Perhaps because I was born in Mexico and lived there (DF) for many years, and perhaps because so much of my family anchors there--or perhaps because Latin America--not just Brazil--is so immensely important to this century's present and future, that I find this article, and the concerted efforts to realize the potentials of open source, open data, open access so very affirming.
2011-12-29
‘Developing Latin America’: Open Data Projects · Global Voices
‘Developing Latin America’: Open Data Projects · Global Voices
2011-12-24
Open Source - Generic Tools - COSI 'Open' Government
Open Source - Generic Tools - COSI 'Open' Government
COSI is an important endeavour, and this list it has posted may be both a little dated and hardly complete but it is nevertheless very useful. But let's consider the future. All at some point will be tablet or dumb terminal related; the beefy desktop installed into our lives by IBM and MSFT 30 years ago will dissipate in the glare of the future. Open standards and open data will be of paramount importance, else the apps that run on the tablets and terminals won't be able to communicate with each other and we'll be babbling, at some cost, too. Open source builds the implementations that express the data and allow it be manipulated. And some things will be open source but not all. It will depend upon circumstance, market interest, and everything else that makes for risk in the real world of commodities and communities.
Query: Where are the risk models for open source products? Let's say that I devise such a model; it need not be open source, of course, as I could charge people its use..... I think it would prove very popular. And so I wonder if there are not already such in circulation at VC firms.
COSI is an important endeavour, and this list it has posted may be both a little dated and hardly complete but it is nevertheless very useful. But let's consider the future. All at some point will be tablet or dumb terminal related; the beefy desktop installed into our lives by IBM and MSFT 30 years ago will dissipate in the glare of the future. Open standards and open data will be of paramount importance, else the apps that run on the tablets and terminals won't be able to communicate with each other and we'll be babbling, at some cost, too. Open source builds the implementations that express the data and allow it be manipulated. And some things will be open source but not all. It will depend upon circumstance, market interest, and everything else that makes for risk in the real world of commodities and communities.
Query: Where are the risk models for open source products? Let's say that I devise such a model; it need not be open source, of course, as I could charge people its use..... I think it would prove very popular. And so I wonder if there are not already such in circulation at VC firms.
2011-12-23
Productivity Suite: Email / Calendar Solution
Productivity Suite: Email / Calendar Solution
Compelling reading, in particular for the key points itemized.
Compelling reading, in particular for the key points itemized.
2011-12-17
NVDA
NVDA
I had heard about NVDA at an accessibility conference a short while ago but had not had the chance to test it. It's open source, and free (as in cost), and supposedly only so far works with Windows(TM), and that's a shame. Given the range of projects to work on, and given the satisfaction to be gained, as well as the market value--well, I should think that porting it to Linux, or Mac OS X would make sense.
Or even, to extend the idea, having a Web-based service that does this. I'm ignorant here, and as I type, am not doing the needed research. But does a screen reader exist for, say, Google Apps? For iCloud? The scenario I envisage is that a person has a tablet; she or he may not even have a visual disability but could, say, be dyslexic or not even particularly fluent in reading. The tablet does not support Windows (digression: are there apps that do screen reading on a sophisticated level for Android, iOS? There must be....beyond what is already in iOS, with which I'm most familiar), nor iOS but does Android or an equivalent Linux-based system, such as Meego.
How is this person to navigate the Web using the tablet? And suppose she is not even dyslexic but simply aged, and so cannot read very well because no matter what the font, it's too small and blurry. Would we (those who live in society: all of us, minus the outliers currently running--certainly not standing--for the Republic nomination in the US) really want to consign this very large population to having to buy licensed software? Wouldn't the cost to society, or even just to the affected persons be extraordinary?
Think about it: The baby boom generation's oldest have breached 65, and despite their best efforts, their bodies are falling apart and that process will accelerate as they get older. Many are now already using computers and many more will start using tablets, as they will shortly prove to be consistently cheaper and even, for most uses, easier to work with.
It's a large and so far mostly untapped market; but it's a market that can only come into being if some things are made freely available, like paving roads so that people can then go to the shopping malls.
I had heard about NVDA at an accessibility conference a short while ago but had not had the chance to test it. It's open source, and free (as in cost), and supposedly only so far works with Windows(TM), and that's a shame. Given the range of projects to work on, and given the satisfaction to be gained, as well as the market value--well, I should think that porting it to Linux, or Mac OS X would make sense.
Or even, to extend the idea, having a Web-based service that does this. I'm ignorant here, and as I type, am not doing the needed research. But does a screen reader exist for, say, Google Apps? For iCloud? The scenario I envisage is that a person has a tablet; she or he may not even have a visual disability but could, say, be dyslexic or not even particularly fluent in reading. The tablet does not support Windows (digression: are there apps that do screen reading on a sophisticated level for Android, iOS? There must be....beyond what is already in iOS, with which I'm most familiar), nor iOS but does Android or an equivalent Linux-based system, such as Meego.
How is this person to navigate the Web using the tablet? And suppose she is not even dyslexic but simply aged, and so cannot read very well because no matter what the font, it's too small and blurry. Would we (those who live in society: all of us, minus the outliers currently running--certainly not standing--for the Republic nomination in the US) really want to consign this very large population to having to buy licensed software? Wouldn't the cost to society, or even just to the affected persons be extraordinary?
Think about it: The baby boom generation's oldest have breached 65, and despite their best efforts, their bodies are falling apart and that process will accelerate as they get older. Many are now already using computers and many more will start using tablets, as they will shortly prove to be consistently cheaper and even, for most uses, easier to work with.
It's a large and so far mostly untapped market; but it's a market that can only come into being if some things are made freely available, like paving roads so that people can then go to the shopping malls.
2011-12-14
ACTA Adopted By EU Governments, Now in EU Parliament's Hands | La Quadrature du Net
ACTA Adopted By EU Governments, Now in EU Parliament's Hands | La Quadrature du Net
Acta is not insignificant and does affect regular consumers and producers of just about anything that can be commodified and traded over the Internet, as well as other media. Read the synopses on the page, and express yourself.
