It’s Software Freedom Day 2009! Many of you know I love me some open source software…and today is great day to learn more if you’re at all interested. From the official Software Freedom Day Website:
In an increasingly digital age, more and more of our everyday experiences depend upon software. Software influences how we interact with each other, enjoy different media, vote, get paid, and even navigate our roads. Software underpins our very way of life, our basic freedoms such as freedom of association, freedom of thought, freedom of choice and much more, yet many people do not realise the importance and influence of software and other technologies on their lives.
What do we mean by Software Freedom? Software Freedom is about a technology future that we can trust, that is sustainable, and that doesn’t negatively impact on the basic human freedoms we take for granted. Untrusted electoral systems can lead to civil unrest and a lack of trust in governing bodies. Spyware that watches what we listen to, our banking details and who we email can be installed on our computers without our knowledge. Region encoding of movies introduces an artificial barrier to the international content; where is our personal choice? Proprietary data formats can mean lockout to accessing our own information! Software Freedom can be maintained by transparent systems (such as Free and Open Source Software) that are based on open, secure and sustainable standards including data formats and communication protocols.
Software Freedom Day is a yearly celebration of Software Freedom and why it is important; our purpose is public education about these important issues.
If you’d like to learn about why I like free software and the free software that I use most, check out my Choose Freedom essay, and my Top 10 Reasons I Use Linux post. Did you know companies like Google and (gasp!) Apple leverage lots of free software to make their products? Google literally couldn’t exist without its vast computer farms running Linux, and Apple depends on free software for such basic functions as printing, networking, and web-browsing.
Here are some quick links to some my favorite free software projects:
- Ubuntu – a free operating system that can replace Windows or Mac OS
- MuseScore – a music notation editor that’s helping me complete my master’s degree in music theory and composition
- OpenOffice – the free office suite that has saved me lots of time and money!
- Firefox – the best browser around
- WordPress – the blogging software that is now the industry standard
- The Sword Project – Free Bible study software and tools
All of this software is available completely free of charge, runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers (even Ubuntu can be tested on a Windows or Mac computer without changing a thing about your existing configuration), and is free as in speech. Why not try some of it out?
Today is great day of celebration of how far free software has come…I hope you’re able learn something about the fun, power, and importance of free software. If you have questions or thoughts, feel free to leave a comment!
