Archive for the ‘open source’ Category

Quality Overtakes Cost in Open Source

NEW YORK; Aug. 5, 2010 - The open source software market has reached a turning point, with organizations in the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland now committing to clear strategies and policies for open source software development. According to the findings of a survey released today by Accenture (NYSE:ACN), more than two-thirds of organizations (69 percent) anticipate increased investment in 2010, with more than a third (38 percent) expecting to migrate mission-critical software to open source in the next twelve months.

.:newsroom.accenture.com->

Wi-Fi Aerial Surveillance Platform

Using off the shelf equipment and an opensource autopilot,AArdupilot have created an airborne platform designed to sniff out WiFi networks.

Coming hard on the heals of last weeks Google Drone story that was quickly rubbished by the search giant this seems like another threat to your data.

The electrically powered airframe Abased on a large scaleAMig 23 Flogger hobby model kit. The Flogger was a Russian swing wing cold war fighter. AAn unusual platform for this task Arequiring a large amount of power to get airborne and a limited time in the air.

What they hope to get out of this project is not known. Grabbing the attention of aviationAauthorities will probably be one of the first outcomes.

Loss of freedoms for traditional aeromodellers is already on the cards as authorities around the world realise what the largely ignored group is now capable of. In Amercia one of the first casualties mooted might be jet power. Miniature high powered jet engines used in larger models become more affordable and the speeds that can be reached by carbon fibre airframes increase. You don't have to join too many dots for potentialAmisuse.

Actions of groups that claim to be defending freedoms or rights might lead to less for more.

If you want to replicate this WifiDrone Ain the UK remember that the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) here have already put measures in place to regulate airborne data gathering. Wondering how it was built, clickAhere.

.:suasnews.com->

What Now? : The Imprecise and Disagreeable Aesthetics of Remix

At first I had considered him to be as singular as the phoenix of rhetorical praise; after frequenting his pages a bit, I came to think I could recognize his voice, or his practices, in texts from diverse literatures and periods. I shall record a few of these here. -ABorges, 'Kafka and His Precursors'

.:journal.fibreculture.org->

Open Source: The Capitalists’ Choice

Open Source promotes a more efficient market because competition is not shut out so easily. As an Open Source oriented provider you need to be sure that you are always providing a service that the customer considers to be worth the money they’re paying. If you don’t then they can easily take their business elsewhere, safe in the knowledge that any other provider will have the same access to the source code, documentation and other internal information needed to deliver the features and bug fixes that you require without needing you to throw out your systems and start from scratch with something new.

Open Source is good capitalism. It encourages competition, it allows small players easy entry to the market and it rewards genuine delivery of value to customers.

The proprietary software model on the other hand, is built around the idea that the companies in control of the system have secrets information that those they claim to serve are not privy to. We are told these secrets are necessary and are in the interest of the greater good, but they are used to suppress rebellion and choice. Hang on… doesn’t that sound a bit like some sort of authoritarian communist state?

.:siriusit.co.uk->

MakerBeam

Over on Kickstarter there’s a project called MakerBeam to make an open-source building kit. Something like Meccano, but open-source, and based on a T-slot aluminum profile. They promise us it will be good for robots. Open-source fire-breathing robot spiders? We can only hope.

On the Kickstarter project site you can view in an informative video of the kit.

As they say, "We’ve never seen a hammer company go broke because hammers aren’t patented; we think we’ll do okay."

They aim to go public with kits at Maker Faire 2010.

Check it out.

::all text and images courtesy of Sam Putman at Makerbeam

UN launches world’s first tuition-free university

19 May 2009 a€" A leading arm of the United Nations working to spread the benefits of information technology today announced the launch of the first ever tuition-free online university.As part of this yeara€™s focus on education, the UN Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technology and Development (GAID) presented the newly formed University of the People, a non-profit institution offering higher education to the masses.

a€oeThis year the Global Alliance has focused its attention on education [and] how ICT can advance education goals around the world,a€A Serge Kapto from GAID told a press conference at UN Headquarters in New York.

For hundreds of millions of people around the world higher education is no more than a dream, Shai Reshef, the founder of the University of the People, told reporters. They are constrained by finances, the lack of institutions in their region, or they are not able to leave home to study at a university for personal reasons.

Mr. Reshef said that this University opened the gate to these people to continue their studies from home and at minimal cost by using open-source technology, open course materials, e-learning methods and peer-to-peer teaching.

.::un->

The Future of the Book

The no-loading features of a book really counter point the content (or books) found on a screen. All you have to do is read and breathe and turn the page. Incredible that books have lasted this long- there not going any where. While we do not recommend transferring your blog directly to a book, refer to lifehacker on how to do it.

The printed, bound, and paid-for book wasAAa€" still is for the momentAAa€" more exacting, more demanding of its producer and consumer both. It was the encounter, in silence, of two minds, one following in the other’s steps but invited to imagine, to argue, to concur on a level of reflection beyond that of personal encounter. via

However "networked texts" will have the last word. It is up to the system to decide which experience will be better for the value of the word.

Be sure to head on over to The Institute for the Future of the Book which will soon be releasing The Googlization of Everything..

Speaking of a new society, networked media sounds a whole lot better right about now. According to Jeff Jarvis, this new society is:

built on connections, links, transparency, openness, publicness, listening, trust, wisdom, generosity, efficiency, markets, niches, platforms, networks, speed, and abundance. buzzmachine

Hmmm, well then blogging also becomes a publishable source from here on out and no longer just an extension of personality. Maybe a "blook" is merely a longer book…

Open Source Insurgency

Superempowerment — an increase in the ability of individuals and small groups to accomplish tasks/work through the combination of rapid improvements in technological tools and access to global networks — has enabled small groups to radically increase their productivity in conflict. For example, if a small group disrupts a system or a network by attacking systempunkts, it can amplify the results of its attacks to achieve as much as a 1,400,000 percent return on investment.

Open source warfare is an organizational method by which a large collection of small, violent, superempowered groups can work together to take on much larger foes (usually hierarchies). It is also a method of organization that can be applied to non-violent struggles. It enables:

• High rates of innovation.
• Increased survivability among the participant groups.
• More frequent attacks and an ability to swarm targets.

Here are some suggestions (this is but one of many methods based on recent history, I’m sure that over time a better method will emerge) for building an open source insurgency:

Wikileaks

Wikileaks is developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. Our primary interest is in exposing oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to people of all regions who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their governments and corporations. We aim for maximum political impact. Our interface is identical to Wikipedia and usable by all types of people. We have received over 1.2 million documents so far from dissident communities and anonymous sources.

We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies. All governments can benefit from increased scrutiny by the world community, as well as their own people. We believe this scrutiny requires information. Historically that information has been costly - in terms of human life and human rights. But with technological advances - the internet, and cryptography - the risks of conveying important information can be lowered.

Wikileaks opens leaked documents up to stronger scrutiny than any media organization or intelligence agency can provide. Wikileaks provides a forum for the entire global community to relentlessly examine any document for its credibility, plausibility, veracity and validity. Communities can interpret leaked documents and explain their relevance to the public. If a document comes from the Chinese government, the entire Chinese dissident community and diaspora can freely scrutinize and discuss it; if a document arrives from Iran, the entire Farsi community can analyze it and put it in context. Sample analyses are available here.

In its landmark ruling on the Pentagon Papers, the US Supreme Court ruled that "only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government." We agree.

We believe that it is not only the people of one country that keep their government honest, but also the people of other countries who are watching that government. That is why the time has come for an anonymous global avenue for disseminating documents the public should see.

Volunteer to help. Almost everyone can be of some assistance.