About VALO-CD

The objective of the VALO-CD project is to advance the global information technological and economic progress by offering free software for use by as many people as possible worldwide.

At the same time we want to inform consumers, decision makers and technology providers about the advantages of free software.

What is VALO?

VALO-CD was originally available only in Finnish. VALO is the Finnish abbreviation for FOSS. FOSS means Free Open Source Software. In Finnish this is Vapaat ja Avoimen Lähdekoodin Ohjelmat or VALO. The Finnish word valo also means light, so there is a message of enlightenment.

Latest version

You can download the latest version of VALO-CD from http://www.valo-cd.net/.

In order to keep our server from overloading and to increase the distribution speed we offer only a BitTorrent download option. To use it you need a BitTorrent client program. If you don't have one, install Vuze from VALO-CD.net.

Torrents can also be downloaded in the browser, in case you don't want to install a separate client program. The browser based torrent download uses a Java applet provided by the Bitlet.org service.

Burn the disc image on to a disc

After you have downloaded the disc image, you can burn it on a disc using for example InfraRecorder, which is also available from VALO-CD.net. Install it and choose from the menu Functions < Burn disc image.

Choose the .iso file and click OK. The default settings in the burn dialog are fine, so continue by pressing just OK.

Remember to insert an empty disc in the disc tray before starting the burn process.

Participate!

You can participate in the creation of VALO-CD in a freely editable collaborative wiki. You can also discuss with other VALO-CD contributors on our mailing list or chat with us on the IRC channel #VALO-CD on the Freenode IRC network.

It is possible to translate the VALO-CD to your language or to create a special version of VALO-CD. Please contact the VALO-CD community with your new ideas!

FLOSS Manuals included on the CD are written collaboratively on the http://www.flossmanuals.net website. You can update the manuals, write a new manual or translate a manual to your own language.

You can participate in the development of the open source software on the VALO-CD by going to the web pages of the software projects. Remember there are other ways of participating besides coding. One of the important things is to translate the interface of the software into your local language. You can find information about the localization of software on the pages of the different software development projects.

Contact us!

The development of VALO-CD is coordinated by Seravo, a Finnish company specializing in open source development and Linux support.

You can contact Seravo by:

Email: seravo@seravo.fi
GSM:   +358 44 566 2204
Mail:  Seravo Oy
       Finlaysoninkuja 8
       FI-33210 Tampere
       Finland

FOSS?

FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) have been published with a license that guarantees the users with the rights to use, copy and modify software freely – as opposed to conventional proprietary software whose licenses limit the rights of the users. As the source code of the programs is available, anyone can modify the programs. Enhanced versions can be passed along as well according to the licensing terms.

From the point of view of an ordinary user, FOSS means independence from a specific software producer. In FOSS one doesn't pay a license fee but according to a service rendered to the customer which guarantees that software businesses invest a larger share of their revenues in the development of software.

According to the Free Software Foundation the user of free software has to have four freedoms:

FOSS stops dangerous monopolies from forming and enables fair, primarily quality-based competition between software products. Characteristic in FOSS is also the use of free standards and file formats, which promotes interoperability and cooperation between software.

"The development model of FOSS produces excellent programs for an open information society. Oppose a closed, user-restricting information society – prefer FLOSS!"

The greatest and best-known example of FOSS is the Linux operating system. However, this disc doesn't contain it but exclusively programs meant to be used on Windows. Meanwhile, most of the programs on VALO-CD are not dependent on the operating system and thus have Linux versions as well. Using the programs of this disc makes it easier to transition to Linux later, as most of the programs will have become familiar from the Windows side.

Free programs?

FOSS programs can be sold for sure, but as it is not allowed to restrict their distribution, the programs are free in practise. Other consequences of the FOSS development model include:

Vendor independence
FOSS licenses enable getting support and repair services for the software from any party.
Open development work
FOSS projects work in an open manner: they publish information on their project pages about development ideas for the software and test versions of the software in development. Participation is open as well, as the development teams are happy to accept new members who have demonstrated their skills via their work.
Public bug database
Problems are not hidden but listed in a public bug database. Anyone can report in the database an imperfection they found or help solving a problem.
Public version control
The source code is most commonly kept in a version control system, where anyone can follow precisely who has done what changes to which files. A knowledgeable person can also fix bugs and submit change data files to the project developers for acceptance.
Freedom of choice
Should collaboration with some software project not work for one reason or another, anyone can at any time create a new branch of the software and develop it according to their preferences. Software development is fast because the code from other projects can be easily utilised in one's own project. This model promotes birth of new FOSS software and the users have the real freedom to choose the best software from their point of view from a really wide variety.
Standard conformance
It's typical of FOSS to follow common standards whenever it makes any sense. This way the programs are widely compatible with other software. FOSS projects don't intend to gain or maintain a dominant position in the market but the primary intent is to develop good software that serves its users well.
Security and overall quality
As the work is public and the primary purpose is to serve users (the developers are usually users themselves), nobody has the interest to make anything else but secure and quality code. Because the code is public, the security is based on good architectural solutions as opposed to secrecy.

Even FOSS isn't an end-all

Even though the FOSS software production model is better than the closed models, one has to remember that it isn't perfect either. In the end, each software reflects on its developers and thus the quality of software varies.

Practise has however shown that in the long term the evolutionary software development method of FOSS produces the best software.

Try for yourself!

Start by trying out the programs on this disc and by getting to know the communities and corporations behind them.

More information

The easiest place to find more information on FOSS worldwide is the Free & Open Source Software Portal by UNESCO.