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FLOSS is not just good for teeth

Free, Libre and Open Source Explained (finally) in Simple English!

"Why do they call it 'FLOSS' when it doesn't clean your teeth?"

Are you a non-nerd, a human being who happens to use computers without living inside them? Does that make you curious to find out what the buzz regarding open source and free software is all about? What's in it for you? Does it work? Is it fun and easy to use? How is it made and who makes it? And how 'free' or 'open' is it, really? Have you looked long and hard for answers to questions like these in plain English? If that's the case, 'FLOSS is not just good for teeth' could be just what you are looking for.

Impress your techie buddies with the fact that you care for your kernel, and open yourself to a whole new world of concepts that offer challenging and exciting ideas about creativity, collaboration and coding. 'Floss' geeks, make yourselves understood to other human beings - download and distribute 'FLOSS is not just good for teeth' to friends, family and colleagues, so they can finally know and appreciate what keeps you awake while they sleep.

'FLOSS is not just good for teeth' is a collaboratively produced introduction to the concepts that underlie free and open source software, written specially for the non-technical reader, at the Sarai Programme (www.sarai.net) of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi.

FLOSS Is Not Just Good for Your Teeth

Editorial/Design Coordinator: Monica Narula
Text: Ben Olin, Aniruddha 'Karim' Shankar, G Karunakar
Illustration: Parismita Singh
Design: Mrityunjay Chatterjee

32 pages, 6.5” x 9”
ISBN: 81-901429-8-4
Delhi, 2006

Produced and Designed at the Sarai Media Lab
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies
29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110054, India
www.sarai.net
dak@sarai.net


Any part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the publishers for educational and non-commercial use. The contributors and publishers, however, would like to be informed.

FLOSS Is Not Just Good for Your Teethis a media work produced as part of the activities of 'Towards a Culture of Open Networks', a collaborative initiative of Sarai-CSDS (Delhi), Waag Society (Amsterdam) and t0 (Vienna), focused on bridging "Information Society" in Europe and India through culture and communication. 'Towards a Culture of Open Networks' is supported by the EU-India Economic and Cross- Cultural Programme under its Media, Communication and Culture dimension. http://www.opencultures.net

Disclaimer: This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The contents of this document are the sole responsibility of the partners in the 'Towards a Culture of Open Networks' initiative, and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.