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Title: Software Freedom Day - Aug. 28, 2004
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Welcome to Software Freedom Day Online!
Free and Open Source Software
FOSS projects
About Software Freedom Day
Free and Open Source Software
With Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) you have the right to use it for any purpose, including commercial use. You can examine the program's design, in the form of source code, and make any changes you wish. You can redistribute the software to others, either in the original form or with your modifications.
If you have no interest in source code, you may ask why the availability of this matters. One answer is that the release of source allows external observers to inspect the true functioning of the program, which means that you can be confident that the program treats your private data with respect. A real problem with proprietary software can be that your data is locked in to a proprietary file format, which means that you may eventually be forced to upgrade to newer versions of that software to retain access to your data. This does not happen with FOSS, because when the source code for opening and saving files is available, a third party can easily write an import filter for the next generation of software, ensuring that your data will always be available. Finally, the release of source code has in some cases spawned large communities of volunteer developers who have in turn provided the world with highly useful, and entirely free software such as Linux, OpenOffice, and Mozilla. These are then available free of charge to schools or anyone else who may not have a large budget available for software. So, freedom of software is important for everyone, not just software developers.
FOSS Projects
There are thousands of active FOSS projects on the net. Below is a list of some of the major projects and resources that you might want to check out first.
OpenOffice.org is a free productivity suite compatible with all major office suites. The system includes word processing, spreadsheet, vector drawing and a presentation maker. Noteable features include direct PDF and Flash export.
The Mozilla project is best known for its excellent web browser and e-mail programs, but also houses a variety of other projects.
TheOpenCD is a collection of high quality Free and Open Source Software. The programs run in Windows and cover the most common tasks such as word processing, presentations, e-mail, web browsing, web design, and image manipulation.
GNUWin II is a similar project to TheOpenCD, but contains a much larger selection of software, from games to server applications and programming languages. If you are ready to get up to your elbows in Free software, then GNUWin II is a good place to start.
There is a large variety of Linux distributions available, to suit a variety of needs. We will not list them all here, but rather refer you to DistroWatch which is a comprehensive listing of Linux distributions, each with a feature list and a package comparison table.
Knoppix is a CD-bootable Linux operating system, which means that you can try it on your PC without installing anything on your hard drive. It runs the K-Desktop Environment (KDE) by default, but also includes the GNU Network Object Model Environment (GNOME) and several others, for the more adventurous user, and has many of the same applications found on TheOpenCD, such as AbiWord, The GIMP, and OpenOffice.org.
The GNU project has produced a majority of the Unix-like tools that together with the Linux kernel makes up the GNU/Linux operating system. The GNU project is principally sponsored by the Free Software Foundation (FSF), which is also responsible for the General Public License.
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is a non-profit corporation dedicated to managing and promoting the Open Source Definition for the good of the community. It hosts the OSI Certified Open Source Software certification program, which certifies projects that meet the criteria of the Open Source Definition. TheOpenCD project requires that programs we include uses an OSI approved license.
With free operating systems you have a choice of which graphical user interface you want to use. The most common are the feature-rich K-Desktop Environment (KDE) and GNOME, but there are also more light weight options such as XFCE, IceWM AfterStep, Fluxbox, and others.
There are also other free resources in the community, such as Wikipedia which is a free online encyclopedia that runs of free wiki software. Established in January 2001, it now as over 600.000 articles in 50 languages. This project can be a good introduction to open development.
The above list is but a small fraction of the Open Source and Free Software projects available on the net, and is merely intended as a starting point. A much larger list of FOSS projects can be found here.
About Software Freedom Day
On August 28, 2004, we will celebrate the first annual Software Freedom Day. On that day, we will make the world aware of the virtues of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), and encourage its widespread use. We will set up stations in public places to give away informational fliers and CDs with selected FOSS, including TheOpenCD and a Linux Live CD.
This is a global grassroots marketing campaign in which we are inviting volunteers from around the world to participate. It will be up to the individual teams to chose how they wish to organize their local PR efforts. We will assist with bulk production of supplies, though the cost of supplies must be distributed.
Check our team pages to see if there is already a team near you, or use this form to sign up to start one. We also have a forum a wiki and mailing lists to help you stay informed. We hope you will join the celebration!
© 2004 Software Freedom Day
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