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NewsVac: News from around the Web
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Open source still the best way to develop software
22 hours, 3 minutes ago
The open source way of creating programs is still the best way. Just don't confuse it with being the perfect way -- there's no such thing. -
An open source solution to climate change
1 day, 2 hours ago
Scientists say they have found a workable way of reducing CO2 levels in the atmosphere by adding lime to seawater. The group behind the idea intends to use open source principles to bring the idea to reality. The group is attempting to restrict patents from being secured as a result of the project. Participants are asked to post their ideas and suggestions on the Web site, thereby disclosing the information for everyone to see and build upon. -
JBoss jBPM Concepts and jBPM Process Definition Language (jPDL)
1 day, 7 hours ago
JBoss jBPM is a free, open-source, business process management solution. It enables users to create business processes that coordinate people, applications, and services. JBoss jBPM is an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) , which is based on another open-source tool, Eclipse, which is widely used for Java development. The JBoss jBPM IDE gives us not only our graphical process modeler, but can also generate the workflow user interface for us. In this article by Matt Cumberlidge, we will explain the concepts or the key terms in JBoss jBPM. We will also look at jBPM Process Definition Language (jPDL). -
Free and Open Source Software vs. Cloud Computing
1 day, 14 hours ago
Why license your software from a remote provider when open source offers the same advantages locally? -
Killing the Desktop Metaphor with GNOME
1 day, 16 hours ago
In this article, I will first propose some arguments why I believe the concept of "icons on the desktop" is counterproductive and perhaps counterintuitive, and I will provide, in the second part, some pointers on how to solve these problems using the GNOME desktop environment, commonly available in most Linux distributions. The desktop metaphor as we typically know it reproduces some of the concepts of the real world, which brings its share of drawbacks. While GNOME still uses this metaphor by default, we can, however, customize it to fulfill more efficiently the needs of the increasingly complex information flow that we experience on a daily basis. -
Is Open Source Development Insecure?
2 days, 2 hours ago
A leading application security firm issues research report alleging that open source software developers are missing the security boat. -
NTT Donates IPv6 Bandwidth to Open Source
2 days, 2 hours ago
ISC, a host of the Linux kernel, Mozilla and FreeBSD, receives free transit from the Tier 1 carrier, with an eye to spurring IPv6 adoption. -
JUNOS: Open, but Not Open Source
2 days, 4 hours ago
What does it mean to release a network operating system every quarter for 10 years? -
2008 Open Source CMS Award: Nominations now being taken!
2 days, 6 hours ago
The Packt Open Source Content Management System Award is designed to encourage, support, recognize and reward Open Source Content Management Systems (CMS) that have been selected by a panel of judges and visitors to www.PacktPub.com. Now entering its third year, the Award has established itself as an important measure for quality and the popularity of Open Source Content Management Systems. -
Who are the Open Source All-Stars?
5 days ago
As I watched the opening of last night’s All-Star Game, I could not help but think of an article I read several days before where the inventor of DNS, a man named Paul Mockapetris, was telling us how serious we should be taking the DNS security issue that had been announced. -
Radiohead Open Sources a Music Video
5 days, 3 hours ago
I'm always interested in the offbeat ways that the benefits of the open source model--lots of eyeballs, community efforts--can be applied to new types of ideas. We posted about several non-software focused efforts in this area recently. Now, as The Guardian is reporting, the band Radiohead has a new spin on this concept. Its new single "House of Cards" has a video that was created using advanced visualization techniques and various computer-rendered models. The band has teamed up with Google to release the data for the promo as open source using a Creative Commons license. Take a gander at how it looks here--better than a lot of music videos in my opinion. -
JUNOS: Open, But Not Open Source
5 days, 6 hours ago
What does it mean to release a network operating system every quarter for 10 years? At the heart of every networking device is an operating system that enables traffic flow. In the case of networking vendor Juniper, that operating system for the past ten years has been JUNOS, a network operating system with its roots in the open source FreeBSD operating system. Juniper has updated JUNOS every 90 days since 1998. -
How good is open source support?
