= Rugby Linux Users Group = [[http://www.rugby.lug.org.uk|Rugby Linux Users Group]] held its first ever event for [[http://www.softwarefreedomday.org|Software Freedom Day]] on '''Saturday September 17th 2011''', at the '''Benn Partnership Centre''', Railway Terrace, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV21 3HR. The event was open for the general public from '''12:00 until 16:00''', with visitors from local schools invited to attend at 11:00 for a special education-focused session. The event would not have been possible without the valued support of the following local organisations: * [[http://bennpartnership.myplus.org/|Benn Partnership Centre]] * [[http://www.credativ.co.uk|credativ]] * [[http://www.opusvl.com|OpusVL]] * [[http://www.sunfield.org|Sunfield Technology]] * [[http://www.cultivate-communities.co.uk|Cultivating Communities]] == Introduction == Our event was part of the global Software Freedom Day initiative – a worldwide celebration of Free and Open Source software, with over 100 countries taking part. Our goal for the event was to educate the public about the many benefits of using high quality Free and Open Source software (FOSS) at home, in education, business, government, ... in short, everywhere! Interest in free software is enhanced with the current economic climate, which is affecting all sectors including business, home and education. At our event - which was free to attend for all - more than a dozen representatives from the Free and Open Source software (FOSS) community and local ICT companies demonstrated a wide variety of Free Software to visitors. Informal and free advice for existing and prospective users was readily available, with the opportunity to arrange further sessions if required outside the event. == Free Software == At the event there was the opportunity for all visitors to try out various free software applications on Microsoft Windows and Linux platforms. Visitors were able to take away information on the software and CDs loaded with free software, including the [[http://www.theopendisc.com/|OpenDisc]]. Free "Live CDs" were also be available to try and take away, which enable a user to safely and easily try out free software (such as the [[http://ubuntu-uk.org/free-cds/|Ubuntu]] Linux operating system) on their computer. == How Did it Go? == Over 120 people attended the event, including many young families, our Rugby [[http://www.markpawsey.org.uk|MP Mark Pawsey]], and the Chair of the [[http://www.opensourceconsortium.org|Open Source Consortium]] Gerry Gavigan. A broad cross-section of the local community was represented and there was a great atmosphere throughout the afternoon. Refreshments were available including freshly prepared samosas, which were appreciated by all attendees. == Photos == Will appear soon == Downloads == A rolling [[http://sozi.baierouge.fr/wiki/en:welcome|Sozi]] presentation for playback in the [[http://getfirefox.com|Firefox]] web browser (may also work in others which support SVG, geometric transformations in embedded video, and JavaScript) can be downloaded [[http://rugby.lug.org.uk/sfd2011/presentation.svg|here]]. This presentation was created by Rugby LUG member Craig Barnes and was run throughout the event to inform and educate visitors about SFD and Free Software. ---- CategoryTeam2011