It can be difficult for free software projects to get the word out, especially without any corporate backing. My colleague Matt Raible has some interesting points to make about this issue, along with advice on how to market your free software project (it generally comes down to reaching out to your community of users and contributors). And I would add one more point: assign a press contact who will be friendly and prompt with inquiries. I don’t know how many times I’ve contacted a project and received a late or half-hearted response.

First, I have to say that we were absolutely swamped with entries for this prize. And, I thank you all for entering, but there can only be one winner:

And the winner is...

Nelson Mambre of Venezuela!

Congratulations Nelson you have won a copy of Hardening Apache.

Thanks to all who entered.

Thanks also go to Apress for providing this great prize.

There were heaps of entries this week, but unfortunately there can only be one winner...

Congratulations Jason Stubbs of Cortland, Ohio!

Jason has won a copy of Just Say No To Microsoft.

Thanks to all who entered.

Thanks also go to No Starch Press for providing this great prize.

Kyle Ambroff, one of our previous winners, has sent a picture of himself looking impressed with his prize Building Online Communites.

He also sent some feedback:

Thanks...Love the magazine

From all the staff at FSM: Congratulations Kyle and enjoy.

This week we are giving away a copy of Just Say No To Microsoft: How To Ditch Microsoft And Why It’s Not As Hard As You Think by Tony Bove.

All you need to do to enter is:

1) Read our terms and conditions

2) Answer this question:

In our latest newsletter there is a message about digg. Who are the people from FSM that usually submit articles to digg?

3) Send your subscriber name (the email address you use to login), full name and your answer to

This week we are giving away a copy of Web Mapping Illustrated by Tyler Mitchell.

All you need to do to enter is:

1) Read our terms and conditions

2) Answer this question:

In our latest newsletter there is an ad for SDJ. When does the advertised promotional offer end?

3) Send your subscriber name (the email address you use to login), full name and your answer to .

This week we are giving away a copy of Building Online Communities with Drupal, phpBB, and WordPress by Robert T. Douglass, Mike Little, and Jared W. Smith.

All you need to do to enter is:

1) read our terms and conditions

2) Answer this question:

In our latest newsletter there is an ad for SCALE 4x. What does the acronym SCALE stand for?

3) Send your subscriber name (the email address you use to login), full name and your answer to

Free Software Magazine is proud to announce the release of another fantastic issue.

Spread the word about Free Software Magazine. Digg this story!

This week we are giving away a copy of Perl Best Practices by Damian Conway.

All you need to do to enter is:

1) read our terms and conditions

2) Answer this question:

In a recent blog entry, Tony Mobily announced that Free Software Magazine is looking for new articles. What type of articles is Free Software Magazine currently looking for?

Do you want to write for Free Software Magazine?

At Free Software Magazine, we are always looking for new authors and wenow pay for articles (in books) thanks to our sponsors!

At the moment, we are looking for user-orientated articles. Specifically, we are looking for entry level articles on Linux and major GNU/Linux distros like “Ubuntu”.

The articles will need to be very easy to follow. Something your mother would understand without too much effort (even if she doesn’t work as a software engineer for IBM...).