The Future is OpenSource

[tslawinski]

I've been following the OpenSource movement for awhile now. I find the trend fascinating. I thought it might be interesting to start a thread that could be a repository for news briefs highlighting this movement.

[tslawinski]

OW2 members, including leading IT research institutes in China such as Peking University, Academy of Science, Beihang University and the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) have put their strengths together in an effort sponsored by China's Ministry of Science and Technology to further cooperate with Europe on open source middleware technologies. The launch of the OW2 Chinese Web site marks the first key milestone of this joint effort.


Source (http://www.zdnetasia.com/blogs/opensource/0,3800011233,63007799,00.htm)

[tslawinski]

OpenLogic, Inc., a provider of enterprise open source software solutions encompassing hundreds of open source packages, is launching a new series of opensource training services that will help enterprises accelerate migration projects and new development using lower cost open source technologies. OpenLogic's customized, on-site classes provide expert training and advice based on proven industry best practices and years of experience working in mid sized and global 2000 companies.

Source (http://www.ibtimes.com/prnews/20081210/open-source-training-services.htm)

[tslawinski]

IBM has introduced a line of business computers that eschew Microsoft's ubiquitous desktop environment in favor of an amalgam of open source software.

The system, which IBM calls the Open Collaboration Client, combines the Linux operating system with IBM's open source Lotus Symphony desktop package....

IBM claims the system can save businesses $500 to $800 per user on Microsoft software licenses and an additional $258 per user "since there is no need to upgrade hardware to support Windows Vista and Office."

Source (http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/open_source/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212202109&subSection=OpenSource)

[tslawinski]

Today, Tuesday, 9th of December, a consortium of technology companies, has launched a new initiative designed to protect open source software against aggressive patents. Called Linux Defenders the new, free, service provides a group of engineers and lawyers who will help shape, structure, and document new open source software inventions in the form of a "defensive publication". Linux defenders then submit this "defensive publication" to the IP.com web site, which is a database used by patent examiners when they are evaluating patent applications for true novelty. Defensive publishing of this type is a pre-emptive measure against those who file, often unsound, patents based on already available information, purely for profit.

Source (http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/120237)

[tslawinski]

According to a new survey from business intelligence (BI) specialist Actuate Corp., open source software (OSS) doesn't simply have a toehold or token presence in the enterprise. OSS has truly arrived.

The Actuate survey paints a picture of a thriving OSS ecosystem, with an enterprise adoption rate that hovers at nearly 50 percent in the United States -- and exceeds 60 percent in France and Germany.

Actuate's findings support those of market watcher Gartner Inc., whose study found that fully 85 percent of respondents (in a sample that included companies in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and other regions) have adopted OSS technologies (see: http://www.esj.com/Enterprise/article.aspx?EditorialsID=3419). Anecdotal accounts also peg open source adoption rates in the EU as higher than those in the United States.
Source (http://www.esj.com/enterprise/article.aspx?EditorialsID=3433)

[tslawinski]

WHAT does Microsoft do when someone says: No, sorry, we do not want to use your software any more. If that someone is a small business operating in an increasingly cut-throat world, a great deal of pressure can be brought to bear on them to fall into line.

But what if that someone is a whole nation, and that whole nation happens to be a world superpower with the resources and will to forge its own, alternative route to technological competitiveness?

This is what has happened to Microsoft in Russia, and it all started with a school teacher. Back in 2007, Aleksandr Ponosov, the headmaster of a village school in Sepych, in the Perm region of Russia, was arrested for running unlicensed copies of Microsoft software on his school's computers.

It has been reported that no less than Vladimir Putin himself intervened to get the charges thrown out; had he not, Posonov was facing up to five years in jail.

Pirated software is a major global problem which costs Microsoft millions of dollars, and Russia has played its part in that problem, but what followed the Posonov scandal could surely not have been foreseen in Redmond.

