Kate Milberry discusses the importance of free software for maintaining an open and democratic web. The notion of using computers for information exchange characterizes the earliest history of the Internet, when grad students working on ARPANET at MIT’s Artificial Intelligence Lab habitually shared source code. The hacker ethic, based on the idea that “Information wants to be free” evolved out of this practice. As the computing industry grew, it became more corporate, and software became more proprietary. In 1983, Richard Stallman, one of the original MIT hackers, founded the Free Software Movement in response. Stallman developed a free operating system, GNU, and a copyleft license, the GNU General Public License. Fundamentally, Stallman questioned the idea that computer programmers shouldn’t be concerned with what kind of world they live in. For him, free software was about making the world a better place. Indeed, free software has played a critical role in the evolution of the Internet and www as democratic technologies .
The difference between free software and open source is philosophical. The two terms basically describe the same category of software: the source code is open to all. But, open source is a development methodology whereas free software is a social movement. Non-free software is a suboptimal solution for open source advocates. For the free software movement, non-free software is a social problem. Open source refers to a method of making powerful, reliable software and doesn’t refer to a user’s freedoms. Free software explicitly respects the users’ four essential freedoms. These freedoms promote social solidarity through sharing and cooperation, which have broader social implications: they reorient the way we behave and interact with one another. Both free and open source software are important because their use defends the notion of a public and accessible web, and not one that is restricted to privileged users, e.g. those who can pay. As more of our life and culture becomes digitized, and as corporations increasingly seek to privatize the web, and restrict access, free software becomes more important. It comes closer to the idea of freedom in general. Establishing freedom in any meaningful way, however, requires teaching people to value freedom, not just free stuff.

1. Why Free Software?
In response to the increasing proprietary nature of software, Richard Stallman founded the Free Software Movement in 1983.
Stallman developed a free operating system, GNU and a copyleft license, the GNU General Public License, to protect freedoms he believed were essential to software.
Computer programmers are concerned about what kind of world they live in >> programming can make the world a better place!
Free Software important in the evolution of the Internet and www as democratic technologies.
Free Software is a pure public good, not a private good: it is non-rivalrous and non-excludable

2. What’s the difference b/w free software and open source? …It’s philosophical
The two basically describe the same category of software: the source code is open to all.
BUT… Open source is a development methodology; free software is a social movement.
Non-free software is a suboptimal solution for open source advocates. For the free software movement, non-free software is a social problem.
O/S refers to a method of making powerful, reliable software: “Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow” (Raymond)
Doesn’t refer to a user’s freedoms
F/S explicitly respects the users 4 essential freedoms:
1.The freedom to run the program, for any purpose
2.The freedom to study how the program works, and adapt it to your needs.
3.The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor
4.The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements to the public, so that the whole community benefits

Freedoms promote social solidarity – sharing and cooperation
It’s a matter of liberty not price. Think “free” as in “free speech” not “free beer.” (Stallman)
It’s a (re)volutionary response to the privatization of information by corporations. (Arnison, tech activist):

3. Why is free/open source software important?

Open source = open web
Free/open source defends the notion of a public and accessible web, and not one restricted to privileged users, e.g. those who can pay
Closer to idea of freedom in general: As more of our life and culture becomes digitized, and as corporations increasingly seek to privatize the web (and restrict access) free software becomes more important.
BUT establishing freedom in any meaningful way requires teaching people to value freedom, not just free stuff.

4. How do I get free software?

…just download it!
Not just activists and geeks use free and open source software.
Tens of millions of people around the world use free software. Governments (esp in Latin America, e.g. Brasil (Lula), Venezuela (Chavez)) and institutions are starting to embrace it, on economic, if not ethical, grounds.
Firefox >> 16 % of market share for web browsers
Open Office >> increasing share in business market; 98 million downloads

Robots are taking over the web: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkGmNJWbQaU An animated video short about the increasing corporate presence on the web.

Free Software Foundation: http://www.fsf.org/

GNU Operating System: http://www.gnu.org/

Firefox (web browser): http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/landing/better/?utm_content=0705fea...

Open Office (office suite): http://www.openoffice.org/

TikiWiki (Content management system)
http://www.lesbell.com.au/Home.nsf/b8ec57204f60dfcb4a2568c60014ed0f/dc32...

UNESCO’s Free and open source software portal: http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12034&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_S...

Dating has changed a lot since the days of Lavalife. Now there are new places online to meet new people that make use of Web 2.0 technology. Some of these sites take everyday dating scenarios, like blind dates and speed dating, and bring them to the Internet. Most importantly, safety is paramount.

crazyblinddate.com

woome.com

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1) The Search
a) Use sites like download.com, sourceforge.net, osx.iusethis.com, softpedia.com, finding software on these sites gives them merit
- use the search fields to search for category and “free” that you’re looking for
- try and stick to popular/highly-rated software, pay attention to what type of “free” (i.e. trial, or somewhat crippled)
- read reviews, try to find specifics (i.e. “this sucks” doesn’t help, but “this sucks because it isn’t compatible with Windows XP” does…)
b) google is also great, but avoid use of “free” in searches, instead use terms like “shareware”, “freeware”, “trial”, “demo”, etc.
- try to find lists of software on other sites, and make sure that those lists are including well-known software (i.e. if they list “best free media player”, VLC should be on there, if they list “best free audio editor” Audacity should be on there.) If you’re finding that there’s a lot of unknown software in these lists, be careful…
- if you find an unknown piece of software, google it, see what the top hits are, google it and add “review”, google it and and “vs” or “versus”, google it and add “better than” or “comparison”, try to find as much information about it before downloading it. Try and find the software developers site, and google it, see if you can find info on the company that made it
2) The Install
- don’t rifle through the “next” buttons, READ what’s being displayed
- in Windows, use EULAlzyer (a free file, yay!) to see if there are any red flags in the End User License Agreement
- if the software is trying to make you install “add-on” features (i.e. toolbars), that can be a pretty big strike against it, unless you know what those add-ons are, avoid adding them
- avoid making the software your “default” player for files, test out the software before making that decision
- I let the software create a shortcut icon on the desktop, and a entry in the program menu, but avoid letting it create a quick launch icon, and avoid letting it start up upon booting windows
- Once installed, check to see what entries the program made from the Start Menu to ensure everything is on the up and up (make sure it didn’t add anything extra)
- Read the readme (can avoid a lot of headaches doing this first)
3) Testing It Out
- start the program, make sure it runs, then start doing verification/feature testing
- See if it’s shareware (i.e. with a countdown), or if features are missing
- have a firewall running, and see if the program is trying to communicate with the internet (especially if it’s not telling you this)
- make sure it does what it says it does, put it through it’s paces, try out all the menus, make sure you can save, open, etc.
- see if it is compatible file-friendly, and doesn’t use proprietary files for input/output, so that files you create with this program can be viewed/edited/altered by other programs
- If you’re struggling to get it to work, try googling for some documentation/tutorials written by other users
- Be realistic, rarely does a free file do everything you want it to, or at the same level as commercial programs