Several organisations will celebrate Saturday`s International Software Freedom Day by hosting open source events around the country.
The Go Open Source campaign and various Linux user groups will host open source install fests in all major city centres around the country, at which members of the public are invited to bring in their PCs and have open source software installed under the guidance of a trained specialist. The events will also feature displays of the latest available software.
The install fests will be held in numerous venues around the major cities, including Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban.
Thomas Black, open source program manager at The Shuttleworth Foundation, a Go Open Source member company, says the install fests will also help the public better understand the concept of open source software (OSS).
"Contrary to popular belief, OSS is suitable for every computer user. You don`t need any specific skills above those you need for any other computer software and there are a wealth of applications and programs freely available to anyone."
In Johannesburg, the State IT Agency (SITA) has planned an open source software event at the Campus in Bryanston, with public service and administration minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi providing the keynote address.
Support for OSS has grown significantly in the past few years, and has potential for SA, says SITA research and development GM Dr McKay Motshabi.
"The spin-offs from OSS in bridging the digital divide, the exposure of ICT to a wider public and the amount of money saved on licensing, are what the country needs. The expectation is that the ICT environment will grow substantially, thus pushing us to the fore to effectively compete with other developed economies, with OSS as the engine of growth."
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