August 2018 - Free-software-melb - lists.softwarefreedom.com.au

FSM Sept 15th - Software Freedom Day 2018!
by PuZZleDucK 26 Aug '18

26 Aug '18

Hi all, It's time again to get excited about all the benefits of Free and Open Source Software have given us over the past year and get together to talk about how Freedom and Openness can improve our human rights, our privacy, our security and our communities. It's Software Freedom Day! Free Software Melbourne and Linux Users Victoria are celebrating the 15th annual Software Freedom Day with talks about Open Data, Free and Open Source Software, Open Hardware and of course Linux. We'll also be having plenty of networking opportunities and introductions to local open source technology groups. Software Freedom Day is a family friendly event and we have a code of conduct we follow. In short: Be respectful. Be mindful. Work together. Please invite anyone that is interested along to help make it a great day. Entry is free any time with light refreshments on site (snacks and sodas) and the delightful culinary options of nearby Errol st at the conclusion of proceedings. Hope to see everyone on the 15th for a fantastic Software Freedom Day 2018! Details Date: Saturday the 15th September Time: Talks starting at 1:00pm and wrapping up at 5:00pm Location: Electron Workshop co-working space Address: 31 Arden Street, North Melbourne Map: https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/2556615434 Travel Tips: http://www.electronworkshop.com.au/map/ Parking: Plenty of on street parking in the area Code of Conduct: http://freesoftware.org.au/code-of-conduct/

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FSM May 19 - Contribute to Trove
by PuZZleDucK 19 Aug '18

19 Aug '18

Hello Freedom Friends, The Trove search engine provides access to content from Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums (GLAM) and is a rich and deep source of Australian history and culture covering content such as newspapers, journals, maps, diaries, correspondence, photos, music, objects and artworks. It enables searching and sorting the items using various criteria such as the publication, date, geography, author, content and other metadata...but did you know we can make it even better? This month we'll go through setting up an account on Trove and see how we can contribute to this valuable collection of Australian heritage. We'll review some old documents that have been run through optical character recognition and confirm or correct the text to improve future accessibility and search. We'll also see how easy it is to add tags to any item to help discoverability and we'll also talk about useful commenting and the new user lists After the Trove session Michael will take us through all the Free and Open Source Gnews for the month. Then we'll head down to Errol street for dinner and more Open Source chatter. This will be a hands on session working with Trove so try and bring a laptop or tablet to work from. See you all on Thursday the 19th at Electron Workshop for Free Software Melbourne July. Event details Thursday 19th July, 6:30-8:00pm 31 Arden St, North Melbourne, Victoria, 3051 Map: http://osm.org/go/uG4HWyqEz?m=&node=2556615434 Running late or can't find us? Call Ben on 0419 390 496

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Petition to protect encryption
by PuZZleDucK 18 Aug '18

18 Aug '18

Hi all, It's going to be far too long before our next meetup to save this for the Gnews :/ ... but there is a petition against the Australian governments new "anti encryption" legislation. "The new bill would give Australian law enforcement and intelligence agencies the power to demand companies build tools that allow law enforcement access to encrypted communications" Please share and spread the word and help get as many signatures as we can: https://act.openmedia.org/FiveEyesSaveEncryption?src=162824 ~~ Ben

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Meeting Announcement - 16th August - Open Source licenses and why do they matter
by Michael Verrenkamp 11 Aug '18

11 Aug '18

Hey there freedom lovers, It is that time of the month again where we get together to dig deep into all things digital freedom. This month Ben Minders will be talking about Open Source licenses and why do they matter. It is one thing to make the worlds best program, it is another issue to inform the users how they are allowed to use it. If you don't know what license is best for your work and how the users can use it; you can be left in the lurch. Can you share with others? Are modifications allowed? Can you even use it with other programs? This is a talk that can guide you to allocate a license for a project or if you are just using the programs, to help you choose programs that treat you fairly. There will also be the usual Gnews of the month followed by dinner and discussion at KL Bunga Raya after the event. Doors open at 6pm with the main event starting at 6:30pm and dinner to follow in North Melbourne after 8:00 pm. This is a non-technical event and all guest are welcome. Thursday 16th August, 2018 6:30-8:00pm Electron Workshop - 31 Arden St, North Melbourne, Victoria, 3051 Map: http://osm.org/go/uG4HWyqEz?m=&node=2556615434 Travel tips by Electron Workshop: http://www.electronworkshop.com.au/map/ Running late or can't find us? Call 0419 390 496 or 0433 96 96 77

