What is "free"?
"Free" as in Freedom == Libre
... and often "Free" as in Beer, too == Gratis
1962
Steve Russell
- Writes "Space Wars" for DEC PDP-1
- Used by DEC as test software and the "killer app" to sell more computers
Steve Russell in 2007
1976
Richard Stallman
- Copyright Act, 1976
- Scribe DRM time bomb, 1979
Richard Stallman in 2004
1976
Richard Stallman
- Copyright Act, 1976
- Scribe DRM time bomb, 1979
- Xerox printer software, 1980
Richard Stallman in 2004
1983
GNU
GNU's Not Unix
All the tools needed for an Operating System...
GNU Logo by Etienne Suvasa
1983
GNU
GNU's Not Unix
All the tools needed for an Operating System...
...Except the kernel!
GNU Logo by Etienne Suvasa
Free Software Foundation
Four Software Freedoms:
- 0. The freedom to run the program, for any purpose
Free Software Foundation
Four Software Freedoms:
- 0. The freedom to run the program, for any purpose
- 1. The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish
Free Software Foundation
Four Software Freedoms:
- 0. The freedom to run the program, for any purpose
- 1. The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish
- 2. The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor
Free Software Foundation
Four Software Freedoms:
- 0. The freedom to run the program, for any purpose
- 1. The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish
- 2. The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor
- 3. The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others
1991
Linus Torvalds
"I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu)"
Linus Torvalds in 2002
GNU/Linux Distributions:
Debian, Red Hat, SUSE, CentOS, Mint, Ubuntu, Trisquel, Mageia
Specialty distributions:
- XMBCbuntu: Movie and TV media centre
- Mythbuntu: Home Theatre
Specialty distributions:
- XMBCbuntu: Movie and TV media centre
- Mythbuntu: Home Theatre
- Xubuntu: Small-memory (older) computers
Specialty distributions:
- XMBCbuntu: Movie and TV media centre
- Mythbuntu: Home Theatre
- Xubuntu: Small-memory (older) computers
- Edubuntu: Educational software and games
Applications
- Firefox (Internet Explorer)
- Thunderbird (Outlook)
- GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) (Photoshop)
Applications
- Firefox (Internet Explorer)
- Thunderbird (Outlook)
- GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) (Photoshop)
- LibreOffice (MS-Office)
Demonstration
Similarities to WindowsXP
- Windows: Open, Close, Maximize, Minimize, Move, Resize
- Files: Drag, Drop, Copy, Paste
- Applications: Open, Save, Close
Ubuntu Desktop showing Launcher and some applications
Demonstration
Differences from WindowsXP
- Launcher vs. Task Bar
- Filesystem vs. Drive Letters
- Software Center vs. Anything Goes
- Security vs. Free-For-All
Ubuntu Desktop showing Dash and Lenses
Demonstration
LibreOffice Writer
- Composing text
- Formatting paragraphs
- Headings
- Bullets and Lists
Ubuntu Desktop with LibreOffice
Thank you!
Bob Jonkman
Images in this presentation are taken from Free Culture sources, and can be re-used with attribution. The presentation text is © 2013 by Bob Jonkman, and licensed under a CC-BY (Attribution only) license, and can be freely re-used and modified, even for commercial purposes.
Mailto: bjonkman@sobac.com
Blog: http://bob.jonkman.ca/blogs/
Microblog: http://sn.jonkman.ca/bobjonkman