Group:Defective by Design/AppleTablet

This is for coordination of an action at the Apple Tablet event in San Francisco on Wednesday, January 27, 2010.

People

• John Sullivan
• Mike Linksvayer
• Henri Poole (?)
• Seth Schoen EFF (?)

Ideas for the action

In the past we've used the yellow HazMat suits, but this seems like a good occasion to break out something new. Ideas?

Hand out flyers, stickers, talk to people about Apple's history of support for DRM and proprietary software, and why that's important.

Messages for the action

Amazon's recent actions suggest that the Apple Tablet may have a strong ebook reader component, which undoubtedly will be DRM-infected, and probably closely coupled with the iTunes store.

The device will have a proprietary OS, of course. But will it go even further and be tethered to an App Store like the iPhone?

Materials for the action

Possibilities

• What is Free Software? flyer
• DbD anti-DRM flyer
• iPhone flyer
• Stickers?
• CC handouts?
• FSF member cards

Goals

• Get mention of DefectiveByDesign and the negatives of DRM and proprietary software into the mainstream press coverage of the event.
• Create striking visuals and accounts that will give the action a persuasive online presence.
• Raise awareness about the consequences of DRM and proprietary software among the people attending the event as well as passersby.

Places to publicize the action in advance

• Ars Technica (contact Nate Anderson?)

News stories about the event

• http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/01/apple-confirms-mystery-jan-27-creative-event.ars
• http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/01/rumors-explode-about-what-to-expect-from-apple-next-week.ars

Location

10am Pacific Time on Wednesday, January 27 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.

Background reading

• http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/5-reasons-to-avoid-iphone-3g
• http://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/why-free-software-and-apples-iphone-dont-mix
• http://www.defectivebydesign.org/blog/jailbreaking-apple-iphone