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.
2011-12-14
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.
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