A new advocacy group, the Public Software Foundation (PSF), is working to make free and open source software available to local libraries so it can be checked out and used just like a book or video.

[Thanks to Stephen P Rufle for passing this on.]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

NORTH-BY-SOUTH CLOSES INVESTMENT ROUND

Open Source Software Company Provides Near-Shore Services from the
Latin American Free Software Movement

Contact: Ryan Bagueros (details below)

San Francisco, CA, 05/14/2008: North-by-South, the open source software
services company that near-shores development to Latin America,
announced today that it has closed a round of investment with Launch
Capital LLC. This infusion of capital builds on North-by-South's
success in boot-strapping their operations to date.

"We've been able to build a significant developers network of open
source programmers throughout Latin America from our hubs in San
Francisco, California and São Paulo, Brazil but this additional capital
gives us the opportunity to really accelerate," explained Ryan Bagueros,
founder of North-by-South. "The investment from Launch Capital will
help us make more companies aware that there is an incredible open
source phenomenon happening in the Americas and we can provide
businesses access to this talent."

North-by-South is a unique near-shoring business that specializes in

...just long enough to become FreedomwareMarketing.org!

MORE TO COME...

Does anyone think that the "PS3" within the comment titled "Both" here http://www.linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/2008041502326OPDBMS would make a good marketing project to help more clearly present to users the stark difference between closed source freedomless software and Linux?

I'll quote:

This will serve as an intro to a very big project.

Here are a bunch of elements of the project. Keep in mind one thing. Linux is about "you" (or "me" depending on pov). It is meant to be shaped into what "you" need/ into what you desire.

-- If things work out, on average, people will like, know about, and use Linux more than Windows. This won't happen overnight. You can even say that I am just stating what many might believe will ultimately come true. Ah, but the rub is that we are going to play an important part in that happening. We will see it. We will partake in it along with our neighbors everywhere. We will get this sucka moving! [getty up!]

Start a series of campaigns under the umbrella "Grab the Facts" in honor of the Get the Facts campaign which redefined the word "facts."

The first can be "Grab the Facts: SOSOXML"

See this thread, http://www.linuxtoday.com/infrastructure/2008041400826NWCYMS

Quoting from there:

>> OOXML vs ODF. Which should I choose?
>> ODF passes with flying colors.
>> OOXML barely passes and only by ignoring [the majority of] experts[, experts] pointing out many technical flaws (as Norway showed, as the BRM showed).
>> I guess all ISO standards are not created equal.
>> I suggest that ISO be renamed to SOSO and a new org be developed SOS to comb the SOSO standards [to filter out] those that are not technically adequate.

And

>> OOXML is superbly distinguished
>> ..for probably being the absolute WORST standard ISO has ever passed. I do think they rank #1 in this category. Does any other standard approach it?
>> Email your CEO today asking him or her to institute company-wide the worst open standard ever passed by ISO (one that even Microsoft, its creator, won't implement) instead of using a regular old solid open standard like ODF.

-----------------
[Message from Bogdan to Marco Fioretti]

Hello Marco,

We may or may not agree what should be done first in order to promote Free software better, but our agreement is utterly irrelevant to the world at large. The *only* way I see to improve free software marketing is to take it to the world at large, so that many others interested can join.

On this matter I believe I need to take my ideas back to the home of the free software philosophy:
the Free Software Foundation. Other public fora are interesting but none seems to have the visibility FSF enjoys. I tried Free Software Foundation Europe. I have one word out of this experience: go to FSF, go to Slashdot.

I expect FSF won't like the freedomware term Land0 at TheTuxProject uses. But It really does not matter. What I really want is to get people into thinking about this. I want to make it a community effort, but as a result I do not expect a single righteous and rigurous document. I expect many - different - ideas about promoting FS. Many ideas (maybe all) will be wrong but good parts in each will eventually surface.

The idea is simple. Start an official university in the small town of Pomeroy WA (in south east WA state by Clarkson and Lewiston) that is free for students that work in the school's restaurants and other businesses. Also if we get funding from the GNU/Linux community and sponsors then it would help out a lot. I know people that are retired that use to run colleges. The GNU OX would be the mascot and we could have sports teams. If we started out small other local colleges could teach basic math and other skills that are transferable to our University. We could apply for Grant money and set up a fund for donations and sponsors. Currently my family owns a lot of land that is 1/4th a City block that would be big enough to teach many different Computer classes. (I'll take a picture and put it up here) Those who went to college there could work part time in my computer business to find their niche and each year we would pick the cream of the crop to work in our business full time. We would also recommend them to other businesses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEyxQ7xYNtg This video is just something to make you laugh. I made it to promote my distro and I thought that it would get a good laugh or too here or maybe even spark an idea or two. So I'm not asking for your approval I'm just asking you to think about it and come up with something. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEyxQ7xYNtg I think you might like this new one even better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0MfVGMBJDU&watch_response

We can safely openly promote the security of Freedomware based OS Ubuntu. [url=http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/03/29/ubuntu_left_standing/]As it was the last OS standing in the Pwn2Own contest.[/url] Ironically the Mac fell first Vista was second to be owned with the Ubuntu install outlasting 3 days of non stop attempts from some of the worlds top security experts. While we are not distro specific here at The Tux Project this is huge and should definitely be made into a advertising campaign.

So I read [url=http://www.regdeveloper.co.uk/2008/03/27/google_summer_code_debian_losers/]this article[/url] and it got me to thinking.

What if...
Once the The TuxProject non-profit license is finalized we start a TTPSOC? We put together a project to raise enough money to sponsor one project say in the summer of 2009. This would be a true grass-e-roots( Internet based grassroots ) effort. We would need a realistic financial goal say 3,000 USD?

Any thoughts?