Rather than pay massive licensing costs to legitimise the country's Microsoft software, then deputy prime minister (now President) Dmitry Medvedev decided on an altogether more radical route - to use Open Source, Linux-based software in all Russia's schools.

Given the sheer scale of the country and the amount of planning, training and resources required, it is a massive enterprise.

Indeed, Medvedev has set Russia on the path to a much wider use of Open Source software: He intends it to be used across the board in the public sector and has set a completion date for the project of 2010.
Source (http://reddevil62-techhead.blogspot.com/2008/10/russias-open-source-revolution.html)

[tslawinski]

When Microsoft completed its acquisition of San Francisco-based startup Powerset in July, it acquired more than just search-engine technology. In the HBase component of Powerset's product, Microsoft also acquired open-source code that is actively being redistributed back into the Apache Software Foundation's Hadoop project.

The scenario of having open-source technology in a product is a first for Microsoft, which to date has had only proprietary technology in its software, said Robert Duffner, a senior director in Microsoft's Platform Strategy Group.
Source (http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9123089&intsrc=news_ts_head)

[acelin]

I cannot wait until Open Source come out with real professional products. THeir innovation is quite good, but most programs don't meet up to the same standards as their relatives in the Mac and Windows world do.

[halovivek]

yes open source will rule one day

[tslawinski]

There's a lot of really good stuff in the OpenSource community. There have been barriers to progress. Some of those barriers are starting to disappear. The Community is starting to hit a critical mass. The timing is very good right now. As long as nobody fumbles the ball too badly and the community can stay commited to the OpenSource philosophy, I believe we will see some positive and perhaps dramatic change in the months and years to come.

[acelin]

probly will bee since hardware manufactures can save $50 on every unit sold by having the pc come with linux on each one

Not true, its much cheaper than that. Also, notice the ones who do over Linux charge more usually>

[cb951303]

I cannot wait until Open Source come out with real professional products. THeir innovation is quite good, but most programs don't meet up to the same standards as their relatives in the Mac and Windows world do.

such as? and remember you said *most* programs so I'm waiting a huge list... Photoshop isn't enough for an answer.

[acelin]

such as? and remember you said *most* programs so I'm waiting a huge list... Photoshop isn't enough for an answer.

Photoshop vs. Gimp
Illustrator vs. Inkscape
iTunes versus any open source music player
Office07 is by far more useful and reliable in my years of experience, but Oo is one of the best FOSS programs... not to make it look bad cause it is good.
There are no good FOSS video editors
Interfaces - yeah no question here, Aqua and Aero are way better than anything FOSS has to offer.

[dannytatom]

iTunes
Aero

Completely disagree with these two. But to each his own.

[acelin]

Completely disagree with these two. But to each his own.

In my experience, both are more reliable.

[billgoldberg]

I cannot wait until Open Source come out with real professional products. THeir innovation is quite good, but most programs don't meet up to the same standards as their relatives in the Mac and Windows world do.

I don't agree.

That might be true for some programs, and the other way around.

But in most cases that isn't true.

[cb951303]

Photoshop vs. Gimp
Illustrator vs. Inkscape
iTunes versus any open source music player
Office07 is by far more useful and reliable in my years of experience, but Oo is one of the best FOSS programs... not to make it look bad cause it is good.
There are no good FOSS video editors
Interfaces - yeah no question here, Aqua and Aero are way better than anything FOSS has to offer.

well as a professional designer I use both gimp and inkscape. they are capable enough for pro work. photoshop and illustrator have its superiorities but that's another thing since we're talking about professional use.

iTunes? I don't know even wehre to begin :D iTunes is a resource hog and can't play OGG (last time I checked). one thing it does good is sync with iPod(what a surprise). try amarok, banshee, exaile, rhytmbox. Personally these are all way better than iTunes feature and performance wise. what else do you expect from a music player?

office07 is good, but openoffice is used professionally by thousands of companies world wide.

for video editing: http://jahshaka.org/ , http://www.kdenlive.org/ and http://cinelerra.org/

interfaces: it's completely depends on the user. I hate aero. and I think kde 4.x looks much better than mac os

the problem is that you expect the exact same user experience from FOSS applications. you have to adapt. gimp is not photoshop. jahsahaka is not adobe premier and openoffice is not ms office07. and they don't aim to be. if you're open to new things, a productive professional use of FOSS software is more than possible.

