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A computer professional then teaching at Middlesex Community College in Bedford and Lowell, Reposa journeyed to Honduras on a simple mission: to bring computers and computer know-how to schools that have little of both. Inspired by the results of that monthlong trip, in which he donated computers to two schools and volunteered as a computer teacher, Reposa has embarked on a long-term effort to continue that work in Honduras and possibly one day, in other poor nations...Reposa said he was able to make full use of even many of the antiquated computers by outfitting them with a Linux-based operating system

Amidst raging controversies over the selection of Operating Systems for computer education in schools, the IT@School authorities are on the move to introduce an abridged version of the Linux-based resource CDs for the promotion of free software through the project.

Siegenia-Aubi KG had to reboot its Compaq servers about every 14 days until it decided to chuck Windows for Linux. But that meant the German maker of sound-insulating ventilators, as well as windows, doors, and room-ventilation equipment, would run all its enterprise applications on a relatively new open-source platform. The open-source movement has increased dramatically in recent years. To keep up, enterprise-application vendors--Manhattan Associates, Oracle, SAP, Siebel Systems, SSA Global Technologies--are adapting their software to run in these environments.

It is not certain that the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) will rule against Microsoft but experts predict that the possibility is high. The dominant status of the Windows operating system, a flagship product of Microsoft, is also under threat following the strong emergence in Korea of an open-source alternative called Linux. The country’s love affair with Linux is being pushed by the government, which aims to become a software powerhouse by diluting the monopolistic status of Windows.

What is an open source software? According to Michael Tiemann, pioneer of Open Source Movement and vice president, RedHat: ‘‘Open source software is one for which the underlying source code is available freely to users. They may read it, make changes to it and build new versions around it. The idea is to open the gates of innovation. It advances technology at a much faster pace and can bridge the digital divide.’’ Open source software is available across the spectrum. They can be easily downloaded from the Net. Some examples are Firefox, Netscape Navigator for browsers, Apache and Slash for web servers, TUTOS and Compiere for ERP, Sugar for CRM packages, Evolution, Mailmanm and Squirrelmail for email clients (like Outlook Express) and Linux as the king of open source operating systems.

We all know of the operating system wars (like Linux versus Windows) and some of us have heard of the skirmish between databases (such as Oracle versus SQL server) but these are merely cold wars. The real battle is being fought in the ERP (enterprise resource planning) and CRM (customer relationship management) arena — between Oracle and SAP. And with the recent announcement of Oracle making a $5.85-billion acquisition of Siebel, the balance is tilted in favour of the former.

"Significant reductions in costs and gains in performance can be made with Linux at the heart of the enterprise," said David Patrick, Novell vice president and general manager of Linux, Open Source Platforms and Services, as Novell at its annual BrainShare conference in Barcelona, Spain, announced the rapid growth of business-critical applications running on Linux in the data center, as data center software vendors Agresso, Carmen Systems, Jeeves Information Systems and Sage joined Oracle, SAP and Siebel in supporting Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

"There's a groundswell of interest from businesses and governments around what the new class of mainframes can do," said Erich Clementi, general manager, IBM System z9. "Companies are looking to the new mainframe more than ever to help manage some of the most complex corporate issues, such as protecting the security of customer information and complying with federal regulations. From a technical perspective, the mainframe's deep commitment to Java, Linux, virtualization and SOA are driving adoption."

The National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), the flagship scientific computing facility for the Energy Department's Office of Science, accepted a 722-processor Linux Networx cluster system called Jacquard. The fully operational system is named for Joseph-Marie Jacquard, who, in 1801, invented the first programmable machine using punched cards. More than 2,000 DOE scientists, academics and other institutional researchers nationwide will use the computer for scientific disciplines such as climate modeling, simulations of the early universe and protein structure investigation.

To make the study more authentic, Ramya also was in charge of creating a computer simulation of Mars using Linux -- something she had never used before. The simulation was used as an information-gathering computer game.

"We discuss Open Source GIS (obviously), the Canadian government's role in supporting OGC and Open Source tools, and the hurdles to data access in both the US and Canada."

Keane will also help complete an open systems migration at NWS. AWIPS originally was deployed in Unix, but NWS is in the process of moving to Linux, specifically Red Hat Enterprise 3.0.

In his 15 years at Microsoft, Allchin has earned a reputation as a straight shooter who admits when Microsoft makes mistakes. But he's also a fierce competitor who pushed the integration of IE with Windows 98 to thwart Netscape inroads, a move that earned Allchin a center seat at the U.S. government's anti-trust case. Later, Allchin implied that open source was "un-American"...

Have you been introducing open source applications into your IT environment? Absolutely. In our engineering and building inspection departments, because everything about Delaware County is growth and everything starts in the building phase. When that information is entered, it's entered into multiple systems. We can get in there, pull that information out and update it as necessary, regardless of the application we're working in.

Senior government officials from 13 countries were among a group of open-source advocates behind a report presented to the World Bank last Friday calling on nations to accelerate economic growth by using products based on what are called open-technology standards. The group defines open standards as technologies that are openly published and which are not owned by any company. The benefit of open standards is that they allow information to be easily shared by different software Get your FREE Oracle Database Software Kit today! programs, reducing user dependency on a single provider and making information more accessible to a wider group of people.

Few technology initiatives have generated as much interest among chief information officers as the open-source software movement. The open-source model offers attractive license-free infrastructure technology; large, multiuser applications; and desktop applications. Built by development communities, applications evolve and improve as community members offer their revisions to their peers, who reject or accept the changes into the applications' code.

Sharp Japan has given US-based Linux PDA fans one more reason to wish the dollar could hold its own against the Yen. The newly shipping (in Japan only) SL-C3100 is the second harddrive-equipped Zaurus model, and it also features English-language software aimed at Japanese students. Sharp's first harddrive-equipped Zaurus, the SL-C3000, began shipping in Japan in mid-November -- about the same time that Sharp announced it would not market future Zaurus models in the US.

"We've learned from Apache," acknowledged Bill Staples, product unit manager for IIS. Version 7.0 takes the IIS feature set and breaks it down into individual components, or modules, that can be loaded on an as-needed basis. The result is a Web server with much less overhead.

That training included the opportunity to learn more about open source technology. "One of the nice things about using open source software is that you get to see the code yourself. That way, you're not restricted or held up by not doing something because you can't afford it," he said. By developing solutions in-house, Aldridge said, the county's cost savings are noteworthy.

It's about collaboration, said Aldridge. By sharing open source applications with other counties, "We're sharing -- without cost -- the best for each county." With open source technology, customizing solutions to fit each county is an option.

MRV Communications says its LX-series console servers are the "most secure available," and that revised Linux-based firmware allows them to meet mandatory US and Canadian government security requirements. TNew v3.6.0 firmware also offers a 2.6-series Linux kernel, IPv6 support, and improved security, the company says. MRV says the new firmware allows its LX-series of console servers to comply with the requirements of FIPS-140 (Federal information processing standard 140 level 2). FIPS-140-2 calls for both data encryption and a product design that detects evidence of tampering. LX-series devices are currently undergoing FIPS-140-2 certification testing FIP by US government-certified testing agency Atlan Laboratories, MRV says.