Burning and distributing CDs of useful software
Person in charge:
Interested parties: (add yourself to this list) RobertSchumann
Related Websites:
CD Burning is an interesting activity of the Open Source Community in Zambia. One of the events we intend to do is to have a stand at a strategic place say at Arcades or Manda Hill shopping center every so often to demostrate and distribute opensource software. Please make suggestions [more on this event as we get organised]
/ListOfSoftware - A list of whats burning
/TheSchedule - when and where the burning takes place
Freedom Toaster
The Freedom Toaster project (link above) is run in South Africa by the Shuttleworth Foundation. It is a device with a touch screen and a CD/DVD burner, incorporated into a fancy-looking box which is then stationed in a secure location. Users can put an empty CD/DVD in the machine, select what software they want to burn (Ubuntu Linux, Fedora Linux, The Open CD, etc) and then click "Burn". Saves having to download it over poor quality diap-up connections.
Attached to this page is the construction manual for one of these devices. The FT website also has documentation about installation, maintenance and so on. The principal requirements for this are:
- a secure location for the toaster (in a shop?)
- some machined sheet metal
- a motherboard
- CD/DVD burner
- a touch screen
These things can raise some money for their upkeep, through advertising on the machine and on the touchscreen, and....? They are currently looking at changing the software that runs it, which might be an interesting thing to get involved with if anyone's interested.
Robert says: I had thought that we could rope in a few group members to be "burners". They could keep up-to-date images of useful software (e.g. The OpenCD and Ubuntu) or else get them from the local mirroring site we're planning, and burn them for people with slow connections/no patience - in exchange for a dollar or two, of course! Naturally, burning CDs and DVDs to give away at events will also be a great idea, but you might want to get someone with a CD press to do that (or order from Ubuntu ShipIt).