[Wylug-announce] ShefLUG - March 2011 Meeting

[Richard Ibbotson]

             Sheffield Linux Users Group (ShefLUG)

         Meetings are free and open to anyone to attend

		  Saturday  5th. March 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

The next meeting will be on the 5th of March.  This will be a return
to one of our large scale meetings.  This will take place at the
University of Sheffield Auditorium, Sheffield University Union of
Students, Western Bank, Sheffield, S10 2TN. From 10.00 a.m. to
approximately 13.00.    For directions to the University have a look
here….

       http://www.shef.ac.uk/visitors/mapsandtravel

There is a free car park available on Durham road, just off Glossop
Road (S10 2JA) and pay & display parking around the University area.
People travelling by train can catch the Supertram for
Middlewood/Hillsborough at the Sheffield Midland Station and alight at
the University. The Students Union complex is across the road from the
tram stop

The subject of the meeting ?  One of our ShefLUGer’s e-mailed 
Richard Stallman to ask him if he would like to return to Sheffield once 
again to give a public lecture.  This was well received on previous
occasions.   RMS accepted and in the process of working up a schedule
and finance the South Yorkshire branch of the British Computing
Society became involved and so did the South Yorkshire branch of the
Institute of Electrical Technologists.  RMS will be giving a lecture
in Sheffield as part of the European and British tour taking place in
March of this year.  When he lands in England he will tour from the
South coast up to Scotland taking in some major cities. For the one
person on this planet who has never heard of RMS have a look here….
http://stallman.org/.   RMS is the founding father of the GNU project
which was launched in 1983/4.  He is well known for his public
presentations.  RMS has received the ACM Grace Hopper Award, a
MacArthur Foundation fellowship, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s
Pioneer Award, the Takeda Social/Economic Betterment award, and
several honorary doctorates.  Not to be missed.  For the public
lecture in Sheffield he will be giving a talk entitled “Copyright vs
Community in the Age of Computer Networks”.

Copyright developed in the age of the printing press and was designed
to fit in with the system of centralised copying imposed by this
technology. But, the copyright system does not fit well with computer
networks and only Draconian punishments can enforce it. The global
corporations that profit from copyright are lobbying for Draconian
punishments, and to increase their copyright powers, while suppressing
public access to technology. But if we seriously hope to serve the
only legitimate purpose of copyright, to promote progress for the
benefit of the public, then we must make changes in the other
direction. Richard Stallman launched the development of the GNU
operating system (see www.gnu.org) in 1983. GNU is free software –
everyone has the freedom to copy it and redistribute it, as well as to
make changes, either large or small. The GNU/Linux system, basically
the GNU operating system with Linux added is used on tens of millions
of computers today.  The lecture is free but you will have to register
in order to cover health and safety regulations.  To register for this
event go to…..

	http://localevents.theiet.org/register.php?event=c0ef7e

We might just go round to the Benjamin Huntsman for a few beers and
food afterwards.

	  The Benjamin Huntsman
	  12-18 Cambridge Street
	  Sheffield
	  South Yorkshire
	  S1 4HP
	  Phone:   0114 263 9500

http://www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/the-benjamin-huntsman

-- 
Richard
http://www.sheflug.org.uk
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