IT managers and technical staff

1. Jump in

Whatever your level of experience with open source software, this set of resources is for those who like to learn by getting their hands dirty. Even if you are already experienced with some open source software, you may find it useful to explore the range of options available.

• Top Tips for Selecting Open Source Software
• Using LiveCDs to solve everyday problems
• external resources:
  • Freshmeat.net [http://freshmeat.net/], announcements about new software releases
  • SourceForge.net [http://sourceforge.net/], a repository of thousands of open source projects
  • UK Mirror Service [http://www.mirrorservice.org/]

2. Quick and easy trial of Linux

If you have never used Linux, you may want to explore it and some common open source applications without going to the effort of installing the software. Some systems administrators will already be familiar with the concept of a LiveCD. These allow you to boot an Intel PC into a Linux environment without the need to install anything whatsoever. It will not touch the contents of the PC's hard drive in any way (unless you specifically want it to). Well known examples of LiveCDs include Ubuntu and Knoppix.

Ubuntu has quickly become a very popular distribution and periodically OSS Watch distributes copies of Ubuntu. You can contact us at info@oss-watch.ac.uk to request a CD through the post, which we will gladly send, if we have any in stock. Alternatively the Ubuntu website also provides details about how to download or purchase CDs.

• Ubuntu [http://www.ubuntu.com/]

The most well-known LiveCD prior to Ubuntu, and, for many systems administrators, still the preferred resource is Knoppix.

• Knoppix.net [http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html]

Knoppix has all the tools that many IT support staff need in order to investigate and fix PCs whose operating systems no longer function.

In the past, OSS Watch has produced a remastered version of Knoppix to assist in demonstrating the Linux desktop and specific open source software in demand in UK universities and colleges. You can download the ISO image for this CD from the OSS Watch repository so that you can burn a CD yourself, if you wish, though it is probably better to get the latest version of Knoppix in order to see it at its best.

• OSS Watch ISO images for download

For information on how to remaster an Ubuntu LiveCD see the OSS Watch wiki page http://wiki.oss-watch.ac.uk/UbuntuEdgy/Remaster

3. Broader issues

Explaining open source software to senior management often requires situating it with the broader issues faced by institutional IT departments. To find out more about the open source movement and the bigger issues that affect it, such as open standards, security, advocacy etc, try these resources.

• Releasing your code under an open source licence
• The fundamentals of free and open source software
• Open source: facing a skills shortage
• Procuring Free & Open Source Software
• People and processes: the inside story of Customer Relationship Management
• Decision factors for open source software procurement
• From a trickle to a flood: building wide open communities in open source - Community and Open Source Development Workshop, Oxford, 20 October 2008
• Avoiding abandon-ware: getting to grips with the open development method
• Meritocrats, cluebats and the open development method: an interview with Justin Erenkrantz
• Richard Stallman on the road less travelled
• Microsoft: an end to open hostilities?
• Sustainable open source
• WebPA: the road to sustainability
• How to build an open source community
• Governance models
• Meritocratic governance model
• Benevolent dictator governance model
• Benefits of Open Source Code
• Is open source software insecure? An introduction to the issues
• Open Source for the Enterprise - book review
• Producing Open Source Software - book review
• Applied Software Project Management - book review
• external resources:
  • Open Source Initiative [http://www.opensource.org/index.php]
  • SchoolForge-UK [http://www.schoolforge.org.uk/index.php/Main_Page]
  • Free/Libre and Open Source Software: Survey and Study [http://www.infonomics.nl/FLOSS/index.htm]

4. Stay in the loop

OSS Watch also provides institution specific consultation workshops for universities and colleges seeking assistance in thinking through their engagement with free and open source software.

5. Acknowledgements

This document contains Creative Commons licensed photos by Flickr users Miguel A. Marcos, chotda and Miss___D.