www/education/draft edu-software-gimp.html

[Dora Scilipoti]

CVSROOT:        /web/www
Module name:    www
Changes by:     Dora Scilipoti <dora>   12/03/13 08:52:55

Modified files:
        education/draft: edu-software-gimp.html 

Log message:
        Add RMS' comment. Improve wording.

CVSWeb URLs:
http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewcvs/www/education/draft/edu-software-gimp.html?cvsroot=www&r1=1.1&r2=1.2

Patches:
Index: edu-software-gimp.html
===================================================================
RCS file: /web/www/www/education/draft/edu-software-gimp.html,v
retrieving revision 1.1
retrieving revision 1.2
diff -u -b -r1.1 -r1.2
--- edu-software-gimp.html      12 Mar 2012 11:19:03 -0000      1.1
+++ edu-software-gimp.html      13 Mar 2012 08:52:02 -0000      1.2
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 <!--#include virtual="/server/html5-header.html" -->
-<!-- Parent-Version: $Revision: 1.1 $ -->
+<!-- Parent-Version: $Revision: 1.2 $ -->
 
 <title>GIMP - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
 
@@ -13,8 +13,8 @@
 <ul id="edu-navigation">
   <li> <a href="/education/edu-contents.html">Education Contents</a></li>
   <li> <a href="/education/edu-cases.html">Case Studies</a></li>
-  <li  class="active"> <a href="/education/edu-resources.html">Educational 
-  Resources</a></li>
+  <li  class="active"> <a href="/education/edu-resources.html">
+  Educational Resources</a></li>
   <li> <a href="/education/edu-projects.html">Education Projects</a></li>
   <li> <a href="/education/edu-faq.html">FAQ</a></li>
   <li> <a href="/education/edu-team.html">The Education Team</a></li>
@@ -32,18 +32,19 @@
 <h3>Description</h3>
 
 <p>GIMP stands for &ldquo;GNU Image Manipulation Program&rdquo;, 
-a self-explanatory name for an application that processes digital graphics 
-and is part of the GNU Project, meaning that it follows the GNU standards 
-and is released under the 
+a self-explanatory name for an application that processes digital 
+graphics and is part of the GNU Project, meaning that it follows the GNU 
+standards and is released under the 
 <a href="http://www.gnu.org/licenses/quick-guide-gplv3.html";>GNU General 
 Public License</a>, version 3 or later, to ensure maximum protection of 
 users' freedom. It can be used both as a simple tool for basic painting 
 and drawing and as a powerful program for complex tasks such as advanced 
-photo retouching, digital image composition, editing and animation, as well 
-as authoring of original art. Apart from the usual features included in 
-similar programs, GIMP displays an array of highly sophisticated options 
-aimed at computer graphics professionals. It is also multi-platform, and 
-it handles a wide range of formats plus format conversion.</p>
+photo retouching, digital image composition, editing and animation, as 
+well as authoring of original art. Apart from the usual features included 
+in similar programs, GIMP displays an array of highly sophisticated 
+options aimed at computer graphics professionals. It is also 
+multi-platform, and it handles a wide range of formats plus format 
+conversion.</p>
 
 
 <p>To learn more: <a href="http://directory.fsf.org/wiki/GIMP";>
@@ -52,23 +53,24 @@
 
 <h3>Who's Using It and How</h3>
 
-<p>The GIMP is used by a large number of artists, amateurs, Web developers, 
-educators. At school it is a handy tool that assists students and teachers 
-in the preparation of graphic materials for slides, handouts, the school's 
-Web site or bulletin and similar works. There are many interesting examples 
-of how this program is put to use by professionals and amateurs alike to 
-effectively bring to life their ideas without giving up their freedom as
-computer users. Among those, there is one that goes beyond the ordinary.
-
-<h4>How GIMP Changed Mani's Life.</h4>
-
-<p>Mani began his journey towards liberation from social constraints as an 
-enthusiastic and talented teenager. His awareness and commitment to freedom 
-led him to actively participate in the formation of a grassroots volunteer 
-group in 2008, with the goal of introducing computer knowledge in his slum 
-area in Bangalore through the use of freedom-respecting software. This 
-brought sustained improvement to his community and ultimately a radical 
-turn in his own life.</p> 
+<p>The GIMP is used by a large number of artists, amateurs, Web 
+developers, educators. At school it is a handy tool that assists students 
+and teachers in the preparation of graphic materials for slides, handouts, 
+the school's Web site or bulletin and similar works. There are many 
+interesting examples of how this program is put to use by professionals 
+and amateurs alike to effectively bring to life their ideas without 
+giving up their freedom as computer users. Among those, there is one 
+that goes beyond the ordinary.
+
+<h4>How GIMP changed Mani's life.</h4>
+
+<p>Mani began his journey towards liberation from social constraints as 
+an enthusiastic and talented teenager. His awareness and commitment to 
+freedom led him to actively participate in the formation of a grassroots 
+volunteer group in 2008, with the goal of introducing computer knowledge 
+in his slum area in Bangalore through the use of freedom-respecting 
+software. This brought sustained improvement to his community and 
+ultimately a radical turn in his own life.</p> 
 
