Tsikbal: from my perspective

One of the questions I ask myself frequently about how to reach the average person about FLOSS, since most people don't really readily know much about it. For most, FLOSS is an obscure part in the world of computers where you absolutely need to have a college degree to be able to even start using it. As I've said before, they don't seem to able equate software like Firefox or Android with FLOSS. Even then, they seem to be weary to even try any of the GNU/Linux distros available for desktops and laptops. There is a need to find a way to reach those people, and get them to at least give FLOSS a good chance by using it for a meaningful amount of time so they can actually have a better idea of how good it actually is. GNU/Linux distros like Linux Mint and Ubuntu could lure a lot of people away from Windows and Mac OS X, since they are at least as easy to use. They come with all what the average user know, and is ever going to need for the every day computing. Not o...

One of the biggest problems I face when explaining FOSS(Free and Open Source Software) to people that haven't heard of it before, is one of perception. Many seem to perceive FOSS as meaning that it will cost no money. Not only that, it seems that some think that all software that is given away for free is FOSS. Nothing farther than the truth. If any software is to be considered FOSS, it most respect these user freedoms: Freedom 0: The freedom to run the program for any purpose. Freedom 1: The freedom to study how the program works, and change it to make it do what you wish. Freedom 2: The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help your neighbor. Freedom 3: The freedom to improve the program, and release your improvements (and modified versions in general) to the public, so that the whole community benefits. Note that price is not an issue, since anyone can charge for the software they made if it complies to giving users the freedoms mentioned above. Without r...

The news that CentOS joins the Red Hat family is actually good news, and in many ways underpins the benefits of being open source. What CentOS has always given to Red Hat, is the power of collaboration to make it's product better. What this deal means, is that now almost all the work of putting those collaboration efforts now can be made under the same roof with official support. I hope that this deal makes CentOS better, since Fedora is a good example that the deal could be beneficial not only for the parties directly involved. If all goes smoothly, it should be beneficial for the open source community at large. Any way, Red Hat could keep CentOS free and still make a profit.