[Linux-aus] Software Freedom Day: official announcement for Sydney

[Sridhar Dhanapalan]

SYDNEY CELEBRATES SOFTWARE FREEDOM, THIS SUNDAY

For the second time running, The University of New South Wales (UNSW) has been 
selected to form the centrepiece of Software Freedom Day in Sydney.

Software Freedom Day (SFD) is a worldwide celebration of Free and Open Source 
Software (FOSS). Our goal in this annual celebration is to educate the 
worldwide public about of the benefits of using high quality Free and Open 
Source Software (FOSS) in education, in government, at home, and in 
business - in short, everywhere!

Have you ever had your computer software crash, lose data or get a virus? 
Imagine if after only a few years that the thesis that you worked on for ages 
was no longer readable, or that your precious home movies were no longer 
watchable. If you complain to the software company, they try to talk you into 
spending yet more money on an 'upgrade', which only turns out to be slower 
and buggier than the previous version. Ever bought a new music player, only 
to find that it refuses to play the music that worked just fine on your old 
player?

Unfortunately, many people are living in this world today.

Software Freedom Day exists to show the general public that there is a way out 
of this vicious cycle. Through the use of free software, you regain control 
over your computer and your data. Every person has the freedom to participate 
in and use free software, whether it be on a totally free operating system 
like Linux or on a non-free platform like Windows or Mac OS.

This Sunday, the Sydney FOSS community will demonstrate how easy it is to 
install and use free software to achieve a variety of tasks. Our activities 
shall gravitate around two venues in UNSW:

  * At the computer fair in the Roundhouse (10am-3pm), we will be
    demonstrating FOSS technologies to vendors and visitors.
  * In Law Room 203 (8am-5pm), we will be hosting a series of talks
    and tutorials.

We will also have people roaming around campus spreading the news. We will be 
happy to answer any questions that you may have pertaining to FOSS. We will 
have CDs and other items to hand out, to get you started. If you bring (or 
buy at the fair) a USB drive, we can transfer free software onto it for you.

If you're buying hardware at the fair, we can help you to get it running with 
FOSS. If you're a student, or just plain curious, we can show you how you can 
maximise the potential of your computer, all at no cost to you.

Unlike with non-free software, FOSS is typified by extensive community 
networks that are able to provide detailed support should you need help. 
Examples include the Sydney Linux Users Group (SLUG), which hosts e-mail 
lists, monthly meetings, and other events for people of all skill levels.

With the financial support of IT market leaders like IBM, HP, Dell, Intel and 
Google, as well as countless governmental bodies and companies in other 
industries, FOSS is growing from strength to strength at a phenomenal rate.

If you have any further questions, please see our list of resources below. 
Otherwise, come and see us on Sunday, and we'll show you in person!

If you'd like to get involved as a volunteer, read our plans for the day 
(linked below).


RESOURCES

To view our plans for the day, see 
http://www.softwarefreedomday.org/teams/oceania/au/Sydney

For more information on the meaning of Software Freedom Day, see 
http://www.softwarefreedomday.org/about

For more information on FOSS, see http://www.linux.org.au/linux


-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 189 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.linux.org.au/pipermail/linux-aus/attachments/20070913/ede044d3/attachment.pgp