Oct. 7--A conference for open source and free computer software enthusiasts begins Wednesday, with parts geared to the public, including sessions on how to use free software that competes with products such as Microsoft's Word.

The conference at the Miller Campus of the Salt Lake Community College in Sandy is the local expression of a worldwide movement to make software available for free -- and to open up its codes so developers can collaborate in making improvements or creating new products.

The conference is aimed at software developers -- professional and hobbyist -- and members of the public who might want to learn about what free software is available and how to use some of it.

"Free software is free as in dollars and cents," said Clint Savage, the founder of the Utah Open Source, a group founded to support open source and free software in this state.

Sessions of interest to software users will deal with programs such as OpenOffice that offers a free suite of programs such as a word processor and a spreadsheet that operate similar to Microsoft's Office products. Another session will introduce a free photo processing program called GIMP.

"There are these free programs out there for people to use and [the conference is] really to get people familiar and comfortable with them," said Will Smith, the conference manager.

Sessions also are geared toward the technically savvy, though not necessarily professional software engineers.

Smith is a funeral director with an interest in software.

Savage, a systems administrator at backcountry.com in West Valley City, said groups will gather mostly on Friday to discuss programming with software such as Linux or Java.

"That's really the focus of our conference," he said.

However, a family session is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday when games and other activities will be available, with an entire family admitted under one registration.

An exhibition hall will have up to 20 booths showcasing various open software-related entities.

The Utah Open Source Foundation promotes regular meetings where up to 20 people will show up to share experiences and tips on various programs. But Savage estimated as many as 4,000 Utahns may participate in online discussions.

tharvey@sltrib.com

Open source and free software

Open source -- The codes that make up open source software is that just, open to the public so collaborators can work together to make changes or products. Companies such as Novell use open source software to create products and services that are sold to others.

Free software -- Software that is usually made from open source codes is available for a variety of tasks, including word processing and photo editing. It is provided at no cost and can be downloaded off the Internet.

If you go

What -- Utah Open Source Conference

When -- Wednesday through Saturday

Where -- Miller Campus of Salt Lake Community College, 9750 S. 300 West, Sandy

Cost -- $100 for all three days, $10 for Thursday only or $25 just for the exposition

Information and registration -- www.utosc.com

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