I have complained from time to time that the Government of Canada could be doing more to support the growth of Free/Open Source Software (F/OSS or FOSS). That's why I'm always pleasantly surprised when I find evidence that there is movement in that direction.

I came across an interesting paper comparing statistical algorithms in Excel to those Gnumeric. The paper was written by B. D. McCullough at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Here is the paper's abstract:

Abstract:The open source spreadsheet package "Gnumeric" was such a good clone of Microsoft Excel that it even had errors in its statistical functions similar to those in Excel's statistical functions. When apprised of the errors in v1.0.4, the developers of Gnumeric indicated that they would try to fix the errors. Indeed, Gnumeric v1.1.2, has largely fixed its flaws, while Microsoft has not fixed its errors through many successive versions. Persons who desire to use a spreadsheet package to perform statistical analyses are advised to use Gnumeric rather than Excel.

PLUG has been invited by ArtSonic to host a booth at the ArtSonic Art-Music Expo on October 1st to promote Free/Open Source Software in the arts community and to spread the good word about the launch of the Creative Commons Canada site on September 30th. The event should be a wild ride -- they have revived the Garrick Theatre (331 Garry Street) for what is described as "a Synchronous Evening of Vision, Music, Words, and Dance". The show starts at 8 PM and tickets are $10 at Music Trader, Into The Music, Answers (U of M) and Urban Bakery.

After a delay due to the mislocation of my notes, here is the PLUG meeting summary as promised. The discussion was as wide-ranging as it was interesting, with just a smattering of controversy.

Just a reminder that we are holding our monthly meeting at 7:00 PM Thursday, September 16th at the University of Winnipeg 4th Floor Buffeteria. We may be able to have access to the Learning Commons for part of the meeting. There are tons of new initiatives and cool things that we will be doing in the next few months, so jump on the bandwagon.

Here is what's on the agenda:

The Prairie Linux User Group, many fine musicians, artists, volunteers, and local businesses have all collaborated on an Open Source Cultural Exchange called OpenCity FreedomFest, and Version 0.1 Beta is due to be released August 20 - 22 in Winnipeg's Exchange District. As a result, this month's PLUG meeting will actually be a meeting for organizing OpenCity Volunteers. If you want to have a really fun time, promote Free Software, and help the cause of a Cultural (and Technological) Commons, come out this Thursday, August 19th to the PLUG Studio at room 46 - 221 McDermot at 7:00 PM. Hey, come on, you geeks. You need to have a social life, too! And we need your passion and expertise as Free Software ambassadors -- help us talk up and show off Open Source alternatives. We will also be streaming the show on Saturday night via IceCast, so anyone with experience setting up IceCast streaming, please give us a hand.

We have had a surprising amount of interest from local and national media. But what is even more exciting and rewarding is that the artists all get it. The musicians and artists got involved in OpenCity because they want to help create some shared-culture alternatives to all the corporate-controlled culture out there. The artists all understand intuitively that creativity always builds on the past, and that unrestricted, unbalanced copyright law wielded by powerful media conglomerates can stifle an artist's transformative use of the past.

We in the Free Software movement should be proud to show the world an example of what can be achieved when we are allowed to stand on the shoulders of giants, when we are allowed to build on the past. As a social movement, we have accomplished more in the last ten years than the world's largest software company. See what a thriving commons can do for you?

At our last monthly meeting, we heard about LTSP at St Charles School courtesy of Dean Weiten. Well, things are moving ahead now, and Dean has asked for volunteers to help with some of the setup. Is there anyone out there who can help?

Dean writes:

I discovered John Fluevog shoes at his outlet in Vancouver while I was living there many years ago. As far as fashion goes, his shoe designs are nothing short of spectacular genius, and that's coming from someone who rarely notices these things. Everyone who I have ever met who knows the name John Fluevog has raved about his designs. But now there's one more great thing about John Fluevog -- he groks Free Software!!

Last night was a seminal moment for PLUG. For anyone who missed it, Martin Itzkow gave a riveting presentation on the future of information technology for the voluntary and non-profit sector. And guess what: that future belongs to Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). But getting there is not going to be short term, small scale, or easy. It will involve careful planning, nation-wide coordination, and a massive amount of effort. Martin came to PLUG in part to inform us about the plans that are taking shape, but also to ask us to take a leadership role in galvanizing support for this much needed change.

Free Software is a social movement, not unlike the abolitionists or the suffragettes in ages past. As a social movement, it seeks to improve human society by defending important rights, and by contributing works of lasting value to the commons. Wouldn't it make sense for Free Software to be widely adopted by the voluntary sector (Non-profit and community organizations) which shares these values to a large degree? The unfortunate reality is that very few non-profit organizations benefit from Free Software. But that is beginning to change. For a look at the cutting edge of this change, check out the Commons Group or the Association for Progressive Computing.