Acta is not insignificant and does affect regular consumers and producers of just about anything that can be commodified and traded over the Internet, as well as other media. Read the synopses on the page, and express yourself.
2011-12-12
HP's webOS is going Open Source. Now what? | ZDNet
HP's webOS is going Open Source. Now what? | ZDNet
I tend to side with Jason that Apache would make a fine home for webOS. But who will actually develop the code? Coding for substantial projects actually requires substantial investment, however distributed. Volunteers--those who will devote time and energy without pay now or ever--can only do so much and it is not likely that an enterprise, say, would welcome the idea of depending on a volunteer group to sustain an OS it may come to depend upon. So, to develop something that may become pivotal to enterprise usage of the Cloud, say, requires companies and developers to recognise that it makes business sense, not just gives pleasure, to develop (code and all the project engagement implied) something as seemingly belated as webOS. Belated, for the market for tablets and smartthings is already dominated by iOS and Android, and the peripheries by such meritorious OSes as Meego, for instance, and other Linux-based systems. To be sure, webOS has some rather unique and even compelling features--Jason itemises these--but is that enough?
I'd be interested to learn what HP plans. I am sure I'm not alone. I should hope that it recognises that webOS if properly managed would bridge the huge gulf that's so very apparent to all who simply look: Tablets, dominated by iOS and its wannabes, are consumer commodities, still. Their UI is unforgiving to most enterprise use, and that includes education use.
But tablets are the only real option for future computer use. Everything else larger than a phone is too costly in the aggregate: Uses too many resources to make, distribute, maintain, whereas a tablet linked to mesh network (or even cloud, but I prefer p2p meshes) requires far fewer resources in the making and use (less energy to use, for instance). Numerous other benefits are obvious, not least of which is that the tablet is likely to last longer. But we are not there yet. At present, there are something like 1 billion computer users, and most I'd guess use fairly old desktop machines. These will be replaced with better, more efficient devices (most of the old ones will doubtless do their bit to add to global pollution, landfill, heavy-metal poisoning, and so on), but there will also be another two or even three billion coming to the table in the next decade, if not sooner. Plus: more children than ever before and fewer teachers with fewer classrooms with fewer educational resources all married to a changing social structure that, for environmental as well as social reasons is marginalising traditional livelihoods and teaching methods make for a reliance on modern technologies. These include distance learning and, yes, tablets.
Or at least modified tablets, those that can be worked on and are not designed as consumer objects. And webOS fits that bill. It is quintessentially an OS for productivity, not for entertainment. Coupled to a device that supports the usual means of input ("keyboard" or equivalent), and modified to include an ODF editor, webOS could quickly come to dominate the new market--the Real Politik--for real productivity tools for all.
I tend to side with Jason that Apache would make a fine home for webOS. But who will actually develop the code? Coding for substantial projects actually requires substantial investment, however distributed. Volunteers--those who will devote time and energy without pay now or ever--can only do so much and it is not likely that an enterprise, say, would welcome the idea of depending on a volunteer group to sustain an OS it may come to depend upon. So, to develop something that may become pivotal to enterprise usage of the Cloud, say, requires companies and developers to recognise that it makes business sense, not just gives pleasure, to develop (code and all the project engagement implied) something as seemingly belated as webOS. Belated, for the market for tablets and smartthings is already dominated by iOS and Android, and the peripheries by such meritorious OSes as Meego, for instance, and other Linux-based systems. To be sure, webOS has some rather unique and even compelling features--Jason itemises these--but is that enough?
I'd be interested to learn what HP plans. I am sure I'm not alone. I should hope that it recognises that webOS if properly managed would bridge the huge gulf that's so very apparent to all who simply look: Tablets, dominated by iOS and its wannabes, are consumer commodities, still. Their UI is unforgiving to most enterprise use, and that includes education use.
But tablets are the only real option for future computer use. Everything else larger than a phone is too costly in the aggregate: Uses too many resources to make, distribute, maintain, whereas a tablet linked to mesh network (or even cloud, but I prefer p2p meshes) requires far fewer resources in the making and use (less energy to use, for instance). Numerous other benefits are obvious, not least of which is that the tablet is likely to last longer. But we are not there yet. At present, there are something like 1 billion computer users, and most I'd guess use fairly old desktop machines. These will be replaced with better, more efficient devices (most of the old ones will doubtless do their bit to add to global pollution, landfill, heavy-metal poisoning, and so on), but there will also be another two or even three billion coming to the table in the next decade, if not sooner. Plus: more children than ever before and fewer teachers with fewer classrooms with fewer educational resources all married to a changing social structure that, for environmental as well as social reasons is marginalising traditional livelihoods and teaching methods make for a reliance on modern technologies. These include distance learning and, yes, tablets.
Or at least modified tablets, those that can be worked on and are not designed as consumer objects. And webOS fits that bill. It is quintessentially an OS for productivity, not for entertainment. Coupled to a device that supports the usual means of input ("keyboard" or equivalent), and modified to include an ODF editor, webOS could quickly come to dominate the new market--the Real Politik--for real productivity tools for all.
2011-12-08
7 Free Office Tools to Save Non-Profits Money
7 Free Office Tools to Save Non-Profits Money
It's always striking to see how the press (aka media) normally only thinks of open source and the American consumer/business in the context of poverty: as if, If you cannot afford the good stuff, settle for this, the free junk.
Elsewhere that is not always the story. The narrative is as often about "freedom" (remember that?) and what that implies: being able to do things (innovate, again, remember?) that are not proscribed and prescribed. Open source, and in particular something like OOo, gives users the freedom to do things that are out of bounds.
Put another way, for open source, consumer freedom (not having to pay) is coupled with developer freedom. To be sure, in many regions of the world, especially in those where markets are tight and where the luxury of being able to choose freely is rare, the primary mode of engaging open source is using it without the fear or cost of (un)licensed software. And where there is the wealth to engage in the market as a free agent, alone or as part of an organisation, then there is the freedom to do that can be acted upon. I envision that as government sees the benefits of strategic investment, we'll see more and more developer groups. Sustainability, of this sort, more than saves money: innovation makes money.
