One of the larger open source software indices
open source, posted: 11-Oct-2007 14:18
I just came across WEBI.org, which seems to be one of the largest indices of open source software I have found so far. All neatly organised into categories, with screenshots and description for many of the applications. Very nice.
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Why Windows should be 'unbundled' from PC sales
windows, posted: 10-Oct-2007 05:59
Recently, a 'think tank' in Europe suggested that the European Union should establish legislation that would force PC manufacturers to unbundle the Windows operating system from the sale of new PCs. You know, the practice that makes most consumers think that Windows is free and comes as a 'necessary' part of their PC, not realising that they actually paid a 'Microsoft tax' with the purchase of their PC (up to 50% of the system price in case of some lower-cost hardware). W
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Sorry, Yahoo! Your image search sucks...
misc, posted: 6-Oct-2007 09:49
Something a little bit different than my usual topics (open source, Linux, etc.)
I recently started to use Yahoo as my default search engine. The reason is mostly just to see if they can be an alternative to Google, which just gets a little bit too omnipresent for my taste. I know, Yahoo will also happily mine all user data and profile information it can get. But they are not on as many web properties as Google, and are a better supporter of open source (possibly out of necessity). So (read the entire post)...
I recently started to use Yahoo as my default search engine. The reason is mostly just to see if they can be an alternative to Google, which just gets a little bit too omnipresent for my taste. I know, Yahoo will also happily mine all user data and profile information it can get. But they are not on as many web properties as Google, and are a better supporter of open source (possibly out of necessity). So (read the entire post)...
Linux in the mainstream press: The New York Times
linux, posted: 5-Oct-2007 08:59
There is a very interesting article in today's New York Times about how Linux is becoming more ready for the mainstream market and user. The article describes how modern Linux distributions have become easy to use, and that most of what you would want to do with a computer can now readily be accomplished with distros, such as Ubuntu. It also mentions that installing software on Linux is generally a one-click affair and much easier than installing software on Windows. It even points out Autom
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IBM's Lotus Symphony - based on old OpenOffice, but still good news
open source, posted: 28-Sep-2007 14:07
It was reported extensively a week ago, and even today on our very own Geekzone we have yet another article. IBM has released the Lotus Symphony package of productivity tools, which include Lotus Documents, Lotus Presentations and Lotus Spreadsheets, and so far more than 100,000 registered users have downloaded it.
The code is free and open source, which is great. Looking under the hood reveals that it is based on a slightly older version of OpenOffice, a well-known open source produc (read the entire post)...
The code is free and open source, which is great. Looking under the hood reveals that it is based on a slightly older version of OpenOffice, a well-known open source produc (read the entire post)...
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A web-site that explains why Linux is better
linux, posted: 27-Sep-2007 08:07
I came across this one here today:
http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/
The title of the page is a bit flippant, but they make their points in a nice and concise manner, with more details available for each of them.
If you run Windows and want to know why some people keep talking about Linux, or if you are considering a switch to Linux, you might want to check out this site.
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http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/
The title of the page is a bit flippant, but they make their points in a nice and concise manner, with more details available for each of them.
If you run Windows and want to know why some people keep talking about Linux, or if you are considering a switch to Linux, you might want to check out this site.
(read the entire post)...
Big cost savings through open source at a school's IT department
open source, posted: 25-Sep-2007 06:01
This article here shows how a school district managed to save a lot of money by utilising open source. They were quite pragmatic: Not all proprietary software was kicked out. Instead, specific things were replaced by open source. The results speak for themselves. They saved a very large amount of money in licenses, and now have a system that is more easily manageable and secure.
I think this is just another reason why schools should look into open source, but the upsides of it would a (read the entire post)...
I think this is just another reason why schools should look into open source, but the upsides of it would a (read the entire post)...
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Big list of open source applications - by category
open source, posted: 24-Sep-2007 18:13
Here is a pretty big list of open source applications, organised by category. There should be something for everyone in there.
http://mashable.com/2007/09/23/open-source/
They currently have 480 apps. That's quite a bit but still much less than what's actually out there. It's only a start, though. I expect this list to grow over time. You can submit new apps yourself, if you know of any that are not included there.
Update: I just found another such list of open s (read the entire post)...
http://mashable.com/2007/09/23/open-source/
They currently have 480 apps. That's quite a bit but still much less than what's actually out there. It's only a start, though. I expect this list to grow over time. You can submit new apps yourself, if you know of any that are not included there.
Update: I just found another such list of open s (read the entire post)...
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Linux in all Russian schools by 2009
linux, posted: 24-Sep-2007 10:11
There is an interesting article here, which states that by 2009 a derivative of Linux - with the strange name of Russian OS - is going to be installed in all schools in Russia. This article is also currently being discussed on Slashdot. The article states two main reasons for the decision of the Russian authorities to do this:
More independence from foreign, commercial software.Avoiding tying young users to the products and platform of one company.I don't want to comment on the current (read the entire post)...
More independence from foreign, commercial software.Avoiding tying young users to the products and platform of one company.I don't want to comment on the current (read the entire post)...
Becoming Windows-free - Part 2
windows, posted: 19-Sep-2007 11:17
This is the second article in my little series about how to become Windows-free. As I outlined in the first article, this is actually not only about Windows, but in general about the use of open software and open data formats.
