'Trusted Computing' FAQ - TC / TCG / LaGrande / NGSCB / Longhorn / Palladium / TCPA
- Excellent review of Trusted Computing Platform Alliance (TCPA) and Microsoft's Palladium and the threat to Linux and the open source movement. (2003) This document is a little dated, but unfortunately the problems identified here are still with us today. In other words Microsoft is still being a pain. (2007)
"REVOLUTION OS"
- Site dedicated to the Linux advocacy video and DVD, "REVOLUTION-OS".
2020 FLOSS Roadmap
- This is a prospective roadmap, and a projection of the influences that will affect FLOSS between now and 2020, with descriptions of all FLOSS-related trends as anticipated by contributors over this timeframe. It also highlights all sectors that will, potentially, be impacted by FLOSS.
ACCRC - Computer Recyclers
- A Microsoft-free organisation that recycles and refurbishes PCs (installed with SUSE or Ubuntu) to schools, non-profit organizations, and economically and/or physically disadvantaged individuals.
Affero Software Project
- Fund raiser enabler for open source/Linux and non-profit organizations.
Against Intellectual Monopoly - Online Book
- This book demonstrates why "Intellectual Property", otherwise known as Intellectual Monopoly, does not foster and protect innovation like the IP pundits claim. PDF format only. (2007)
Ankur - Home
- A project run by people in Bangladesh and India to provide Bangla support for some major XServer applications and to create awareness about Linux/GNU and the FLOSS movement.
Builder AU Article - "How To Make Money From Open Source"
- A detailed, easy-to-follow guide for potential open source entrepreneurs written by Con Zymaris, Australian Linux advocate and businessman. (2005) The information in this guide is relevant today (2009).
CIO Magazine Article - "The Myths of Open Source"
- A still-relevant article debunking the myths of open source: cost, no support, lack of good desktop, legal issues, can't handle mission-critical applications. (2004)
CLUE: The Canadian Association for Open Source
- The mission of this organization is to promote the use and development of free, open source software, by providing a public voice to the community of its Canadian users, developers and supporters.
Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC)
- University of Ottawa Faculty of Law initiative to deal with law, technology and public interest issues such as copyright, file sharing, domain name disputes, privacy, Internet censorship in public libraries. Also available in French.
Chilling Effects Clearinghouse: Patent
- Information about patents in the U.S.; specific information about computer technology patents; recent news and cease & desist (c&d) orders.
Community Free Software Group (CFSG)
- A New York City non-profit group that helps young people in city neighborhoods learn how to install and run Debian Linux on hardware donated by area businesses and individuals.
Congressman Villanueva's reply letter to Microsoft
- Peruvian Congressman Dr. Edgar David Villanueva's detailed rebuttle to Microsoft's now-infamous response to Peruvian Bill Number 1609, Free Software in Public Administration. Excellent advocacy piece. (May, 2002)
Consortium Standards Journal Article - "Openness" and the Pursuit of Knowledge
- Andy Updegrove writes about how the Internet is changing the way knowledge is acquired and shared; how it is providing incentives to adjust traditional ideas regarding the proper balance between the intellectual property rights (IPR) of individual owners and those of collaborative communities and end users; and reviews some of the new legal tools and organizational structures that have been created in order to fully realize this revolution in knowledge sharing. (2008)
Copyright Watch | Global Transparency in Copyright Law
- Copyright Watch collects and monitors copyright laws from all over the world. This global effort tracks new proposals, consultations, and freshly passed regulations: finding the promising changes, and highlighting the spectacularly bad ideas before they can take hold.
Creative Commons
- This non-profit organization's focus is to increase the amount of creativity (cultural, educational, and scientific content) in "the commons" -- the body of work that is available to the public for free and legal sharing, use, repurposing, and remixing. The tools provided give everyone from individual creators to large companies and institutions a simple, standardized way to grant copyright permissions to their creative work. The Creative Commons licenses enable people to easily change their copyright terms from the default of "all rights reserved" to "some rights reserved".