 <p>The group set up a Free Software computer lab in the slum dwelling and 
 Mani learned fast, becoming a teacher himself to help his peers develop 
@@ -77,12 +79,11 @@
 knowledge with innate artistic abilities, he produced graphical art that
 he exhibited and sold. The following three-minutes video portrays Mani's 
 endeavor to learn Free Software. (Note to the hearing impaired: the only 
-audio in the video is the soundtrack, which is a piano version of the Free 
-Software Song).</p> 
+audio in the video is the soundtrack, which is a piano version of the 
+Free Software Song).</p> 
 
 
-<div style=  "width:300px; margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto; 
-              padding-top:1em; padding-bottom:1em;">
+<div style=  "width:300px; margin-right:auto; margin-left:auto; 
padding-top:1em; padding-bottom:1em;">
 
   <video width="300" controls="controls">
    <source
@@ -93,8 +94,8 @@
 </div><!-- video style -->
                                
 <p>Watch and download the video as 
-<a href="http://audio-video.gnu.org/video/ambedkar.ogv";>Ogg Theora</a> at 
-a higher resolution.</p>
+<a href="http://audio-video.gnu.org/video/ambedkar.ogv";>Ogg Theora</a> 
+at a higher resolution.</p>
 
 <p>At the time of writing (March 2012) Mani is a student of Computer 
 Science in Bangalore. He says:</p>
@@ -105,12 +106,19 @@
 and I sold many paintings at a Free Software conference. Later I started 
 displaying my works in many conferences. Because of GIMP, my painting 
 skills are brought out to the world. As you know, our talents are usually 
-ignored by the world. Our aims in the community are: to share software and 
-knowledge, to learn from each other; to promote the Free Software ethical 
-values and raise awareness about the importance of software freedom in a 
-marginalized social environment; to empower the poor with computer 
-knowledge. We want to replicate our model, we are already running three 
-computer centers in other slums in the area.&rdquo; </p>
+ignored by the world. Our aims in the community are: to share software 
+and knowledge, to learn from each other; to promote the Free Software 
+ethical values and raise awareness about the importance of software 
+freedom in a marginalized social environment; to empower the poor with 
+computer knowledge. We want to replicate our model, we are already 
+running three computer centers in other slums in the area.&rdquo; </p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>Richard Stallman's comment on this case:</p>
+
+<blockquote>
+<p><strong>&ldquo;I am more proud that GNU has been adopted by Indian 
+Dalits than of its use by famous corporations.&rdquo;</strong></p>
 </blockquote>
 
 <h3>Why</h3>
@@ -122,27 +130,27 @@
 policies cause to users of their products.</p> 
 
 <p>In complex social structures such as that of India, exclusion of the 
-underprivileged from access to information technologies is just one of the 
-multiple instances of discrimination this sector of society faces at many 
-levels: healthcare, housing, education, employment, to name a few. Over 
-time, these vulnerable groups have attained a high degree of awareness 
-about the importance of mutual collaboration, a basic human value often 
-forgotten or even dismissed among the educated and affluent spheres of 
-society in all cultures. The principles of sharing and reciprocal concern 
-are deeply rooted in these communities and constitute valuable assets in 
-their struggle for survival. The social bond among its members is solid 
-and strong, a bulwark against the incursion of additional sources of 
-exclusion.</p>
-
-<p>In that scenario, the introduction of proprietary software would not be
-accepted by these socially committed people since that would result in the 
-imposition of further restrictions on them as computer users. They would
-not refrain from installing the software in as many computers as needed or
-use it as they please, they would not give up their right to access 
-knowledge by studying how computer programs work, they would not sign away 
-their right to modify or distribute the programs and, above all, they 
-would not give up their right to share copies with their neighbors. All of 
-these freedoms are granted to them only by
+underprivileged from access to information technologies is just one of 
+the multiple instances of discrimination this sector of society faces at
+many levels: healthcare, housing, education, employment, to name a few. 
+Over time, these vulnerable groups have attained a high degree of 
+awareness about the importance of mutual collaboration, a basic human 
+value often forgotten or even dismissed among the educated and affluent 
+spheres of society in all cultures. The principles of sharing and 
+reciprocal concern are deeply rooted in these communities and constitute 
+valuable assets in their struggle for survival. The social bond among 
+its members is solid and strong, a bulwark against the incursion of 
+additional sources of exclusion.</p>
+
+<p>In that scenario, the introduction of proprietary software would not 
+be accepted by these socially committed people since that would result 
+in the imposition of further restrictions on them as computer users. 
+They would not refrain from installing the software in as many computers 
+as needed or use it as they please, they would not give up their right 
+to access knowledge by studying how computer programs work, they would 
+not sign away their right to modify or distribute the programs and, 
+above all, they would not give up their right to share copies with their 
+neighbors. All of these freedoms are granted to them only by
 <a href="/education//philosophy/free-sw.html">Free Software</a>.</p>
 
