Showing headlines posted by grouch

Online media, e-commerce and Open Source software firm, VA Software Corporation, has appointed Mike Rudolph as Vice President of SourceForge.net Marketplace. Mr. Rudolph comes to VA Software's OSTG division with more than 16 years of e-commerce, marketplace, community marketing, and operations experience.

The OpenZaurus Project has released a new version of its Linux-based software stack for Sharp Zaurus PDAs. OpenZaurus 3.5.4.1 is based on a 2.6.16 Linux kernel, and includes some 13,000 "ready-to-install" packages. Nine Zaurus models are fully supported, while others can be updated selectively.

The second-annual Government Open Source Conference (GOSCON), is scheduled for Oct. 12-13 in Portland, Ore. Designed for information technology executives and managers in national, state and local governments, GOSCON features in-depth sessions on open source implementation and best practices, as well as presentations from individuals such as Brian Behlendorf and Larry Augustin.
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"Open source" refers to software whose programming code can be viewed, modified and changed by its users. In that way, users have the ability to improve the software, making it better for everyone and speeding the pace of technological improvements.

[Sounds like free software, but if they feel more comfortable with "open source", so be it. Governments are slow to grasp the idea of freedom. -- grouch]

There is plenty of free software at the local library

Free software is becoming widely available via Web sites dedicated to providing computer users with access to freeware and shareware. Fledgling software developers also use the Web as a medium to make new software available for a trial download so users can test the product, provide feedback and possibly assist with its development.

[Please, be kind to librarians; their specialty is not software development models. -- grouch]

Tripod Data System (TDS) has updated its Recon series of rugged handheld computers. The new Recon-X series PDAs feature twice as much Flash memory (up to 256 MB) as the original, along with optional built-in Bluetooth and 802.11g WiFi. A Linux-based version will begin beta testing next week, and ship in July or early August.

The newly released Xandros Desktop Linux 4.0 is one of the few remaining for-pay Linux distributions on the consumer market. The Home Edition is available for $40, or $80 for a Premium Edition. What do you get for your hard-earned cash? Let's take a look.

Right off the bat, Xandros offers more in the form of bundled applications than either Vista product. For example, Xandros Desktop Version 4 Home Edition Premium includes an office suite, OpenOffice, and comes bundled with an antivirus product. On the Microsoft side of the equation, those would be considered add-on products.

The Open Source Software Institute (OSSI) has announced the release of a Department of Defense (DoD) report entitled the Open Technology Development Roadmap which focuses on how to make the use of open technology development an integral part of the Department of Defense (DoD) software acquisition and development processes.

A U.S. magistrate has struck down many of the SCO Group Inc.'s claims against IBM Corp., saying SCO failed to show its intellectual property was misappropriated when Big Blue donated software code to the freely distributed Linux operating system.

[Schools also seem interested in SCO v. IBM. -- grouch]

I asked for successes at schools using Open Source Software, and I received a wide variety of them. Although schools aren't typically thought of as a small business, I believe if a technology will work in schools it will work anywhere.

I sent a copy of the Letter to the Ontario Minister of Education about software policy. I asked if if school boards are under Access to Information legislation, as well as any exclusive agreements or policy that school boards of the province may have with software vendors that would exclude teachers from using alternatives. My trustee forwarded the letter to staff.

[This is a follow-up to Toronto high school expels Linux lab. The author is the member of CLUE who received the letter from the high school teacher. -- grouch]

I am, as you may have noticed, unequivocally in favor of the adoption of free and open source software by schools and governments. I have also spent a considerable portion of my career in ed-tech creating tools that support interoperability via open standards like RDF, iCalendar and SIF. Open source and open standards are two good things. So I have found it difficult to explain precisely why it is a bad idea for K-12 Open Technologies, a recent intitiative by CoSN, IBM, and the Hewlett Foundation to lump them together and promote the two concepts as "open technologies."

The task of debugging huge computer programs can be made faster and easier by using new software tools developed by programming experts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The strategic programmes and initiatives offered by IBM include educational initiatives such as the setting up of a Linux education programme to certify Maltese students, selected by the Government, as Linux Entry Level Administrators.

From the VS. dept.:
Ubuntu caused a lot of friction with and for Debian. In discussions with its founder, Mark Shuttleworth, and other Ubuntu developers during (and before) Debconf6, I was able to spell out the main criticisms from the Debian perspectives of the way Canonical/Ubuntu is handling things (without a claim to completeness). These criticisms mainly stem from discussions with fellow developers over the past 18 months, and I largely support all of them. I am publicising them here to help make the status quo more transparent.

Critics say the installable software plug-ins created by the Open XML Translator project are a stopgap measure that will probably not be acceptable to governments in the long run.

A computer science facility that had been running without a hitch for years is shut down as a Microsoft system is set up across the board. Was it a knock against open source, or just classroom politics?

[Anybody got a rope? I have pitchforks, scythes and torches. -- grouch]

Contributor Jaqui Greenlees had a few problems with his attempt to install Ubuntu Linux so he decided to confront one of the developers for some answers.

[Is this FUD or real? Is there a worse website? -- grouch]

Opinion: Don't believe for one second that Microsoft is actually "supporting" ODF.

After the launch of Ubuntu 6.06 LTS, Canonical is announcing the availability of Opera 9 for Ubuntu. With just a few clicks of the mouse, all Ubuntu users can download and install the latest version of the Opera browser.