Custom Desktop Solutions -- FOSS Advocacy
- Custom Desktop Solutions advocates, promotes, and installs Free/Open Source Software computing infrastructure to technically empower the small to medium-sized businesses. This site contains a wealth of information about all aspects of Linux and FOSS.
Debian Women
- Promotes and encourages women's involvement in the Debian Project.
Digital Doorway Home
- This project provides freely available open source software and computer kiosks throughout rural and disadvantaged areas of South Africa. The aim is to provide an environment for people to experiment with and learn computer skills without formal training and with minimal external input.
Digital Tipping Point
- A Linux and Open Source advocacy and news site. Of particular interest is the open source documentary film project. Site also available in Spanish.
Directory of Open Access Journals
- The aim of this project is to increase the visibility and ease of use of open access scientific and scholarly journals thereby promoting their increased usage and impact.
FREE GEEK - Home
- A Portland, Oregon (USA) non-profit computer recycling organization which provides free GNU/Linux OS computers and computer/internet training in exchange for a few hours of community service. There are now other Free Geek and other computer recycling centres available; check the recycling links on the main page for more information.
FSF - The Free Software Foundation
- A non-profit organization dedicated to promoting computer users' rights to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs; promotes the development and use of free software, particularly the GNU/Linux operating system. Principal organizational sponsor of the GNU project.
FSF - The Free Software Foundation - India
- A non-profit organisation committed to advocating, promoting and propagating the use and development of swatantra software in India.
FSF Europe - Free Software Foundation Europe
- A European advocacy site which actively supports development of free software (as in freedom) and GNU-based operating systems such as GNU/Linux. Site available in all European languanges.
First Monday Article - "Open Source Intelligence"
- Article about open source collaborative principles; examples of open source intelligence (OS-INT); and the future of OS-INT); a little dated, but still quite relevant and provides an interesting historical perspective. (2002)
Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII)
- A European non-profit association dedicated to the development of public information goods based on copyright, free competition, open standards; an advocate for public policy questions concerning exclusion rights (intellectual property) in data processing.
Freedom Toaster
- Sponsored by the Shuttleworth Foundation in South Africa, Freedom Toasters are conveniently located, self-contained, computer-based, 'Bring 'n Burn' facilities. Like vending machines, preloaded to dispense confectionery, Freedom Toasters are preloaded to dispense free digital products, including software, photography, music and literature. These kiosks also allow content-sharing. Available in several locations across Southern Africa plus India.
Freedom to Tinker
- Edward W. Felten's website about freedom to understand, discuss, repair, and modify your own technological devices.
GNU/Linux: Too Much about Hate, Not Enough about Pride
- This Linux advocacy article is spot-on: be proud of what the free software and Linux community has accomplished and what it has to offer computer users today. (2008)
GNUWin II : Open your Windows
- Free software distribution for MS-Windows with the ultimate aim to assist in the transition to a free operating system such as GNU/Linux
Geek Feminism Wiki
- An overview and resource centre about issues facing women in geek communities.
Get GNU/Linux!
- Promotes the use of Linux and freedom (from restrictive software licenses) for everyday users. A site to visit for those thinking of switching to Linux or have already decided to use Linux and want to learn more. Also available in Catalan, French, and Spanish (Castilian).
HOWTO Encourage Women in Linux
- An excellent HOWTO aimed at male Linux enthusiasts who would like to see more women involved in Linux. It also contains good advice to LUGs about encouraging new members.
How to Destroy the Book, by Cory Doctorow | theVARSITY.ca - Part 1
- A transcript of Cory Doctorow's speech on copyright at the National Reading Summit held in Toronto on 2009-11-13. A "must read". See the link at the end of speech and before the comments to read the second half of his speech.
Innovation Happens Elsewhere; Open Source as a Business Strategy - Online Book
- Aimed primarily at business executives who need to understand the basic concepts of open source and how it will benefit their companies. This book is also useful for engineers who find themselves working in an open source work environment. (2005)
KDE Myths
- Addresses some of the common misconceptions about KDE. Some parts are a little dated, but still useful nonetheless.
KDE Women Project
- Purpose is to build a community of female KDE contributors and users.
