Open Source at SF State University - News

DoD clarifies position on Open Source Software

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:45:26 -0700

The US Department of Defense has released a memo stating that open source should be considered alongside commercial software when assessing department needs. The memo also debunks some myths regarding open source software. From the article:

"Open source can be compared directly with commercial software and it offers unique advantages for rapid prototyping and sharing across the military. Those are the key takeaways in a new memorandum now circulating the Pentagon from deputy CIO David Wennergren (right). While it’s not a complete endorsement of open source, it does give people a green light to go get some."

Technology Based Social Ventures: Lessons from the field

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:43:20 -0700

Note: This is an event open to all.

Come learn about how technology driven social entrepreneurship is changing the world – from the experts at SF State

The STEPS Initiative presents

Ubuntu 9.10 - Karmic Koala is here

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:14:05 -0700

Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala is out. The demand for ISOs is incredible, so bit torrent is the preferred method. The mirrors are:

Ubuntu 9.10

Even getting to the torrent file via http is incredibly slow. I have a copy of the torrent file (not the ISO) at http://opensource.sfsu.edu/files/ubuntu-9.10-desktop-i386.iso.torrent It should be a lot faster to get the *.torrent on campus :-) I also have a couple of bit torrent downloads running on campus. I'll leave these running in the hopes that if you decide to download Karmic's awesomeness you'll get the bits from within 130.212.0.0/16

EveryBlock's code GPL'd

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:33:56 -0700

Everyblock's code has been released under the GPL. Everyblock is a site that aggregates and geocodes local data -- news, crime, fire, restaurant inspections, and lets users define their interests down to the block-level.From O'Reilly's Radar:

"Django fans, Python geohackers and anyone who wants to build a local data aggregator are going to be thrilled. Adrian was one of the co-creators of Django and was one of the first Google Maps Mashup creators."

Open. Connect. Communicate

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:28:01 -0700

Recently, I presented at a workshop on telecommunications, open source and mobility at the First Caribbean Regional International Telecommunications Society Conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Key points in this workshop were:

The network's value proposition can be fully realized only if it remains open and unencumbered.
Setting up independent, yet interconnected PBXs using Asterisk: small ones with AstLinux, large ones with Trixbox.
Asterisk and the OLPC project. Setting up local phone networks in villages, schools, communities.

Slides are up at http://www.slideshare.net/sverma/open-connect-network

openpub - The Open Publication Distribution System

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:59:06 -0700

Passing along an interesting project link http://code.google.com/p/openpub/wiki/OPDS. From their site:

"This document describes the Open Publication Distribution System (OPDS) an application of the Atom Syndication Format intended to enable content creators and distributors to distribute digital books via a simple catalog format. This format is designed works interoperably across multiple desktop and device software programs for acquiring and consuming eBooks ("Reading Systems"). The focus of this document is to outline the requirements for preparing catalogs for use by compatible Reading Systems; formal compliance requirements for Reading Systems will be documented elsewhere. This application of Atom was initially defined and implemented by Lexcycle for the Stanza application."

It answers the long-standing question of what format to use when creating content for computer-based or computer-mediated learning environments.

LegalTorrents - torrent away legally!

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:19:31 -0700

I just set up an account for creating torrents for legal use at LegalTorrents. I created a DVD recently with OLPC photos for a long-running (almost 1 hour) slideshow. At 1.6 GB, http downloads would be a pain. Torrenting is the way to go, but most torrent sites are loaded with pornographic ads - not something I appreciate. So, I went looking for creative commons style torrenting. Found legalTorrents. After a few e-mail exchanges, my account was set up. My OLPC Photo DVD is now torrenting away from their site. Its much faster than my wimpy home DSL upload. http://beta.legaltorrents.com/torrents/569-olpc-photo-dvd

Download, burn, and loop away!!!

OLPC Photos on DVD - a cure for post-semester blues!

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:37:43 -0700

Why?

Short version:

This project is the result of a desire to see if photo DVDs can indeed be made using only Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and Creative Commons (CC) licenses.

Long version:

At the end of Spring semester, after I turned in all the grades, I started to think about one of my courses - Multimedia business application development (http://www.sfsu.edu/~bulletin/courses/29446.htm). Due to severe budget constraints (meaning no money!!!) and a desire to use new and different things, we have been trying to use only FOSS and CC titles in this course.

