Hand out - APIIT Lanka SFD 2006

What is Free Software?

“Free software”' is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of “free” as in “free speech,” not as in “free beer.” Free software is a matter of the users' freedom to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software. More precisely, it refers to four kinds of freedom, for the users of the software:

Software Freedom Day

Software Freedom Day is a global, grassroots effort to educate the public about the virtues and availability of Free and Open Source Software. Local teams from all over the world are organizing events on 16 September 2006.

What is the GNU project?

The GNU Project was launched in 1984 to develop a complete UNIX-like operating system which is free software i.e. the GNU system, by the Free Software Foundation headed by Richard M. Stallman (RMS). Variants of the GNU operating system, which use the kernel called Linux, are now widely used; though these systems are often referred to as “Linux”, they are more accurately called GNU/Linux systems.

GNU is a recursive acronym for “GNU's Not UNIX”; it is pronounced guh-noo, like canoe. The GNU project was designed to create software and an operating system that would run on peer-edited and improved code, continuing the tradition of software evolution that was already common in the computer science field in the 1970s and early 1980s. For more information visit: http://www.gnu.org/

Linux

Linux (also known as GNU/Linux) is a Unix-like computer operating system written by a Finnish university student Linus Torvalds while attending the University of Helsinki - Finland. It is one of the most prominent examples of open source development and free software; unlike proprietary operating systems such as Windows or Mac OS X, all of its underlying source code is available for anyone to use, modify, and redistribute freely.

Initially, Linux was primarily developed and used by individual enthusiasts on personal computers. Since then, Linux has gained the support of major corporations such as IBM, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, and Novell for use in servers and is gaining popularity in the desktop market. It is used in systems ranging from supercomputers to mobile phones. Proponents and analysts attribute its success to its security, reliability, low cost, and freedom from vendor lock-in. For more information visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux

Taprobane GNU/Linux

The first ever Linux OS/Distribution developed in Sri Lanka. Taprobane is a convenient GNU/Linux distribution based on Debian. It is a live CD, but can be installed to persistent media. Saegiri, the build system used for creating Taprobane ISOs, can also be used to create custom Live CD distributions. Taprobane GNU/Linux is Free Software (Open Source). It's a collective work released under the Artistic License 2.0. Taprobane build system and components are released under the GNU General Public License. Some of the development happens on #taprobane at irc.{debian.org,freenode.net}.

Here are some goodies you may find in this distribution:

For more information visit: http://taprobane.org/

SAHANA – Lanka Software Foundation (LSF)

Sahana is a Free and Open Source Disaster Management system. It is a web based collaboration tool that addresses the common coordination problems during a disaster from finding missing people, managing aid, managing volunteers, tracking camps effectively between Government groups, the civil society (NGOs) and the victims themselves. Sahana has currently been deployed successfully in the following places:

Though application of Sahana is the greatest recognition of the value of the Sahana system to help out in disasters, our work also has been recognized in other ways

For more information visit: http://sahana.lk, contact via sahana@opensource.lk

Orange Open Movie - Elephants Dream

Elephants Dream is the world’s first open movie, made entirely with open source graphics software such as Blender, and with all production files freely available to use however you please, under a Creative Commons license. The short film (10m 55s) was created by the Orange Open Movie Project studio in Amsterdam during 2005/2006, bringing together a diverse team of artists and developers from all over the world.

For more information visit: http://orange.blender.org

OrangeHRM - hSenid

OrangeHRM, the first version of a comprehensive Open Source HRM solution. It comes as a free web-enabled application which is easy to install, configure and run. This would be an ideal solution for small and medium sized companies and organizations looking for an inexpensive way to manage and develop their human resources. OrangeHRM is emerging in line with the new generation of HR Information Systems (HRIS) and will assist you in managing your company's most important asset - human resource. Based on modular architecture, this comprehensive Open Source solution reflects the main areas of HR Management from simple personnel administration to today's complex strategic approaches. OrangeHRM, which is applicable to diverse business industries, is a perfect platform for re-engineering your HR processes and redefining the workflow operations of HR professionals, paving the way to a new level of HR Management.

For more information visit: http://www.orangehrm.com

Red Hat, Inc.

Red Hat, Inc. is one of the largest and most recognized companies dedicated to open source software. Founded in 1993, the company has approximately 1,150 employees and 51 offices worldwide, with its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina in the United States. Red Hat is a market leader in the development, deployment, and management of Linux and open source solutions for Internet infrastructure, ranging from embedded devices to secure web servers.

Red Hat's name came from the manual of the beta version, which contained a request for the return of Marc Ewing's characteristic red and white-striped fedora, should anyone find it. The name is often spelled Redhat or RedHat.

The name "Red Hat" is also frequently used to refer to the two variants of Linux the company produces under that name, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and the now-superseded Red Hat Linux.

For more information visit: http://www.redhat.com

FREE Linux CDs for each Participant, also win several Linux Distribution CDs, RedHat caps and RedHat pens by participating the Question and Answer Session. GNU/Linux T-shirts, TUX Soft Toys and other Linux Distributions are available at Student’s Request. (RedHat Caps and Pens are provided by the kind courtesy of RedHat Sri Lanka)

teams/asia/SriLanka/APIITLanka/handout (last edited 2010-07-27 20:14:31 by anonymous)

This wiki is now archived! Please move on to wiki.softwarefreedomday.org for 2010!