LXer Article - "Linux - Millenium Momentum"
- Notes from Paul Ferris' Keynote Address at the 2004 Ohio LinuxFest. This is an example of great Linux advocacy, and is still relevant today (2008).
Libervis.com - Free Open Source Software (FOSS) Community Center
- A portal site dedicated to free and open source software; a community site complete with blogs, forums, news headlines, articles, FudZilla Project (reporting and responding to FUD articles about open source software), related links, IRC chat and web digest.
Linux Advocacy mini-HOWTO
- How the Linux community can effectively advocate the use of Linux. (2005) Complements the Linux User Group HOWTO(http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/User-Group-HOWTO.html). This document has been translated into French, Japanese, Polish, Portugeuse, and Spanish.
Linux Brochure Project (LBP): Home
- LBP is GPLed data and software which is used to document key Linux information in a standard-size brochure; an excellent advocacy and publicity tool for LUGs and other Linux organizations.
Linux Business Applications
- Directory of businesses that use Linux in their day-to-operations and a good place to find out about Linux in business; also availble in French.
Linux Developer Network - The Linux Foundation
- LDN is a community of Linux developers, vendors, and experts dedicated to the purpose of helping Linux application developers build LSB-compliant applications and make their existing Linux applications portable to any LSB-compliant distribution. It is also a community dedicated to the betterment of Linux.
Linux Librarian
- A Linux and open source advocacy site. This site also contains book and software reviews, some items on libraries (as in books), and hardware.
Linux PR
- How to write a press release for Linux advocacy; last updated in 1999, but the information is still relevant, although some links are broken.
Linux in Universities
- An advocacy site for Linux in universities; a little dated, but the basic information is still valid particularly for those institutions that have not made the switch to Linux. (2002)
LinuxLots
- A site that offers free web and ftp space for contributors to the Linux cause.
LinuxPlanet - Interviews - The Voice of Groklaw
- An excellent interview with Pamela Jones of Groklaw. Notable quote: "Proprietary software is like petrified wood. It used to be alive, but then it was fixed in time and put in a box." (2003)
Linuxcaffe - Coffee, Code, Culture, Community
- A Linux user's dream -- a Toronto coffee/internet cafe totally run on open source software. Offers good food, coffee, music, art, free WiFi, Linux distros, and Linux help.
Martus.org -- Human Rights Bulletin System
- A cross-platform application that assists non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to collect information on human rights abuses. Also available in Arabic, French, Nepali, Persian, Russian, Spanish,and Thai.
Moving to Freedom
- This site deals with free/open source software, moving to GNU/Linux plus related issues such as copyright, software patents, and DRM.
Netcraft - What's That Site Running Results
- Reports on a site's operating system, web server, and netblock owner together with, if available, a graphical view of the time since last reboot for each of the computers serving the site.
Netcraft Web Server Survey
- Monthly survey of web server software usage. Includes: market share for top servers across all domains from August 1995 to present; top developers and active sites.
OLPC - One Laptop per Child
- The mission of this non-profit association (One Laptop Per Child) is to develop a low-cost laptop - the "$100 Laptop" - a technology that could revolutionize how we educate the world's children. Their goal is to provide children around the world with new opportunities to explore, experiment, and express themselves. Website also available in German. In 2008 this project lost its way somewhat when they announced plans to collaborate with Microsoft.
OSNews.com Article -"Why Free Software Matters"
- A thoughtful article about why you should care about the politics and freedoms (or lack thereof) associated with proprietary and open source software. Good examples of how proprietary software restricts your freedom. (2004) This article still rings true today (2008).
OSOR.eu - Open Source Observatory and Repository
- The Open Source Observatory and Repository for European public administrations (OSOR) is a platform for exchanging information, experiences and FLOSS-based code for use in public administrations. There is a repository with code and documentation for public administrations and a state-of-the art forge for collaborative software development.
Online Rights Canada
- A Canadian grassroots organization that promotes the public's interest in technology and information policy, in particular copyright law, access to information, and freedom from censorship in the digital world.
Ontario Linux Fest
- An annual, grassroots Linux and Open Source event in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) featuring talks for all levels of Linux users, and an exhibit area for commericial companies and a Dot Org pavillion for non-profit software projects and Linux advocacy groups.