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Help Save Australia's Computing history
by Michael Verrenkamp 02 Aug '18

02 Aug '18

Good day everyone, While not strictly free software we cannot ignore our computing heritage. The shoulder on which our technology today stand on. To that regard, the Australian Computer History Museum (based in Sydney) need any spare space for their collection while they find a new location. You can help save a piece of nearly forgotten history while getting close and personal with it as well. Link and article below. -Michael https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/08/01/oz_retro_computer_collection_in_di… Oz retro computer collection in dire straits, bulldozers on horizon Volunteers need help: car boots and spare space to save history going back to the 1950s Australian retro computer fans, it's time to mobilise: the shoestring volunteers trying to preserve computer history here are the end of their lease, money, and wits. So if you have storage space and a sentimental feeling about, say, a DEC MicroVAX 4000, part of a PDP-11, or a Control Data CDC-6600 backplane, you'll be welcomed with open arms by the Australian Computer History Museum. Things are so dire that the group's treasurer John Geremin told /Vulture South/ the first priority to save the collection from the planned demolition of its warehouse space is people (probably Sydneysiders) willing to take car-boots full of the “small stuff” temporarily, to provide access to PDP-11-size machines on wheels. There's rather a lot of stuff – the museum's catalogue, is here <http://www.acms.org.au/our-collection.html>, and you can see the organisation is struggling even to organise the inventory. The ambitious attempt to save machines from the tip – the group claims a collection dating back to the 1950s – was always a volunteer effort, and hasn't ever reached the point of creating an exhibition space. Calling for help, historian Dr Peter Hobbins wrote <https://groups.google.com/forum/#%21topic/archives-and-records-australia/65…> that the repository of computers, peripherals, media and documentation spans the 1950s to the 2000s, and is being held “in a 200 square metre warehouse at 888 Woodville Road, Villawood, which will be demolished in two weeks.” That countdown has already lost a couple of days, since Hobbins' post was on July 30. At this point, even temporary homes would do: “the volunteers - mostly former programmers and engineers in their 70s - are at the desperate point of suggesting that anybody who wants anything from their collection can just come along and take it” (noting that if it secures a replacement space, the museum would want its property returned). Geremin told /Vulture South/ the collection owes its existence to the vision of a former Digital Equipment Corporation Australian boss, Max Burnet. While in that role, Geremin said, Burnet started a historical collection by offering companies discounts if, instead of junking their PDP-series machines when their shiny new VAX boxen arrived, they sent them back to DEC for the collection. (Old-timers of the Sydney tech scene will probably remember the historical Digital kit displayed in the large foyer of its Lane Cove offices – /El Reg/.) Like-minded collaborators from around the industry became involved over time, but with only volunteers and limited funds, they've only been able to make and catalogue the collection. Geremin said if the collection can be saved, they hope to garner resources to get some of the machines restored, functioning, and on display somewhere. That would need resources – once the present crisis is dealt with. However, Geremin said, it's been hard to attract interest here (the Computer History Museum in America has shown more interest, but it's too distant to make a practical difference). “There doesn't seem to be any acknowledgement of engineering history in Australia,” he told /Vulture South/. “Australia has made enormous contributions to advances in technology,” Geremin said. “Through WW2, Australia was a major exporter of electromechanical computer technology of the day. The biggest installation I was aware of had 132 functioning terminals.” Everybody knows about the CSIRO's CSIRAC, the first electronic computer to play music and now preserved at Melbourne Museum, but Geremin said there's much more to preserve. Even imported machines made an important contribution to the country, he said. ® --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

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Debian Games: Learn more about free software games in Debian (presentation at DebConf 2018)
by Ben Finney 01 Aug '18

01 Aug '18

Howdy all, Given the past success of FSM's free-software games events, I think this presentation from this year's DebConf will be of interest: Debian Games: Learn more about free software games in Debian This talk is aimed for an audience who wants to learn more about games in Debian. How many are there, how can I find them, what kind of games are available and who maintains them? This presentation will give you a broad overview of the current state of Debian Games. It should give you some ideas what free software games are, who creates them, how they differ from commercial titles and why we should care about them. While the main focus of this talk will be on free software games, I will also discuss tools and programs that make it possible to play commercial games on Linux that were released for different platforms, some of them long forgotten. <URL:https://debconf18.debconf.org/talks/122-debian-games-learn-more-about-f…> -- \ “I must say that I find television very educational. The minute | `\ somebody turns it on, I go to the library and read a book.” | _o__) —Groucho Marx | Ben Finney

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