Tennessee Open Source Education Foundation

The OpenEducationDisc and The OpenDisc

2008-05-21T19:09:00.001-05:00

The OpenDisc and TheOpenEducationDisc are available for free download.

Programs are included for office productivity, internet, photo-editing, instant messaging, drawing, multi-media, games, mind-mapping, and more. The programs have been carefully selected for quality, ease of us, stability, and appropriateness for home and small office users. All programs install and uninstall cleanly. The disc is intended as an introduction into the exciting world of FLOSS.

All the programs are distributed under an OSI-approved Open Source License and therefore can be installed on many computers, not just yours but your friends and your families also. The programs can even be modified with the freely available source code. The disc can be freely copied and handed out.

Last week, the latest version (08.05) of the OpenEducationDisc was released. The OpenEducationDisc is an extension of the the OpenDisc with additional programs deemed especially useful for students and for teachers. This version includes updated versions of all included programs and has added some newer programs from the previous disc.

To learn more, visit the OpenDisc website -- http://theopendisc.com/ --

Software Fredom Day 2007 Press Release

2007-07-18T11:36:00.000-05:00

The 3007 press release for the International Software Freedom Day (SFD2007) is now online:

http://softwarefreedomday.org/PressReleases/18072007

Help spread the word!

Nonprofit Technology Resources - Philadelphia, PA

2007-04-10T15:11:00.000-05:00

Today I found this great fifteen minute video about Nonprofit Technology Resources in Philadelphia. It shows how older computers and volunteers can be of tremendous value to their communities.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=667323382051391450&hl=en

Quanta to Sell $200 Laptop Computers

2007-04-04T10:57:00.000-05:00

Quanta, the company manufacturing the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project's XO laptops, plans to begin selling low-cost budget mobile computers for $200 later this year.

Read more here

Microsoft Windows ousted at California school district

2007-03-29T02:56:00.000-05:00

...
By this summer, all 5,000 students and 250 teachers will be working off of a Linux-based thin client running OpenOffice.org, and the majority of the district's servers will be running Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
...

Click To Read Full Article

First OLPC Laptops Arrive in Rwanda

2007-02-21T14:35:00.000-06:00

The first laptops produced by One Laptop Per Child have arrived in Rwanda.

"Rwanda wants to transform into a knowledge-based economy, hence the need to provide schools throughout the country with computers," Rwandan president Paul Kagame said.

Read More...

FLOSS, FOSS, OSS, Linux, Libre, LUG, Today

2007-02-19T10:55:00.000-06:00

I prefer FLOSS over FOSS or OSS. Here is why:

FLOSS, FOSS, or OSS

Also, I recommend Free Software Movement users switch from Linux User Groups to Libre User Groups to encompass the whole FLOSS Pie and here is why:

Libre or Linux

Finally FLOSS Today is one way I contribute to the Free Software Movement by increasing public awareness of FLOSS. Another is by creating a gbz.

Half a Million PIrates, Well, Maybe

2007-02-16T15:55:00.000-06:00

Microsoft's anti-piracy tool has marked more than one in every five copies of Windows as bogus, the Redmond, Wash., developer said Tuesday, while more than half a million users may have been mistakenly pegged as pirates.

As it beats the drum about the danger of pirated software, particularly Windows, prior to the release of Vista, Microsoft released some figures from its Windows Genuine Advantage program. WGA uses software downloaded to the PC to authenticate Windows XP before allowing a user to retrieve automatic security updates and other software.

Read the full article here

Follow Microsoft adventures at BadVista.org

Russian Schools Switching to LInux

2007-02-12T18:49:00.000-06:00

Russian Schools to Switch to Linux After Microsoft Piracy Case

Linux is the clear winner out of a dispute between the Russian legal authorities and schools over who should carry the can over the use of pirated Windows software, The Inquirer magazine reports.

Read the complete new report here

The interesting item in the article to me is the fact that teachers are opposed to the change. Change is often good and learning LInux is beneficial. Linux is more a life-enhancing experience that an operating system.