[billgoldberg]

Photoshop vs. Gimp
Illustrator vs. Inkscape
iTunes versus any open source music player
Office07 is by far more useful and reliable in my years of experience, but Oo is one of the best FOSS programs... not to make it look bad cause it is good.
There are no good FOSS video editors
Interfaces - yeah no question here, Aqua and Aero are way better than anything FOSS has to offer.

Photoshop is better, true.

I don't use illustrator nor inkscape (nor does the majority of computer users).

iTunes, well I disagree.

Office 07, what's so great about it? Really, what makes it better than Open Office?

Video editing, true.

Interfaces, I disagree.

Compiz fusion is ahead on everyone, way ahead.

But those are the usual suspects.

Let's talk other software.

I'm thinking browsers, media centers, server apps, cli tools, cms solutions, bulletin boards, developer tools, network utilities, video players, ...

[inobe]

too many indians and not enough chiefs !


the chief can code drivers and effectively use various compilers...

indians test the product and report the bugs......

more indians need to be chiefs, more= better quality....

their will always be enough indians .

[tslawinski]

Deborah Bryant, who directs the Government Open Source Conference, agrees that open source integration tools are popular among government agencies, as are network monitoring and management tools. Three things are driving continued government interest in open source in these areas, she told me recently:

The applications have matured to what we call “enterprise class…” There are more vendors and systems integrators available that are open source savvy and can help support that process — because governments are never going to go it alone. And the third piece is, more agencies are finding each other looking for use cases and networking and learning from each other.
Source (http://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/osb/?p=499)

[linuxology]

Quicken is the one app that open source needs to imitate

[cb951303]

Quicken is the one app that open source needs to imitate

moneydance, openbravo, gnucash, kmymoney, jgnash

first one is not open source but a very professional financial management application.

[Changturkey]

Good thing O.o is thinking about an interface refresh..

[I-75]

yes open source will rule one day

That day is here (in Russia) with open source mandates for schools. The open source mandates are spreading all around the world.

http://www.computerworlduk.com/TOOLBOX/OPEN-SOURCE/blogs/index.cfm?blogid=14&entryid=1423


"By the end of 2009, all school computers will be installed package of free software (PSPO). This is how transfers «Prime-TASS», today announced Minister of Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation Igor Shchyogolev at the plenary session «Information Society and the modern technologies of information» in the international exhibition ...

This isn't just an option for those brave souls who might want to try something different: this is now the official approach. If schools want to use proprietary software, they have to pay for it themselves"

[tslawinski]

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.


Open source is becoming the default way to develop software in many industries. Why? Because a properly-managed, open environment leads to targeted, robust features and helps developers share code in a healthy coop-tition that helps everybody in the iPhone ecosystem.
Developers love working faster, cheaper, and more effectively. More importantly, many folks that aren’t traditional developers are starting to develop apps for platforms like the iPhone. He who satiates that audience wins the war.
.......
Open sourcing the iPhone gives customers a much broader selection of applications. Customers faced with a plethora of attractive applications when they visit the app store will spend money. More money make Apple happy.
Quash choice, on the other hand, and people revolt. No amount of legal wrangling or slick marketing will bend today’s consumers to the will of “rights management.” Doesn’t matter if it’s a 99-cent song in iTunes or the ability to co-develop software in an open environment—boxing people in will be the iPhone’s undoing.

