Foss

http://freegeek.org/opensource.php and http://freegeek.org/linuxlink.php

OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

The term "Open Source Software" refers to a licensing model where the software must provide the source code along with the executable program. There are various types of open source licenses, the most common of which is the GPL (GNU Public License).

Everyone is free to use and modify software licensed under the GPL. When GPL software is modified, the source code changes must be made publicly available under the GPL. This promotes community involvement and the improvement of GPL software.

This development process is very different from the proprietary model, where the developer tries to keep his source code secret. The secrecy of the proprietary model means that any bugs or security holes can only be fixed by the developer - and if that developer is not available to fix the problem for any reason, the user must suffer. Worse, because the source code for the program is secret, that means that the format that the data is stored in is also probably secret, preventing the user from migrating to a different software package without great difficulty.

The Open Source development process, however, is more like the traditional scientific model where new work builds on existing work, allowing for much more rapid development. Because anyone interested in a particular software project can access and improve the code, that also means that bugs and security flaws are fixed more quickly. And with the source code available, the data format is known, which means that the user can easily migrate their data to a new program, if desired.

[ Linux and Open Source Links ] (link to linuxlink.php)

FREE SOFTWARE LINKS

The Internet is pretty much home base for the Free/Open Source software movement, so it would be silly for us to try to be exhaustive. Here are just a few links: GENERAL

The Linux kernel is the core of the GNU/Linux operating system, but the GNU family of software makes Linux usable. The Free Software Foundation provides the philosophy behind the movement. This is a good read, and we're convinced it'll inspire you! THE FREEKBOX

The FreekBox runs the Ubuntu operating system (a variant, or distribution, of GNU/Linux), with the Gnome desktop environment. (Although the FreekBox doesn't come with it, many of our staff and core volunteers proudly use Ion, a lightweight tiling window manager, instead of Gnome.)

The FreekBoxen also come with OpenOffice.org, a full-featured suite of office software including a word processor, spreadsheet, and other programs. Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about OpenOffice.org. GEEK CULCHA

The jargon file is a wonderful lexicon of hackish slang. ("Why do you call them FreekBoxen?") And, well, we wouldn't be geeks if we didn't link to Slashdot ("News for nerds. Stuff that matters.")

Wanted

(from shawn to xen, 5/21 a combination of two old pages: one on open source software in general, and one on what software we use and some links to cultural stuff. We'd like the page to talk about open source and what it is and and GPL and stuff and also talk about the specific software we use. There are notes on this at the bottom of the wiki page. The audience for the page is people who know a little bit about FOSS and want to know its place at Free Geek.

Feedback from Technocrats based on http://freegeek.org/linuxlink.php

• Change page name to something like "foss"
• remove window manager mention
• add technologies and links:
  • Debian on almost all servers
  • LTSP on terminals
  • mediawiki
  • mailman
  • RT
  • squirrelmail (roundcube now)
  • wordpress
• Make better or remove jargon file: link to random jargon item? http://www.panix.com/~ilaine/jargon/jargon.cgi
• servers are on donated hardware, which sometimes needs creative solutions: once we ran out database off a staff member's laptop for a day while we fixed the main server
• link to tecchie internships