Bill Gates, Mikhail Gorbachev, Pirated Windows

2007-02-05T19:12:00.000-06:00

Apparently a Russian school principal purchased (unknowingly) some pirated copies of MS Windows for use in his school. He now faces five years in jail and 266,000 rubles ($10,000) of fines if convicted.

Mikhail Gorbachev has contacted Bill Gates and has asked him to intervene.

Russia, China, and India are considered the leading countries for counterfeited and pirated software and have been asked to crack down on pirated software.

Unfortunately they are cracking down on unsuspecting users and not the pirates.

Too bad this principal did not know about Free/Libre Open Source Software.

Read the full article here

Open Source for Home Schoolers

2007-01-31T09:36:00.000-06:00

While promoting Open Source and Education through this blog and other means, including my personal blog, for some time now, I recently discovered that I have been ignoring a very broad segment of our population - the home schoolers. Home schoolers have a unique opportunity to make use of Open Source Software since they do not have to deal with school district bureaucrats.

Noticing a shortage of Open Source resources for home schooling, I have created a portal for home schoolers who wish to learn more about Open Source and find support for using Open Source. The site is Open Source for Home Schoolers and is still in early stages of development.

Visit Open Source for Home Schoolers regularly and watch for updates.

Comments On Educating Children

2007-01-02T21:05:00.000-06:00

This comment was in response to the criticism of the layout of the One Laptop Per Child prototype. I agree that we need to stop training and start educating kids!

"In fact, one of the saddest but most common conditions in elementary school computer labs (when they exist in the developing world), is the children are being trained to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint," Negroponte wrote in an e-mail interview. "I consider that criminal, because children should be making things, communicating, exploring, sharing, not running office automation tools."

Read the entire article at Low-Cost Laptop Could Transform Learning

More classrooms migrating to Linux desktops

2006-12-18T19:56:00.000-06:00

School districts worldwide are increasingly examining the benefits of utilizing open-source software on servers and desktops. The Plano, Texas, school district is a recent example of this trend, according to an article published on eSchoolNews.com.

"Within five years, Associate Superintendent for Technology and Academic Services Jim Hirsch predicts, not a single desktop in the 52,000-student school system in metropolitan Dallas will carry the image of a proprietary school software program. Gone will be the familiar Microsoft applications and desktop icons that over the years have become synonymous with document creation," writes senior editor Corey Murray.

"Economics and advancements in technology are fueling this latest trend in school software, proponents of the movement say -- but it's also about customization, and the desire to employ a variety of solutions as users see fit," Murray continues.

To read the entire eSchoolNews.com article, go here.

Ubuntu Local Community Team In Tennessee

2006-11-30T14:30:00.000-06:00

Michael Berger, a Linux/Unix System Engineer based in Knoxville, is organizing a Ubuntu Local Community Team (LoCo) in order to advocate and educate Linux users for the entire state of Tennessee about Ubuntu Linux and the Ubuntu "way." The focus will be on all derivatives of Ubuntu, including Edubuntu.

Edubuntu is the "Linux for Young Human Beings."

This is a great opportunity for educators and other interested individuals to come together and discuss how Ubuntu can positively impact their schools.

Visit the Tennessee Ubuntu Team wiki page to learn more by Clicking Here!

Information Technology for Non-Profit Organizations

2006-09-20T16:54:00.000-05:00

A new Squidoo project of mine is "Information Technology for Non-Profit Organizations" and will be a Squidoo lens into the specialized world of IT for NPOs.

In "Information Technology (IT) for NonProfit Organisations (NPOs)" my goal is to promote both Free(Libre)Open Source Software and The Freely Project to as much of the general public as possible and to increase public awareness of these programs.

My technology website GBZ Technology focus will begin moving more to the NPO world.

Check out the new project my clicking here.

SFD2006 successful, SFD2007 shaping up

2006-09-19T19:12:00.000-05:00

The local Software Freedom Day 2006 was quite successful. There will be a Software Freedom Day 2007.

Several requests were made to host a regular Open Souce discussion group to share knowledge and experience.

Are we educating or training?

