Software Freedom Day 2011 is coming!

Saturday 17 September 2011 is Software Freedom Day, a day to celebrate the joys of Free and Open Source Software in all of its forms. Most people know that the Linux operating system is open source but you can even run open Source Software on Windows and the Mac OS. If you use either the Firefox or Google’s Chrome web browser, and especially the Chromium web browser, you’re already using open source software.

There will be Software Freedom Day events all over the world. If you’re already a member of the open source community you can join in the celebration, and if you’re curious about open source software you can check out their website to see what events are happening in your area. Either way you won’t want to miss out on the festivities.

Introduce your Windows using friends to the joy of open source software

When I wrote my post about finding a new Linux podcast Bill Davis told me about The Tightwad Tech’s Everyday Linux podcast. As I was getting caught up with older episodes I heard a mention of Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society’s OSSWIN CD. It reminded me of the OpenDisc that I had tried before I switched to Linux, but OSSWIN looks even better. OSSWIN has the latest version of each program as of the release date and it has an incredible range of programs on it, even games.

The current version came out 6 February 2011, compared with 7 December 2010 for the OpenDisc, and if you’re unable to burn CDs you can buy copies of OSSWIN although you have to do it via email and they only accept cash. I’m not sure how they do this for online, non-local users but if you contact then I’m sure they can help you.

Big thanks to the buys over at Everyday Linux for letting me know about this disk.

Love Do but not Docky? That’s cool. Want Docky but not Do? We’ve got a project for that, too.

There have been a few open source projects that have made the GNU/Linux community all happy as hell and one of the best is GNOME Do. While not really a member of the GNOME project many of us will admit to considering it one of the best apps ever written, which you can see on their new Preview page, and once you’ve used it for a while you hate having to use an operating system without it.

When they brought out version 0.8 they added a new theme, Docky. It’s great for people who already use a dock like Avant Window Navigator (AWN) or the Cairo-Dock.  (The Mac4Lin project supports both AWN and Cairo, although I prefer AWN for my use.) While a lot of people love Docky, some of us just don’t. That’s one of the beauties of open source software, you can use what you want and not use what you don’t like. With Do it’s simply a matter of choosing the Docky theme or choosing another theme.

Yesterday I reading a thread on the GNOME Do Google Group that asked why Do isn’t listed as a GNOME project and I saw a comment about Docky being pulled from Do. That’s right, cats and kittehs, members of the Do community got together on IRC and decided to spin Docky off from GNOME Do, making it a project of its own.

If you love Docky please consider surfing over to Launchpad and helping make Docky, The Finest Dock No Money Can Buy, the best it can be.

I’m late to the party, but at least I’m showing up

Back in the first season of the show “The West Wing” Sam Seaborn had a great line in the episode “Mr. Willis of Ohio”.

OK. Lets…I’ll tell you what. Let’s forget about the fact that you’re comin’ a little late to the party and embrace the idea you showed up at all.

With that thought in mind I’m going to join the vrms meme that went around Planet Ubuntu earlier this month. Started by Jim Campbell, it turns out there’s an app called vrms, which is short for Virtual Richard M. Stallman. The idea is to see what non-free software is installed on your computer. Some people may think vrms is making quite a bit of do over nothing, but if you support free and open source software it’s a good idea to see what software you run that goes counter to that philosophy.

To use vrms you do have to install the program, and it’s in the Ubuntu universe repo so you just need to run sudo apt-get install vrms. Once it’s installed just run vrms in a terminal. When I run it I get this:

