"Free software is slowly but continuously gaining popularity and momentum. Once a critical momentum is attained, there wont be any looking back," says Anoop John, a free software user and activist.

The teenager whose only concern is to be able to play the latest games in his PC may ask: "Will I be able to play the latest games in Linux?"

It is just a matter of time before software companies start developing games and software for Linux too. Because soon, market share (the number of users) of Linux will reach a number they can't afford to ignore.

The free software scene in Kerala is pretty promising. The state government has taken a big leap in adopting free software officially.

"I think the fact that there are multiple SFD celebrations in parts of Kerala is an attestation to the fact that we are a free thinking people. No other state in India has more active Free software support groups. When we started FSUG (Free Software Users Group), Trivandrum in 2007, we never thought that things would scale to this proportion. I would thank my following people for making things the way it is now - The Government of Kerala, for their open adoption of Free Software; the free software activists, who realised that this was not just about "software" but also the freedom in the digital world, and most importantly, the Hackers without whom any of this would not have been possible... By the way, did you know that the biggest hacker group from India is the Swathanthra Malayalam Computing?," asks Ashik Salahudeen, one of the pioneer Free Sofware activists in the state.

Happy SFD all! Celebrate the freedom, and if you cannot contribute by any means, encourage and adopt free software.

ashik.kalam@yentha.com