6 days, 6 hours ago
The cheap answer is “as good as you make it.” The real answer is more complex. -
gOS Space: OSX-like operating system without the Apple
1 week ago
Jack Wallen takes on the latest gOS release, called Space, and comes to a very exciting conclusion. Although it would take a league of warriors to pull him from his favorite Enlightenment desktop, gOS Space comes very close. Read on to find out if gOS Space is for you. -
Forrester: Europe leads the way on open-source adoption
1 week ago
France may not have shown up for the Euro 2008 soccer finals, but it continues to demonstrate the most adoption of open source, according to a recent report from Forrester Research ("Open Source Adoption: Notes From The Field"). In France, 24 percent of the enterprises surveyed by Forrester are currently using open source, with another 15 percent either piloting it or planning to start a pilot within the next year (the other 61 percent are using open source but simply don't know it. - More News
Linux.com : Open Source
Panel discusses openness at OSCON
The first two days of O'Reilly's Open Source Convention (OSCON) are dominated by technical tutorials, but there are sessions that buck the trend. Monday's most interesting event was Participate 08, a panel discussion sponsored by Microsoft. Panelists debated the meaning of the buzzword "openness" as it applies to source code, services, data, and business models.
Seneca College teams with FOSS projects for hands-on learning
Where most computer science departments emphasize theory and mention free and open source software (FOSS) only indirectly, Seneca College in Toronto, Canada, offers a different approach: a hands-on introduction to the community in partnership with the Mozilla and Fedora projects. Now in its third year, the program is expanding rapidly and receiving attention from other academic institutions that hope to imitate it.
Italian lawyers use open source software to move online
Just a few years ago, getting complex legal assistance from a lawyer you never met in person would have been unthinkable. Today, however, many people carry on relationships online; why not conduct business with your lawyer online as well? One Italian firm already works this way, using open source software as much as it can.
Alfresco founder says open source makes software better
In 2005, Alfresco was the first open source software company in the UK to capture venture funding, for its collection of enterprise document management applications. John Powell, formerly the COO of Business Objects, and John Newton, founder of Documentum, got together to launch Alfresco because they wanted to create a business that would have "global reach," according to Powell. Right from the start, Powell and Newton knew that the best way to do that was to create and market an open source product.
Open source social networking app thrives in China
The popular social networking site Facebook just announced a Chinese version, but similar Chinese-based Web sites such as Xiaonei and Hainei have been struggling there. However, since April, UCenter Home, an open source social network service based on PHP and MySQL, is pushing open social networking in China.
Nokia buys Symbian, will open Symbian OS
Symbian, the company behind the popular proprietary mobile/embedded operating system of the same name, just turned 10, but it won't see its next birthday. Nokia, which had long owned a substantial portion of Symbian, announced today that it would be buying the rest of the company, 52% for about &euro264 million, or approximately $410 million. In addition to purchasing Symbian, Nokia says it will be open-sourcing the Symbian operating system.
Software configuration management built on OSS gives Virtusa a competitive advantage
Virtusa, an IT services company founded in 1996, was using proprietary version control and collaboration systems to develop software for its clients until Sri Lankan founder Kris Canekeratne decided that a custom solution built on open source components was a better fit for internal use. As a result, the company ended up saving millions of dollars on licensing fees and acquisition costs.
Lessons learned from NCSU FOSS class
Free and open source software (FOSS) is only beginning to find a foothold in computer science departments in North America. FOSS tools may be used in teaching or be the subject of research or special committees, but few departments include courses that introduce students to the FOSS community. As a result, when North Carolina State University created a FOSS graduate course in the 2008 spring semester, it turned to Red Hat to find an instructor with a suitable background of FOSS involvement and university teaching experience. Community manager Greg DeKoenigsberg recommended performance tools engineer Will Cohen, who now looks back at the experience with an eye to how what he and his students learned might help other instructors.
Tasty Tomato firmware for routers
Breathe new functionality into your router with Tomato third-party firmware for popular models of Broadcom-based routers, including popular models manufactured by Linksys.
Portrait: Pia Waugh
Pia Waugh is a leading advocate for FLOSS in her home country, Australia, and all over the world. In addition to running a consultancy in partnership with her husband, she is the vice president of Linux Australia, the president of Software Freedom International (sponsor of the annual Software Freedom Day events), and on the board of directors of the OLPC Australia program. Perhaps because her activities are born out of a love for open source software, or maybe because her husband Jeff is also a major figure in global FLOSS, Waugh says the balance between work and life for her right now is "nonexistent. But we love what we do."