$ vrms
Non-free packages installed on Icebox

crossover-pro             Run Windows applications like MS Office
fglrx-modaliases          Identifiers supported by the ATI graphics driver
google-desktop-linux      Google Desktop: Personalize and organize your own comp
grokking-the-gimp         GIMP tutorial book by Carey Bunks (HTML)
linux-restricted-modules- Non-free Linux 2.6.28 modules helper script
linux-restricted-modules- Restricted Linux modules for generic kernels
nvidia-173-modaliases     Modaliases for the NVIDIA binary X.Org driver
nvidia-180-kernel-source  NVIDIA binary kernel module source
nvidia-180-libvdpau       Video Decode and Presentation API for Unix
nvidia-180-modaliases     Modaliases for the NVIDIA binary X.Org driver
nvidia-71-modaliases      Modaliases for the NVIDIA binary X.Org driver
nvidia-96-modaliases      Modaliases for the NVIDIA binary X.Org driver
nvidia-glx-180            NVIDIA binary Xorg driver
opera                     The Opera Web Browser
picasa                    Image management application from Google
python-profiler           deterministic profiling of any Python programs
rar                       Archiver for .rar files
sun-java5-bin             Sun Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0 (architectu
sun-java5-jre             Sun Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0 (architectu
sun-java6-bin             Sun Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 (architecture
sun-java6-jre             Sun Java(TM) Runtime Environment (JRE) 6 (architecture
sun-java6-plugin          The Java(TM) Plug-in, Java SE 6
tangerine-icon-theme      Tangerine Icon theme
ttf-larabie-deco          Decorative fonts from www.larabiefonts.com
ttf-larabie-straight      Straight fonts from www.larabiefonts.com
ttf-larabie-uncommon      Special decorative fonts from www.larabiefonts.com
unrar                     Unarchiver for .rar files (non-free version)
Reason: Modifications problematic

Contrib packages installed on Icebox

gstreamer0.10-pitfdll     GStreamer plugin for using MS Windows binary codecs
nvidia-common             Find obsolete NVIDIA drivers
nvidia-settings           Tool of configuring the NVIDIA graphics driver
ttf-mscorefonts-installer Installer for Microsoft TrueType core fonts

27 non-free packages, 1.3% of 2027 installed packages.
4 contrib packages, 0.2% of 2027 installed packages.

Damn, I have a bunch of non-free apps installed, and in my defense it is only 1.3% of the apps I have installed. Although that list doesn’t include the removable drive cataloging app Gentibus CD or Macromedia’s Dreamweaver, two apps that I’ve installed under CrossOver Pro and I just haven’t found an open source app to replace them.

Of course today is Software Freedom Day, so I hope you use this opportunity to help someone find the joy that comes from running open source software.

Mark your calendar: Software Freedom Day 2009 is coming!

[I know Peng usually posts the announcement about this, but I saw the email message and shot off a quick IM message to him about it. He said I should post it since he's not able to guarantee his being able to write a post today, and he did say to use the Ubuntu category to make sure it gets out to the Ubuntu Weblogs. -Nanci, Peng's sister]

I just got a note from the wonderful folks at 4freedom in SecondLife letting me know that Software Freedom Day 2009 is coming up on 19 September.

SFD is a celebration of Free and Open Source Software, but it definitely isn’t about bashing Microsoft, SCO, or any other commercial/proprietary software organizations. Instead it’s a way to look at all the wonderful FOSS options that are available and helping others know about them.

There’s a map on the SFD site to help you find a team in your area. If there’s no team in your area you can start one yourself, or at the very least join 4freedom for the celebration in SecondLife. I’m going to try to make plans to either join the folks in the Boston area (I hear the Mass. Ubuntu LoCo is looking to do something, even if it’s with another group, in the Boston area) or get into SL to join the festivities with 4freedom.

Understanding FOSS Visual Guide

Anyone who knows me knows how strongly I support Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), but that term by itself leaves many people with a confused look as they wonder what the hell we’re talking about. Martin Owens, the leader of the Ubuntu Massachusetts Local Community (LoCo) Team and general guru for things GNU/Linux, has published a delightful little book (currently in draft form) that explains the concept of Free and Open Source Software. Available in PDF form as well as in the SVG source files, the 22-page book should be part of every FOSS supporter’s library. The fact that it’s available in PDF form means that it can simply reside on your hard drive of Flash drive, without the need of killing a single tree to be able to read it, makes it en even better deal. It’s licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license so you can share it with your friends without worrying that the Intellectual Property police will knock on your door.

