Introduction To Free Software692

Denition Facts Myths Actors Conclusions
Introduction to Free Software

Denition, facts, myths, actors
Jean-Etienne Poirrier
http://www.poirrier.be/
June 28th, 2007
Freedom What are free software?
Software
Free ... Software?
Freedom No subordination, no thrall, no constraint, no pressure applied by others
In the actual computer world ...
obliged to buy a computer with an imposed operating system intellectual property theft, piracy outlandish and incompatible le formats lack of transparency regarding security
Jean-Etienne Poirrier Introduction to Free Software
Free Software 4 Freedoms
1 2
The freedom to run the program, for any purpose. The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs. Access to the source code is a precondition for this. The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor. The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benets. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
3 4
Some licences ...
More info: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/
Operating System Word processors Spreadsheets Internet Games
Operating Systems
Linux (RedHat, Fedora, Debian, Ubuntu, SuSE, ...), FreeDOS, FIASCO, ReactOS, S.Ha.R.K., V2OS, ...
Write texts
Writer, AbiWord, KWord, ...
Do some computation
Calc, Gnumeric, KSpread, ...
Surf on the web
Firefox, Konqueror, ...

Play
Wormux, minesweeper, sudoku, 3D, racing, chess, ...
Diculties Windows, Linux, MacOS, ... Cost Security Languages management
Myths about Free Software
Too complicated for normal people?
They already are used in kindergarten!
GCompris, educational software for children from 2 to 10 years old

They became easy to install
And are they easy to use? Just listen to the next 2 presentations!
Windows, Linux, MacOS, ...
Free Software are available on nearly all possible operating systems (free or not)
Shareware, freeware, free-as-in-free-beer software
But freely re-distributable with source code!
Free Software, security and support
Way better privileges and access management, software actions monitoring, speed of bugs correction, ... (very active) Community support + support from commercial companies
Free Software are very often multilingual
KDE is available in 34 languages, e.g.!

Linux is even available in Walloon !
Richard M. Stallman Eric S. Raymond Linus Torvalds Eben Moglen
Richard M. Stallman
54 years-old hacker (noble meaning) free software activist software patents destroyer father of the GNU project (1983) father of the Free Software Foundation (1985) father of the Emacs text editor and other basic tools for operating systems http://www.stallman.org/ http://www.gnu.org/
Eric S. Raymond
50 years-old hacker (noble meaning) founder of the Open Source movement The Cathedral and the Bazaar, 1997 disputed member of the Community http://www.catb.org/ esr/ http://www.opensource.org/
Linus Torvalds
38 years-old creator of the Linux kernel self-proclaimed benevolent dictator of the Linux kernel development rarely goes out of his modesty (but when he does, the entire world knows it!) http://www.cs.helsinki./u/torvalds/
Eben Moglen
47 years-old law professor founder and director of the Software Freedom Law Center defending Free Software legal interests Free Software Foundation member GNU GPLv3 writer Anything that is worth copying is worth sharing http://emoglen.law.columbia.edu/ http://www.softwarefreedom.org/
Free Software ...
they are good, use them! they can be freely copied and used they allow us to easily do common tasks and much more! they target all the ages, all the interests they are not automatically free (as in free beer) they are rather well documented What are you waiting for?
To know more...
LiLiT (Liege Linux Team) : http://www.lilit.be/ and its Meeting Parties, Installation Parties and its participation to various other events Free Software Foundation : http://www.fsf.org/ Framasoft : http://www.framasoft.net/ (in French) Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org
Many thanks to...
LiLiT and its volunteers who prepared this evening Richard Stallman and Linus Torvalds to initiate this movement, both at a philosophical and technical standpoint you for your attention and because you will try free software, right now! This presentation is available on http://www.poirrier.be/

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Denition Facts Myths Actors Conclusions