Open Source Group Aims To Share Knowledge

Open Source, the idea that working collaboratively (especially on free software), is what the Open Source University Meetup at the University of Iowa is all about.

"I personally believe that software is often made best when made by a group of like-minded people simply working together," said Ryan Kopf, President of the Open Source University Meetup.

The group is so enthusiastic about open source, they call themselves awesome (OSUM). Their first meeting was held earlier today, and their next meeting is planned for December 13th in the IMU at 10am. It will feature an introduction to the OpenSolaris operating system, and discussion about open source technology in general.

The group lists well known open source software, including the popular OpenOffice.org office suite and The GIMP image editor as some of the best examples of open source software. They say they hope to build a community around open source to help spread it's use and teach people more about open source software development as a whole.

That's not all, though. OSUM at the University of Iowa is backed in part by Sun Microsystems, the fortune 500 company most known currently for it's creation of the Java programming language. Sun provides resource such as free training on it's technologies and discounts on certifications for students affiliated with it's Sun Academic Initiative.