I wanted to see if I could use FOSS and CC to complete a real project. For some time now, I have been thinking about creating a looping photo DVD for a whole bunch of OLPC photos from around the world. Personally, I find these inspiring. I find it very energizing to see children using these green windows (no pun intended) to the world to discover, explore, reflect and eventually, learn. Hopefully they will begin where we falter.

I saw this digital photo frame at a store the other day, and thought "Wouldn't it be neat to have a looping slideshow that can be displayed easily at conferences, conventions and expos?". After all, a picture is worth a thousand words! That's a little over 7 full tweets!!! So, putting my plan into action, and trawling through the treasure trove of FOSS and grabbing photos and music from Flickr and ccmixter.org - both CC friendly sites, and a little help from flickrfs, audacity, dvd-slideshow, openoffice, Ubuntu and a near-binging desire to get this done right after Spring semester ended, I now have a shiny 1.6GB DVD iso.Part of it is online at http://www.vimeo.com/5048488

Moving toward open video

Wed, 27 May 2009 21:37:02 -0700

Christopher Blizzard writes on his blog:

Today Dailymotion, one of the world’s largest video sites, announced support for open video. They’ve put out a press release, a blog post on the new openvideo site as well as a demo site where you can see some of the things that you can do with open video and Firefox 3.5. They are automatically transcoding all of the content that their Motion Makers and Official Users create and expect to have around 300,000 videos transcoded into the open Ogg Theora and Vorbis formats. You can view the site they have up at openvideo.dailymotion.com.

Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope countdown

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 09:04:00 -0700

A cloud that smells good!

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 15:31:17 -0700

Cloud computing is very popular these days. You are almost worthless if you can't wing it about cloud computing. It goes well with hand gestures... "Don't worry, it all happens over there in the cloud". A cure-all for 2009.

If you always wanted your very own cloud, but didn't know how, here's your chance. A DIY cloud project called EUCALYPTUS from the good folks at UC, Santa Barbara (my tax dollars at work!). From their website:

Even Dvorak likes Linux!

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:19:55 -0700

I'm not so sure if I should rejoice after seeing this bit of news on one of the LUGs. I usually avoid anything that Dvorak says. Its just rant special, and not much else. Therefore, with mixed feelings, I post:

"Every so often I take a stab at Linux, to see exactly what I like and do not like about the OS. Many of its problems, for me, stem from its inability to run on my overloaded hardware, or the occasional driver that makes the OS impossible to use without hand-tweaking something or other. That said, I seriously like the Ubuntu 8.10 implementation and will now install it permanently on my latest machines. It's a winner. "

Verma recruited for radio???

Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:48:37 -0800

Word on the street has it that Sameer's going to do an open source half-hour interview show for KSFS. Any truth to this Sameer? Or is it just a dirty rumor I'm trying to promote?

Technology Trends at SF State Today - The Real Free Software and more!!!

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 09:09:30 -0800

Microsoft does its rounds once a semester or year on campuses. Its our turn today. Kenny Spade from Microsoft will be talking to our students about trends, jobs, and software. The poster says it will be about "Windows 7, XBox 360, Windows Mobile, Zune, Digital Photography, working for Microsoft, or anything else related to technology or Microsoft".

Well, thank you Kenny, for coming to campus and helping with our enrollments.

The announcement goes on to say "Free software, books, Xbox 360 games and other items will be raffled off!" They usually bring a few copies of Microsoft software and raffle it off. To keep up with the tradition of giving things away, I've put together a raffle of sorts as well. Its one where you win every time you play. Want to try out your luck? Guaranteed to work. Every single time. Even if you reload your browser.

HP's Linux GUI for netbooks

Fri, 06 Feb 2009 15:32:57 -0800

From Slashdot: http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/02/06/177231&from=rss

...a new custom version of Ubuntu aimed at netbooks and based on 8.04 Hardy Heron has been released by HP. Targeted to the HP Mini 1000 Mi, the netbook customization comes complete with OpenOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Sunbird, Pidgin, and a few others. "Overall, HP has created one of the best thought out Linux interfaces for netbooks. The software is designed so that users who have never used Linux should have no trouble performing basic tasks. But experienced Linux users can always fire up a terminal window by hitting Alt+F2 and entering 'gnome-terminal.'"