FOSS Devs’ Biggest Complaints: Documentation and Licensing
- Aug
- 29
Open source software may hold considerable appeal for software developers around the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s without its aggravations. While no one aspect qualifies as the ultimate reason to oppose writing or using open source code, a significant number of programmers report that poor documentation and problems interpreting licenses rank high on their list of grievances.
Zero In on Research Control With Zotero
- Aug
- 28
With countless high school and college students heading back to school at roughly this time of year, now is a good time to get acquainted with Zotero, a great cross-platform tool for collecting, organizing, citing and sharing research sources. I have spent considerable time working in academic settings helping students manage their research assignments.
Nginx, the Popular Open-Source Web Server, Goes Commercial
- Aug
- 26
Following in the footsteps of open-source companies like Red Hat and SUSE, Nginx’s developers are offering a commercial version of its flagship open-source program, the popular Nginx Web server.
Read more at Enterprise Open Source Toolkit
Failed Funding Effort Blunts Canonical’s Ubuntu Edge
- Aug
- 23
Canonical raised more than $12 million over 30 frantic days of crowdfunding its ambitious Ubuntu Edge superphone project, but it was still short some $20 million by the time the effort closed on Wednesday. The company’s target was $32 million. “We raised $12,809,906, making the Edge the world’s biggest ever fixed crowdfunding campaign,” wrote Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth.
Snapchat Adds a Splash of Spontaneity to Sharing Photos
- Aug
- 23
A few weeks ago I looked at Burner, an Android app that creates anonymous, disposable phone numbers for your smartphone. Android app Snapchat is in the same arena in that it, too, provides privacy for smartphone users. The difference, however is that this app uniquely deletes MMS-like multimedia messages once they’ve been viewed.
Snapchat Adds a Splash of Spontaneity to Sharing Photos
- Aug
- 23
A few weeks ago I looked at Burner, an Android app that creates anonymous, disposable phone numbers for your smartphone. Android app Snapchat is in the same arena in that it, too, provides privacy for smartphone users. The difference, however is that this app uniquely deletes MMS-like multimedia messages once they’ve been viewed.
Crowds Cough Up More Than $12K for Facebook Hacker
- Aug
- 22
The hacker who uncovered a bug on Facebook earlier this week may indeed get a reward for his efforts, but not from the social network itself. After it became clear that Facebook would not pay Khalil Shreateh a bug bounty for his discovery, arguing that he had violated the site’s Terms of Service, a crowdfunding effort launched on GoFundMe to raise funds for Shreateh — an unemployed Palestinian programmer — independently.
Raspberry Strudel: My Raspberry Pi in Austria
- Aug
- 22
I remember my first colocated server rather fondly. It was a 1U Supermicro that had
been decommissioned from my employer after a few years’ service. Although it was too
old and slow for my company, the 800MHz CPU, 1GB RAM and 36GB SCSI storage was
perfect for my needs back in 2005. A friend was kind enough to allow me to colocate
the server at his facility for free. more>>
Open Source Meets Textbook Publishing – Much Cash Freed Up
- Aug
- 22
There’s no denying the growing impact of open source software in today’s business landscape, but for those who want additional proof of the open approach’s viability, there’s OpenStax College. Since 2012, the initiative has been producing peer-reviewed open source textbooks under a Creative Commons license. This year, the organization expects to save some 40,000 students about $3.7 million.
Gotta Access Linux Files? Paragon ExtFS Delivers the Goods
- Aug
- 21
ExtFS is a cross-platform application that can make using Linux much easier in multiple-OS platforms. As much as I try to stay exclusively in the Linux OS world, every so often a work situation arises that puts the comfort zone of staying with Linux to the test. When I absolutely must cross the Great Divide, Paragon’s Universal File System Driver in ExtFS comes to my rescue.