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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Free Software Talk by Abhas - 7 June
2008<BR>------------------------------------------</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The talk was presented by Abhas Abhinav, CEO,
Deeproot Linux, a free software based<BR>Company in Bangalore. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>For a person who is new to free software movement,
the talk may seem philosophical<BR>for sometime. However, the very presenter
being a successful entrepreneur already <BR>in free software business, that held
the interest levels intact. The initial slides <BR>talk about the background of
free software, why free software and what free software<BR>is all about. Even
though one of the listeners wanted to jump to knowing about business<BR>ideas
using free software, Abhas's commitment to educate on principles of free
software<BR>business was appreciable.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>My idea on attending this talk too was about
knowing at least handful of business <BR>ideas using free software. But as the
presentation goes by one could realize that <BR>the session's objective was to
educate on the model of doing free software business<BR>and not about discussing
business ideas as such. May be it was only my expectation<BR>that was wrong. The
session helps us realize how we are restricting our freedom and <BR>hence our
knowledge in this proprietary software business model. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Abhas was candid about making us realize how much
$$$ he may lose if someone<BR>adopts his idea and sells an improved product next
door. But this is what a free<BR>software principle is all about. To be a
successful entrepreneur in this, he<BR>emphasizes the importance of 'Value' that
you attach to your product which wins. <BR>He says the value that you give in
terms of support and services that stands a<BR>differentiator between you and
your competitors. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It may be true that proprietary software business
can make you more rich than your<BR>FSB counterpart. But the knowledge you
spread around by distributing your source<BR>and helping the community to build
upon that is a greater achievement. This liberation <BR>of mind is what is
essential to be a committed free software follower and a FSB <BR>Entrepreneur as
well. Hence they say, "Free software is not about price but about <BR>freedom.
Think 'Free' as in free speech and not free beer".</FONT></DIV>
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