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By Jon Gold

Senior Writer, Network World | Jan 17, 2017 2:00 PM PT

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The Free Software Foundation Tuesday announced a major rethinking of the software projects that it supports, putting top priority on a free mobile operating system, accessibility, and driver development, among other areas.

The foundation has maintained the High Priority Projects list since 2005, when it contained just four free software projects. Todays version mostly identifies priority areas, along with a few specific projects in key areas:

The re-working of the HPP list is a meaningful change that can substantially alter the course of free software development, according to FSF executive director John Sullivan.

We've seen the High Priority Projects List guide contributors and funding to important free software projects, he said in a statement. I hope others will support us, both financially and with their input, so that this can become a sort of annual strategic plan for advancing computer user freedom."

Given how much the computing landscape has changed in the past decade, the update is long overdue, said Benjamin Mako Hill, a FSF board member who worked on the HPP revamp.

Since the first version of the list was published, threats to users' freedom to use their computers on their own terms have changed enormously, he stated.

A full description of the new list can be found here.

Jon covers open source, mobile, and network managment for Network World.

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Free Software Foundation shakes up its list of priority projects ... - Network World