Thanks to the thread here http://www.linuxtoday.com/news/2008031400826OPBZDT

*******
******
U Got It?
******

Is your PC giving you problems again? Are you ready to start afresh with a system that follows a DIFFERENT set of rules?

Maybe you have heard of Linux? You may have been told it was not for regular people. Well, allow me the honor to set the record straight.. again.

Linux follows ONE very simple rule:

*** If you can't personalize it, improve it, and exploit it, something is wrong. ***

In 1995, Linux was big on the hobbyist radar. Linux was a baby, however, and it took 3 PHD's to tame it. Most would say something was definitely wrong. The geeks used it and contributed.

By 2000, Linux had captured the imagination of the big world of business. Now it only took 1 PHD and 1 Masters of Science to make it do your bidding. Google liked it. Yahoo liked it. Ebay liked it. NASA liked it. Masters of the business and science world used it and contributed.

Here is my comment on an article at an enterprise Linux site/magazine:
"I submitted your article to [b]The Tux Project[/b], a community dedicated to promoting Linux in general (both as a philosophy and distro-independent platform)... [Link to http://thetuxproject.com]".

Here is what I got as for a reply from the editor of that site:
"Thanks for the link to [b]TuxMachines[/b]. I know that a lot of [Author's name here]'s articles get linked there -- he's a great GNU/Linux pundit".

But I mentioned nothing about TuxMachines in my own post!? How can this be? I'm lost for words...
So if a guy who knows a bit about the free software community gets confused by the name Tux Project, what do you expect from normal people?
Could we buy an alternative domain name and keep the two domains pointing in parallel to the site?

Suggestions for the parallel domains: SpreadingTux.com, MarketingTux, PromotingTux... Same could go if one replaces Tux with Linux, Freesoftware, Freedom, Freedomware.

A new article of interest for those promoting freedom has appeared.
It is entitled "GNU/Linux World Domination for the Wrong Reasons" and is written by Bruce Byfield.
Read it at http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/12068_3733286_1
I'll give it a short quote:
"[...] The comment resonates for me because, increasingly, in the rush for market share, many people seem to lose sight of the fact that the goal of GNU/Linux and free software is not popularity in itself, but the wide acceptance of a set of ideals.

At its most basic, free software is about helping users gain control of their computers so that they can participate unhindered in the digital conversations of the networks and the Internet. It's about installing software freely, rather than being dictated to by the manufacturer. It's about using your computer the way that you want, instead of ceding control to lock-down devices installed by software vendors without permission on your machine.

After reading all the comments and/or submissions on the Linux slogan contest, I am inspired to summarize these in one statement which the group may want to adapt as the slogan. It reads as follows:

LINUX SO KIND, NO AXE TO GRIND.

I'm 20, 21 in 3 weeks.

I'm Venezuelan, but I've been living temporarily in Madrid since Oct 2006.

I study Computer Engineering at the Technical University of Madrid and work for GNU/Linux Matters.

Cheers!

It has been apparent for some time now that we need something more than what we currently offer here on the Tux Project. Let me start by saying that when we launched The Tux Project in 2007 we had no idea what would be needed in reality vs what we assumed in our imagination. We were going for something very transparent and simple. We would like to keep to that standard as we move forward together here.

It has been discussed recently that we should be using a "real forum" such as phpbb. I am in agreement with this. However I believe we should be using Simple Machines Forum. Apples and Oranges.:) Why SMF? I am very familiar with SMF and since I am the primary maintainer at this point it will contain the least amount of resistance and save me bundles of time. Also it is very powerful and robust.

There are a bunch of things that can be done in connection with LINdependence 2008 (introduced here discussed here and similar to this).

This topic can serve to list to-do items, make suggestions, and just put down any thoughts that might be useful later on in relation to LINdependence 2008.

I also want to say what a great opportunity this event (in July) provides for implementing many of the other ideas that have been tossed around thetuxproject. One example is the many opportunities that open up now to reach out to artists because there is a real, live, bona-fide major event taking place. Working off LINdependence 2008 beats having to start with an empty slate.

On your marks....

In consideration of this project http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/99723/index.html ...

We should start a wikibook for the time being (I don't know if they have a website) where we can list and develop volunteer open businesses. Not sure about wikibook. Forums would be good where we can have problems/resolutions, ideas, advice/critique, contributions (documents, art, links, help offers, code), etc.

There is a lot of material that can be gathered that apply across all businesses.

Some initial businesses:
http://www.fixedbylinux.com/ [ http://partnerpage.google.com/fixedbylinux.com is this a google service? ]
http://www.thetuxproject.com/gnu_and_tux_went_to_school
http://www.thetuxproject.com/node/290

There may be others but these are the ones for which I have seen this sort of information volunteered. Of these, one is vaporware and another is supervaporware... but we'll change that!

Sucky title, I know, but let me get to the details.

1 -- Find a nice chunk of change and a neighborhood.
2 -- Pick a light(?) distro that works on a lot of hardware and spin up a custom version "localized" to that neighborhood. The distro may have package management and some other things disabled. Make it easy to use (eg, desktop accessibility and help) but hard to break.
3 -- Distribute the distros door to door. CD/DVD has an url on it. Maybe CD also has "activation key", tag, slogan, logo, nothing, etc.
4 -- Some percent of target users will go to url and find out they can register for a new custom CD per week or month. Possibilities include picking options from a menu and maybe filling out other information to help cutomize the distro. You can cancel any time (maybe pre-pay maybe not and maybe have a donation button). Various price ranges for various services (eg, generic customization or something more personal, nice packaging, song and dance at the door for gift distros, etc). [Let them in on activation key joke. Be positive. No negs on competitors and mention competition as little as possible by name, and don't dwell on competitors.]