Source (http://opensource.sys-con.com/node/774867)


As smart phones continue to grow in market share and importance, Android is proving itself a key technology. As Apple shows no sign of opening its iPhone OS or licensing it to third parties, Android provides an open mobile environment attractive to handset manufacturers. It supports key telephony features, including making and receiving calls and texting, and then extends those features to mobile peripherals including cameras and touch screens. Android is built on the open Linux kernel and optimizes memory and hardware resources for handheld mobile deployment.

The Open Handset Alliance is the group behind Google's Android mobile operating system. It represents technology and mobile companies that are working on a rich, open, mobile platform, namely Android, which the alliance calls "the first complete, open, and free mobile platform." The alliance has announced that 14 new members had joined its ranks including heavyweights Sony Ericsson, Vodafone, and Garmin International.

Source (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081210-open-handset-alliance-expands-with-14-new-members.html)

[tslawinski]

Microsoft, long the bastion of proprietary thought, is increasingly adding open-source DNA to the fold. Adding to its roster of open-source veterans, **** Hardt, founder and CEO of Sxip Identity and ActiveState...

Hardt won't be alone. Microsoft now employs Bill Hilf, former Linux technical strategist for IBM; Sam Ramji, a former executive at Ofoto which was a heavy user of open source; Bob Duffner, another IBMer who worked with its open-source Gluecode acquisition; Rob Conery, founder of MPL-licensed SubSonic; Tom Hanrahan, former technical lead at the Linux Foundation; Daniel Robbins, former chief architect of Gentoo Linux; and more.
Source (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10121021-16.html)

Not sure what to make of this. This shift from a company that once said:


"Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches." (Steve Ballmer)

Is this political manoeuvring? An attempt to blur the boundaries of OpenSource? Or a genuine recognition of the company's miscalculation?

[Yownanymous]

I cannot wait until Open Source come out with real professional products. THeir innovation is quite good, but most programs don't meet up to the same standards as their relatives in the Mac and Windows world do.

OpenOffice looks professional. My mum can't tell the difference between it and Microsoft Works! :D

[Yownanymous]

That day is here (in Russia) with open source mandates for schools. The open source mandates are spreading all around the world.

http://www.computerworlduk.com/TOOLBOX/OPEN-SOURCE/blogs/index.cfm?blogid=14&entryid=1423


"By the end of 2009, all school computers will be installed package of free software (PSPO). This is how transfers «Prime-TASS», today announced Minister of Communications and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation Igor Shchyogolev at the plenary session «Information Society and the modern technologies of information» in the international exhibition ...

This isn't just an option for those brave souls who might want to try something different: this is now the official approach. If schools want to use proprietary software, they have to pay for it themselves"

Ah, this is part of the reason the American government call you guys "communists". In their little cahoots with Micro$oft no doubt.

[tslawinski]

The authors of the roadmap outlined seven areas of change for 2020:

Floss (free/libre/open-source software) will become mainstream. It will be the de facto standard for areas such as development tools, infrastructure and scientific computing, as well as being widespread in other sectors
Forty percent of IT jobs will be related to Floss
Floss will free businesses from vendor lock-in, providing a "vaccine against abusive behaviour from a commercial vendor"
Floss will help reduce the global digital divide, as it is a collaborative effort that works for sustainable development of a shared resource
Open-source communities will help build business ecosystems for specific markets
Green datacentres will lead to business models with a low ecological impact, in "the next industrial revolution"
Cloud computing will be ubiquitous, and social networking will be the main way to communicate with businesses and government

Source (http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39569684,00.htm)

[tslawinski]

“The difference between free, and non-free or proprietary software, is similar to the divide between science and alchemy. Before science, there was alchemy, where people guarded their ideas because they wanted to corner the market on the mechanisms used to convert lead into gold.” Keith Curtis
Source (http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/01/a-microsoft-veteran-embraces-open-source/)

[Eisenwinter]

There needs to be an open source version of Cubase SX 3.

Of course, the chances of that happening are slim to none, as that is a HUGE application (it's used for professional music composition), and it's created by Steinberg.