It's always striking to see how the press (aka media) normally only thinks of open source and the American consumer/business in the context of poverty: as if, If you cannot afford the good stuff, settle for this, the free junk.
Elsewhere that is not always the story. The narrative is as often about "freedom" (remember that?) and what that implies: being able to do things (innovate, again, remember?) that are not proscribed and prescribed. Open source, and in particular something like OOo, gives users the freedom to do things that are out of bounds.
Put another way, for open source, consumer freedom (not having to pay) is coupled with developer freedom. To be sure, in many regions of the world, especially in those where markets are tight and where the luxury of being able to choose freely is rare, the primary mode of engaging open source is using it without the fear or cost of (un)licensed software. And where there is the wealth to engage in the market as a free agent, alone or as part of an organisation, then there is the freedom to do that can be acted upon. I envision that as government sees the benefits of strategic investment, we'll see more and more developer groups. Sustainability, of this sort, more than saves money: innovation makes money.
2011-10-03
Open Document Format updated to fix spreadsheets • The Register
Open Document Format updated to fix spreadsheets • The Register:
'via Blog this'
... and a lot more to come with ODF next---1.3, that is.
'via Blog this'
... and a lot more to come with ODF next---1.3, that is.
2011-10-01
Inside the World's Largest Embassy | Mother Jones
Inside the World's Largest Embassy | Mother Jones:
'via Blog this'
it's a witty article, and it highlights the problem those of us wanting more accountability and transparency in the public sector see: tax monies vanishing into the mystery of exigency.
'via Blog this'
it's a witty article, and it highlights the problem those of us wanting more accountability and transparency in the public sector see: tax monies vanishing into the mystery of exigency.
2011-09-19
Gamers succeed where scientists fail: Molecular structure of retrovirus enzyme solved, doors open to new AIDS drug design
Gamers succeed where scientists fail: Molecular structure of retrovirus enzyme solved, doors open to new AIDS drug design
.... as in: crowdsourcing, even where the result is quite sophisticated, works. Of course, one needs experts to determine the value of the results, but the point of crowdsourcing is precisely that it has little to do with the content (with what the information does), only the form, how it works and works with other like elements.
A brilliant novel that explores this, in politics, computer technology, and neurolinguistics, is Dreams of Glass, alas the only novel published by the author. The heroine solves fiendishly difficult problems purely on the basis of form; content is not just beside the point, but hostile to the solution: makes for distractions. Intelligence, artificial or not, is all about form, in this vision. The thing is, that's probably so, but the content of form is infinite for the human mind (or as close to infinite as I can gather), meaning it generates formal categories ad hoc, depending on the intelligence required.
.... as in: crowdsourcing, even where the result is quite sophisticated, works. Of course, one needs experts to determine the value of the results, but the point of crowdsourcing is precisely that it has little to do with the content (with what the information does), only the form, how it works and works with other like elements.
A brilliant novel that explores this, in politics, computer technology, and neurolinguistics, is Dreams of Glass, alas the only novel published by the author. The heroine solves fiendishly difficult problems purely on the basis of form; content is not just beside the point, but hostile to the solution: makes for distractions. Intelligence, artificial or not, is all about form, in this vision. The thing is, that's probably so, but the content of form is infinite for the human mind (or as close to infinite as I can gather), meaning it generates formal categories ad hoc, depending on the intelligence required.
2011-09-12
Open Wonderland supports drag-and-drop docs – Hypergrid Business
Open Wonderland supports drag-and-drop docs – Hypergrid Business
Quite interesting....
As well, I was looking at and playing with the OS X app, Bean, which saves in ODF (ODT).
2011-09-09
Doors of Perception weblog: Open Season on Dutch Cultural Innovation
Doors of Perception weblog: Open Season on Dutch Cultural Innovation:
The point: cuts by the NL gov't Arts Minister dumps into the abyss important efforts to reconceive and then implement inclusive design notions (accessibility) and environments that do not encourage mobility.
The point: cuts by the NL gov't Arts Minister dumps into the abyss important efforts to reconceive and then implement inclusive design notions (accessibility) and environments that do not encourage mobility.
Given that these are really globally important topics and of benefit if realized to the entire world, and that Dutch innovators stand to profit handsomely, it seems not just short sighted to cut the seed funding but downright dumb.
2011-09-08
Should Adobe Embrace Open Source? | ZDNet
Should Adobe Embrace Open Source? | ZDNet:
Adobe already does embrace Foss. The issue really seems to be, Should Adobe open source key products? And the answer is: unless it has a specific reason to, and a good plan on how, and the funds to implement it, no.
Adobe already does embrace Foss. The issue really seems to be, Should Adobe open source key products? And the answer is: unless it has a specific reason to, and a good plan on how, and the funds to implement it, no.
It's not hard to come up with good reasons. One being that the open source community of developers and users is an excellent complement to traditional marketing, especially when the market long dominated by the vendor is under pressure from more modern technologies. In this scenario, by open sourcing, say, Flash, or whatever, Adobe keeps itself relevant to those opting now for alternative technologies, including those promoted by Apple.
But the problem of open sourcing proprietary technology lies less in the mechanics of license than in staying ahead of competitors. What would be gained, in terms of sales, revenue, profit, by open sourcing Flash? Is an uncertain expansion of the market sufficiently compensatory? Would it--could it--lead to proprietary licensing revenue? That would imply that any open sourcing of X makes sense only if there is proprietary X' in the wings for those willing to pay for it or if there is a license condition triggered by commercial but not personal usage.
I tend to think that this argument, or nest of them, is not sufficient. I'd rather propose the development of technologies that can take advantage of the evolving forms. Right now, it's not entirely clear what technologies will come out on top, and it's by no means clear that Adobe should position itself as the leader.
