Idea: "Welcome to Open Source" instead of "Welcome to Linux" this year

[Shlomi Fish]

Hi all!

When talking with someone a few days ago, I had a moment of Serendipity (see: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serendipity ). Why don't we do a "Welcome-to-
FOSS" (Free and Open Source Software) this year instead of "Welcome-to-Linux"? 
We could show people some cool stuff about FOSS in both Linux and Windows:

1. Cross-platform (or even Windows-only) User-oriented FOSS - Firefox, 
OpenOffice.org, Inkscape, VirtualBox, GIMP, 7-zip, Notepad++, Audacity, 
various FOSS games, other stuff here - 
http://wiki.perl.org.il/index.php/FOSS_on_Windows and here - 
http://www.opensourcewindows.org/

2. Open Source Development with a focus on rapid scripts/GUI-programs/etc. 
development using Perl/Python/Ruby/etc.[ScriptLang]

3. "Don't be afraid of the command line." - why the UNIX command line can be 
useful.

4. The Free and Open Source Software philosophy and ideology and its positive 
implications on FOSS development and the computer and software industry:

	- http://www.shlomifish.org/philosophy/foss-other-beasts/

	- http://www.shlomifish.org/philosophy/obj-oss/

	- Also see the links from there.

(Ori would probably be happy to give it.)

5. And naturally and possibly - something about how to try out Linux, possibly 
using a VirtualBox/etc. VM.

------------------------------

I think that now FOSS is more ubiquitous and mainstream than just on 
alternative, fully open-source, operating systems such as Linux. One should 
also remember that the main issue at hand is not Linux vs. Windows but rather 
the freedom of software and its open nature. Porting to Windows is no 
different from porting one's software to proprietary UNIXes such as Mac OS X, 
AIX, HP/UX or Solaris before it became OpenSolaris. [Windows]

So what do you think? Am I crazy or am I on to something? Two people I talked 
with liked the idea, and a different one had some doubts.

Regards,

	Shlomi Fish

Footnotes:
----------

[ScriptLang] - we can have a colour of the bikeshed argument of which agile 
language to teach later on, but ultimately it's up to who volunteers to 
prepare the slides and present the presentation.

[Windows] - Windows is indeed less compatible to Linux than other UNIXes, but:

1. There are many incompatibilities between the different UNIXes.

2. There are some operating systems that are still being used (such as HP's 
VMS) which are even harder to port to than Windows.

3. "Reality to be conquered must be obeyed."
-- 
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Shlomi Fish       http://www.shlomifish.org/
First stop for Perl beginners - http://perl-begin.org/

Chuck Norris read the entire English Wikipedia in 24 hours. Twice.