You can download the PDF, as well as the source SVG files, from Martin’s blog.

Peng’s links for Monday, 3 November

Thanks to everyone who corrected my inaccuracy yesterday. I hate getting facts wrong (even if I do have to post in a hurry sometimes) but it’s good to see so many people not just reading our blog but also contributing.

• Brian Burger: Got Goat? Brian shares the things he loves (and isn’t quite crazy about) Ubuntu 8.10.
• Matthew Helmke: Did my hardware get dropped? It seems that older Nvidia graphics boards aren’t alone in seeming to lose their welcome in Ubuntu Intrepid. Matthew’s ATI board isn’t playing well with Compiz anymore either.
• Aanjhan Ranganathan: FOSS, Education, Career, Skill Development – the relationship. Aanjhan has found some nice articles about the prospect of making a living in the Free and Open Source Software community/industry.
• Richard Harding: Which comes first, the linux penguin or the linux egg? A Flint, MI, community college is moving from Linux to Windows, and Richard looks at the issue of training Linux admins.
• Pundit Kitchen: HOW MICROSOFT SEES OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE. Ok, so it’s not an article, but it is a cute bit of captioning. Although it’s not as nice as a pic I ran last week.

I hope your week is off to a good start. Of course, if you live in the United States don’t forget to vote tomorrow! If you’re still undecided, look at where the candidates stand on tech and open source issues. (I know, I should have posed that question months ago. My bad.)

Happy Software Freedom Day!

Today is Software Freedom Day (SFD) 2008, the day that we not only rejoice in Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), it’s also the day that we let others know how easy it can be to get work done without having to spend arms, legs, and in some cases our first born, on closed source, proprietary software. Plus free software is instrumental in making sure you’re not robbed of your human rights simply for being a computer user. It’s ironic, of course, that Software Freedom Day follows Talk Like A Pirate Day, especially since using free software takes coins away from the Lords of Redmond.

You can find a participating team on the SFD interactive map and find the location nearest you for information on why open source software is so great. Of course if an interactive map isn’t quite your style they do have a list of the participating teams in a table format as well. In Boston the Free Software Foundation will be hosting Free Software Day (in Boston) 2008 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm at Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave, 5th Floor, in Boston’s Chinatown.

At SFD events you’ll be able to get some nice swag, possibly including tees and stickers but definitely including free copies of the OpenDisc, loaded with almost 40 software titles including

• Design programs: Blender, GiMP, Inkscape and Scribus
• Games: Eigma, Neverball and Sokoban YASC (Yet Another Sokoban Clone)
• Internet apps: Azureus, Firefox, Pidgin, Thunderbird and TightVNC
• Multimedia apps: Audacity, Celestia, Really Slick Screensavers and the VLC media player
• Productivity apps: GnuCash, Notepad2, OpenOffice.org and PDF Creator
• Utilities: 7-Zip, Clamwin, HealthMonitor and TrueCrypt

If you don’t make it to a SFD event you can always download a disc image for the OpenDisc as well as cover art. They even have an OpedEductaionDisc designed for educators and students age 10-21+ to help them complete homework and coursework assignments.  Please note that while many of these programs have Linux versions, the OpenDisc is specifically for Windows users. Of course since many of the local SFD teams are made up of Linux users you can probably find free LiveCDs of Linux distributions as well.

I want to send out a great big THANK YOU to the corporate sponsors of Software Freedom Day 2008, without whose help and finances SFD simply wouldn’t happen at all, this year or any year.

• Sun Microsystems
• linode
• BitePR
• Canonical
• DKUUG
• The Free Software Foundation
• Google
• Mindtouch
• and of course media partner Linux Magazine

[UPDATED] Peng’s links for Tuesday, 16 September

I’m afraid I let links back up on me during a very busy weekend that didn’t quite get out of the way until earlier today, so I have a number of links to share. I apologize for letting things get away from me.