Look to Apple, in this case, for a model. It refrained from leaping into the smartphone jungle (and earlier, into the mp3 one) until the trend of technology was clear. Then it entered with style. And consumers then only had to choose among style options--not technology options. (That is, it was not a choice among incompatibilities, as mp3 plays everywhere, but among the style of devices, with the quality adding a frisson of goodness but in and of itself determinative. Indeed, Apple's earbuds infamously suck, and it's not unusual to find oneself having bought a device whose glass shatters, whose phone capability is woeful, and so on: quality takes a second seat to style, and oddly becomes relevant as a testament only when it is good; when it is bad, its not there at all.)
So, I'd suggest to continue with the status quo while meanwhile developing open technologies that can leapfrog over the morass of the present to keep Adobe relevant for future users, where "future" simply means, "next year or 2013." (Once, the future was the year 2000, but that now is so last century, and there is no future left to replace what we've lost, there's only the inevitability of what we know will happen.)
2011-09-06
50 Open Source Replacements for Popular Financial Software - Datamation
50 Open Source Replacements for Popular Financial Software - Datamation:
Was perusing the options for financial modelling.....
Was perusing the options for financial modelling.....
2011-09-03
Defence bolsters search for open source software - Software - Technology - News - iTnews.com.au
Defence bolsters search for open source software - Software - Technology - News - iTnews.com.au:
I probably already posted on this but I was going over the political situation in Australia (problematic) and considering the likelihood of what I consider both simply pragmatic and also progressive governmental efforts, like this. It's pragmatic for the reasons that opting for ODF always is: flexibility, cost, ease of implementation. And it's progressive in the classic sense: increases participatory democracy. So for these reasons, my pessimism finds itself in conflict with my general optimism and belief that things really are getting better, though they'll probably find a way first of getting a lot worse.
I probably already posted on this but I was going over the political situation in Australia (problematic) and considering the likelihood of what I consider both simply pragmatic and also progressive governmental efforts, like this. It's pragmatic for the reasons that opting for ODF always is: flexibility, cost, ease of implementation. And it's progressive in the classic sense: increases participatory democracy. So for these reasons, my pessimism finds itself in conflict with my general optimism and belief that things really are getting better, though they'll probably find a way first of getting a lot worse.
2011-08-04
Major OpenOffice.org Deployments - OpenOffice.org Wiki
Major OpenOffice.org Deployments - OpenOffice.org Wiki
I was looking at this lately and realized--not hard--how out of date it is. If anyone has more current information, that'd be great. I'd also like to have a category docketing ODF installations, irrespective of actual implementation but identifying them. A good database for that, probably.
2011-07-14
IBM crams Lotus Symphony back into OpenOffice • The Register
IBM crams Lotus Symphony back into OpenOffice • The Register
Yay.
To be honest, I've long worked with Rob and Don and others, and I'm delighted to see the strong contribution... and to continue working with them, on ODF, and now increasingly on OpenOffice....
Time to join.
2011-07-13
Microsoft open sources code to calm wifi snooping fears- The Inquirer
Microsoft open sources code to calm wifi snooping fears- The Inquirer
Open source leads, it would seem for MSFT, not only to the appearance, but quite plausibly to the reality of demonstrable security (if not necessarily superior).
Working With An Opendocument Format Odt File Video Tutorial | Web Dev World | Independent Archive
Working With An Opendocument Format Odt File Video Tutorial | Web Dev World | Independent Archive
This looks interesting. Haven't seen it before, and would be curious to learn how people like the video and site.
2011-07-04
AT: Department of Justice's migration to OpenOffice a success story —
AT: Department of Justice's migration to OpenOffice a success story —
Also of great interest--and also a really excellent candidate for a case study.
PT: Consensus among political parties on open source and open standards in the Public Administration —
PT: Consensus among political parties on open source and open standards in the Public Administration —
This is immensely encouraging. I've worked--or tried to--with and in Portugal for many years trying to move the public administration to open standards (ODF) and also OOo, as the best implementation of the ODF.
That there is finally traction is great; but I wait to see the actual results before I get really jubilant.
2011-06-23
Like in Mexico, Parliaments Must Reject ACTA | La Quadrature du Net
Like in Mexico, Parliaments Must Reject ACTA | La Quadrature du Net
The vote by Mexico's Senate is quite interesting. I will look into who voted, as well as what effect it would have. My guess is that it's a "safe" vote, meaning it will have minimal effect. But it really ought to: ACTA has hidden and even obvious problems, and its likely effect is not to promote culture and cultural discourse--dont' we want those things?--but its opposite.
And yet, now is the time, now more than ever, to have as much discourse and all that comes from it, like entrepreneurs wanting to make money out of ideas whose cleverness can only become manifest in discussion. And it's not not just about software. Never before, it seems to me, have we--people--been faced with such challenges and also possessed of such tools to deal with them; and yet given the fire of Prometheus, we wish to douse it, precisely because it is valuable.
2011-06-20
A Microsoft Horror Story: Newspaper Chain Is Switching 8,500 Employees To Google Apps
A Microsoft Horror Story: Newspaper Chain Is Switching 8,500 Employees To Google Apps
Not surprising.
And now, the McClatchy news team will be able, if they want, I suppose, to save to ODF.
And then save even more money and time and future sweat by opting to use OpenOffice.org.
2011-06-02
IBM Press room - 2011-06-01 IBM to Contribute to New, Proposed OpenOffice.org Project - United States
IBM Press room - 2011-06-01 IBM to Contribute to New, Proposed OpenOffice.org Project - United States
This is the official IBM statement regarding the proposed inclusion of OOo into Apache.
2011-06-01
Statements on OpenOffice.org Contribution to Apache
Statements on OpenOffice.org Contribution to Apache
Oracle just announced--in classic oracular fashion--its proposal to contribute OOo code to Apache. Lots of questions, such as: who owns the code and trademark? What about the core developers--the ones who happen to live in Hamburg?--and what will be the ongoing status of the existing OpenOffice.org community? It's not small, it is large, it's not inactive, it is doing things. And it now also has lots of really important questions.
So, I invite Jim Jagielski, of Apache, and the proposed polling mentor for OOo during its mentoring process, to engage with us, the OpenOffice.org community. And I also want to lay a simple ground rule: Enough of secrecy.
