Date: Mon, 10 Jan 2000 18:04:19 +1100
From: Nat James <nat@netizen.com.au>
To: lwn@lwn.net
Subject: press release


NETIZEN RELEASE TRAINING MATERIALS UNDER OPEN PUBLICATIONS LICENSE

Netizen, a Melbourne-based Open Source software and Internet consultancy
and training organisation, announce the release of training course
materials for their popular Unix and Perl training courses under an Open
Publications License, under which they can be accessed free of charge on
the Netizen website.

The Open Publications License is analogous to the free software licenses
under which the Linux operating system, the popular Apache web server
and the Perl programming language are released. OpenContent, the
organisation responsible for the creation of the Open Publication
License, describe their primary aim/purpose as facilitating "the
prolific creation of freely available, high-quality, well-maintained
Content."  The Open Publications License allows anyone to copy, modify
or redistribute material for both commercial and non-commercial purposes
on the condition that no fee is charged.  

Training materials are now available from Netizen's website at
http://netizen.com.au/services/training/ .  They presently include
web-based and printable versions of the Unix Basics and Unix Tools courses
as well as Introductory and Intermediate Perl training modules, which
lead into the CGI programming in Perl and Web enabled databases with
Perl and DBI modules.
Included in the release are the exercises and other additional material used in Netizen's
training courses.  Other training materials, including upcoming
Internet, Programming and Database Fundamentals course materials, will
be published under the same license as they become available.

According to OpenContent "One of the most significant uses may be
supporting instruction and helping people learn."  Netizen hope that the
provision of their training materials under the OPL will improve the
standard of training available both online and in traditional classroom
settings.

"We believe that the benefits of releasing our materials in this way far
outweigh any risks," stated Kirrily Robert, Netizen CEO and training
co-ordinator.  "By making all our materials available, our customers are
able to independently assess the quality and usefulness of our training
before attending our courses.  She also noted that releasing the
materials under an open content license reduced the administrative
overhead of running training courses.  Netizen currently provide
training in Melbourne, Sydney and other major cities as well as on-site
training.

Netizen are the first training organisation known to have released all
their training materials under an open content license, though some
prominent publishers of technical books (including O'Reilly and
Associates and Macmillan) are releasing some of their books under
similar licenses.

More information:

http://netizen.com.au/services/training/
info@netizen.com.au
training@netizen.com.au

http://opencontent.org

http://www.oreilly.com/oreilly/press/


-- 
Natalie James      Sales and Publicity        http://netizen.com.au
Internet and Open Source Development, Consulting and Training.
Level 13, 500 Collins St, Melbourne VIC 3000
Phone: +61 3 9614 0949