Sustainable Computing

Free Software / Linux Terminal Server Project

How can the software that you use with your computer contribute to a more sustainable world? An introduction to Free Software and a demonstration of creative reuse of old computer hardware with the Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP).

Location

Sub.Event @ "The Big Bang club", Prof. Ivan Georgov 3, Sofia, Bulgaria.
Take bus number 79 from the city centre and get off 2 stops before the end of the line. Enter the three storey building from the back [satellite picture] and knock on the fence.

Program

Tuesday, October 24th 2006

Registration

This event is free of charge (donations are welcome) and will be held in English language. Please send a short e-mail if you are planning to come, so we know how many people to expect.

Contact

E-mail: meinhard at benn dot org [e-mail form]

Free Software

Free software, as defined by the Free Software Foundation, is software which can be used, copied, studied, modified and redistributed without restriction. Freedom from such restrictions is central to the concept, with the opposite of free software being proprietary software (a distinction unrelated to whether a fee is charged). The usual way for software to be distributed as free software is for the software to be licensed to the recipient with a free software license (or be in the public domain), and the source code of the software to be made available (for a compiled language). (Source: Wikipedia "Free Software")

LTSP

Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP, website unfortunately down at time of writing) is an add-on package for Linux that allows many people to simultaneously use the same computer. Applications run on the server with a terminal known as a thin client handling input and output. These thin clients are also known as X terminals. Generally, they are low-powered, lack a hard disk and are quieter than desktop computers. This is because they do not have any moving parts. (Source: Wikipedia "LTSP") – LTSP can therefore be used to expand the lifespan of your computer hardware and to safe electricity.

Sustainability

Sustainability (also Sustainable Development) seeks to provide the best outcomes for the human and natural environments both now and into the indefinite future. It is a systemic concept, relating to the continuity of economic, social, institutional and environmental aspects of human society, as well as the non-human environment. It is intended to be a means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society, its members and its economies are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems, and planning and acting for the ability to maintain these ideals in a very long term. Sustainability affects every level of organization, from the local neighborhood to the entire planet. (Source: Wikipedia "Sustainability")

The speaker

Meinhard Benn is a nomadic Free Software activist giving workshops and doing hands-on work with various Linux and web applications related issues for non-profit organisations. He uses Free Software since 1996 and got first in contact with LTSP in 2003 at Sustainable Ireland in Dublin. Since then he gave presentations about LTSP and helped to set up LTSP networks along his travels.

— No copyright Meinhard Benn, page last changed Oct 19th 2006, 18:12 EEST