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OLPC Fork Sugar On a Stick Goes 1.0

admin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:30:29 +0000

Marten writes “It was more than a year ago that Walter Bender left OLPC and started SugarLabs.org. Now, the first version of the new project has been released. Sugar on a Stick is a USB-drive that runs on Mac and PC-style hardware. ‘The open-source education software developed for the “0 laptop” can now be loaded onto a USB stick to give aging PCs and Macs a new interface and custom educational software.’ Bender said, ‘What we are doing is taking a bunch of old machines that barely run Windows 2000, and turning them into something interesting and useful for essentially zero cost. It becomes a whole new computer running off the USB key; we can breathe new life into millions of decrepit old machines.’”

Intel And Nokia Announce Open Source Mobile Partnership

admin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 11:29:59 +0000

The two will work hand in hand to develop common technologies for use in the Moblin and Maemo platform projects, which will deliver Linux-based operating systems for these future mobile computing devices. The agreement also nets Intel a solid win in the IP department, as it has acquired the rights to utilize 3G/HSPA (3.6Mbps) technology.

CIA invests in open-source enterprise search

admin — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:23:43 +0000

In-Q-Tel invests in open-source enterprise search vendor Lucid Imagination. It’s good to see government users supporting the projects they use.

10 reasons why open source makes sense on smart phones

admin — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:08:47 +0000

“Why is open source going to help raise these phones above the competition? I have 10 reasons why.”

DIY Biologists To Open Source Research

admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:58:03 +0000

destinyland writes “Falling costs and garage tinkering are creating a grass roots movement of amateur biologists whose research is more transparent than that of academia. They are building lab equipment using common household items and even synthesizing new organisms, and their transparency also allows the social pressure which creates more ethical research. DIY Bio.org fosters lab co-ops for large equipment and provokes important discussions. (Would it be ethical to release a homegrown symbiote that cures scurvy in hundreds of thousands of people?) This movement could someday lead to bottom-up remedies for disease, fuel-generating microbes, or even a social-networked disease-tracking epidemiology. ‘In much the same way that homebrew computer science built the world we live in today, garage biology can affect the future we make for ourselves,’ argues h+ magazine, which featured the article in their summer issue.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The Truth Behind the Death of Linux On the Netbook

admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 13:56:20 +0000

eldavojohn writes “Groklaw brings us news of M|cr0s0ft holding the smoking gun in regards to the death of Linux on netbooks. You see, the question of Linux on netbooks in Taiwan was put forth to the Taiwan Trade Authority director, who replied, ‘In our association we operate as a consortium, like the open source consortium. They want to promote open source and Linux. But if you begin from the PC you are afraid of M|cr0s0ft. They try to go to the smart phone or PDA to start again.’ It’s simple; fear will keep them in line. PJ points out, ‘So next time you hear M|cr0s0ft bragging that people prefer their software to Linux on netbooks, you’ll know better. If they really believed that, they’d let the market speak, on a level playing field. If I say my horse is quicker than yours, and you says yours is quicker, and we let our horses race around the track, that establishes the point. But if you shoot my horse, that leaves questions in the air. Is your horse really quicker? If so, why shoot my horse?’”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Wikipedia To Add Video

admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:54:20 +0000

viyh writes “Wikipedia will be adding a video option within two or three months, according to the MIT Technology Review. ‘… a person editing a Wikipedia article will find a new button labeled “Add Media.” Clicking it will bring up an interface allowing her to search for video — initially from three repositories containing copyright-free material — and drag chosen portions into the article, without having to install any video-editing software or do any conversions herself. The results will appear as a clickable video clip embedded within the article.’ They will be requiring all video to use open-source formats. This is in hopes of getting content providers to open up their material to gain wider exposure on the Wikipedia website. There is also an in-browser editor that removes a lot of the headache often associated with any kind of video editing. With the new Wikipedia system, ‘people will be able to easily inject media into pages, in a way that wasn’t possible before,’ says Michael Dale, a software engineer from Kaltura, the company assisting with development of the tools.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Obama Taps IBM Open Source Advocate For USPTO

admin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:50:59 +0000

langelgjm writes “President Obama has announced his intent to nominate David Kappos, a VP and general counsel at IBM, to head the US Patent and Trademark Office. This move is particularly notable not only because of IBM’s much friendlier attitudes towards open source compared with some of their rivals, but also because Kappos himself is open source-friendly: ‘We are now the biggest supporters of the open source development project,’ explains David. ‘Admittedly this policy is not easily reconcilable with our traditional IP strategy, but we are convinced that it is the way to go for the future.’ Not just a lawyer, Kappos earned an engineering degree before working in the legal field. Kappos has been described as ‘critical of the American approach to patent policy.’ Given his background, could this mean a new era for US patent policy?”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Obama Taps IBM Open Source Advocate For USPTO

admin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:50:59 +0000

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Google Chrome Developers On Browser Security

admin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:50:57 +0000

CowboyRobot writes “Developers of Google’s Chrome browser have spoken up in an article describing their approach to keeping the browser secure, focusing on minimizing the frequency, duration, and severity of exposure. One tool Chrome uses is a recently open-sourced update distribution application called ‘Omaha.’ ‘Omaha automatically checks for software updates every five hours. When a new update is available, a fraction of clients are told about it, based on a probability set by the team. This probability lets the team verify the quality of the release before informing all clients.’”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.