• Matt Zimmermn: Toward a free web. With the move toward web-based applications, although that’s not an entirely new thing, there’s a very real possibility that developers of web apps could end up creating and using proprietary apps and interfaces that could make it difficult, if not outright impossible or illegal, for others to make things better/easier for users. While I’m not entirely against proprietary software, Matt has some strong points for open source work in web apps.
• Justin Dugger: Why single out Apple? People love to try to dopeslap Apple for how hard it is to get programs on the iPhone, but they may not be the worst offenders on mobile phones, and I’m not looking at Windows Mobile, as I type that.
• Julian Saraceni: VLC 0.9.2 released. When it was time to check the New Orleans television stations for coverage of Hurricane Gustav I fired up the feed in the VLC media player. It kept me from having to deal with Flash or another video program, plus I love how minimal VLC can get with the right skin. It looks like the new release of VLC is even better, and Tom “Tombuntu” Dryer has yet another tutorial on getting the new version installed. I haven’t installed it yet (it’s a few items down my gotta-do list) but there’s one thing I’ve seen from Tombuntu it’s that he writes kicking tutorials. Updated 17 Sep 12:30pm: After trying the updated VLC from Tombuntu’s blog I lost all ability to use the program. I’ll make sure the bug is filed but I’d hold off on using the version from the repo Tombuntu posts for the time being. Updated 1:43pm: It turns out the theme I had been using in my old VLC was causing problems. Once I specified the default theme and reinstalled the new version it works like a champ.
• Sayak Banerjee: Photography and ubuntu? There are a number of groups set up for Ubuntu users. Not only are there the usual regional Ubuntu user’s groups (like the Massachusetts Local Community Team), there are also a number of groups set up for people who love their bikes, even people who (God forbid!) smoke. Now even shutterbugs have an Ubuntu group to call their own. (If someone knows a place to see all of the Ubuntu groups, other than the geographic ones, please post it in a comment.)
• Dustin Kirkland: Ubuntu Manpage Repository Updates! One of the biggest hassles of using Linux is having to sort through manpages, those wonderfully difficult bits of program documentation that are great if you know what you’re looking for. But do you have manpages for all of your software? Thanks to Dustin’s hard work, as well as the work of those who have helped, you can make sure you have all the manpages you may need.
• TualatriX: One year old of Ubuntu Tweak. We’ll forgive the grammatical glitches (damned that English language and all it’s variations!) and simply say Happy Birthday, Ubuntu Tweak! I can’t believe it’s only one year old, but it’s almost amazing at how good it is already. Check out where it came from and get a glimpse at the next version in TualatriX’s post.
• Datamation: Linux Promotion in Mall Kiosks. Jonathan M. Prigot passed a link along to this article to the Ubuntu Mass. LoCo and it’s a great look at a way to show off Linux.

I have one other subject to blog, but I have over a half dozen links on the subject so I’m going to give it a post of its own.

Peng’s links for Fried-day, 5 September

• Planet Mozilla: 10 Reasons Firefox won’t be worried about Chrome. A great post for Firefox fans who wonder what Chrome means to our favorite red panda.
• Matthieu Trudel: An education issue? + Yay for the Intrepid user switcher and shutdown/logoff window. One of the biggest hurdles FOSS (Free and Open Source) software has to overcome is that many people simply don’t realize there’s alternatives to proprietary, closed-source, commercial software. Matt also has a link to a great program for getting Ubuntu Linux used in public libraries. Not sure what he means by the the Intrepid user switcher since I couldn’t find anything about it in his post.
• Henrik Gemal: Firefox can become Google Chrome. Actually what he means is that Firefox already has most of Chrome’s cool feature set thanks to add-ons, but he does have a link to an article for what extensions you may need.
• Miia Ranta: I love (easter) eggs! Who doesn’t?
  /me debates installing nethack-gnome…

I have one more link to share, but I think you’ll agree with me that it deserves a post of it’s own.