2006-09-02T10:23:00.000-05:00

It is appropriate for a business to standardize on a hardware or software platform, but multi-platform computing is ideal in an educational environment. If we want children to learn concepts and not products, we should teach them using diverse platforms (Windows, Mac, and Linux) and diverse software (MS Office, Open Office, Abiword, Apple Works(?)). Teaching concepts is education; teaching products is training.

Software Freedom Day 2006

2006-08-29T10:52:00.000-05:00

Software Freedom Day is a global, grassroots effort to educate the public about the virtues and availability of Free and Open Source Software. Local teams from all over the world are organising events on 16 September 2006.

Learn more at: SoftwareFreedomDay.org

Top Ten Reasons to use Ubuntu

2006-08-15T10:52:00.000-05:00

by Jon Barnhardt

Now that I am officially “switched”, I will outline the reasons why Ubuntu rises to the top of other Linux variants available.

1 Hardware Recognition: I would have to say that Ubuntu is by far the best Linux variant available today for hardware recognition. I have installed Dapper Drake (the latest Ubuntu release) on almost 10 different PC’s with completely different hardware configurations and I cannot remember any hardware that was not recognized. I have also installed Ubuntu in a few virtual environments without any problems....

Click here to see all 10 reasons

The Open CD Project

2006-08-13T15:57:00.000-05:00

TheOpenCD project aims to introduce users of MS-Windows to the benefits of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). We include only the highest quality programs, which have been carefully tested for stability and which we consider appropriate for a broad audience. We provide a description and screen-shots of each program, so you can get an idea of what it does before installing. All these applications install and un-install cleanly, so you can be comfortable testing them with the knowledge that they will not adversely affect your system. The programs on the disc are all distributed under an Open Source License (OSI approved), which allows you to freely use and distribute them. You may even change the programs using the source code, which we make available, and distribute your own modified versions, provided you then in turn make the source code available, and give appropriate credit to past contributors.

Click Here To Learn More About TheOpenCD Project

Imagine A World

2006-08-12T11:48:00.000-05:00

"Imagine a world where computer software is:

available at little or no cost
stable, i.e. doesn't cause your computer to crash
allowed to be copied and shared with friends and colleagues
not susceptible to common viruses

This world exists and actually has for a long time! Open source software (OSS) offers all the above, and more. OSS is released under a license that allows users to copy (and modify) and freely distribute the software to others. Proprietary software vendors have labelled this behaviour piracy and touted it as immoral and in many cases illegal, but in the open source community this behaviour is encouraged and has lead to the creation of high quality, robust and secure software.

Open source software provides alternatives for almost all software available in the proprietary world, including:

Office productivity suites: word processors, spreadsheets, presentation applications
Operating systems
Web browsers
Email clients
A range of graphical desktops
Graphics manipulation programs and multimedia tools
Games
Web, mail, database servers
A whole lot more..."

Excerpted from the Go OpenSource Campaignwebsite

Networking With del.icio.us

2006-08-11T09:20:00.000-05:00

del.icio.us announced a new feature to add to your site or blog called your network badge which allows you to invite others to join your netowrk.

Many of you have been using your network to keep up with the interesting things that other people are bookmarking. Many of you are also starting to notice that you have “fans” – people who like your bookmarks and have added you to their networks. This feature of del.icio.us is getting popular enough now that we wanted to make it easier for you to grow your network and to tell the world how connected you are.

Adding the network badge is pretty simple by adding the javascript code to your sites that allow scripts. It is a pretty good idea and a great way to incorporate the social aspect of a site like del.icio.us

To see an example, check the Hot Links section on N3GBZ.com

On del.icio.us I am n3gbz

Feel free to click here to add me to your network

Update To Last Post:: Correction

2006-08-07T17:49:00.000-05:00

Apparently there has been a misunderstanding somewhere along the way. There are no formal commitments yet by any of the four countries to purchase the laptops. I apologize for circulating incorrect information.

Click Here To Read More

Four Million Laptops Ordered

2006-08-01T21:09:00.000-05:00

A spokesperson for the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program revealed July 31 that the countries of Nigeria, Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand have each tendered orders for 1 million Linux laptops through the U.S.-based program.