Heh, I imagine the amount of work to recreate it from scratch, with free code, will be too much for "just another developers team" to do, or at least do in any foreseeable timespan.

Edit: also, when I say "HUGE application" - think of the size of Xorg and the Linux kernel combined... it's bigger than that.

[tslawinski]

I don't know to much about that myself. A quick search turned up two opensource alternatives:


Rosegarden (http://www.rosegardenmusic.com/)
Ardour (http://ardour.org/)


You've probably already looked at these. It may just be a matter of time before these alternatives are developed further. The VSTGUI library has apparently been open sourced.

BTW - I noticed Israel in your location. I'm hoping to get there some time next year for a visit.

[Eisenwinter]

I worked in LMMS (Linux Multi Media System) before I even knew about Cubase. That was 2 years ago.

But when I was introduced to Cubase, I was blown away. No FOSS application I've used to date, can match Cubase in feature quantity and quality.

But then again, Cubase has been in development for about 21 years now (its' first versions would run on Amiga machines and such), so it's clearly hard to match its' feature quantity.

And if you come to Israel, give me a message on the forums here, we could meet and talk about Linux. I live in the northern part of the country, in a little village on the mountains. So it's hard to find anyone who I can talk to about computers in general, and Linux in particular - as far as I know, I'm the only Linux user within a 100 mile radius from my location, LOL.

[tslawinski]

Increasingly, Brazil's government ministries and state-run enterprises are abandoning Windows in favour of 'open-source' or 'free' software, like Linux.

"The number one reason for this change is economic," says Sergio Amadeu, who runs the government's National Institute for Information Technology.

He explains that, for every workstation, the government is currently paying Microsoft fees of around 1200 Brazilian reais ($500; £270).

"If you switch to open source software, you pay less in royalties to foreign companies," explains Amadeu. "And that can count for a lot in a country like Brazil, which still has a long way to develop in the IT sector."


I think free software will encourage Mr Gates to reinvent his business
Jose Luiz de Cerqueira Cesar Global Organisation for Free Software

Overall, the government reckons it could save around $120m a year by switching from Windows to open-source alternatives.
Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4602325.stm)

[PhoenixMaster00]

Photoshop vs. Gimp
Illustrator vs. Inkscape
iTunes versus any open source music player
Office07 is by far more useful and reliable in my years of experience, but Oo is one of the best FOSS programs... not to make it look bad cause it is good.
There are no good FOSS video editors
Interfaces - yeah no question here, Aqua and Aero are way better than anything FOSS has to offer.

I'll give you Photoshop, Illustrator, and a video editor but lets remember there not far behind their counterparts and in some cases offer things the others dont.

iTunes is not as good as Amarok or Rythmbox except for iPod connectivity.
i think Openoffice and Microsoft Office are neck-an-neck i even read somewhere that Oo offers more MS file types than MO... Plus openoffice is better value for money! And Compiz is way ahead of Aero/Aqua in terms of what it can do and how much resources it takes up. Thats what i find on my old computer anyway.

Ill add Firefox, Mythtv, and Thunderbird being equal or better than their closed-source/paying alternatives. Now if only Ableton became open source...

[tslawinski]

Ha Noi — Viet Nam has officially become a member of Asianux, an organisation dedicated to the development of free software, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Quoc Thang has announced.

"Viet Nam’s entry marks a new step in the country’s advancement in the IT sector in general and the availability of the OSS in particular," Thang said.

Over the past four years, Viet Nam has adopted policies designed to encourage the development and application of the OSS, resulting in a total of between 14,000 and 20,000 personal computers using OpenOffice, Firefox, Unikey and other free software.

Experts say the development of the OSS enables developing countries to gain wider access to a range of software solutions, helping them increase their investment efficiency, better meet the demands of the poor and assist them in adapting to different indigenous languages and cultures.

Source (http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01BUS131208)