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NewsVac: News from around the Web
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SourceForge.net October Project of the Month: concrete5
3 days, 13 hours ago
concrete5 is a content management system, built in PHP, that makes it easy for anyone to run a website. It will save the planet. -
SourceForge.net Community Choice Awards winners
2 months, 2 weeks ago
Winners of the SourceForge Community Choice Awards were announced at OSCON -- we have the list. -
KDE on KDE 4.0
2 months, 3 weeks ago
"There has been a bit of a dustup about KDE 4.0. A lot of opinions have been expressed, but I thought you might like to hear from KDE. So I wrote to them and asked if they'd be willing to explain their choices and answer the main complaints. They graciously agreed." -
Debian teams survey results
3 months, 1 week ago
Debian project leader Steve McIntyre summarizes the results of a survey he conducted about how well the various Debian teams are working and communicating. "As I hoped to find, the vast majority of the respondents said they were having fun working on Debian. That's not unexpected, but it's nice to confirm this. A few people responded to say 'I have fun doing Debian work, but would have even more fun doing it if I had more time.' -
The end of LUGRadio
3 months, 1 week ago
"Today we announced that we have decided to call it a day with LugRadio. Our last show will be LugRadio Live UK 2008 on the 19th and 20th July 2008 at The Lighthouse in Wolverhampton. We announced this in the latest episode of LugRadio, Season 5 Episode 21 - go and have a listen to the show to hear more." -
SourceForge Project of the Month
4 months, 1 week ago
You've heard it over and over, but you know it's true. The cardinal rule to responsible data management is backing up your files early and often. Christian Sprajc says he's surprised at how many people overlook this simple step. -
Google defends open source from 'poisonous people'
4 months, 1 week ago
The Case of the Self-Centered Date Parser. "Google I/O: Once upon a time, there was an open source project called Subversion, and it needed a new date parser. One day, a coder came along and wrote one. But he insisted on tagging the source code with his John Hancock. And that was against the rules. Subversion's founders said that name tags would undermine collaboration ...." -
Coaching the next generation of FOSS developers
6 months ago
"Each year it seems that there are more and more grumblings about how commercial Open Source conferences are moving further and further away from Free Software and Open Source communities..." -
Fly the Linux Skies
6 months ago
"How many Linux desktops are there? It's like flying on a cloudy day... before GPS was around .... " -
Lessig gives up on Free Culture
8 months, 1 week ago
"Aims Ivory Tower at 'Corruption' ... Well, that's it. You'll never have to listen to Stanford professor Larry Lessig talk about Free Culture again.Lessig is moving on - to fight the good fight against "Corruption". The technology-leaning lawyer announced this last year, but has continued to discuss Wikipedia, the Creative Commons and the like. That is until yesterday, when he delivered a "last lecture" on Free Culture at Stanford University."
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The rise of the FOSS spinmeister
8 months, 1 week ago
In August 2003, a little more than three months after the SCO Group had filed a lawsuit against IBM, seeking damages for alleged breach of contract, I had an email exchange with Blake Stowell, who was then the public relations manager of the former company. -
Paul Frields to be Fedora project leader
8 months, 4 weeks ago
Outgoing Fedora leader Max Spevack has sent a goodbye letter of sorts from FUDCon and announced that the new project leader will be Paul Frields. "Many of you already know Paul. He has been part of the Fedora community since 2003, not long after the Red Hat Linux Project officially merged with the original Fedora.us. Paul has worked with Fedora's documentation, packaging, marketing, news, and artwork teams. He also served as one of the inaugural members of the Fedora Project Board." -
Linux users answer the call: Ubuntu wireless-adapter glitch resolved
8 months, 4 weeks ago
"The sage advice of Linux community members gets my Linksys wireless adapter working in Ubuntu 7.10 in just a few minutes." -
Voting for the 2007 LinuxQuestions.org Members Choice Awards is Now Open
9 months, 1 week ago
LinuxQuestions.org is proud to announce that voting for the 2007 LinuxQuestions.org Members Choice Awards is now open. The Members Choice Awards allow the Linux community to select their favorite products in a variety of categories. Awards will be given out in 27 categories this year, including Server Distribution of the Year, Desktop Distribution of the Year, Browser of the Year, Office Suite of the Year, Desktop Environment of the Year and Database of the Year. The polls will close on February 21st. This is the seventh annual LinuxQuestions.org Members Choice Awards. Last years winners include Ubuntu, Firefox, KDE, OpenOffice.org and MySQL. -
Stallman: students should be taught to share with the class
11 months, 3 weeks ago
"Richard Stallman, in receiving an honorary Doctorate from Italy's University of Pavia, brought back memories of the basic primary school principle that students bringing cookies to class should bring enough for everyone .... " - More News
Linux.com : Community
FUEL: An initiative in language standardization via collaboration
FUEL (Frequently Used Entries for Localization) aims to solve the problem of inconsistency and lack of standardization in computer software translation in a new and unique way. Initiated by Red Hat, the project is trying to give a better experience to end users of a localized desktop by resolving the issues of standardization and inconsistency.
