Software Freedom Day 2012
This event has been completed.
This page will remain here to serve as a record of the event.
Note: Planning page for Software Freedom Day 2012, please see last year's Software Freedom Day 2011 page, date is Saturday, September 15, 2012 (20120915).
Contents
Event Description
Date: Saturday, September 15, 2012
Time: (1pm - 6pm)
Location: Dallas Makerspace, 2995 Ladybird Lane, Dallas, TX 75229
If you write free software, use free software, or want to learn about software freedom, come join us for Software Freedom Day. We're planning short talks about a wide range of free software related topics. And, we're working on talks about Arduino, Robotics, Blender, Server Management, Perl and more.
Want to free your computer? Bring a computer that has a blank or ready to wipe hard drive! We'll have experts on hand who can help you install GNU/Linux on your computer with a choice of the latest versions of either Fedora or Ubunutu.
If you have any ideas or want to join us, get in touch!
The best way to communicate with us on the #dallasmakerspace irc channel (no irc program? try webchat).
Presentation Schedule
RedHat Fedora
Jon Disnard, the RedHat Fedora ambassador for North Texas, will be here along with lots of RedHat and Fedora swag. Throughout the Dallas Makerspace SFD event, he'll be ready to give hands on demonstrations and answer questions about RedHat Fedora, one of the most advanced GNU/Linux operating systems distributions around.
Canonical Ubuntu
A Canonical Ubuntu representative will also be here with lots of Canonical and Ubuntu swag. They will be available to give hands on demos and field questions about Ubuntu, a highly advanced GNU/Linux operating system.
TI's Pandaboard Team
A Texas Instruments representative will be here and will be giving demos of their Pandaboards.
More to be announced soon...
30 Minute Talks and Demonstrations
- Introduction to Computer Imaging with Blender 3D - Eric Chaney
- Intro to Modern Perl: via the Mojolicious Web Framework - John Fields
- Best of the Web: Open Source Talks running all day
More to be announced soon...
About Software Freedom Day
On the third Saturday in September each year, people all over the world celebrate Software Freedom Day. It's a day when free software developers and users raise awareness in their local community of the benefits that software freedoms bring. Some cities have huge events with music, talks, vendors, even cheerleaders, parades, and feasts. Dallas, on the other hand, has largely done nothing. In 2007 a few members of the local Ubuntu LUG met at Tempest Tea on Lovers Lane and handed out Ubuntu CDs. In 2008 there was a small get together at Dave and Busters in Frisco, TX. Neither event was well publicized or attended and there was no event at all in 2009. This seemed like an ideal project for Dallas Makerspace to take on in 2010, so we did. The Dallas SFD 2010 was the largest SFD event in Dallas, ever. We had around 40 people show up for a series of talks on free software topics. RedHat's Austin Fedora ambassador came up to hand out Fedora swag and demo the OS. The Dallas Personal Robotics Group demoed robots running free software. Fun was had by all.
Objectives of Software Freedom Day
- to celebrate software freedom and the people behind it
- to foster a general understanding of software freedom, and encourage adoption of free software and open standards
- to create more equal access to opportunities through the use of participatory technologies
- to promote constructive dialogue on responsibilities and rights in the information society
- to be inclusive of organizations and individuals that share our Vision
What is Software Freedom and Why is it Important?
Proprietary software takes control of your computer away from you and gives control to others. Proprietary software takes away control of your media by adding DRM (Digital Restrictions Management). Proprietary software takes away your freedoms to use, copy, understand, and improve your programs. Free Software gives those freedoms back. Specifically, free software guarantees users four essential freedoms:
- The freedom to run the program, for any purpose (freedom 0).
- The freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
- The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor (freedom 2).
- The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3). By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
For more see these documents and videos:
The Free Software Definition - The Free Software Foundation's official definition
Open Source Software Definition - Open Source is a newer term coined to describe a subset of Free Software, with less emphasis on freedom
What is free software and why is it so important? by Matt Lee
How software freedom underpins human rights in our technological age by Pia Waugh
Stephen Fry explains Free Software
Free Software, Open Source, Copyleft, what's the relationship!?
This Venn diagram was created by Hung Chao-Kuei for the Free Software Foundation to show the relationship between free software variants (on the left) and non-free software variants (on the right).
Photos of SFD 2011 at Dallas Makerspace
| m|thumb</flickr> | m|thumb</flickr> | m|thumb</flickr> |
| m|thumb</flickr> | m|thumb</flickr> |
Photos of Previous Dallas SFD events
| m|frame|FSF SFD stickers</flickr> | m|frame|2007 Dallas SFD event</flickr> | m|frame|2008 Dallas SFD event <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/steevithak/sets/72157607455943693/">More photos</a></flickr> | m|frame|2010 Dallas SFD event</flickr> |
2010 Dallas SFD event photo by Jason Mock--Dallas Makerspace Software Freedom Day 2010, CC BY-SA.
Here's How the rest of the world does it
| m|frame|SFD 2005 in Terres de l'Ebre</flickr> | m|frame|SFD 2006 in Nepal</flickr> | m|frame|SFD 2007 in Hanoi</flickr> |
| m|frame|RMS (Richard Stallman) at SFD 2008 in Boston</flickr> | m|frame|SFD 2009 in Nepal</flickr> | m|frame|SFD 2009 in Srilanka</flickr> |
| m|frame|SFD 2010 in Grenada</flickr> | m|frame|SFD 2011 in Singapore</flickr> |
Official SFD Information
- Software Freedom Day website
- SFD Event Location Wiki
- SFD Event Location Map
- SFD Official Artwork
- SFD Official flyers
Team
- Peter Smith - coordinator
- John Fields
