Software Freedom Day Sept. 10th (Debate)

Wed 31 Aug 2005, 23:06

More simply....
Quality Open Source for Windows

TheOpenCD is a collection of high quality Free and Open Source Software. The programs run in Windows and cover the most common tasks such as word processing, presentations, e-mail, web browsing, web design, and image manipulation. We include only the highest quality programs, which have been carefully tested for stability and which we consider appropriate for a wide audience. Read more about TheOpenCD.

TheOpenCD 3.0 released Print
Monday, 11 July 2005
ImageTheOpenCD team is pleased to announce the release of TheOpenCD 3.0, now featuring a live CD based on Ubuntu. TheOpenCD traditionally provides a handy collection of quality FOSS applications for Windows, professionally presented in an elegant CD browser. This latest edition also lets you boot into a highly polished desktop based on Ubuntu for a taste of the world of free operating systems! Many of the same applications found on the Windows side of the disc are also pre-installed on the live Ubuntu demo, showing how the user experience and data can be preserved across platforms. Version 3.0 includes the latest versions of old favorites like the Firefox Web browser, the OpenOffice.org office productivity suite, and the GIMP image editing application. (see the full list here).

The Live CD portion of TheOpenCD allows you to preview a Linux-based operating system without altering your existing setup. It is based on Ubuntu 5.04, slimmed down slightly to make room for the traditional content (see complete Ubuntu package list here). To try it, simply leave the CD in the drive and reboot into a live demo (see Ubuntu screenshots). When you're done, just eject the CD and next time you boot your computer it will start your usual system. We would like to thank Colin Watson and Adam Conrad of Canonical for helping us to build the excellent Live Ubuntu component and Jason King of SFD for his early prototyping work on this. The Ubuntu operating system is available in a range of other configurations, including CDs and DVDs for i386, PPC and AMD64 machines, in live-demo and install versions. The software from both these projects is free to use, to share, and even to modify if you like.

We have continued to improve the user interface of the CD browser, based on general user feedback and a formal usability study conducted by Kelly White of NSU. We have replaced the hovering menu with a simpler static structure and lightened the user interface (see screenshots). We are also continuing to explore ways of making the build process easier. Parts of the CD structure was built using a new online tool called CD-Orchard, written by Matt Oquist on behalf of TheOpenCD project. The goal of CD-Orchard is to facilitate easy customisation of the base distribution, including localised versions. If you are interested in making derivatives of TheOpenCD or to contributing to the core project, we encourage you to work with Orchard, which is also free software under the GPL.

TheOpenCD 3.0 is the official CD for Software Freedom Day 2005 (SFD), to be held on September 10th . Our primary sponsor Canonical Ltd. (makers of Ubuntu) have pledged to provide 100 CDs each for up to 150 qualified SFD teams (see registration form and CD request form).

The following mirrors are currently updated:

omma.org.uk
planetmirror.com
pacific.net.au
tuwien.ac.at
hands.com
belnet.be
ubishops.ca
sunsite.dk
proxad.net
rwth-aachen.de
uni-bayreuth.de
fu-berlin.de
rz.tu-bs.de
uni-erlangen.de
heanet.ie
wired.net.nz
fe.up.pt
is.co.za
mirrorservice.org
-- TheOpenCD Team