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Free Software Macedonia
Contemporary concept in the information technology
Free Software Macedonia is one of the rare civic associations that work in the field of information technology. The goal of this association established by a group of young "computer addicts" is promotion of the free software as a scientific and research discipline, as well as its publicity and free approach in its original form.
 Free software is opposite of non-free - those represented by the great world distributors, such as Microsoft. Nowadays in the world of information technology, the free software is an idea and a movement. Its creator was the American Richard Stellman, who developed it in the 1980s while he was working in the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory in Massachusetts, USA. The free software, as the name shows is free for: using, copying, modifying, distributing.
The association Free Software Macedonia (www.slobodensoftver.org.mk) implements various activities for promotion of this modern technology. Part of their activities is the campaign "I want to know", which they have organized this year, which informs the public about the work of this association and the concept they represent. The second activity that this association implements is organizing translation marathons for mass localization of software. They also take part in the information technology fairs.
One of their latest activities is making efforts to stop Macedonia from signing the strategic partnership agreement between our Government and Microsoft, which is one of the biggest world distributors of non-free software. The Association warned that this contact would harm our country, having in mind the negative experience with the non-free software in many countries. In order to prevent the various risks that the non-free software brings (among which security problems and computer viruses), this association will continue lobbying for the use of free software in the government institutions.
M.I.
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