Freedom & Toast – 2 of my favorite things :)

I heard about this great idea recently for promoting and distributing FOSS software to people in areas of the world who need it most. I know I’m not the first blogger to mention it by a long shot but I still wanted to spread the word anyway.

It’s called the Freedom Toaster and it’s basically a big disc burning machine with a wealth of free digital media on-board ready to go. All you need to do is bring a blank disc and pop it in the draw.

The project is backed by the Shuttleworth Foundation and was designed to help people get access to the latest and greatest software in areas where sufficient download speeds are unavailable. It was originally developed to solve distribution problems in South Africa but is now being rolled out all over the world.

From the Freedom Toaster website:

“Freedom Toasters are conveniently located, self-contained, computer-based, ‘Bring ‘n Burn’ facilities.

Like vending machines, preloaded to dispense confectionery, Freedom Toasters are preloaded to dispense free digital products, including software, photography, music and literature.

The Freedom Toaster project began as a means of overcoming the difficulty in obtaining Linux and Open Source software due to the restrictive telecommunications environment in South Africa, where the easy downloading of large pieces of software is just not possible for everyone.”

What a great idea this is, I wholeheartedly applaud everyone involved. I really hope the project takes off and I’m sure it will. We should all get behind this kind of enterprise if we can. Long live the Freedom Toaster 🙂

Check out the Freedom Toaster website for more details.

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