ProcessMaker uses open source inside and out
ProcessMaker is an open source workflow manager that works either on the client side or as a hosted application. Founder Brian Reale began developing ProcessMaker in 2002 after working with the South American Telecommunications Regulatory Institution to create a "paperless office." Once that system was deployed, Reale thought he could create an affordable standalone product that would make it easy for users to eliminate paperwork and create a more efficient workplace. Reale built the new product using open source software, and has licensed it under the GPLv3.
Get acquainted with open source analyst Raven Zachary (video)
The 451 Group is a small but growing analyst firm that says its thrust is "analyzing the business of enterprise IT innovation." Raven Zachary, the company's research director for open source, is quoted frequently by assorted IT-interested media outlets. After watching this short video, you'll know a little bit about Raven -- at least enough to put a face and voice to the words next time you see his name mentioned in print -- or in pixels.
How everyone wins with open source software
Recently, I wrote a review of the note-taking application Tomboy. Though I find Tomboy exceptionally useful, I had a minor issue with the inability to create new notebooks from within a note. Within hours of the review appearing on Linux.com, Boyd Timothy, one of the app's developers mentioned in the article's comments that my idea had merit and said he would add the feature to an upcoming build. True to his word, he did. This is a shining example of one of the most valued yet sometimes overlooked features of open source software: it really is for the people, by the people.
Open source gets an "A" grade at UniversityReaders
When Bassim Hamadeh was a student at the University of California, San Diego, he experienced firsthand the challenge of procuring the right textbooks for his classes. "They were high-priced, poor quality custom textbooks," Hamadeh says. So he started planning a business that would make it easier for professors to create and publish high-quality custom texts, and provide those materials to students at an affordable price. Since its launch in 1992, Hamadeh has been running UniversityReaders on open source software.
Intel and Wind River driving Linux infotainment systems to cars
Linux is in our computers, our phones, our Wi-Fi equipment, and our TiVos -- why not our cars? Intel Corp. and Wind River have been working with both the embedded and automotive industries to advance in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) with open, Linux-based, standards-based, interoperable hardware and software called Open Infotainment Platforms (OIP).
New group advocates for FOSS in libraries
A new advocacy group, the Public Software Foundation (PSF), is working to make free and open source software available to local libraries so it can be checked out and used just like a book or video. The premise is simple: hand out one CD and maybe you've taught one person; make it available in a library and perhaps you'll reach hundreds or thousands.
Querying a database using open source voice control software
Though the tools for voice control and dictation in the open source world lag far behind those in the commercial arena, I decided to see how far I could get in querying a database by voice and having the computer respond verbally. Using a number of open source tools, I'm happy to report success.
Laura Thomson on coding, the workplace, and FOSS
Ever since Laura Thomson wrote her first program in the fourth grade, coding has been a major part of her life. Over the years, she has been a lecturer in computer science at RMIT University in Australia, a principal at OmnTI, a consulting company that designs Internet systems, a trainer of other programmers, the co-writer of PHP and MySQL Web Development and MySQL Tutorial, and a frequent speaker at free and open source conferences. She is currently a senior software engineer at the Mozilla Corporation, where her recent work includes the API for the Add-ons Manager on Firefox 3. With this background, Thomson has strong views on coding, its future, and its place in business, especially where free and open source software (FOSS) is concerned, which she shared with Linux.com at the recent Open Web Vancouver conference.
Meet Karl Paetzel, HP marketing manager for Linux and open source (video)
Karl Paetzel is quoted frequently about Hewlett-Packard's ever-increasing Linux and open source efforts, which now include open source licensing detection and governance tools. Here's a chance to see and hear him a little more "up close and personal" than in a traditional text interview.
Meet Inna Kuznetsova, IBM's Linux Strategy Director (video)
I always ask people who market (as opposed to develop) GNU/Linux and open source products or services what Linux distribution they use on their own computers. More often than not, the answer is along the lines of, "I'm a marketing person so I use Windows. The techies use Linux." Inna, on the other hand, uses not one, not two, but three different Linux distributions on her home computers. When she tells an IBM client Linux is the way to go, she obviously means it, and this surely makes a difference -- even if it's only a subtle one -- in her work.