2011-05-20
Watch Now - Al Jazeera English
Watch Now - Al Jazeera English
The programme is @AJStream, and it was exciting to see people I know--Biella Coleman--being interviewed, as well as to listen to an animated discussion on subjects near and dear.
The programme is @AJStream, and it was exciting to see people I know--Biella Coleman--being interviewed, as well as to listen to an animated discussion on subjects near and dear.
2011-05-19
Inside Views: Brazil’s Copyright Reform: Schizophrenia? | Intellectual Property Watch
Inside Views: Brazil’s Copyright Reform: Schizophrenia? | Intellectual Property Watch
Immensely useful context regarding the shift in posture from Lula to his hand-picked successor, Dima Rousseff. When I saw her inaugural speech, I was cheered by her declaration, loud, clear, and welcomed by all there, that the future lay in, and that the government would promote ICT development. Given the history of the Lula regime's advocacy of open source, via Gilberto Gil's expansive vision and actions, I had the notion that this meant more not less endorsement of open source.
I was wrong. It seems really to have meant: Let's bring back neoliberalism and make our country a yet better market for big multinationals operating without real concern for local markets; and lets close the door to open knowledge, open technologies, open source.
Brazil’s Copyright Reform: Are We All Josef K.? | Intellectual Property Watch
Brazil’s Copyright Reform: Are We All Josef K.? | Intellectual Property Watch
How this affects OOo is not necessarily obvious. But a simple account is that if under Lula there was an open door, and even an invitation to open source and to the communities enabling and supporting them, under his successor and more to the point, under the new Minister of Culture, the approach has quite changed. Gilberto Gil, the former minister, understood the benefits--cultural, social, economic--of open source; if Juca Ferreira does, that is not evident at all, at least not in any positive way.
The result is--or could be, absent actual and effective protests by those most affected by the shift in posture, is that the resistance to open source is that much stronger, and the resurgence of neoliberalism shamelessly enabled.
2011-05-18
But what about the Novell effort on the office suite?
Attachmate's Brauckmann takes control of SUSE Linux • The Register
It's unclear: is Attachmate eliminating the effort or not? How crucial is it, as a revenue generator?
Microsoft welcomes CentOS Linux onto virtualized Windows • The Register
Microsoft welcomes CentOS Linux onto virtualized Windows • The Register
A fairly good analysis of the strategy MSFT is engaging in here with Linux. The interesting things is that CentOS is a community effort, not a corporate synthetic, a departure for MSFT, as Gavin points out. By supporting CentOS, MSFT secures its market, coming and going.
But how to persuade away from the MSFT lure? it' snot just about open source. It's about, now, the usual: business, to be sure, but also, and this is rather important, establishing a network able to work with a variety of vendor environments, and to consider, seriously, subsequent developments. For instance, what formats, what apps, what other opportunities will be wanted and developed?
2011-05-17
Open source .NET mimic rises from Novell ashes • The Register
Open source .NET mimic rises from Novell ashes • The Register
Hard not to consider this development interesting. And I'm also curious about Microsoft investment in Xamarian, the new de Icaza gig. This is not an area of indignation or FUD. It's curiosity about business politics. I'm intrigued by the map of proxies we see developing. Proxies have always added gravitational surprises to any otherwise predictable field, as they tend to operate with a funded agenda that affects markets. So, it's worth knowing about them.
All that said, I do wish Miguel and his fine team the best of luck and good fortune!
2011-05-09
Free Software & law related links 30. IV. 2011 - 06. V. 2011 | Hook's Humble Homepage
Free Software & law related links 30. IV. 2011 - 06. V. 2011 | Hook's Humble Homepage
I have been following this blog's contents for some time, but this last week has proven particularly interesting, so I post Matija's excellent links here. I'll start making it a regular thing, to post "Hook's Humble Homepage," or the blog of FSFE Deputy Legal Coordinator Matija Šuklje.
2011-05-04
.NET Android and iOS clones stripped by Attachmate • The Register
.NET Android and iOS clones stripped by Attachmate • The Register
This does not come as a surprise. What is interesting now, is to wonder what will happen to Novell's longtime effort to parallel OpenOffice.org code. (LibreOffice is, as far as I can tell, Novell's version, and Ubuntu has, for a long time, distributed Novell's vesion; it now does the same with LibreOffice.) Should Novell effectively withdraw--which I expect--then what will happen to LO and Ubuntu's distribution? Users will not benefit. Even though the critique of LibreOffice (and prior to that, Novell's version) has always been related to its QA (something we at OOo do particularly well, if with some overzealous vigour), still, I hardly want to see the consumer base suffer, for it affects us all in the open source world, when disruptions like this unsettle consumer expectations.
Indeed, it's been my grief that the division enacted by The Document Foundation adn LO has precisely fed into the narrative long held and maintained by those enemies of Foss that it is unpredictable, uncertain, and ultimately uneconomical: a bad decision, suitable at best for the Ivory Tower crowd or those crazy freetards in California.
2011-05-01
Bill Blackbeard, Champion of Comic Strips, Dies at 84 - NYTimes.com
Bill Blackbeard, Champion of Comic Strips, Dies at 84 - NYTimes.com
Without Blackbeard's obsession, the rich history of comic book narrative would likely be lost, at best converted to microfilm, which is not in colour and detestable to study, let alone read for pleasure.
Preserving the originals preserves, to a degree, the original pleasure and beauty of the form. And the technology today allows us to capture the colour of the original panes. But what format do we choose to save these in? One of the virtues of the analogue ink on paper format is that it does not demand special technology to perceive. The mix of chemicals producing the effect may be proprietary but that only affects the producer, not the consumer. Not so modern edocument technology.
So we need, in order to preserve our cultural history and moment, an open technology and open standard that does not discriminate but that makes available to any artist, any person, the archive. Otherwise, we bankrupt our culture.
