This commit officially switches the mycroft-core repository from
GPLv3.0 licensing to Apache 2.0. All dependencies on GPL'ed code
have been removed and we have contacted all previous contributors
with still-existing code in the repository to agree to this change.
Going forward, all contributors will sign a Contributor License
Agreement (CLA) by visiting https://mycroft.ai/cla, then they will
be included in the Mycroft Project's overall Contributor list,
found at: https://github.com/MycroftAI/contributors. This cleanly
protects the project, the contributor and all who use the technology
to build upon.
Futher discussion can be found at this blog post:
https://mycroft.ai/blog/right-license/
This commit also removes all __author__="" from the code. These
lines are painful to maintain and the etiquette surrounding their
maintainence is unclear. Do you remove a name from the list if the
last line of code the wrote gets replaced? Etc. Now all
contributors are publicly acknowledged in the aforementioned repo,
and actual authorship is maintained by Github in a much more
effective and elegant way!
Finally, a few references to "Mycroft AI" were changed to the correct
legal entity name "Mycroft AI Inc."
==== Fixed Issues ====
#403 Update License.md and file headers to Apache 2.0
#400 Update LICENSE.md
==== Documentation Notes ====
Deprecated the ScheduledSkill and ScheduledCRUDSkill classes.
These capabilities have been superceded by the more flexible MycroftSkill
class methods schedule_event(), schedule_repeating_event(), update_event(),
and cancel_event().
The 1980s birthed a new form of interaction between computers and users. For the first time computers became capable of understanding the most basic form of human communication - pointing and grunting. The mouse and the GUI revolutionized computing and made computers accessible to the masses.
We have now entered a third era. We are rapidly approaching a time when computer systems will understand human language and respond using the most natural form of human communication – speech.
This is an important development. Some might even call it revolutionary.
Despite its importance, however, the technologies that will underpin this new method of interaction are the property of major tech firms who don't necessarily have the public's best interests at heart.
Not anymore.
Meet Mycroft – the worlds first open source natural language platform. Mycroft understands human language and responds with speech. It is being designed to run on anything from a phone to an automobile and will change the way we interact with open source technologies in profound ways.
Our goal here at Mycroft is to improve this technology to the point that when you interact with the software it is impossible to tell if you are talking to a human or a machine.
This initial release of the Mycroft software represents a significant effort by the Mycroft community to give the open source world access to this important technology. We are all hoping that the software will be useful to the public and will help to usher in a new era of human machine interaction.
Our community welcomes everyone to use Mycroft, improve the software and contribute back to the project. With your help and support we can truly make Mycroft an AI for everyone.
Joshua W Montgomery – May 17, 2016