That's 4 million AMD processors, 4 million new Linux users, 4 million Red Hat distros, etc. A lot of winners here!

Click To Read More

Brandon Elementary transformed by K12LTSP

2006-07-20T08:13:00.000-05:00

Two parent volunteers at an Atlanta district school have revolutionized technology use there by replacing Windows workstations with Linux on thin clients, using K12LTSP

Having Linux on the desktop has been a shot in the arm for the school in many ways. Howard and Fragakis estimate that installing used hardware with a cost-free operating system saved Brandon Elementary 90% of what it would have cost to install Windows XP PCs, and that doesn't include savings on operational and support costs. But the biggest benefit can't be counted in dollars.

"It was really nice to have desktops that were simply up, and issues being resolved in moments." The two have received "stacks" of thank you notes from teachers and students for the luxury of having computers that "just work."

Tina Gasperson reports in this article in Newsforge

Free Computer Based Training for OpenOffice.org

2006-07-12T09:47:00.000-05:00

I will certainly be the first to admit that I like free, whether it is free (libre) as in free speech or free (gratis) as in free beer. ( For more on free, read The Free Software Definition at http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html )

That is why I was quite excited to find free computer-based training for free software while out surfing on the web recently.

The OO.CBT is free computer-based training for OpenOffice.org 2.0 which is available free at http://www.openoffice.org/

OpenOffice.org 2.0 is a multiplatform and multilingual office suite and an open-source project. Compatible with all other major office suites, the product is free to download, use, and distribute.

OO.CBT is an online training portal developed for OpenOffice.org 2.0 users.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has officially approved the OpenDocument Format (ODF) as an international standard in May 2006. This marks an important milestone in the effort to help governments solve the very real problem of finding a better way to preserve, access and control their documents now and in the future.

OpenOffice.org is the most popular application today that supports ODF. We forsee an upcoming wave of OpenOffice.org users coming on board to join the growing OpenOffice.org community. However, there are several obstacles that non-OpenOffice users face when switching over from MS Office to OpenOffice.org, with retraining cost often cited as one of the top concerns. The amount of time and money to be spent on classroom based retraining are considerable, and there is a fixed range of time period where one can opt in for the training. This is one of the fundamental reasons why Resolvo Systems decides to build this online DIY training portal where one can learn at his convenience.

Check out these free resources today.

About TOSEF (re-post of Introduction)

2006-07-11T10:02:00.000-05:00

As an Open Source Advocate, one of my desires has been to help educate the world about Open Source and its many advantages. Like so many other dreams, a great place to start planting seeds is with the young.

My inital goal was simply to form an organization to re-cycle older pc systems for the benefit of lower income families and non-profit, service organizations, such as Boys and Girls Clubs and the like.

Lots of older computers can do a great job of meeting the needs of many people when running Linux operating systems. Not everyone needs to be caught up in the MicroSoft trap of more hardware and more software.

As I shared ideas with some close friends I learned about the Hawaii Open Source Education Foundation and decided to start sharing my own personal thoughts and ideas with others. Many concepts (including the organization name) have been copied after the HOSEF model. This was done intentionally as someday I would love to see an organization in each and every state in the union.

Ideally this initial blog post will lead to the establishment of a dialog with other like-minded individuals and eventually non-profit groups to provide low-cost computing. As a result, a large pool of individuals experienced in Open Source software and its advantages will develop right here in Tennessee.

A skilled talent pool such as this could be very beneficial in bringing high tech companies to the state along with awesome job opportunities and incredible boosts to the economy.

Today I learned how important knowledge about Open Source would be to everyone. Many schools are requiring students to purchase laptop computers that run WindowsXP! Even with "student discounts", Linux is a lower cost alternative operating system and is ideal for "student budgets".

Some schools also require MicroSoft Office even though OpenOffice.org provides all the functionality of MicroSoft Office for considerably less (FREE vs $???)!

Please add thoughts, ideas, and suggestions via comments to this blog.

