With the cost of software programs such as Photoshop and antivirus suites rising, many people turn to alternative software they can legally download from the Internet for free.
But penny-pinching students are not the only people turning to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Many software developers use these programs to study and improve their peers’ programs, which cannot be done with licensed software.
Still, developing these complex programs and distributing them for free online is no easy feat — it requires collaboration between FOSS users, developers and companies. N.C. State’s Office of Information Technology is looking to facilitate that.
To bring together FOSS enthusiasts, Jack Neely and Breandan Dezendorf from OIT held the fifth annual FOSS Fair Saturday on Centennial Campus. Sponsored by Red Hat, the program welcomed more than 150 participants.
“The FOSS Fair, unlike ordinary fairs and conferences, has no keynote speakers or formal talks planned in advance,” Neely, self-proclaimed “LinuxCzar,” said. “Instead, folks gather on the day of the event and decide what they are interested in talking and learning about, and spend the day doing so.”
In fact, participants created their own informal discussion sessions on the fair website prior to the day of the event, allowing for collaboration on a wide range of topics. Aditya Vaja, a graduate student in computer science, was among the students who created their own discussions. Vaja took the opportunity to teach his peers about how to use FOSS to create a ‘cloud’ system.
Jason Hibbets, an open source project manager at Red Hat, took a different approach and spoke about “10 ways you didn’t think open source could be used.”
“The event is designed to give the Open Source community at N.C. State, as well as local folks and companies, a chance to network and collaborate,” Neely said. “Sometimes the most challenging part of Open Source is being aware of what other developers are working on.”
Muhammad Abbasi, a senior in business administration and a FOSS user, said he appreciated that the fair was held on State’s campus.
“I use Open Source software regularly, and it’s nice knowing that the N.C. State community is playing a central role in continually improving FOSS,” Abbasi said.
And while FOSS does allow students to download free alternative software programs from the Internet, many users also frequently use it in other fields, ranging from robotics to data management.
“Open source software to developers is like free speech to the rest of the world,” Khadija Khan, a junior in electrical and computer engineering, said. “When you have free speech, you can get in a group and share ideas, collaborate and improve upon them. In the same way, FOSS allows us to develop programs that are bigger, better and more powerful than any one of us could create by ourselves.”
The fair also presented a unique networking opportunity for developers in addition to helping FOSS enthusiasts improve their programs. Many of them could collaborate on their projects with peers and showcase projects and skill sets to local companies who may be interested in recruiting FOSS experts.
“This event builds our community, shares and improves ideas, and gives local companies a chance to interact with future job seekers,” Neely said.
InfoSec Institute, Raritan Inc. and Red Hat were among the companies whose representatives participated in the fair.