Bill Blackbeard, Champion of Comic Strips, Dies at 84 - NYTimes.com
Bill Blackbeard, Champion of Comic Strips, Dies at 84 - NYTimes.com
Without Blackbeard's obsession, the rich history of comic book narrative would likely be lost, at best converted to microfilm, which is not in colour and detestable to study, let alone read for pleasure.
Preserving the originals preserves, to a degree, the original pleasure and beauty of the form. And the technology today allows us to capture the colour of the original panes. But what format do we choose to save these in? One of the virtues of the analogue ink on paper format is that it does not demand special technology to perceive. The mix of chemicals producing the effect may be proprietary but that only affects the producer, not the consumer. Not so modern edocument technology.
So we need, in order to preserve our cultural history and moment, an open technology and open standard that does not discriminate but that makes available to any artist, any person, the archive. Otherwise, we bankrupt our culture.
2011-04-21
Microsoft gets Novell's Patents rights but must share them with Open-Source Software | ZDNet
Microsoft gets Novell's Patents rights but must share them with Open-Source Software | ZDNet:
This analysis--more a summary, I suppose--is useful. What will happen a) to Novell post Attachmate (and thus to Novell's work on, for instance, OOo, now LibreOffice), is worth wondering about. With the agreement signed by Novell and MIcrosoft signed back in 2006, Novell's work on OOo and its release of the same, became little more, as far as I can tell, than a proxy for MSFT, a way for MSFT both to expand its base and secure its customers. Why did it have to do this? Because the ODF and OOo were gaining significant share not only of the productivity suite market but the one to come, and that latter one is far larger than the current.
I'm not dismissing or disparaging the efforts of the developers working on the code or providing their contributions in the LO camp; they are good people and hardly consider themselves, I dare say, agents or proxies for MSFT or anyone--that's one reason they formed LO, I understand. But in the calculus of divide and conquer, who wins?
I'd like to make sure that divisions do not lead to conquest, and that those that exist are, as much as is possible, reconciled. Too much is at stake. Over the last ten plus years, we've moved from being "the alternative" to something innovative and new. We've created a new market, the ODF market, which does not depend on any one vendor.
2011-04-18
CeBIT Open Source Forum 2011 - Linux Magazine Online
CeBIT Open Source Forum 2011 - Linux Magazine Online
More particularly, a video of my talk is at:
http://www.techcast.com/events/cebit11/di10
2011-04-14
Open source and the sluggish UK public sector • The Register
More from the article. What is crucial here, for me, as an ODF advocate, and as a realist, is policies mandating open standards (and those that can actually be implemented by a range of vendors). Thus, Silber:
The Cabinet Office is in the middle of an informal consultation on open standards in IT. Asked what she’d like to see come out of the process, Silber has no hesitation, especially in the light of Bristol City Council having to re-install Windows because of compatibility issues.
“Some really strong statements of support for requirements to support open standards should be included,” she says. “Compliance really ought to be mandated. The government seems to have a good understanding of open source software’s potential. It is time we saw this turn into action.”"
Open source and the sluggish UK public sector • The Register
Open source and the sluggish UK public sector • The Register
Jane Silber of Canonical makes the key point, one that is true in many, many places around the world:
But it doesn’t seem to work that way. Jane Silber, chief executive of Ubuntu’s commercial champion Canonical, has a feeling that open source is used as a negotiating tool but that its benefits are not always taken into account.
“I’d like to think open source has a value other than as a negotiating tool,” she says. “There has been some good progress in getting it considered. The government is doing some things with procurement laws to encourage system integrators to include open source in proposals.
“But it is a bit of a chicken and egg situation. The system integrators can’t offer it if the public sector isn’t asking for it, and the public sector can’t buy it if it isn’t on the tender.”
2011-04-13
Open Knowledge Foundation Blog » Blog Archive » What do you think about Norway’s new open data license?
Open Knowledge Foundation Blog » Blog Archive » What do you think about Norway’s new open data license?
I follow the Open Knowledge Foundation and its blogs... and also keenly interested in the categories related to open access, knowledge, source and the tools by which these can be made meaningfully open: accessible and usable by all.
It's not meaningful to claim that information must be free. It is meaningful to say that to be free you must have information.
2011-03-16
JAPANESE RED CROSS SOCIETY｜Japan／Earthquake Donation
JAPANESE RED CROSS SOCIETY｜Japan／Earthquake Donation
I, along with many of the OpenOffice.org and ODF communities have friends in Japan. News of their well-being is trickling in. But thousands lost their lives, and many, many more lost their homes, possessions, their ways of life. The 9.0 earthquake and the continuing nuclear catastrophe has global dimensions, and Japan should be lauded for accepting international support.
Please help. Everything is needed. The best and easiest way for those of us remote to help those on the ground is via the Red Cross, and I've put a link for donations at the top here.
Donate, please.
2011-03-12
Temblor
Iwoke this morning to the horror of learning of the huge temblor that hit Honshu 14:46 local. That nothing can prepare for such a massive release of energy goes without saying. That the Japanese have yet done more than any other people to anticipate is to their credit! But so far likely hundreds have died, ad no doubt thousands injured, and millions horribly affected.
Among them I dread to think are my--our--friends from OOo. We, the Community working on OOo, are deeply concerned. Over the last ten years, the dedication and commitment shown by the Japanese OOo community has never flagged and always inspired.
However the rest of the global OOo community can help, let us know.
Among them I dread to think are my--our--friends from OOo. We, the Community working on OOo, are deeply concerned. Over the last ten years, the dedication and commitment shown by the Japanese OOo community has never flagged and always inspired.
However the rest of the global OOo community can help, let us know.
2011-03-11
Authoring Interoperable ODF Documents
Authoring Interoperable ODF Documents
I work with Rob Weir on two Oasis TCs, the Adoption and OIC, and his comments, insight--writing--are invaluable. His latest post merits review.
2011-03-09
Manila Standard Today -- Schools take the open road -- 2011/march/8
Manila Standard Today -- Schools take the open road -- 2011/march/8
This is great news. But it is, as with so many good news items coming from the Philippines, coming to me by accident. There is no formal apparatus--that is, reliable--for notifying us of significant OOo or ODF usage. When we do learn of things like this, we try to itemize them on our "Major OpenOffice.org Deployments," and I invite the schools in the Philippines to do that: it's a wiki.