Open Access News
- This is the primary record of the open access movement whose objective is to have peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature on the Internet without financial, copyright, and licensing barriers that currently exist in scholarly publishing.
Open Invention Network (OIN)
- The Open Invention Network (OIN) is a company that acquires patents and licenses them royalty free to entities which, in turn, agree not to assert their own patents against Linux and Linux-related systems and applications. This type of initiative is necessary until software patents are no longer allowed.
Open Media Now! Foundation | Implementing the future!
- This non-profit foundation promotes an infrastructure that enables the creation, the streaming, and the viewing of digital content (using free software) in a legally conforming way.
Open Source Industry Australia (OSIA)
- OSIA is the national industry body for Open Source within Australia. The purpose of this organization is promote the cause of both Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in Australia and to help members to improve their business success using FOSS.
Open Source Initiative (OSI)
- A non-profit corporation dedicated to managing and promoting the Open Source Definition for the good of the community; an advocacy site.
Open Source Now
- An open source community advocacy site sponsored by Red Hat.
Open Source Schools
- The main objective of this UK initiative is to help schools with awareness, adoption, use, and development of Open Source Software (OSS). This project will work to share their experiences along with good OSS practice from other sectors with the wider community of educational practitioners, including teachers, decision makers and IT specialists. This site has case studies, forums, and a directory of useful education software.
Open Source Software Institute (OSSI)
- A U.S. non-profit organization which promotes, develops and implements open source software solutions between government, corporate and academic sectors.
OpenCafe - Building Open Source Communities
- Open source advocacy in South Africa using the Internet cafe model with all profits used to setup new open cafes and open source school labs. OpenCafe specialises in the usage, distribution, training and technical support for open source software.
OpenDisc
- A collection of open source software for users of the Microsoft Windows platform. The goals of this project are to provide free alternatives to costly proprietary equivalents and to educate people about the Linux operating system. There is also an OpenEducationDisc specifically targeting the education sector. Continues TheOpenCD project. Latest release is 08.10, 2008-10-08.
OpenDocument Fellowship
- A worldwide, non-profit, volunteer organization to promote the adoption, use and development of the OpenDocument format (ODF).
OpenInformatics.org Homepage
- Making scientists more aware of open source software and the benefits to them. Site also contains a science-related software resource list.
OpenSource.Com | Where Open Source Multiplies
- A Red Hat community service website. It is a gathering place for the open source community to share stories and knowledge --through articles, audio, web presentations, video, or open discussion. The site is divided into "channels" devoted to various areas of interest: business, education, government, law, and life.
PLoS - Public Library of Science
- This is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world's scientific and medical literature a public resource. There are currently 7 online scientific and medical journals available on this site.
Promote Linux
- A site that presents great ways to promote Linux.
Qualipso | Trust and Quality in Open Source Systems
- A unique alliance of European, Brazilian and Chinese ICT (information and Communication Technology) industry players, SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), governments, and academics to help industries and governments to become innovative and competitive with Open Source software.
SchoolForge
- The purpose of this site is to unify independent organizations that advocate, use, and develop open resources for primary and secondary education. SchoolForge members advocate the use of open source and free software, open texts and lessons, and open curricula for the advancement of education and the betterment of humankind.
Security Space -- Free Reports
- Note in particular Web Server Market Share report. This report is archived from June 1998.
Seeds for Change Network
- Guide to switching to Linux for non-profit groups; includes information on computer security, X terminals, and general information on Linux.
Software Freedom Conservancy
- This organization provides a variety of services to Free and Open Source (FOSS) projects including free financial and administrative services. In addition, member projects get all the benefits and protections of being a corporate entity under the aegis of the Software Freedom Conservancy.
Software Freedom Day
- An advocacy initiative to raise awareness of the benefits of Free and Open Software (FOSS) and to encourage more use globally.
Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC)
- This organization provides legal representation and other law related services to protect and advance Free and Open Source Software. SFLC offers direct services to non-profit FOSS developers without charge, as well as resources for everyone.
