24 ottobre 2003

16 slide

Enrico Zini (enrico@debian.org)

Libre Software and Debian NP

Creating a better world for people who create a better world so that

they can better create a better world.

Contents

Step 1

Turn all the audience into free software developers

Step 2

Use the newly-acquired super-powers
to make the world better

Physics of information

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Normal physics:

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Physics of informations:

this is super power number 1

Metcalfe's Law

The "value" or the "power" of a network grows proportionally to the square of the number of its nodes

Examples:

Add a phone to the phone network, and you increase the service for all the customers

Add a new recipient to the mail service, and you increase the service for everyone

Add a new information to the Internet, and everyone will have more informations available

this is super power number 2

Svoboden/libre software

Freedom to use the software for any purpose

Freedom to study how the program works and adapt it to your needs

Freedom to redistribute copies of the software, so that you can help other people with it

Freedom to modify the program and release your enhancements, so that everyone can enjoy them

It's defined by four freedoms:

Open standards

To really network information, you need open stardards to that every node of the network can access it.

Open standards seem to need libre reference implementations in order to stay open

memo.plj

info.kxu

important.qlt

letter.wha

readme.hti

picture.ddi

whatisthis.yuk

memo.txt

info.html

important.sxw

letter.html

readme.txt

picture.png

whatisthis.sxi

Now we create the libre software

We need:

Compilers

An operating system kernel

Hardware drivers

Administration tools

A graphical user interface

Lots of applications

An installation system

Various network servers

Security applications

...

Already done: Debian GNU/Linux

13374 packages (applications, tools, libraries, kernels...).

928 volunteer developers from 47 different nationalities.

11 supported architectures.

Self-organized open community with consitutions, elections, votes.

Dedicated community and group-work infrastructure.

10 years old.

It has a problem: size. It is so big that there are custom distributions being made now as subsets of Debian for specific targets.

data gathered 22 oct 2003

Ok, let's customize Debian for NPs

We need to:

Assess organizations needs

Make a selection of packages

Make a simple installation system

Customize programs for the organizations

Create ways to provide documentation and support

Already started: Debian-NP

Newborn distribution, since july 2003

SORRY, THE LOGO IS NOT YET AVAILABLE

Other examples

ISLD 2.0

The power of what we are creating

It works turning local knowledge into global innovation

The power of what we are creating

It allows local economies to grow

The power of what we are creating

It can be adapted to local culture

The power of what we are creating

We are creating a software world that promotes cooperation, and everything that promotes cooperation can bring other realities under the domain of the Metcalfe law

Conclusion

We all became free software developers

We've got the free software to work with

We've started a distribution for non-profits

We've got an idea of the power that we have

We just need to use it!

45 mins including questions: ~35 mins of talk

Goal: show that there are problems we don't usually think about, nor we are

aware of

Introduction: what the talk is about

Showing non-technical problems that can happen inside Debian and we ren't always aware of

Where Debian is unique

<Empty slide, taking notes>

<ask people where they think that Debian is unique>

My ideas on the topic

Number of packages

The way people have for communicating

people of different cultures, places, resources, interest, education are working together with very rare physical encounters

communication is mainly computer-mediated, and phisical encounters are not the norm, but the exception

The undefinedness of the user base

The undefinedness of the purpose of use

Number of people working on it

Motivation for cooperation

The open BTS

The presence of an unstable and testing version

2003-07-19T11:28:55