What if there was no free and Open Source Software? What if all software applications and therefore electronic devices would cost thousands of euros? Would we then be so glued to our tablets browsing Facebook updates or tweeting to our followers?

I went to school in the 1980’s and I must admit I didn’t grow up in the world of Commodore 64’s or cracking/sharing the expensive first pc games. Sure I knew that computers were becoming more important and more widely used, but still those who played with them in my youth were considered… well, geeks.

It was much later when I started to think about the digital world around me and realized that the seeds of open source had been put into ground while my nerdy classmates were buzzing with their floppy disks.

Today, a schoolgirl in Finland lives in a totally different world. She cannot imagine her life without her tablet.. which could be bestowed by her school! Or without her smartphone which are today affordable or even cheap. Information and entertainment is digitally available with small cost or even for free (in case one is willing to give up one’s privacy, that is). Electronic devices and applications are so self-evident that e.g. in Finland programming is going to be taught already in the first classes of primary school starting this autumn (2016). Surely everyone should be able to do a little bit of coding, right?

We wouldn’t be able to enjoy this digital life without the pioneers of Open Source software, that I’m sure of. This is why we in Siroic wanted to publish this next video. Think of it as a tribute to Open Source Software and all the amazing people who have made it possible and who contribute to it.