I have long advocated and promoted the idea of regional groups which would, among other things, inform the rest of the OOo communities of actions like this. Why is this important? Because public and private sector organizations generally shy from taking bold actions until they learn of others' having done pretty much what they want, first. In short, they need case studies.
As well, the ecosystems developed by government deployments--schools, for instance--develop a new market that enables more companies' actions; risk, clearly, is diminished.
2011-02-15
India Steps Forward as Africa Seeks Academic Aid - NYTimes.com
India Steps Forward as Africa Seeks Academic Aid - NYTimes.com
Never before have there been so many children and never before have so many needed the kind of education found in schoolhouses. The move from farm to city has introduced problems that go far beyond crowds of children housed in decrepit rooms with primitive tools and technology, outdated books, overworked (and poorly trained or worse) teachers. There may be no schoolroom at all, no book, no tools, no computer, no teacher. And producing the rooms, the tools, the teacher costs a lot of money. What is more, it is no longer just the Three Rs (Reading, 'Riiting, 'Rithmetic); it's also now using computer technology, whatever that may mean--but it's important. If the 3Rs give the recipient the sufficient ability to engage in the urban economy as a productive agent, they fall short too often when part of becoming productive now means being able to work with if not on a computer, to programme it, say, or even more simply, to understand what it can do, as a tool of production, not simply as a vehicle for more consumption.
The solution here is not simply provided by pointing to OpenOffice.org and the OpenDocument Format (ODF). That is a start. Proprietary solutions as such are not acceptable for so many. And if this demands a recalculation of what is in the public's interest, what is the Res Publica, and what is not, then that is a conversation that must be held.
About Global Public Inclusive Infrastructures (GPIIs) | gpii.org
About Global Public Inclusive Infrastructures (GPIIs) | gpii.org
I've long urged more attention to accessibility issues and technology, especially for Foss. Indeed, the current logic of adding, post hoc, accessibility features, is wrong. It ought to be something done at the outset, as a basic principal upon which all other things are built. That's because "accessibility" really ought to be reconsidered as "universal design" or the design of things (not just technology) that can be used by all.
This is a crucial point. The billions coming to modern technology--telephone's and TV's and the (very hostile) typewriter's progeny--should not be forced into the shape conceived of at the end of the 19th century and designed more as a means of disciplining the young, healthy, body.
The ODF, as the chief open standard for documents, is leading the front here, and OOo, as the leading open source office suite, is profoundly important to the point.
2011-02-10
Updates
I have some news: I've left Oracle. But I have not left OpenOffice.org and so remain deeply involved in the project and in the promotion of the OpenDocument Format, or ODF. In fact, my focus, my efforts are strengthened by my newfound independence.
And the timing for this is good—for me, for the community, for the Project, for the ODF campaign. Decisions rolling tens of millions of dollars (and every other national currency you can count) into the future stand poised as the latest release, OpenOffice.org 3.3, is evaluated not just for what it can do now to replace the alternative (laugh) but how it will work with future technologies—like mobile devices, most obviously, but also in other sectors I invite the community to imagine and suggest.
We need to drive our vision of openness—open code, open standards—into a future that can be realized sooner than later. The ODF is not just about office documents, I've long held. (And what even really counts as an "office document"? Is a video embedded in a presentation a movie, a cartoon, or an over-the-top business presentation given by a marketing executive? There are no boundaries, only conventions.) The ODF is about standardizing the expression of data so that implementations from this or that vendor can work with the file. It's about, as we have long repeated, no vendor lock in. And that is a statement that defies time's passage, for an open standard is not owned by one company but maintained by a consortium. It is open to all, the future included.
Not all the work I want can be done on OpenOffice.org; not all is suitable for the Project and not all ought to be there. Focus is important, else nothing gets done. OpenOffice.org is about, well, OpenOffice.org and the technology that makes up the suite, which can, of course, always be extended. But, that immensely useful suite is but one, if key, implementation of the ODF. Many others support or fully implement it. More to the point, there is also, for the development of ODF support per se is done, the ODF Toolkit Union, or, if that is also not suitable, I have no doubt that some other host can be found that is. At this point in our maturity, there is no difficulty finding the right host.
I own an iPad and when my MacBook Pro crashed *twice* last year (logic board failure then total HD death and actual data loss; Apple was magnificent, btw, in recompensing me as much as it could), my iPad became my primary computer, and it did great. But I had real difficulty working with ODF files on it. In fact, I couldn't easily do it. I could use a virtualization app, but it was uselessly slow for writing and reading ODF files. Another app, FileApp Pro, was better for viewing files, but it also needed serious improvement.
So, last month, I contacted the company making FileApp Pro—I do this sort of thing all the time, contact companies working on ODF or OOo technology (another one I contacted, much to my delight, it turns out, was the Norwegian Open Framework Systems, as, or OFS.no, which has a quite brilliant Web app that expresses by default data in ODF; they have since joined Oasis, which maintains the ODF, and will participate in the upcoming 5th ODF plugfest to be held in Maidenhead, UK, not far outside of London, this 24-25 Feb.). After some busy pauses, Vic, of DigiDNA, got back to me and explained the problems his lead engineer faces in creating an editor for ODF on the iOS. (An ODF editor for Android is also under development, and I've previously blogged on it. I invited the developers to the ODF plugfest, but they have not replied yet. Let's hope they do and can in fact make it. Certainly, they ought to. As well, at last year's Budapest OOoCon, where we held another plugfest, Nokia demonstrated an ODF editor for the N900. Do you have one of them? Does anyone? I don't, but if someone wants me to examine it, and write shill-worthy praise, I can supply my postal address.)