 <p>The restrictions imposed on users by proprietary software developers 
@@ -162,48 +170,48 @@
 
 <blockquote>
 <p> &ldquo;With proprietary programs the artist is at the mercy of the 
-software development company. Early in 2003 I used LiveMotion to design my
-digital 2D and 3D works with interactive pieces. Later that year the 
-company decided to discontinue it so I was left without support for a piece 
-of software on which I had spent my money and my time to learn how to use 
-it. Moreover, whenever proprietary software developers decide to introduce 
-new functionalities, you have to buy an update which often runs on the 
-latest versions of proprietary operating systems only. So you are stuck in 
-a vicious circle completely helpless. It’s frustrating and there’s nothing 
-you can do about it. With Free Software, good projects never die due to 
-the community being able to access the code. Someone else can come along 
-and continue developing the software.&rdquo;</p>
+software development company. Early in 2003 I used LiveMotion to design 
+my digital 2D and 3D works with interactive pieces. Later that year the 
+company decided to discontinue it so I was left without support for a 
+piece of software on which I had spent my money and my time to learn how 
+to use it. Moreover, whenever proprietary software developers decide to 
+introduce new functionalities, you have to buy an update which often runs 
+on the latest versions of proprietary operating systems only. So you are 
+stuck in a vicious circle completely helpless. It’s frustrating and 
+there’s nothing you can do about it. With Free Software, good projects 
+never die due to the community being able to access the code. Someone 
+else can come along and continue developing the software.&rdquo;</p>
 </blockquote>
 
 <h3>Results</h3>
 
-<p>The introduction of Free Software in the slum removed the barriers that
-prevented this marginalized sector of society from accessing knowledge in 
-the field of information technology. It provided these people with the 
-opportunity to unfold innate capabilities that would otherwise would never 
-have come to surface. This newly discovered intellectual richness brings 
-benefit and progress not only to the involved individuals themselves and
-to the local community but to society as a whole, since they have learned
-how to overcome the detrimental effects of unjust global economic policies 
-and are now ready for a productive life.</p>
+<p>The introduction of Free Software in the slum removed the barriers 
+that prevented this marginalized sector of society from accessing 
+knowledge in the field of information technology. It provided these 
+people with the opportunity to unfold innate capabilities that would 
+otherwise have never come to surface. This newly discovered intellectual 
+richness brings benefit and progress not only to the involved individuals 
+themselves and to the local community but to society as a whole, since 
+they have learned how to overcome the detrimental effects of unjust 
+global economic policies and are now ready for a productive life.</p>
 
 <p>With Free Software, users received all the  benefits of digital 
 education without being constrained to compromise their principles. The
 ethical values of Free Software are in line with and sustain those 
 principles: not only were people free to use the software as they wished, 
-install it in as many machines as they wished, but they were encouraged to 
-copy it and share it with their neighbors in solidarity. Mani has become 
-an artist using GIMP and a student of Computer Science; by now, he has 
-acquired enough knowledge to study the source code and to modify it to 
-meet the needs of his community, if necessary. Software freedom results 
-in redistribution of intellectual and economic wealth, which is not 
-possible where access to knowledge is restricted.</p>
+install it in as many machines as they wished, but they were encouraged 
+to copy it and share it with their neighbors in solidarity. Mani has 
+become an artist using GIMP and a student of Computer Science; by now, 
+he has acquired enough knowledge to study the source code and to modify 
+it to meet the needs of his community, if necessary. Software freedom 
+results in redistribution of intellectual and economic wealth, which is 
+not possible where access to knowledge is restricted.</p>
 
 <p>In less disadvantaged contexts, users of GIMP have benefited from 
 software freedom in many ways. They are no longer subject to arbitrary
 decisions by proprietary software companies; instead, they belong to a 
 large and strong community where developers do care about their needs and
-fellow users provide help in many ways. Apart from the official manuals
+fellow users provide additional support. Apart from the official manuals
 and tutorials, enthusiastic users publish lots of instructional materials
 and, due to the availability of the source code, those with programming
 skills have contributed a number of plug-ins to enhance the performance
@@ -267,7 +275,7 @@
 
 <p>Updated:
 <!-- timestamp start -->
-$Date: 2012/03/12 11:19:03 $
+$Date: 2012/03/13 08:52:02 $
 <!-- timestamp end -->
 </p>
 </div>