LONDON Mensa's plan to roll out a series of lectures and talks continues...The latest is an event featuring software specialist Steven Goodwin, who this month presents a talk entitled "Why my friends and I re-invented the wheel. Again." This is an introduction to Linux and the world of free software.

Over the last ten years, Linux has grown from an unknown hobbyist project to a fully-fledged professional-level operating system with a wealth of high quality software available, including word processors, paint packages, web browsers and e-mail readers. Most of this software is provided free by developers from around the world in a loose-knit comunity of programmers, systems administrators and users. In his talk, Steven will cover the world of Linux and the history of free software, spotlighting the famous names who have provided it.

He will also show how to harness the system for the home user.