I'll shortly be sending the note DigiDNA sent me on to developers--even posting it to this blog will be a start, I'd imagine. But here's the issue: DigiDNA does not have the resources and is not the right company to make such an app. Its focus is on rendering file formats, and it does that very well. (FileApp Pro is worth the money.) But editing is another thing altogether. I'm not suggesting plunking OOo on the device. You don't need to. I am saying that one can have a minimal editor of ODF files that could be saved in ODF or even in .txt. OOo (or any other suitable implementation) can do the rest.
Who would use this app? Let's start with schools. And let's go beyond that. As more and more government offices migrate to ODF, or think about it, they also think about how mobile devices will work with their plans. Everyone knows that the future—the now plus one day, really—is mobile. Desktops will stay, of course, just as the TV is still around, despite the Internet. Mobile devices will complement desktops; they already are (see my own story above). But I'd guess that many government buyers are thinking, when they consider the ODF, "Where's the mobile solution?"
I think we some collaborative effort we can give a good answer---to this, and to other such questions. Some of the work will fit within the OOo project, other won't. But it and all the related work answering the future needs to be done, and I am eager to get to it.
And the timing for this is good—for me, for the community, for the Project, for the ODF campaign. Decisions rolling tens of millions of dollars (and every other national currency you can count) into the future stand poised as the latest release, OpenOffice.org 3.3, is evaluated not just for what it can do now to replace the alternative (laugh) but how it will work with future technologies—like mobile devices, most obviously, but also in other sectors I invite the community to imagine and suggest.
We need to drive our vision of openness—open code, open standards—into a future that can be realized sooner than later. The ODF is not just about office documents, I've long held. (And what even really counts as an "office document"? Is a video embedded in a presentation a movie, a cartoon, or an over-the-top business presentation given by a marketing executive? There are no boundaries, only conventions.) The ODF is about standardizing the expression of data so that implementations from this or that vendor can work with the file. It's about, as we have long repeated, no vendor lock in. And that is a statement that defies time's passage, for an open standard is not owned by one company but maintained by a consortium. It is open to all, the future included.
Not all the work I want can be done on OpenOffice.org; not all is suitable for the Project and not all ought to be there. Focus is important, else nothing gets done. OpenOffice.org is about, well, OpenOffice.org and the technology that makes up the suite, which can, of course, always be extended. But, that immensely useful suite is but one, if key, implementation of the ODF. Many others support or fully implement it. More to the point, there is also, for the development of ODF support per se is done, the ODF Toolkit Union, or, if that is also not suitable, I have no doubt that some other host can be found that is. At this point in our maturity, there is no difficulty finding the right host.
I own an iPad and when my MacBook Pro crashed *twice* last year (logic board failure then total HD death and actual data loss; Apple was magnificent, btw, in recompensing me as much as it could), my iPad became my primary computer, and it did great. But I had real difficulty working with ODF files on it. In fact, I couldn't easily do it. I could use a virtualization app, but it was uselessly slow for writing and reading ODF files. Another app, FileApp Pro, was better for viewing files, but it also needed serious improvement.
So, last month, I contacted the company making FileApp Pro—I do this sort of thing all the time, contact companies working on ODF or OOo technology (another one I contacted, much to my delight, it turns out, was the Norwegian Open Framework Systems, as, or OFS.no, which has a quite brilliant Web app that expresses by default data in ODF; they have since joined Oasis, which maintains the ODF, and will participate in the upcoming 5th ODF plugfest to be held in Maidenhead, UK, not far outside of London, this 24-25 Feb.). After some busy pauses, Vic, of DigiDNA, got back to me and explained the problems his lead engineer faces in creating an editor for ODF on the iOS. (An ODF editor for Android is also under development, and I've previously blogged on it. I invited the developers to the ODF plugfest, but they have not replied yet. Let's hope they do and can in fact make it. Certainly, they ought to. As well, at last year's Budapest OOoCon, where we held another plugfest, Nokia demonstrated an ODF editor for the N900. Do you have one of them? Does anyone? I don't, but if someone wants me to examine it, and write shill-worthy praise, I can supply my postal address.)
I'll shortly be sending the note DigiDNA sent me on to developers--even posting it to this blog will be a start, I'd imagine. But here's the issue: DigiDNA does not have the resources and is not the right company to make such an app. Its focus is on rendering file formats, and it does that very well. (FileApp Pro is worth the money.) But editing is another thing altogether. I'm not suggesting plunking OOo on the device. You don't need to. I am saying that one can have a minimal editor of ODF files that could be saved in ODF or even in .txt. OOo (or any other suitable implementation) can do the rest.
Who would use this app? Let's start with schools. And let's go beyond that. As more and more government offices migrate to ODF, or think about it, they also think about how mobile devices will work with their plans. Everyone knows that the future—the now plus one day, really—is mobile. Desktops will stay, of course, just as the TV is still around, despite the Internet. Mobile devices will complement desktops; they already are (see my own story above). But I'd guess that many government buyers are thinking, when they consider the ODF, "Where's the mobile solution?"
I think we some collaborative effort we can give a good answer---to this, and to other such questions. Some of the work will fit within the OOo project, other won't. But it and all the related work answering the future needs to be done, and I am eager to get to it.
2011-02-07
European Parliament starts free software user group —
European Parliament starts free software user group —
This item is quite interesting. I would surely like to see the focus be as much on open standards as on free/open source software.
2011-01-04
Cuba sets to migrate to free, open-source software
Cuba sets to migrate to free, open-source software
This is quite cool... But it's regrettable it's taken so long. Two years ago, in Malága, I spoke with a representative from Cuba about migrating to OOo and ODF, and learned that the rhetoric then was not commensurate with the reality, in part simply b/c there seemed to be less reliance on computer technology. But Cuba suffers from the same complex problem nearly every country is now experiencing: accelerating urbanisation (in no small part because of the continuing demolition of economically valuable environments), the unprecedented rise in children needing teaching (but lacking teachers, books, classrooms, etc.), and the devastating lack of jobs for those newly urbanised adults and growing children.
Only ICT can begin to satisfy this complex of needs, through distance learning, through open source, through the establishment of new commons and new ecosystems that will not only communicate knowledge and information but also set the scene for the establishment of markets providing for jobs, careers, taxes. And not just social and real death.
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