Ask Linux.com: Mobile broadband, partitioning thumbs
This week in our regular update on Linux.com's forum activity, how to set up SIM-based mobile broadband, how to edit partitions on a bootable USB thumb drive, and more. Plus, you can smell the excitement in the air at the official start of the autumn unanswered questions season.
Manou Chen of Open.Amsterdam (video interview)
Open.Amsterdam (in Dutch; English PDF download available here) is working to convert most of the city of Amsterdam's computers to GNU/Linux and open source software, and to make sure that any remaining proprietary-OS computers owned by the city use open file formats instead of closed, proprietary ones. In this interview, project director Manuo Chen tells us how the project is going and a little about its goals -- and a little about some of the pitfalls it has encountered, too.
Linux Foundation opening doors to individual participation
The nonprofit Linux Foundation (LF), which coordinates an assortment of Linux-oriented standardization efforts and employs key developers such as Linux creator Linus Torvalds, has added to its Web site a gateway toward individual -- as opposed to corporate -- membership. Individuals can join through the site by paying yearly dues, and will get a small voice in Foundation matters in exchange -- plus their choice of T-shirts.
Portrait: LinuxToday managing editor Carla Schroder
Carla Schroder says she just "kind of wandered into" her current life as a free software advocate and well-known IT journalist. "I don't have much in the way of formal education. But I've always been mechanically inclined - your classic ripping things apart and figuring out how they work. I think that makes open source a natural fit for me."
Ask Linux.com: document wrangling, lighter distros, and Boot Loops II
[In memory of Don LaFontaine, please read the following paragraph in as gravelly a voice as you can muster - ed.] In a world where anyone can ask, but few can respond ... they compress standard-out on the fly, impose order on your personal document chaos, and ponder who is the slimmest distro of them all. Plus, an old favorite from a previous week's column returns -- with a vengence. So microwave some popcorn and unplug the phone, because it's time for more tales from the Linux.com forums.
Community service for free software users
In recent years, Linux distributions have successfully made the transition from being the exclusive domain of technical users to being suitable for even brand new computer users. However, unlike with proprietary software and operating systems, GNU/Linux is built mainly on the efforts of users who volunteer their time and expertise to write programs. The result is that the success of free and open source software (FOSS) depends on feedback and contributions from its users. New users, or users without programming skills, may not understand how to contribute, or even see the need for contributions. But non-programmers can contribute a great deal to FOSS projects, benefiting not only other users but also themselves in the process. Even you can help.
Portrait: Jeff Elkner, Free Software activist and teacher
Jeff Elkner teaches high school students in Arlington, Va., about Linux and other Free Software. He's serious about helping budding computer scientists understand what FOSS is and what it can do for them, and he's one of those guys who always seems to be sharing his knowledge with others. One of Elkner's latest efforts, the Open Book Project, is a good illustration of his philosophy about sharing ideas and knowledge, which he says is similar to that of one of his heroes, Free Software advocate Richard Stallman.
KDE Community Working Group takes care of the community
If the rocky reception of KDE 4 has done anything, it has forced the KDE project to realize it needs to listen to users more closely. One of the first results of this realization is the new Community Working Group (CWG). Announced at Akademy, the recently concluded annual KDE conference, the CWG was described as designed "to act as a central point of contact by being available to communicate user needs and concerns to developers, and developer intentions and plans to users." The CWG is still being organized; to find out more about its plans, we contacted Anne Wilson and Juan Carlos Torres, two of the group's five initial members.
