TimburyDotOrg » Open Source

SCALE: The Best Little-Big Open Source Conference

Miguel Hernandez — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 14:00:00 +0000

The Southern California Linux Expo (SCALE) is happening this weekend Feb. 25-27 and is, simply, awesome! I heard about it during its infancy but never even looked into it thinking it would be just as expensive as OSCON. Boy was I wrong! The first year I attended, it cost $60. This year the cost is $70. That's $70 for THREE days, which is a steal! more>>

Russian Linux: The Push Continues

Michael Reed — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 15:00:00 +0000

We've talked about the concept of national Linux distributions before, and the Russians are a nation that has engaged in previous attempts to standardize on Linux. more>>

Sun (Now Oracle) VirtualBox: An Observation

Doug.Roberts — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:15:36 +0000

Ok, I recognize and greatly appreciate the tremendous contributions of open source software. I really do. I use it every day, and have done so for many years. I’m a Linux person from the word go. But, I work for a Windows Shop. All Windows, All The Time. more>>

REDCap: A Tool for Collecting Clinical Trials Data

Doug.Roberts — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 13:00:00 +0000

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In the course of my day job I tend to get drawn into interesting niche projects because of my Linux expertise. Recall that the Mothership (that corporate entity located somewhere on the East coat which pays me fairly well to work for them) is *shudder* a Windows shop, primarily. more>>

Why Broadcom’s Release May be More Significant than Just Code

Susan Linton — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 21:18:32 +0000

On September 9 the news of Broadcom's release of the code for some of its wireless Ethernet chip sets sent shockwaves throughout the Linux community. Broadcom owners, as well as distribution developers have a reason to celebrate. more>>

An Open Source 8-Bit Computer to Save the World

Miguel Hernandez — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:00:00 +0000

At a recent local LUG I regularly attend, Braddock Gaskill gave a wonderful presentation on an open source 8-bit computer he had created. This was his first public debut of the device and every person in attendance was enthralled. more>>

A Topic for Discussion – Open Source Feature-Richness?

David Lane — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:00:00 +0000

Twitter does not generally allow you to have a discussion. At least not me, who can barely say anything in less than a 1000 words, but here is a recent thread:

I'm not a fan of novel writing software--too complicated--but Storybook (free) helps keep my arcs & timeline straight. more>>

The Great Underground Empire

TuxRadar — Wed, 12 May 2010 13:37:06 +0000

The Great Underground Empire

(Graham's entry for the podcast challenge)

> r

“Stop Roon, we’ve gone too far.”

“No we haven't Teo, we’re right where we’re supposed to be.”

The glistening hull of the Capello stopped for the first time in 10.5 years. The distant sun piercing the metallic frame of the craft, green plasma rolling off the cylinder in fading arcs, flickering into the darkness.

Opinion: Competition vs cohesion

TuxRadar — Wed, 12 May 2010 09:31:33 +0000

What's more important for the success of Linux: competition between the various components and projects involved, or co-operation to present a unified front in the battle for the desktop? How do we ensure a good balance between the two? Read on for Mike Saunders's entry for the podcast challenge, and let us know what you think in the comments.

Proposed “Ten Commandments” are very Open Source Friendly

Daengbo — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:35:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

Ars Technica has a short article on the UN-backed Internet Governance Forum 2009 and its discussion of new rules for the computing world. Unsurprisingly, these proposed rules are quite FOSS-friendly since they are modeled on the early years of computing and the Internet, when RFCs were the norm if you wanted your tech to take off. Take a look:

Independence of applications
New applications can be added anytime that’s a core value
Permissionless innovation
Open standards
Accessible and globally inclusive—anyone can use it
User choice—I can choose what applications I use and where I go to with them
Ease of use—I can use it in my language, I can use it in a device I’m familiar with
Freedom of expression
The ability to change rapidly
Trustworthy and reliable is one we have to work on; it’s got to be a core value.

Your hardware should be unlocked and you should be able to add applications you want to use. Those applications shouldn't lock you into an upgrade cycle and you should be able to change whenever you want.

It looks to me like Open Source Software is already there. The closed-source world is the one that needs to catch up.