpenMandriva Lx is part of the larger free and open-source software movement that was born out of the efforts of pioneers like Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds.
The history of OpenMandriva Lx is intertwined with the story of Mandrake Linux and Mandriva Linux, which were founded in France and helped bring Linux to a wider audience as a user-friendly desktop operating system. When Mandriva faced challenges, the OpenMandriva community stepped up to continue this legacy, staying true to the principles of freedom software.
Today, as the tech industry grapples with the rise of “woke” ideologies that many see as threatening the meritocratic nature of open-source development, OpenMandriva Lx has taken a stand. By rejecting divisive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, the project aims to remain a beacon of true software freedom, where contributors are judged on the quality of their work rather than their identity or political views.
As the United States celebrates its independence, the OpenMandriva community stands alongside it, united in the fight for liberty, self-governance, and the unencumbered pursuit of technological innovation. Through their commitment to these ideals, the developers of OpenMandriva Lx carry on the revolutionary spirit that birthed the nation they honor today.
Wishing you all a safe and happy 4th of July from the OpenMandriva Lx team!
- Michael “Cal” Krug (@wolfdaemon)
Member, OpenMandriva Association