Planet JM

Tag: ostatic

  • Crazy Google Kids at it Again with Chrome OS

    Google kicked off the launch of its Chromium OS project today with a presentation on Chrome OS. The first thing you’ll notice is that the name of Google’s consumer product will be Chrome OS, while the open source project is named Chromium OS. My guess: Google will bless the usage of the Chrome OS name by granting trademark rights to those who comply with Google’s standards. Google didn’t say that, but that’s what I would do.The next thing I noticed is that Chrome OS will be completely “cloud-based”. As in, no local data. As in, all web apps all the time. As in, it’s only useful to the extent that there’s an internet connection. This will likely prove to be a Google Rohrschach test. Those already predisposed to disliking anything Google does will find this horrifying. Those who think Google is the bee’s knees will conclude that it’s not completely evil and, indeed, is the next logical evolution of desktops-in-the-cloud technology.

    in reference to: Crazy Google Kids at it Again with Chrome OS (view on Google Sidewiki)

  • 10 Years of SourceForge.net

    It’s often difficult to notice when you’re in the midst of making history. In the summer and fall of 1999, I spent some time working next door to four noisy, Mountain Dew-swilling misfits working on a renegade project within VA Linux Systems. Little did I know that their efforts would become known as the world’s largest open source development site.I refer, of course, to SourceForge.net, which launched on November 17, 1999. Most people think of SourceForge.net these days as another huge web site with lots of ads, but very few understand its humble beginnings or how challenging it was to even launch the darn thing without the powers-that-be at VA killing it off in a fit of well-intentioned hari kiri. The history and beginnings of SourceForge.net can teach executives and managers today the value of trying crazy things that might (and probably will) fail; of letting your young guns run wild with imagination; and not squashing innovation within your company. Today is about SourceForge.net, the site that was before its time and how it came to be.

    In reference to: 10 Years of SourceForge.net (view on Google Sidewiki)

  • OStatic: Is the Symbian Foundation DOA?

    When Nokia announced that it was launching the Symbian Foundation to great fanfare, it had within its grasp that rarest of opportunities to move swiftly and become the dominant open source mobile platform. Alas, just one and a half years later, they have seemingly ceded that position to Android. Instead of recognizing the threat from Android and making strategic changes to counter, they instead criticized Google’s closed-door development of Android before releasing a line of code themselves. When criticizing competitors, it helps to have your own house in order first.

    in reference to: Is the Symbian Foundation DOA? (view on Google Sidewiki)

  • OStatic: Thoughts on the Koala

    It’s been a few days since Ubuntu 9.10, aka the Karmic Koala, was unleashed on the world. I wanted to post a general review after having used the special K since it went RC in late September and early October. In general, I’ve been very impressed, especially in comparison to another, recently released, operating system. This mini review will focus on using Ubuntu as a desktop system. When I drop it onto my Linode server, I’ll provide commentary on server usage as well.Read the full article on OStatic.com

    in reference to: Thoughts on the Koala (view on Google Sidewiki)

  • OStatic: Cable Modem Hacker Indicted on Federal Charges

    In a case reminiscent of the DVD hacking cases from the early 2000’s, Oregon cable modem hacker and author of “Hacking the Cable Modem” has been charged with conspiracy and aiding and abetting wire fraud. This is another sad commentary on a criminal justice system that prosecutes the toolmaker without noting the legitimate uses of hardware hacking and modding.

    The art of taking an existing product and modifying it in ways never intended by the original manufacturer has been a core tenet of the open source and free culture movements from the beginning. It is long past time for more sanity when considering these issues and crafting public policy.

    Read the rest at OStatic.com

  • OStatic: Open Source is More Than a License

    Has the terminology finally evolved in the debate over “who’s open source?” It would seem so. After years of haggling over the essence of open source, free software or other monikers, Simon Phipps gets right to the point in “A Remarkable Reversal” – his critique of Richard Stallman’s joint letter to the EC regarding Oracle and MySQL.For the first time, there seems to be a growing concensus that an OSI-compliant license alone is not enough to define one’s position on the openness spectrum.

    in reference to: Open Source: More than a License (view on Google Sidewiki)

  • On OStatic: Subversion Joins the ASF

    The Subversion corporation and project is joining the Apache Software Foundation. To mark the announcement, representatives from the Apache Software Foundation, the Subversion Project and CollabNet held a joint press conference at the downtown Oakland Marriott in a cozy, if poorly ventilated, hotel conference room. Read on for more details, as well as news about Git repositories and comparing the ASF to the new Codeplex Foundation.Read the full article at OStatic.com

  • OStatic: Windows (L)users Are People, Too

    In the world of open source, there’s a narrative that has predominated since the time that the term open source was coined – that being the need for the underlying platform to be open source. We can tolerate proprietary software on an open platform, such as Linux, much more than we tolerate free software on a closed platform, like Windows.

    For all of open source’s self-professed pragmatism, there is a noticeable gap between how Linux users are supported and how Windows users are supported. If we are truly as pragmatic as we like to think, perhaps the time has come to close that gap.

    Link to full post on OStatic.com

  • From OStatic: The Great Software Freedom Debate…

    It seems that we can never quite get away from our industry’s version of “how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.” Namely, how open source are you? Or, as it is usually expressed: I’m more open source than you. I’m ‘the real’ open source, whereas you’re just badgeware/runtware/freeware/fauxpen source. Sun’s Simon Phipps has re-opened this debate by proposing a software freedom scorecard that the OSI can use to gauge the openness of open source participants.For the most part, I agree with Simon’s proposal, with some reservations, and I’ll explain why.Read the full post at OStatic.com

  • From OStatic: Can You Boycott a Boycott?

    From the things-that-should-never-happen-but-you-knew-they-would-eventually department, comes more flamage in the Mono advocates vs. anti-Mono advocates vs. the now anti-anti-Mono advocates. I never like it when columnists or reporters treat all bad ideas equally, so I’ll just come out and say it – the anti-Mono crowd is comprised of a bunch of corn-fed idiots with more than a passing resemblance to the recent tea bagger protesters. However, I’m not sure that the correct response to that is to ratchet up the flame wars.- Read the rest at OStatic.com