HTML link at GBZ Technology

Building a free software community in a PC Garage

2006-07-07T11:43:00.000-05:00

Four Debian enthusiasts in New York City got together in 2003 and created the Community Free Software Group (CFSG), a non-profit entity to promote the use of free software in the local community. Since the group's inception, CFSG members have been busy helping young people in city neighborhoods learn how to install and run Debian Linux on hardware donated by area businesses and individuals.

Learn More At PC Garage

HTML Site For TOSEF

2006-06-06T22:10:00.000-05:00

This evening I put together a TOSEF HTML page. The goal is to gain more exposure to the Tennessee Open Source Education Foundation dream.

Some search engines ignore blogs so hopefully the Tennessee Open Source Education Foundation HTML page will help improve the search engine performance for TOSEF.

The Freely Project

2006-06-02T20:02:00.000-05:00

The Freely Project is another worthwhile non-profit organization that I would like to become more involved with if only I had more time and money!!!

What is The Freely Project?

The Freely Project was setup for the promotion of Open Source Software (OSS) and Linux within churches. Members of the project have a range of technical abilities and denominations. The Project does not have a statement of faith, nor does it require members to be of the Christian faith in order to participate, on the understanding that the Project is specifically for Christian organisations, and thus most members will likely either be connected with the Christian community, or the Linux/OSS community.

Click here to learn more about The Freely Project

More ProtoTypes For One Laptop Per Child

2006-05-09T11:10:00.000-05:00

Two new prototypes (blue and yellow) from OneLapTopPerChild plus the original green.

The Freedom Of Choice

2006-04-29T18:50:00.000-05:00

Freespire is a community-driven, Linux-based operating system that combines the best that free, open source software has to offer (community driven, freely distributed, open source code, etc.), but also provides users the choice of including proprietary codecs, drivers and applications as they see fit. With Freespire, the choice is yours as to what software is installed on your computer, with no limitations or restrictions placed on that choice. How you choose to maximize the performance of your computer is entirely up to you.

Learn More About Freespire By Clicking Here...

Two New Sites

2006-04-12T15:16:00.000-05:00

Currently I am developing two new websites, GBZ Training and GBZ Technology as part of The GBZ Team for Internet Training Technology and Marketing. The first in the family is GBZ Marketing.

GBZ Technology will feature web design and development with Joomla! and also cover my Open Source interests.

As an incentive for visitors I am offering free audio marketing interviews and a free e-book at GBZ Training for a limited time.

Pick up yours today!

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Updates

2006-04-06T15:27:00.000-05:00

Nicholas Negroponte, MIT professor and founder of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), delivered the keynote address at the Boston LinuxWorld Conference and Expo yesterday. One Laptop Per Child is the non-profit association behind what is commonly called "the $100 laptop" -- an initiative to deliver portable computers and mesh networking to schoolchildren in developing countries.

Read More

'Throwies' Put Open Source Spin On Graffiti

2006-02-18T15:17:00.000-05:00

If you see tiny lights glowing on the side of a building, it may be the work of graffiti artists using "Throwies," a device developed by creative types looking to add color to your neighborhood.

Full Article By Antone Gonsalves Here

Study Finds Linux Less Expensive Than Windows

2006-02-16T10:29:00.000-05:00

In a new survey of I.T. organizations, respondents claim that recent developments in Linux have eased management complexity and lowered the price associated with running the operating system and its related software.

The results contradict some Microsoft claims that Linux's total cost of ownership is higher than Windows.
...
Click Here To Read The Full Article at Yahoo News

March of the Penguins: Linux on the Student Desktop

2006-02-11T19:24:00.000-05:00

Interesting article from the TCEA (Texas Computer Educators Association) is titled March of the Penguins: Linux on the Student Desktop at Moving At The Speed of Creativity - the Weblog of Wesley Fryer - Presentation was by David Thornburg

Podcast available Here

To Russia From IBM: A Hand With Open Source Development

2006-02-05T08:37:00.000-05:00

"TechWeb - IBM is offering free software and educational resources for developers in Russia." Read More Here

Whenever I see headlines such as these I wonder why we can't organize and start getting assistance here in our home states.

One obstacle I see is that we perceive a need for "geeks" to take advantage of an opportunity like this.