Ask Linux.com: Lost passwords, lost files, and terminal tricks redux
This week in the neverending drama in the Linux.com forums: resetting lost passwords, making your own SSL certificate, and the return of an old favorite for those of you who want more excitement at the command line. Plus, a heaping bowlful of nutritious unanswered questions.
Bradley Kuhn discusses software innovation, freedom, and the law (video)
Bradley Kuhn is not a lawyer, but he works at the Software Freedom Law Center and heads the Software Freedom Conservancy. He is fun to watch and listen to because he walks the tightrope between creative, carefree developers and cautious, legally-minded lawyers. Linux.com talked with Kuhn a few months ago, but he says lots more in this 30-minute video than in that interview -- including plenty of thoughts on how businesses based on free software can (and often do) turn a profit, plus some comments on how and why open source is helping the next generation of programmers develop and improve their skills.
Help your favorite "public interest" free software project win $10,000
Nominations are now open for the Antonio Pizzigati Prize for Software in the Public Interest. The winner could be someone you know, or someone whose work you admire, but don't mull over your recommendation too long -- entries must be submitted by September 30.
Ask Linux.com: Theft recovery, skeleton files, and boot-looping Eees
This week in our parade through the wide world of the Linux.com forums, what to do with a stolen-then-recovered laptop, how to rescue an Eee PC netbook stuck in an endless boot loop, and how make Likewise Open and /etc/skel play nice together. Plus, competitive bash scripting, unanswered questions, and a world of bad Olympic puns.
Learn about the Open Source Census (video)
The Open Source Census goes way beyond the traditional, too rarely used Linux Counter. It claims to be "the first collaborative, global project to count the number of installations for each open source software package." A lofty (and possibly unobtainable) goal, perhaps, but in this video, shot at LinuxWorld 2008, OpenLogic's Kim Wein explains why OpenLogic, along with more than a dozen other companies and groups, is sponsoring the Open Source Census.
Portrait: Michelle Murrain lives the open source lifestyle
Michelle Murrain is a great example of what the FOSS community is all about. She's complicated: she calls herself a "scientist turned technologist turned theologian turned writer," all blended into one person. She's also an active supporter of and contributor to open source software projects. She's not a developer, however, and Murrain would really like to see more space for people like her, with different gifts to share, in the open source community.
Linux Foundation launches killer development tool
Ask any independent software vendor what he hates most about developing for Linux and he'll tell you that it's having to develop for SUSE and for Red Hat and for Ubuntu and ... you get the idea. The Linux Foundation has just released a beta of a new program, Linux Application Checker (AppChecker), that's going to make ISVs and other programmers start to love developing for Linux.
autonom.us aims to be think-tank on network service software licensing issues
Network services are one of the fastest growing areas in modern software. However, while network services have much of the convenience of free software, only a minority are available under a free license. In fact, it was only last November that the Free Software Foundation (FSF) released the GNU Affero General Public License for network services. Under these conditions, last week's announcement of the formation of autonom.us, a new activist group "to focus on issues of software freedom in network services," seems overdue. The group's immediate plans are still evolving, but currently, its main goal -- so far as it has one yet -- seems to be as a policy discussion and advocacy group.
MindTouch CEO Aaron Fulkerson talks about open source company leadership (video)
In this video interview, Aaron Fulkerson talks about MindTouch, the company he founded, and its DekiWiki product, which he helped create. In the first half of the conversation, Aaron says Deki is downloaded by about 3,000 people every day, that the open source project has "thousands" of developers, and that his company is profitable after only two years in business. In the second half, Fulkerson talks about the need for a strong personality at the head of an open source project, and has other advice for both charitable and commercial open source project leaders. If you either lead or hope to lead an open source project, or you plan to build a company based on open source software, this video is full of valuable advice for you.
Ask Linux.com: Quotas, Java, and Linux in the car
In the most recent chapters of the ongoing Linux.com forums saga, readers discuss implementing disk storage quotas, juggling primary partitions, launching uncooperative Java applications, and how to choose a Linux distro suitable for a car PC.
GNOME Foundation's Stormy Peters: Trust and empower
Stormy Peters recently became the executive director of the GNOME Foundation, where she is already working to raise public awareness of the GNOME desktop environment and user interface, and to attract new corporate sponsors and developers to the GNOME community. She says it was not as much a move away from her old job at OpenLogic and the for-profit business world as it was a move toward the community she's been part of for years.
