# Freedom Toaster

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{{more citations needed|date=June 2011}}
A '''Freedom Toaster''' is a public [kiosk](/source/kiosk) that will [burn](/source/Optical_disc_authoring) copies of [free software](/source/free_software) onto user-provided [CD](/source/CD)s and [DVD](/source/DVD)s.

== History ==

thumb|right|Freedom Toaster in AberystwythThe original Freedom Toaster project was sponsored by [Mark Shuttleworth](/source/Mark_Shuttleworth)'s [Shuttleworth Foundation](/source/Shuttleworth_Foundation) and built in Perl by Hamish Whittal. It consisted of a number of [CD burning](/source/CD_burning) facilities (in kiosk form), where members of the public were able to burn copies of [free and open-source software](/source/free_and_open-source_software) onto self-supplied blank CD media.

The project was started as one solution to overcome the difficulty of obtaining [Linux](/source/Linux) and other free and open-source software in [South Africa](/source/South_Africa), where the restrictive telecommunications environment makes downloading large software files prohibitively expensive.

There are currently Freedom Toasters at the following locations: [Bloemfontein](/source/Bloemfontein), [Cape Town](/source/Cape_Town) (2), [Diepkloof](/source/Diepkloof), [Durban](/source/Durban), [East London](/source/East_London%2C_South_Africa), [Grahamstown](/source/Grahamstown), [Johannesburg](/source/Johannesburg) (5), [Knysna](/source/Knysna), [Namibia](/source/Namibia), [Pietermaritzburg](/source/Pietermaritzburg), [Port Elizabeth](/source/Port_Elizabeth), [Port Shepstone](/source/Port_Shepstone), [Potchefstroom](/source/Potchefstroom), [Pretoria](/source/Pretoria) (3), [Seneca College](/source/Seneca_College) in [Toronto](/source/Toronto),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cdot.senecac.on.ca/projects/toaster/|title = Seneca Freedom Toaster}}</ref> [Stellenbosch](/source/Stellenbosch), [Stockholm](/source/Stockholm), [Trivandrum](/source/Trivandrum).<ref>{{cite web | url=https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-in/2008-September/003690.html | title=&#91;ubuntu-in&#93; &#91;OT&#93;&#91;crosspost&#93;India's First Freedom Toaster Released | date=September 2008 }}</ref>

== Functions ==

A Freedom Toaster kiosk is placed at a [school](/source/school), [library](/source/library), [shopping center](/source/shopping_center) or another publicly accessible location. [Users](/source/End_user) bring blank [optical disc](/source/optical_disc)s to the kiosk and select the software that they would like. The kiosk will then burn the selected software onto the users' media.

The name derives from this function. "Freedom" refers to the [free and open source software](/source/FOSS) provided. "Toaster" is a term for an optical disc burner.

== Purpose ==

Freedom Toaster kiosks provide a way for computer users in economically disadvantaged regions and areas with limited or no Internet access to get software. By providing this service, the people behind the Freedom Toaster hope to address the issue of the [Digital Divide](/source/Digital_Divide).

== Availability==

The Freedom Toaster is mostly available in South Africa and is currently supported by the Shuttleworth Foundation. The Foundation is attempting to get others to adopt the idea by providing the tools to help create, support and maintain your own Freedom Toaster.  It has also provided seed funding to Brett Simpson of [Breadbin Interactive](/source/Breadbin_Interactive) to create a sustainable business model with the idea.

The initiative has also been taken up independently by a company in [India](/source/India) - Zyxware Technologies<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.zyxware.com/articles/2008/09/01/zyxware-announces-launch-of-indias-first-freedom-toaster|title=Zyxware Announces Launch of India's First Freedom Toaster}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/Free-software-vending-machine/article15294995.ece|title = Free software vending machine|newspaper = The Hindu|date = September 2008}}</ref> - who has partnered with [Free Software Users Group, Thiruvananthapuram](/source/Free_Software_Users_Group%2C_Thiruvananthapuram) to promote Freedom Toasters as a viable method to spread [Free Software](/source/Free_Software) in India.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.freedomtoaster.co.za/ Freedom Toaster] (link broken) [https://web.archive.org/web/20060221175157/http://www.freedomtoaster.co.za/ Archived] – The South African website
*[http://cdot.senecac.on.ca/projects/toaster/ Seneca Freedom Toaster]
*[http://washlee.net/toaster/home Washington-Lee High School Freedom Toaster] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100820010038/http://washlee.net/toaster/home |date=2010-08-20 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070928005032/http://freedomtoaster.org/map/ Freedom Toaster Map, archived]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080911191117/http://freedomtoaster.in/ Freedom Toaster in India, archived]

Category:Free software projects
Category:Vending machines
Category:Information technology organisations based in South Africa

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Freedom Toaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Toaster) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Toaster?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.