Our kids are as smart and capable as any but need some organizational help to get them started with developing the necessary skills.

Open Source IS the future of the world economy. We need to act soon to keep the US economy ahead of the world economy.

We used be the leaders; let's stay that way! Open Source education is needed now!

$100 Laptop Project Moves Closer to Narrowing Digital Divide

2006-01-31T20:18:00.000-05:00

United Nations, 28 January 2006: The pioneering $100 laptop program, designed to give children in developing countries access to knowledge and educational tools, came a step closer to realization today with the signing of a partnership agreement in Davos between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and One Laptop per Child (OLPC).

Under the Memorandum of Understanding, signed at the World Economic Forum by UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis and OLPC Chairman Nicholas Negroponte, the project's innovator and director, UNDP will work with local and international partners to design and develop programmes to deliver OLPC technology and learning resources to schools in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

"We are delighted to be part of this venture, which has the potential to break through the digital divide between rich countries and poor countries," said Kemal Dervis.

"Though the price of access to knowledge has dramatically decreased in recent years, new technologies remain out of reach for most people in developing countries, especially children, who rarely have access to the educational resources that could enhance their opportunities and lift them out of poverty," he said.

UNDP's global network is on the ground in 166 countries, and has extensive experience in using information and communication technology for sustainable development.

"One laptop per child is key, making learning more seamless with living, play and family life, versus being limited to school. Teacher preparation is important, in parallel with peer-to-peer and self education," said Nicholas Negroponte.

Read the full article at UNDP Newsroom

The $100 MIT Laptop - Media Lab Images

2005-12-28T21:13:00.000-05:00

Image credit: Design Continuum

If you haven't seen it yet, here is The Green Machine prototype!!!

Part of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative, these laptops are designed to be rugged and energy efficient. They will be Linux-based and use open source software to keep the cost low.

More pics available at: MIT Media Lab: $100 Laptop Images

Open Source In The Entrerprise Environment

2005-12-25T03:24:00.000-05:00

Open Source Software Will Permeate Enterprise Software, Says The 451 Group.

While I don't really want to call 2006 "The Year Of Open Source", it certainly is playing a large and growing role in all of our lives. If we could start teaching our youth about Open Source, we could help them find rewarding careers in the high tech field. It would be a great way to help our youth and our state.

Click Here To Read The Full Article

Updated list of TPOSSCON Speakers

2005-12-21T13:54:00.000-05:00

Updated list of speakers for the Second Annual Trans-Pacific Open Source Software Conference (TPOSSCON) includes

Chief Technologist Evangelist Jeffrey Barr of Amazon.com

Linux Business Strategist Mike Balma of Hewlett-Packard

Chief Information Officer Tom Welch of Linspire

Retired Admiral Richard Macke of Warrior Infotech

Chief Executive Officer Rana Dutt of Softel

Editor-in-Chief Robin 'roblimo' Miller of OSTG

SAMBA author John Terpstra of Primastasys

Chief Information Officer Gordon Bruce, City and County of Honolulu

Full-Time KDE Developer and Nanakuli Graduate Aaron Seigo

Chief Executive Officer Alex Banh of Sun-Wah Linux from China

Trans-Pacific Open Source Software Conference

2005-12-12T09:49:00.000-05:00

The Hawaii Open Source Education Foundation (HOSEF) is hosting the second annual Trans-Pacific Open Source Software Conference (TPOSSCON).

From the 9th to the 12th of January, 2006, you'll hear from Peter Quinn of Massachusetts, Gordon Bruce, FOSS dignitaries, and companies putting Free and Open Source Software to work.

Visit the Trans-Pacific Open Source Software Conference (TPOSSCON) website and read the purpose. Great guys with a true sense of honesty.

Open Source for Education in Europe

2005-12-09T19:18:00.000-05:00

Our conference, "Open Source for Education in Europe" was held in Heerlen, NL on November 14-15 2005, co-sponspored by SIGOSSEE, JOIN and the Open University of the Netherlands. Many thanks to all who made the conference such a success. Stephen Downes has posted a brief round-up, including his audio and slides and links to other blogging from the conference.

