Daniel Pocock

Proponents of free software are frequently asked “Can we replace Skype, Viber, Twitter and Facebook?”. Is this the right question and how does it relate to free software development today and in the future? Pocock talks about the social consequences of this issue, looks at some of the successes we have had with examples based on Debian, some of the challenges that remain and ways that people can help either as developers or end users.

Discuss the current status of the RTC services, opportunities for people to assist in supporting and enhancing them and look at ways they can further complement the development workflow and serve the community.

A review of the PKI/PGP clean room project status and discussion of future steps.

A quick introduction to accounting and the free software solutions available in Debian. This is a broad overview covering solutions for personal finances, freelancers, small businesses and non-profit organizations. The talk will include a demo of some of the more advanced solutions included in Debian, the Postbooks and Tryton ERP systems, both of which have features like multi-user and multi-currency support and a full SQL backend.

This talk will show how free software solutions can do everything that is possible with proprietary software like Quickbooks and Sage while also giving the user more control of the underlying data and unlimited flexibility to adapt the system to meet future requirements.

Many small businesses start out using a minimal solution to avoid up-front costs but then experience significant effort migrating all their data to the system they should have chosen in the first place. As free software doesn’t have an up-front cost, businesses are free to choose the solution most suitable for their long term needs and grow into it even if they don’t use many of the features in their first year of trading.

No license is required to purchase Software Defined Radio (SDR) hardware or receive radio radio signals. SDR/ham radio demonstrations can be elaborate and engaging and often take a prominent position at events. There are also large events like the Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) where the possibilities free software offers for science and education can gain significant prominence. Any member of the Debian community can set up one of these demos in a few minutes using the packages produced by Debian Hams or the Debian Hams live image. In this practical BoF you can try the $20 RTL-SDR dongle on your own laptop and ask questions about the topic.