Local IT Co-op Working Towards Free Software Release
ParIT Worker Co-op, Ltd. is pleased to announce a free software development push this summer.
For June 21 release
Press conference: Friday, June 22, 3:00pm,
at Mondragon Cafe, 91 Albert Street
Local IT Co-op Working Towards Free Software Release
ParIT Worker Co-op, Ltd. is pleased to announce a free software development push this summer. The Winnipeg worker-owned information technology co-op is positioning itself to provide a free software accounting package for small- to medium-sized local businesses and organizations.
ParIT has scheduled a pre-launch event on Friday, June 22. A press conference will take place at Mondragon Cafe & Bookstore, at 3:00pm.
ParIT members are commited to bringing GnuCash, a free software accounting application, into a final release stage. GnuCash is a free software accounting solution which ParIT members are tailoring for use by small businesses and organizations.
Completion of this summer's development cycle will significantly realize the goal of providing a complete suite of free software applications to community economic development (CED) and community-based organizations (CBOs) in particular, and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) generally. Towards this goal, ParIT members have concentrated their development and support efforts on free software for office desktop computing; server environments and content management systems (CMSs); accounting/payroll; and point of sale (POS).
The Assiniboine Credit Union (ACU) is providing a Sustainable Communities Project Grant towards the local development effort.
The coming months will also see one of ParIT's newest members, Jeff Green, working on GnuCash through the Google Summer of Code program. This is a prestigious acknowledgement of Jeff's understanding of free software and the specific challenge he will be working on -- a complete rewrite of the GnuCash registers. Jeff is a student of Computer Sciences, and a ParIT member who has already contributed substantively to the co-op's work in POS applications.
Background Information:
ParIT Worker Co-op
ParIT is a Winnipeg-based information technology service provider that works with free software exclusively. Free software, because it is licensed for sharing, is inclusive, participatory and sustainable community infrastructure.
ParIT members are software developers who participate in and build on the already extensive accomplishments of the global free software community.
Beginning in early 2006, ParIT identified a selection of free software applications that met or were near-to-meeting the full range of SME needs. Where SME needs were not clearly met, ParIT identified best-of-breed free software applications that could be built upon.
One of the major challenges in the effort to provide a complete free software business suite has been the development of free software in the areas of accounting and payroll.
The CED Connection
ParIT efforts to date have included extending and enhancing a number of free software applications, installation and support of networked systems, training, and collaborating with willing partners wherever possible. Because ParIT prioritized the IT needs of the CED and CBO communities, and free software solutions that can be distinctly beneficial to those communities, the co-op's efforts have attracted attention from CED leaders such as SEED Winnipeg and ACU.
ACU is well-known in Winnipeg for their leadership with and support for CED efforts, as well as continuing efforts to build strong, sustainable communities that are good for people and good for business. Through the ACU's range of Community Sponsorships and Grants programs, support has been provided to a wide variety of community events, projects and programs that contribute to the social, economic, and environmental well-being of communities in Winnipeg.
The ACU Sustainable Community Grants program provides grants of up to $2000 in support of projects and programs that help to foster sustainable communities and neighbourhoods. The program prioritizes projects with a positive community impact, and is available to non-profits, registered charities, cooperatives and social enterprises (businesses that have a social, environmental or cultural purpose and reinvest all profits in the community or back into the business). The mission and values of the receiving organization must be consistent with one or more of ACU's Guiding Principles of social inclusion, economic self-reliance, ecological responsibility and/or community building. Preference is given to smaller organizations that do not have substantial budgets or many other sources of funding.
SEED Winnipeg has assisted through the provision of business consulting and training, aiding in the start-up of ParIT as a worker-owned co-op. SEED has also benefitted from having ParIT install free software in computer kiosks used by SEED clients.
Mondragon Cafe & Bookstore 'went free' in a collaborative effort to testbed and develop free software in a fully operational business environment.
ParIT has also provided assistance to CED-minded organizations such as West Broadway Development Corporation (WBDC) and the Spence Neighbourhood Association (SNA). Development of a tool inventory system is underway for the SNA's Tool Lending Library.
Substantive work has gone into the extension and enhancement of the free software applications GnuCash, an accounting package; CdnPayroll, a payroll package; and TinaPOS, a point-of-sale application (using touchscreen technology).
Further info
Further detail on free software is available at:
The Free Software Foundation: http://www.fsf.org/
The GNU Project: http://www.gnu.org/
Further detail on the GnuCash and CdnPayroll efforts is available on request, or by visiting:
GnuCash.org: http://www.gnucash.org/
Canadian Payroll: http://cdnpayroll.gemlog.ca/
More information on Jeff's Google Summer of Code mentorship is available on request, or by visiting:
Google Summer of Code: http://code.google.com/soc/
Jeff's proposal: http://code.google.com/soc/gnucash/appinfo.html?csaid=9245776DC264D56
Invitations to this press conference have been sent to our friends and
partners in the CED, CBO and free software community.
Please contact ParIT if you have any questions:
ph: (204) 772-5158