Learn more at:

http://www.ossite.org/

Macedonia Chooses GNOME Linux for Schools

2005-12-05T15:39:00.000-05:00

This small country in Southern Europe with a population of around 2 million has chosen GNOME Linux for 5000 desktops in 468 schools and 182 computer labs nationwide.

The presence of a small volunteer organization by the name Free Software Macedonia is making a big difference in the Republic of Macedonia.

Learn more at The GNOME Journal

The Purpose of Schoolforge

2005-11-27T22:33:00.000-05:00

Schoolforge's mission is to unify independent organizations that advocate, use, and develop open resources for primary and secondary education. Schoolforge is intended to empower member organizations to make open educational resources more effective, efficient, and ubiquitous by enhancing communication, sharing resources, and increasing the transparency of development. Schoolforge members advocate the use of open source and free software, open texts and lessons, and open curricula for the advancement of education and the betterment of humankind.

Read More At SchoolForge.Net

Ooh La La! JoomLa!

2005-09-01T19:03:00.000-05:00

The Open Source Matters Team (formerly The Mambo Open Source Development Team) today announced the new name for their Open Source Content Management System:

JOOMLA

The name Joomla! is a phonetic spelling for the Swahili word "Jumla", which means "all together" or "as a whole". It was chosen as the entire teams behind Mambo were unanimous in their commitment to protecting the interests of the creators and community, which was the true cause for the success and acclaim earned by that project.

Read more at http://www.joomla.org

Easily Create .PDF Format Files

2005-08-09T18:36:00.000-05:00

We have all opened .pdf files and viewed them with Adobe Acrobat Reader at one time or another.

Did you know that you can create your own .pdf files using the OpenOffice.org suite?

Simply create your document or report using the OpenOffice.org suite, click on File and select Export as .PDF - simple as that.

OpenOffice.org is a suite of software programs for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and more that all work together.

OpenOffice.org is fully commpatible with MicroSoft Office products and is available free via download at OpenOffice.org.

The OpenOffice.org suite is commonly referred to as OOo, another TLA (Three Letter Acronym) and is used by more than 16 million people around the world in over 30 languages.

If you are familiar with other office suites, you'll be completely at home with OOo and creating quality reports, presentations, etc in no time. Plus, you will be saving lots of cash! Great for students, small businesses, non-profit organizations, or anyone on a budget.

Indiana Schools Use Linux Open Source Computers

2005-08-04T17:53:00.000-05:00

Indiana Schools Kick Off Program to Provide Desktop Linux Computers to Every High School Student

Click Here To Read Entire Article

Upgraded Mozilla Firefox Released

2005-07-15T13:33:00.000-05:00

Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global network of virus and spam analysis centres, have advised businesses and home users to update their version of the Mozilla Firefox web browser, in order to protect against critical security flaws.

"Firefox is proving a popular alternative web browser to Microsoft Internet Explorer, particularly for those concerned about online security. Just like users of Internet Explorer, however, Firefox users need to keep their software up-to-date to protect against vulnerabilities," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos.

More information about the new version of Firefox can be found on Mozilla's website.

Sophos continues to recommend computer users practise safe computing as well as running up-to-date anti-virus software.

Join The Open Source BlogRing

2005-01-21T14:52:00.000-05:00

Just launched this afternoon, the new Open Source BlogRing is looking for members. If your blog is related to Free (Libre) and Open Source Software in any way, won't you consider joining this webring? Link to join is on the right. Some familiar applications are Open Office, GIMP, Linux, Firefox, etc. Open Source educational resources are increasing daily. Open Source is exciting. Consider starting your own Open Source blog!

Chicago Moves To Open Source

2005-01-15T18:09:00.000-05:00

The city of Chicago is moving to Open Source for mission-critical application.

Click Here for Story

Chicago CIO Chris O'Brien added. "Obviously I strongly believe this is going to work. I think open-source is going to be an important part of everyone's portfolio in the future,"

Aid Tsunami Disaster Rebuild Plus Aid Open Source

2005-01-04T16:51:00.000-05:00

Sub300.com, a North American leader in low cost computing, has committed to doubling MicroSoft's donation to rebuild the Tsunami disaster area. Now you can also help the Open Source community at the same time.

