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GPL 3 release set for Friday

Free Software Foundation is set to release next version of open-source license more than three months after initial deadline.

Chris Duckett Editor, TechRepublic Australia
Some would say that it is a long way from software engineering to journalism, others would correctly argue that it is a mere 10 metres according to the floor plan. During his first five years with CBS Interactive, Chris started his journalistic adventure in 2006 as the Editor of Builder AU after originally joining the company as a programmer. Leaving CBS Interactive in 2010 to follow his deep desire to study the snowdrifts and culinary delights of Canada, Chris based himself in Vancouver and paid for his new snowboarding and poutine cravings as a programmer for a lifestyle gaming startup. Chris returns to CBS in 2011 as the Editor of TechRepublic Australia determined to meld together his programming and journalistic tendencies once and for all.In his free time, Chris is often seen yelling at different operating systems for their own unique failures, avoiding the dreaded tech support calls from relatives, and conducting extensive studies of internets -- he claims he once read an entire one.
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Chris Duckett
The Free Software Foundation is set to release the General Public License version 3 at 9 a.m. PDT Friday, more than three months after the initial March 15 deadline.

FSF founder Richard Stallman plans to launch GPL 3--after 18 months of debate and four drafts--via a video stream on the organization's Web site.

Peter Brown, executive director of FSF, announced the launch date in an e-mail posted to a mailing list Wednesday.

Changes in the latest version of the GPL include the restoration of compatibility with the Apache License, the addition of patent retaliation clauses to prevent future arrangements similar to Microsoft and Novell's pact, and increased internationalization of the license.

The release of the GPL 3 comes 16 years after the release of GPL 2.

Chris Duckett of ZDNet Australia's Builder AU reported from Sydney.