From Stabroek News
Software Freedom Day
Gerhard Ramsaroop (Gerhard Ramsaroop Orion Technologies askgerd@gmail.com)
Friday, September 14th 2007

Tomorrow, September 15th, Software Freedom Day will be observed internationally. It will celebrate a movement started by one man more than twenty years ago, which now has a following of millions. In 1983, Richard Stallman stated in his manifesto that software should be free from restrictions against copying or modification in order to make better and efficient computer programs. It became his aim to develop a complete UNIX style operating system. However, to achieve this he needed to create the tools first, so in 1984 he started the GNU (which is a recursive acronym for GNU is Not Unix) Project.

Several years later, although tremendous progress was made, there still was no complete operating system. However, in August 1991, Linus Torvalds (from Finland) came forward and modestly announced he had developed an operating system called GNU/Linux. Linux made use of the plethora of tools available from the GNU project and was licensed under the GNU General Public License, thus ensuring that the source codes will be free for all to copy, study and change. Today, it is estimated that there are over twenty million Linux users worldwide.

Linux was designed specifically for the PC platform and gives users comparable performance to high-end UNIX workstations. Many big-name companies have joined the Linux bandwagon such as Lenovo (formerly IBM), HP and Dell, offering systems pre-installed with Linux.

Also, many companies such as Red Hat offer Linux packages, and they can only charge for the services and documentation packaged with the Linux software, and not for Linux itself. Linux is widely recognised as an efficient, economical, and, critically, a highly stable operating system. System administrators in Guyana can attest to the fact that Linux can run for over two hundred days without having to reboot. Additionally, Linux is by far not as susceptible to malware (malicious software - viruses, etc.) attacks as Windows. Brazil, in great part due to Government encouragement, has adopted Linux on a massive scale.

Through the efforts of developers of desktop management systems such as KDE and GNOME, office suite project OpenOffice.org (which includes word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and database software) and the Mozilla web browser project, there are now a wide range of applications that run on Linux, and they can be used by practically anyone with basic knowledge of computers.

Those curious to see the capabilities of Linux can download live CD versions. These usually come with everything you might need to carry out day-to-day tasks on the computer and need no installation, as everything runs directly from CD.

Now there are some differences between the proponents of Open Source Software (OSS) and Free Software (FS), and those who use the term OSS tend to emphasise technical advantages of such software, such as better reliability and security, while those who use the term FS tend to emphasise freedom from control by another and/or ethical issues. The opposite of OSS/FS (also called FOSS and FLOSS) is closed or proprietary software. One local system administrator aptly likened proprietary software to purchasing a car with the bonnet welded shut, as opposed to OSS/FS which can be modified and improved for the benefit of all.

So, what does all this mean to the Guyanese business community? Well, with the increasing clamping down on pirated software internationally, it would be in our interest to explore the free alternatives available, and determine which are viable - and many seem to be just as good, or better, than their proprietary counterparts. A good start would be visiting TheOpenCD.org and downloading the CD (or parts thereof) which contains a host of free software that can run on your preferred Windows platform. The CD includes a full-fledged office suite, design, internet, and multimedia software, plus games and utilities.

A similar CD is produced by the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (http://www.ttcsweb.org/osswin-cd), which I use personally.

Many web developers are now working on PHP and MySQL (PHP is a general purpose scripting language used to create dynamic, database-driven websites and it provides built-in support for the MySQL database format). DevNet, an NGO promoting the use of ICTs for development, uses Drupal as an appropriate platform to work with local entities to add their content to the Internet. The Cummings Lodge Hindu Society has a ten station setup which uses the Linux Terminal Server Project in which older machines are connected to a server and the users have access to a variety of applications.

Kuru Kuru Co-operative College has led the way as an institution in developing online courses using Moodle, one of the most popular e-learning platforms, used worldwide by many Universities and other distance education institutions.

Free and Open Source software has now increased in availability and usefulness, and with Linux itself becoming increasingly user friendly, together they provide for a stable and cost-efficient IT experience, which of course is critical to businesses. I would therefore like to encourage interested persons to come to Orion Technologies at Vreed-en-Hoop Stelling, starting at 9:30 am, tomorrow, Sept. 15, where DevNet and the Guyana Linux Users Group (GLUG) are commemorating Software Freedom Day with demonstrations and distributions. For further information on tomorrow's event, contact DevNet on 227-5723.