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Michael |
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autier | Free and Open Source Software |
Many of us conduct aspects of our lives with the assistance of computer programs. As an example, mobile devices often have various programs for staying touch with others. Life involves connecting with others and the huge expansion of computer devices such as mobile phones and tablets is driven by this innate need. Computers are part of life.
Computers come in many sizes and types―Large or small, on your wrist, in your hand, or on your desk―and serve different purposes. Today's devices are gateways to other people and the information they express. Computers of various kinds can be setup to reach people by voice, video, or both. Although many activities are done quietly with a computer, ultimately, what we do takes place in a larger social context. While that sounds like the activity of interacting person-to-person through messages, it also includes mass interactions as well.
When we visit news websites, access message boards, or are passive recipients in a group chat, we are participating in a type of interaction, not with a computer, but with people who have provided information we are curious about. Said another way, even reading a news article is an indirect interaction with another person. Computer programs exist in abundance for that purpose alone. The goals we have in using those programs are far too many to list here but include staying informed, being prepared, and understanding the world in which we live. Access to information and people through computers helps drive society and life forward. Software is part of the evolution of life.
Software can be obtained from different organizations and venues of delivery. A commercial software world exists and it is a $1 trillion+ industry. Despite the success of software that can be sold and purchased, sometimes the needs of people are not met by the commercial software world. When that happens, people seek alternatives on websites where they can download software they can use for free. Alternatives are good when they are available.
People's situations change and software may not be available. No commercial software for what you want to do exist and no alternatives exist either. The other part of that scenario is that when free alternatives exist, they may lack the quality you expect. The great thing about free software however is you get to evaluate alternatives for a longer period to understand how they fit with your daily rhythm.
A typical story of a free software program begins with a single person who needed something not met by either commercial software or any free alternatives. A person with the skills to build software then takes it upon themselves to make a solution when either none exist or existing solutions are inadequate. Of course, alternatives may exist that could work but this person has preferences not met by the software they want to use. That is often the origin of free software.
A program that a person created for themselves alone may eventually have enough potential benefit for others that it must be shared. Linus Torvalds is a person who is not the first person in the history of humans to share with others. What he did is trigger a particular cycle of sharing that continues today. Linus Torvalds shared his software called Linux that is the foundation of numerous operating systems. Most unseen computer systems such as the servers that serve the Internet use systems based on Linux. His sharing became a massive benefit for humanity.
Linus original intent was to help himself. His goal was to get better functionality out of his own computers. That is still what Linux does today. Decades later, Linus created a program called git. What git does is help programmers keep track of the changes in computer code. These changes can be shared by other programmers working on the same code. Using the Internet, git is used to synchronize code across programmer computers so everyone can have the same version of in-progress code.
Just like with Linux, companies sprung up to make git more accessible to people. This web page you are reading is pulled out of git created by Linus Torvalds. When Linus helps himself and shares his toil, it becomes a huge benefit to others. Ultimately, that is what this web page is about. Computer programs I worked on to help me with the things I spoke about. Matters such as keeping in touch with what is going on in the world, better organizing documentation, and other activities of importance. As someone who benefits from the sharing that takes place in around the Linux and GNU worlds, I say pass it on.
The primary intent of this site is to describe programs I have created. The precursor to this site was a set of commentary blogs. However, I learned the hard way that blog sites may misconstrue discussion of programs you have built as a form of advertising. Not in every case, but when you affix 5-minute video demos, that tend to trigger warning bells and the blog is shut off. When that happened, I began the search for a more appropriate way to discuss programs that I created. First and foremost, this site is concerned with describing open source software.
Some programs I work on privately can be installed on a computer running a Linux or UNIX-based operating system. This site has a mechanism to provide package files that will install some programs described on this site. While updated install packages for a given Linux or UNIX distribution are not guaranteed, programs I use often will likely have updated packages. Install packages are available as an expedient means to run described programs without the need to use programmer tools to compile programs from source. Otherwise, the proper way to source install packages is through an online repository.
Official packagers for Linux-based distributions are welcome to re-package useful programs found on this site for those Linux distributions that fully comply with the GPL or LGPL. I am looking into distributing packages through third-party repositories for Ubuntu and Fedora. That is still on-going. Until then, the packages described on this site are available for use. Any questions can be sent my way through the contact form at michaelgautier.wordpress.com.