Software Wars
- A graphic map depicting the epic struggle of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) against the Empire of Microsoft.
Software in the Public Interest, Inc.
- A non-profit organization that supports, encourages and promotes the creation and development of open software available to the general public; has mailing lists and archives.
Spread Open Media
- A community portal for the promotion of open media formats.
Texts & Transcripts on Software Freedom
- A collection of texts & transcripts on software freedom, software patents, copyright, and The GNU GPL. Maintained by Ciaran O'Riordan, Linux and software freedom advocate. N.B.: The latest transcripts are from 2007.
The Ada Initiative
- A non-profit organization dedicated to increasing participation of women in open technology and culture, which includes open source software, Wikipedia and other open data, and open social media. This site is named after Ada Lovelace, who is acknowledged as both the world's first programmer and open source programmer.
The Art of Community - Online Book
- Jono Bacon, Community Manager for Ubuntu, is the author of this useful book, which discusses the expertise required to recruit members, motivate them, manage them, and make them happy to be part of your free and open source community. He also examines the information needed, ranging from software tools to conflict resolution skills. This is an important book for the Linux community. The PDF download can be found just above the Comments Section. It can also be purchased from O'Reilly. (2009)
The Halloween Documents
- Classic FUD documents (1-12) from Microsoft along with other documents in the collection written by Eric Raymond refuting this FUD. This shows an awareness that Linux and open source are threats to the proprietary world.
The HeliOS Project
- A Texas non-profit group that refurbishes old computers, installs Linux, and gives these computers to disadvantaged children and students. Donations are always welcome.
The Humanitarian FOSS Project
- The goal of this project is to build a community of academic computing departments, IT corporations, and local and global humanitarian and community organizations dedicated to building and using Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) to benefit humanity.
The Linux Foundation
- A non-profit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux. Founded in 2007 by the merger of the Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group, it sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and is supported by leading Linux and open source companies and developers from around the world. Site is also available in Japanese.
The Magic Cauldron
- Eric Raymond analyzes the evolving economic substrate of the open source phenomenon.
The Open Source Way - Online Book
- The purpose of this guide is to help people understand how to and how not to engage with the open source community over projects such as software, content, marketing, art, infrastructure, and standards. It contains knowledge distilled from years of Red Hat experience. (2009)
The Open-Source Science Project - Fostering Innovation From the Ground Up
- The fundamental goal of this project is to render transparent the black-box of scientific research by affording all individuals an opportunity to both access and participate directly in the scientific research process.
The Public Patent Foundation
- A U.S.-based a non-profit legal services organization working to mitigate the harms caused by the patent system; of particular interest to the open source and Linux communities who face software patent challenges.
UNDP-APDIP International Open Source Network
- A Centre of Excellence for FOSS (Free/Open Source Software) in the Asia-Pacific region. Information on education, licensing, localisation, networking/security, govenment, open standards, open access, training and a FOSS resource directory for Asia-Pacific countries. Note in particular the link to Foss Primers, which is an ongoing series of downloadable primers series on Free/Open Source Software.
Ubuntu Women
- This website promotes and encourages women to become involved and contribute to Ubuntu-Linux.
Welcome to NLnet Foundation
- A Dutch-based foundation that financially supports organizations and people that contribute to an open information society. It funds software, events, educational activities, primarily in the Netherlands and Europe.
Why Open Source in Schools
- An essay which makes the case for open source software in schools. Includes references to websites devoted to open source software in the education sector.
Why the GNU GPL Still Matters
- An excellent essay by Glyn Moody on why the GPL license remains an important cornerstone for the Free Software community. (2009)
Wired Magazine Article - "Open Source Everywhere"
- A still-relevant article on how the concept of open source will slowly but surely replace the proprietary world with a collaborative one. (2003)
Women in Technology - Hear Us Roar
- This series is comprised of articles written by women on the topic of "Women in Technology". Many of the articles highlight the authors' experiences in the IT and FOSS communities. (2006-2007)
World Domination 201
- Eric Raymond and Rob Landley discuss what needs to be done for the Linux community to take over the world. (2006)