FOSS
Blackpool SURF – Supporting freely available, community driven,
community owned software,that can change and grow with organisations
as they grow and change.
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Note: See our ICT & Communications pages for additional information.
Issue 9 of Blackpool Community News and this website have been produced using FOSS. We explain what this is all about below.
Computer and internet technologies have caused radical changes in the way that society communicates. It is one of the ‘drivers’ that has to be considered in the strategic planning undertaken by 3rd sector organisations.
Propriety software, which most computer owners will be familiar with, is that which is distributed under commercial licence usually for a fee.
FOSS (free and open source software) is distributed with the condition that anyone using it must have access to the programme and the source code (the programming code). “Free” in this sense means freedom from commercial controls and license rather than ‘without cost’.
Users have the freedom to run the programmes for their own purposes. They can opt to study how the programme works and adapt it to their needs. They have the freedom to improve the programme for the benefit of other users. They have the freedom to re-distribute copies so they can help others and ensure wider communities benefit.
The advantage of the FOSS model is that a community of thousands get involved in the further development of the software and in tackling and preventing any problems with it. This has obvious advantages other propriety software where the source code is protected and available to be tested by smaller numbers of developers, hence running greater risk of missing faults and bugs.
In contrast with propriety software where you are limited to how many copies you can make, you can install FOSS on as many machines as you want.
FOSS is almost always freely available, has no license or maintenance fees, and no upgrade costs. This is all good news for 3rd sector organisations concerned with saving pennies and pounds. However, you still need to consider the costs of training users, and the costs of any additional technical and administration support if your organisation does not have access to this.
Key point: By supporting FOSS software, its implementation and development we can save 3rd sector groups money that would otherwise have to be spent on propriety software and its licensed support. This could amount to thousands of pounds worth of savings as FOSS is rolled out and adopted.
Commercial operators have taken note of the rise of FOSS and have responded by making propriety software available free of charge or in versions that have ‘limitations’ which encourage the user to purchase i.e. buy upgrades.
So what’s available?
The following are probably the most well known examples of the genre.
OpenOffice.org This is an alternative to the Microsoft Office suite including word processing, speadsheets, power point, and database.
Mozilla This is one of the most well known names in FOSS with a web browser called Firefox and and an e-mail program called Thunderbird.
Ubuntu An operating system that is an alternative to Windows.
WordPress Website content management system and blogging software. Note: This site blackpoolcommunitynews has been made freely available through WordPress
GIMP Photograph retouching and image composition.
GanttProject Project scheduling and Management Tool.
Moodle A course management system to help educators create online learning communities.
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If you want something a bit more ‘meaty’ about FOSS, then download these FILES about choosing and using FOSS which have been made available courtesy of the Lancashire VCFS Consortium, ICT and Communication Working Group – they are stored at an online storage service called Box.Net (which is free of course)!
