LUGarticle

the article I had submitted for the college newspaper.

MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH YOU

Does anyone know what runs GOOGLE!!! Does anyone know which is the best browser in the world and product of the year 2006 (Firefox - Open Source)? Has anyone tried Amarok (GNU/Linux Audio Player)? Did you know that VLC Media Player is open Source? Did you know that there exists a 3D Desktop way cooler than Vista which runs on 192MB RAM and came out over a year ago (Beryl Project), and a study concluded that machines on GNU/Linux last twice longer, take up lesser system resources and has graphics so astounding that you'll be gaping at it flabbergasted by its unnerving appeal?
The answer my friends to all these is GNU/Linux and free software, so if you haven't found this out yet, it's high time you joined BMSLUG (BMS Libre Software User's Group). A group for those who understand and are looking forward to understand the brilliance of Free Software which is not only free from the bondages of censorship but also way superior to proprietary software. Thus, a group for those who truly love coding and therefore choose GNU/Linux which has the most advanced development tools along with modern and efficient compilers. Software that is free in the true sense and not just free but also hip.

Now enough introduction. Stop thinking and now THINK!
Try going to any IT related site, any site that has to do with sotwares and computing. Try buying any magazine which is related to computing. Try realizing the fact that Govt. of Tamil Nadu and American Defense have moved to GNU/Linux. Try looking around more carefully than you generally did. A wave of liberty is spreading and people have stopped taking things for granted. Look at the IT industry once more and you'll know that Dell is coming up with GNU/Linux pre-installed on their desktops, HP and IBM are donating terabytes of RAM to GNU/Linux and undergoing mega deals for GNU/Linux desktops and laptops. Like an ocean beating the embankment over, the wave of free software is at the helm of "breaking the wall" and if you're not with it, you're not in it.

To find more goto www.google.com/linux or simply come to us, the tuxified groups.yahoo.com/group/bmslug/ .

BMSLUG:

Founded in 2000, we aim to create awareness about free sotware, software that respects the consumers' right to use it the way he/she wants it to. We actively interact with various free software enthusisasts in the real world industry, who are part of our regular mailing list. Discussions, seminars, presentations, practical lessons and even projects are also part of the regular agenda. Also, GNU/Linux based companies such as Novell and RedHat are invited for demonstrations. Bluntly, we do everything enjoyable in coding, in confirmation with the spirit of free software for liberated users.

How it all started:
Every once in a required while, there come people who bring important parity into this disparate world, who balance the equation of such power that brings out the best of untamed cruelty in someone. Such a person was the legend Mr.Klaus Emil Fuchs, who passed on the secrets of the Atom Bomb and thus denied singular possession of it to America and such a man is Sir Richard M. Stallman who came up with GNU and thus denied the singular rule to proprietary software. In more than one ways the chain of events has been similar to Atom Bomb History apart from the huge difference in the nature of the products, one invokes freedom whereas one provides a threat to it. As time has gone by, more countries have gained access to the atom bomb as have more people have come up with free software and today a horde of free operating systems are available. The sad fact though is that the rule still lies with America as does with Microsoft.
As restrictions and censorship crept up and the practice of freely developing and sharing code was chained down by password enabled accounts, Sir Richard M. Stallman realized the deep problem and quit his job at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984 so there wouldn't be any ownership issues over the new software that would be developed. He gathered together a group of dedicated programmers who developed the GNU operating system for a 32 bit system as foreseen by him would be the requirement by the time they finished in contrast to the usage of 16-bit systems at the time. By 1992, the project had seen near completion except for the lack of a kernel which was fulfilled by Linus Torvalds, who released a Unix-like kernel Linux as free software. This complete system GNU/Linux, mistakenly called just Linux, comes in a diverse variety of distributions and is yours to choose from.

Why GNU/Linux:

Ever saw a discalimer say NOTHING! Ever saw a copyright statement say FREE TO COPY AND RE-DISTRIBUTE.
Imagine people who are in love with coding and are passionate about developing a software, and on the contrary those with tied up with bogus deadlines and the compulsion to produce a workable code which requires a couple of service packs to make it run normally. There lies the difference. Information is only as valuable as it's source and the product is only as valuable as it's maker. Free software imparts to us the versatility to condition our software according to our needs, and the availability of the source only enhances it's beauty.
A simple example. Ever felt the frustration rising when Windoze dozes away on installing applications. The reason being that every application overwrites into the system the basic compilers and tools it requires which clots up the system. In case of GNU/Linux, these files aren't overwritten and the same tools are shared by various applications so installing numerous applications doesn't hurt.
There are numerous such examples and you already know the right place to find them. So come in and let the experts take over.

Pulkit