Sub300.com Pledges to Double Microsoft's Offer to Help Rebuild From Tsunami Damage

I support Sub300.com and their efforts 100%.

Here is the link to the press release:

Sub300.com Press Release

Brazil, China and Hawaii

2004-12-31T18:42:00.000-05:00

Where is the next center of innovative software technology?

China has recognized the value of Open Source and formed the China Open Source Software Promotion Alliance and Brazil has the National Institute of Information Technology.

For the latest from Hawaii here is a quote from the HOSEF website:

"As a way to show our local businesses, non-profits, governments, and private individuals just how pervasive and valuable free and openly sourced software has become, HOSEF has worked hard to invite some globally respected speakers to join us for TPOSSCON, the Trans-Pacific Open Source Software Conference. It will be taking place at the Convention Center this January, and we have a schedule worthy of your attention."

Semantics of Free Software vs. Open Source

2004-12-29T21:09:00.000-05:00

"There are some people who are passionate about the differences between 'free software' and 'open source'," wrote Kevin Bedell earlier this year. But he was beginning to wonder if the difference matters, he added. "I think it's time to stop dividing the community using labels. We don't need different names for the same thing." Read the rest of his essay here, in the start of our end-of-year "Best of 2004" round-up of articles from LinuxWorld Magazine.

Full Story

Open and Free Information via Wikipedia

2004-12-27T18:45:00.001-05:00

The goal of this blog is not to educate but rather to dialog with other like-minded individuals. Therefore a lot of terma and concepts are not explained thoroughly.

Fortunately, there is a lot of online information available for those wishing to learn more about open source, free software, free content, etc. One of the most useful for short definitions and descriptions is Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Wikipedia is at one time an almanac and an online magazine. Current events are also covered intensively.

Who edits/updates Wikipedia?

Anyone who wants to!!!

This quote is from the Wikipedia website:
"Any visitor to Wikipedia can edit its articles, and many do. Pages are always subject to editing, so no article is ever finished."

Surprisingly, it all actually works!

Check it out!

Oh, THAT Bethlehem!

2004-12-25T20:37:00.000-05:00

Here's an interesting article by Mark Hennessey advocating Open Source:

"In political campaigns, flexibility, speed, and cost really are killer apps. Candidates are more interested in results than process. Strangely enough, open source solutions really fit well into this kind of environment.

Bethlehem, N.Y., is a town with a population of 31,000 people. Every two years, the town elects a town supervisor. I became one of the campaign managers for the town supervisor campaign, and we put together a strategy that would try to get our message out with the lowest cost and highest flexibility. That's where open source came in.
..."

Read the whole article at:

A decisive victory for open source in the political arena

Introduction

2004-12-20T21:33:00.000-05:00

Choosing and Using Open Source Software For Non-Profits

2004-12-19T09:44:00.000-05:00

Ran across this article and wanted to make others aware of it.

Choosing and Using Open Source Software: A primer for nonprofits

As I talk with more and more people within my Circle of Influence, I am becoming more and more aware of the need to educate the general public about Open Source.

Spread of FireFox Shows Open Source Momentum

2004-12-16T20:46:00.000-05:00

The darling of the Open Source set, FireFox, is featured in two page ad in New York Times on December 16.

While Linux is slowly gaining strength in the desktop environment, FireFox is taking the world by storm.

Check out these two articles about FireFox

10,000 Firefox enthusiasts make history!

Open-source geeks are modern heroes, says think tank!

Over the next several years there will probably be a shortage of Open Source talent. The sooner the talent pool gets started in Tennessee, the more valuable that pool will be.

Check this quote from Martin Bean, COO of New Horizons Computer Learning Centers in his article, Top 10 Predictions for 2005 for Certification Magazine.

"Open-source technologies will see continued growth, fueling demand for qualified IT professionals in that space. The more that Linux and other open-source technologies underpin organizations, the greater the need will be to have properly trained and certified professionals to support these fast-growing technologies."