Open software, open data
Open data formats are an important consideration. Not only for the typically low price of the open source/data solutions ($0), but also for the longevity of data and the avoidance of vendor lock-in. Proprietary software that u (read the entire post)...
Open software, open data
Open data formats are an important consideration. Not only for the typically low price of the open source/data solutions ($0), but also for the longevity of data and the avoidance of vendor lock-in. Proprietary software that u (read the entire post)...
Becoming Windows-free - Part 1
windows, posted: 17-Sep-2007 13:11
As you can see from the profile in my blog, I am Windows-free. This means, I don't run Windows on any of my computers anymore and try to avoid Windows (if at all possible) at work as well. I would like to run a little series of articles for you, which describe what it is like to be Windows-free, and how you too can take this step, should you feel the desire to do so.
I should mention here that for me this was originally about not having to pay a Microsoft tax anymore and not find (read the entire post)...
I should mention here that for me this was originally about not having to pay a Microsoft tax anymore and not find (read the entire post)...
Got RSS feed, will blog...
misc, posted: 15-Sep-2007 12:30
Ah, as you can see at the bottom of my profile on this page, I now have an RSS feed for my blog. For some reason, this wasn't working initially, even though I had enabled it.
Thank you to Mauricio for following up with Feedburner and getting the problem fixed.
So, if you are interested, you can subscribe to my ramblings now and get them straight to your favourite feed-reader.
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Thank you to Mauricio for following up with Feedburner and getting the problem fixed.
So, if you are interested, you can subscribe to my ramblings now and get them straight to your favourite feed-reader.
(read the entire post)...
Running the Xnet Usage Monitor tool under Linux
broadband, posted: 14-Sep-2007 11:27
Update: This article talks about the lack of an online or Linux version of Xnet's broadband usage meter. As you can see in the comments, I was quickly being educated on my oversight: An online version exists, and there is also a Firefox extension, which makes the meter available under Linux, sort of. Not quite the same functionality, but still a good job from Xnet. Nevertheless, the point I am making about Wine and software vendors remains valid, I would think.
So, a couple of day (read the entire post)...
So, a couple of day (read the entire post)...
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No Python in New Zealand?
free software, posted: 13-Sep-2007 07:42
My favorite language of late is Python. It's powerful and can greatly increase developer's efficiency. Yet, here in New Zealand I don't notice much activity around that language. Not many job openings, no Python user group that I know of. Is there anyone out here that also works with Python? In Australia they have Python user groups, and certainly also in the US and in Europe. You could say that New Zealand is a very small country, but consider that in Australia they even have Python
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Universities: No interest in open source, and too keen to support fads and vendors
education, posted: 12-Sep-2007 09:51
A while back I worked with a couple of students from a number of universities here in Auckland: UoA, AUT, Massey. These were students in various IT fields, which had to do a practical industry project.
I noticed to my horror that most of them had completely bought into whatever Microsoft had produced: They learned C# and .NET, they used Hotmail e-mail accounts, naturally ran the latest and greatest MS goodies on their XP powered laptop (surely they have all 'upgraded' to Vista (read the entire post)...
I noticed to my horror that most of them had completely bought into whatever Microsoft had produced: They learned C# and .NET, they used Hotmail e-mail accounts, naturally ran the latest and greatest MS goodies on their XP powered laptop (surely they have all 'upgraded' to Vista (read the entire post)...
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WiFi under Linux - it just works!
linux, posted: 11-Sep-2007 12:11
There is (yet another) discussion raging over on Slashdot about the state of WiFi on Linux.
I have to say, WiFi, even with WPA works on my Ubuntu laptop (Dell Latitude D820) without a hitch. Sure, before I bought the laptop I looked around and found that people didn't seem to have any issues with the Intel WiFi chipsets. So, when during the ordering process the Dell web-site offered the Intel chipset or something from Broadcom, I chose the Intel one. It definitely paid off: It wor (read the entire post)...
I have to say, WiFi, even with WPA works on my Ubuntu laptop (Dell Latitude D820) without a hitch. Sure, before I bought the laptop I looked around and found that people didn't seem to have any issues with the Intel WiFi chipsets. So, when during the ordering process the Dell web-site offered the Intel chipset or something from Broadcom, I chose the Intel one. It definitely paid off: It wor (read the entire post)...
Hello, and welcome to my new blog...
misc, posted: 9-Sep-2007 20:54
Hello!
This is the first post to my new blog. Thank you for making this space available, Geekzone!
A little bit about me: I work as a software developer, architect, CTO, company founder, consultant... well, a number of things. My background is mostly with system level programming, Linux/Unix, almost no Windows. C, C++, Java, Python, Assembler. Low-level networking, network security, kernel development, servers. I'm a big fan of open source software and the open source i (read the entire post)...
This is the first post to my new blog. Thank you for making this space available, Geekzone!
A little bit about me: I work as a software developer, architect, CTO, company founder, consultant... well, a number of things. My background is mostly with system level programming, Linux/Unix, almost no Windows. C, C++, Java, Python, Assembler. Low-level networking, network security, kernel development, servers. I'm a big fan of open source software and the open source i (read the entire post)...
