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July 2009

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Software Freedom Day, 19th Sep - speakers wanted
by Brianna Laugher 02 Aug '09

02 Aug '09

Hi all, I am looking for people who are interested in helping share the awesome that is free software, by giving a talk or tute on Software Freedom Day (Saturday 19th September). Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to communicate to a beginners or intermediate audience, in approximately 25 minutes, some project or aspect of free software that gives you warm fuzzies and helps you sleep well at night knowing the world is a better place, or at least makes you go, "Huh. Neat." I have listed some ideas to get you thinking, below. Further notes are also at <http://wiki.cc.com.au/SFD09/Talks>. Please reply to me off-list when you know what you want to enthuse about. cheers, Brianna ==Introductory== * What is software freedom? o incl. history of free software movement * Free software licenses o could perhaps just be a component in a general talk on software freedom * How do open source projects work? o how do they get started, how do people contribute, how do people know what to do, who makes final decisions, forking * How to become an open source developer o How to find a project, how to check if it suits you, how to find easy ways to start, submitting patches? * Open formats/standards & why they matter * Introduction to free content licensing (Creative Commons) * Open access (academic publishing) * OLPC project * Firefox * Opera * Thunderbird * Wordpress * Inkscape * OpenOffice * Audacity * GIMP * GnuCash * Some feed reader (plus: what are feeds) * [Your Favourite Free Software Package Goes Here] * MediaWiki/Wikipedia/some other wiki (contributing) * HTML/CSS (web design using some particular package?) * Back-ups * Demystifying bug trackers (could look at a few - Bugzilla, trac?) * Beginning programming with Python * Programming for kids with Squeak/Alice/Scratch * Introduction to IRC ==Intermediate== * Beginning the command line * How to start your own web site (getting started with shared webhosting using open source tools) * Beginning source control (concepts + basic commands in svn, bzr) * Any of the software mentioned in 'Introductory', but with a more advanced take (starting to look at modifying it, e.g. extensions/plugins, how to tweak it yourself) * Using a debugger * Practical programming with Python (scripting - solving 'real world' problems) * Understanding the Linux stack (kernel, window manager, desktop environment, utilities, etc) * Managing software in Linux (aptitude etc) * Introduction to databases (not just SQL...) * Introduction to MVC framework? * Drupal * Greasemonkey or more generally, Firefox extensions * JavaScript * Emacs :) ==Workshops== Any of the packages mentioned above, especially in a "how to achieve X using Y" setting. -- They've just been waiting in a mountain for the right moment: http://modernthings.org/

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Podcasts from Software Freedom Law Center
by Ben Sturmfels 11 Jul '09

11 Jul '09

In case you hadn't come across them, I've been really enjoying the Software Freedom Law Center podcasts. I didn't initially take notice because I assumed they'd be aimed at legal folks and might be a bit dry. Turns out though, that they cover a wide range of free software issues, presented specifically for people without a legal background. Plenty of interesting free software guests too. I like the format of a recorded discussion too. I've always felt a bit distanced physically from much of the action in free software, so it's great to be able hear a bit of banter around the issues. You don't seem to get that connection from written discussion or recorded speeches. http://www.softwarefreedom.org/podcast/ Ben

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