A new computer software group has started on campus.
The group, named Sun Open-Source University Meet-up, or OSUM for short, will hold its first meeting in room N22 of the Engineering Building at 6 p.m. on Feb. 12.
Gaetjens Lezin, a junior computer science major and the Sun Microsystems’s campus ambassador, hopes the meeting will encourage students to come and support the group, as it has not gained enough signatures to become an official on-campus group yet.
OSUM is sponsored through Sun Microsystems, a global company looking to create social networking communities around the world. According to a 2008 press release, Sun Microsystems hires campus ambassadors to create an OSUM group on each campus.
Sun Microsystems obtains leadership from “schools around the world in Australia, Canada, Europe and India, just to name a few,” Lezin said.
The group’s main goal, according to Lezin, is “to teach its members about free, open-source software.”
Meetings will, on occasion, comprise of a guest speaker and technical demonstrations regarding open-source software, he said.
The first meeting’s guest speaker will be Sun Microsystems staff supporter Harrison Fisk.
According to Lezin, Fisk will be speaking about MySQL software, as well as providing a technical demonstration.
The group hopes to speak about programs including OpenSolaris, NetBeans IDE, GlassFish, Sun SPOTS and OpenOffice.org.
Lezin said all the elements of the club are free. There is no fee for the meetings or attending any of the speakers’ demonstrations, he said.
The group will also maintain a Web site, which Lezin said is “another way to improve technical systems.”
Besides gaining technical experience, membership to OSUM comes with several advantages.
“All club members will receive discounts for members on certification on open-source software as well as access to Web sites with forums to discuss the software,” said Deanna Victoria, a sophomore computer science major and OSUM’s vice president.
Victoria said that she thought OSUM “was a great idea to bring into the public light.”
“The group is for everyone; many of the seminars use aspects of software that run from beginners to advanced material,” she said.
According to Victoria, OSUM will be holding an “Installfest” during Engineering Fest, beginning Feb. 16.
The “Installfest,” Victoria said, will offer students a chance to come in and try out many open-source programs, including Open Solaris and Fedora.
Victoria hopes OSUM will provide more to its members after “Installfest.”
“We are hoping to do some projects in the future that could be submitted to Sun and be used online. Also, we are hoping to go to some of the Sun Microsystems conferences that are also available,” Victoria said.
For more information, check out the Web site at osum.sun.com/group/binghamtonuniversityosum.