FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jonathon Conte Telephone: (813) 968-7383 Email: jonathonconte@earthlink.net LOCAL VOLUNTEERS JOIN GLOBAL EFFORT TO LIBERATE COMPUTER USERS Tampa, Florida--August 16, 2006--The Suncoast Linux Users Group, a Tampa Bay area computer club, will participate in Software Freedom Day, a worldwide initiative to free computer users from restrictive computer programs, by showcasing Free Software at the Museum of Science and Industry as well as at Mirta's Art Gallery and Coffee House on Saturday, September 16, 2006. Many computer programs in use today restrict their installation to a single computer, prevent the inspection of their code, and forbid sharing the program with others resulting in a world of mandatory product activation, invasive spyware and unnecessary barriers to obtain software. Fortunately, there is an alternative for those who seek digital liberty. This is the message of Software Freedom Day, an annual celebration of computer software, sometimes referred to as "Free Software", that protects rather than prohibits one's freedom to run, examine, alter, and redistribute it. On Saturday, September 16, 2006, Tampa will be among hundreds of other cities around the world hosting Software Freedom Day events due to members of the Suncoast Linux Users Group who will present a Free Software exhibit from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Museum of Science and Industry, 4801 E Fowler Ave, Tampa and a similar Free Software exhibit from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. at Mirta's Art Gallery and Coffee House, 119 S Hyde Park Ave, Tampa. Both exhibits will feature demonstrations of computer programs that may be legally installed on any number of computers, studied, modified, and shared. In addition, various programs such as the Mozilla Firefox Internet browser and the OpenOffice.org productivity suite will be provided at no cost to event attendees. Admission and parking are complimentary for both Software Freedom Day exhibits. For more information about Software Freedom Day please visit http://www.softwarefreedomday.org/. Founded in 1997 for users of Linux-based operating systems, the Suncoast Linux Users Group has grown from one meeting location in Clearwater to monthly meetings in six cities around the Tampa Bay area. Meetings are open to all and there is no cost to attend. For more information about the Suncoast Linux Users Group please visit http://www.suncoastlug.org/. ###