TTCS Software Freedom Day 2009 activities

The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS), will be celebrating Software Freedom Day (SFD) 2009 with a series of activities in September, including scheduled presentations with giveaways and demonstrations of various aspects of Free and Open Source Software.

Admission is FREE! Attendees will receive free and open source software CDs/DVDs, while stocks last.

While stocks last, attendees will receive, FREE OF CHARGE:

one TTCS OSSWIN CD,
a DVD of over 100 free and open source programs for Windows
one Ubuntu CD
a popular linux-based operating system bundled with many applications

Please let us know via the SFD attendance form or via email at admin[ at ]ttcsweb.org if you are attending and what CDs you may be interested in getting so we can prepare the venue accordingly.


Where and When : schedule of TTCS SFD activites

Booth Displays

Experience Free and Open Source Software and how it can work for you.

  • Saturday 5 September 2009, 10am to 5pm - Gulf City Mall, Lowlands, Tobago.
  • Saturday 12 September 2009, 10am to 6pm - Long Circular Mall, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Information Sessions

Scheduled presentations with Questions and Answers. See the detailed schedule of what presentations will be taking place on September 19th, 26th and October 3rd, 2009 at TTCS SFD 2009 Schedule.

  • "Open Minds, Open Source: For Beginners" - Saturday 19 September 2009, 10am - 5pm at St. Mary’s College Centenary Hall, Pembroke Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad.
  • "Exploring Open Source Possibilities: For Intermediates" - Saturday 26 September 2009, 10am - 5pm at St. Mary’s College Centenary Hall, Pembroke Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad.
  • "Building with Open Source: For Developers" - Saturday 3 October 2009, 1pm - 5pm at Hand Arnold, El Socorro Road, San Juan, Trinidad.

Attending any of our events for Software Freedom 2009

If you are attending any of our activities for Software Freedom 2009, do complete the TTCS Software Freedom Day attendance form! Thanks!

Help promote Software Freedom Day! Print and distribute to anyone who may be interested

TTCS Software Freedom Day Press Release

TTCS Software Freedom Day 2009 press release

TTCS Software Freedom Scheduled Presentations

TTCS Software Freedom Day 2009 Schedule

TTCS Software Freedom Day flyer

TTCS Software Freedom Day 2009 flyer


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What is Software Freedom Day?

Software Freedom Day (SFD) is a global, grassroots effort to educate the public about the benefits and availability of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS).

The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society is taking part in this global effort by having its own Software Freedom Day 2009 event with several events in September, 2009 where we will showcase FOSS for Windows (many of which is on our TTCS OSSWIN DVD), Ubuntu : a popular Linux distro and highlights many other Linux distros.


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What is Free and Open Source Software?

Open Source Software is software for which the "guts" of the program can be freely downloaded and altered to suit your needs (provided you can do the programming). There are many types of Open Source Software. The difference lies in the way altered versions of the software can be distributed, so, if you customise the software for your own needs, then decide to distribute it, you may be bound by specific terms.

Many open source projects make ready to install executable versions for various operating systems including Windows.

You can do the following with open source software :

  • Install the software on any number of machines in any environment (home or commercial) without paying licence fees.
  • Obtain and modify the source code and distribute modified versions of the program together with the modified source code. Open source licenses differ in how such source code can be distributed or licensed for others to also do what you have done.

Here are several links for you to learn more about Open Source Software :

The Open Source Definition
Published by the Open Source Initiative (OSI) organisation. It lists the criteria by which software can be considered "open source" software.
The Free Software Definition
"Free software" as defined by the Free Software Foundation (FSF). The word "free" refers to freedom, not price.

While "free software" meets the definition of open source software, not all open source software meets the free software definition. See also

Why Open Source Software / Free Software? Look at the Numbers!
Reference paper to "convince you to consider using OSS/FS when you are looking for software, using quantitive measures".

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What is the TTCS OSSWIN CD?

The TTCS OSSWIN CD is a compilation of Free/Open Source software for the Windows platform and offers a web based interface for you to easily browse the over one hundred programs on the CD. Each program's webpage contains a short description, a screenshot, its key features, useful program related links and a link to download/install the program from the TTCS OSSWIN CD.

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What is Linux?

Linux is a free and open-source operating system based on Unix. Linux was originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers from around the globe. Linux was developed under the GNU General Public License (GPL) and the source code is freely available to everyone.

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What is Ubuntu?

Ubuntu (pronounced (oo-BOON-too)) is a predominantly desktop-oriented Linux distribution, based on Debian GNU/Linux but with a stronger focus on usability, regular releases, and ease of installation. Ubuntu is sponsored by Canonical Ltd, owned by South African billionaire entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth; the name of the distribution comes from the African concept of ubuntu which may be rendered roughly as "humanity toward others".

With Ubuntu installed on your desktop PC, a wide variety of free and open source applications can be installed. As Ubuntu is a free and open source operating system, the source code for Ubuntu is available as well

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About the TTCS

The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS) is a computer user group based in Trinidad. Formed in 1997, our goals are to :

  • Be an informal forum where computers, related technologies and related social issues can be discussed.
  • Keep current with the events in the local Information Technology (IT) and telecommunications industries.
  • "Network local computer users" so that they can share knowledge and improve upon their experiences with modern technology.

[ Learn more about the TTCS »]

How to join the TTCS

First, sign up on our TTCS Announce email list. This list is used to inform members about upcoming meetings and other Society activities. To subscribe to our "Announce" mailing list, send a blank email message to:

ttcs_announce-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Second, attend as many meetings as possible and help the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society in whatever way you can.