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Posts published by “Larry Cafiero”

Larry Cafiero, a.k.a. Larry the Free Software Guy, is a journalist and a Free/Open Source Software advocate. He is involved in several FOSS projects and serves as the publicity chair for the Southern California Linux Expo. Follow him on Twitter: @lcafiero

Benjamin Kerensa on Firefox OS & Internet Freedom

According to the Mozilla Developer Network, Firefox OS is an open source mobile operating system based on Linux, open web standards and Mozilla’s Gecko technology.

But there’s more to it that that: Firefox OS is about reinventing what mobile platforms can be, about pushing the boundaries of what is possible with the Web on mobile and about enabling entirely new segments of users to come online with their smartphone at various levels of participation, from users to developers.

Mozilla's Benjamin Kerensa
Benjamin Kerensa, Mozilla’s Early Feedback Community Release Manager.
Earlier this week, I took some time to talk with Benjamin Kerensa, the Early Feedback Community Release Manager for Mozilla, to discuss Firefox OS and the community around it.

Larry Cafiero

Larry Cafiero, a.k.a. Larry the Free Software Guy, is a journalist and a Free/Open Source Software advocate. He is involved in several FOSS projects and serves as the publicity chair for the Southern California Linux Expo. Follow him on Twitter: @lcafiero

Random Thoughts, Cheap Shots, Bon Mots…

To say that things are going at breakneck speed in the FOSS world –- so much so that it’s hard to keep track of –- well, that would be a lie. However, there are a few things that popped up on the proverbial radar over the past week…

Ruth Suehle added to Ohio LinuxFest keynoter lineup: Yep, the Raspberry Pi queen and ruler of all she surveys in the realm of Red Hat’s Open Source and Standards group, Ruth has joined the list of keynoters for the October event in Columbus. Ruth participates in the Fedora Project and is co-author of “Raspberry Pi Hacks” (written with fellow Red Hatter Tom Callaway). She also leads discussions about open source principles at opensource.com, and serves as a senior editor at GeekMom.com.

Ruth Suehle of Red Hat
Red Hat’s Ruth Suehle to keynote at Ohio LinuxFest.
Chances are that if you’ve ever been to a major Linux/FOSS conference –- or a major sci-fi/anime con –- you’ve probably heard Ruth speak. She joins Jon “maddog” Hall and fellow FOSS Force correspondent Ken Starks as OLF keynoters. Ohio LinuxFest will be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center on October 24-25.

Linus being Linus: No shrinking violet by anyone’s standards, Linus Torvalds addressed the wider Debian community on Sunday at Debconf in Portland, and his talk had people agreeing and disagreeing, sometimes simultaneously.

Larry Cafiero

Larry Cafiero, a.k.a. Larry the Free Software Guy, is a journalist and a Free/Open Source Software advocate. He is involved in several FOSS projects and serves as the publicity chair for the Southern California Linux Expo. Follow him on Twitter: @lcafiero

Tux Paint: Doing FOSS Right

One could argue that the measure of how good software is, or what kind of effect it has on the wider world, can be based on the hard statistics of use, punctuated by glowing reviews, which add up to ongoing popularity and ubiquity. But the true impact of how software transcends mere popularity to positively change the world can be measured solely in how it affects people’s lives.

The journalist in me could give you just the specifics of the new Tux Paint release: Tux Paint 0.9.22 was released this week, thanks to the efforts of 170 contributors worldwide. This new version comes with a wide range of additions, like 14 new tools, 40 new template pictures, nearly 200 new stamps, SVG and KidPix support, an enhanced text tool, and accessibility improvements.

Tux Paint version 0.9.22, released last week, contains many improvements.
Tux Paint version 0.9.22, released last week, contains many improvements.
Or I could go into the expansion of 32 new languages featured in the latest release, including more than a dozen Indian subcontinental languages, including Nepali and Sanskrit; six European languages, including Bosnian and Valencian; nine new African languages, including Zulu and Sudanese; and the Canadian Inuit language of Inuktitut. This is 32 new languages atop the updates to the 90 current Tux Paint languages.

Of course, Tux Paint 0.9.22 also is available for multiple operating systems, including the usual suspects of Linux, MacOS, and Windows.

Larry Cafiero

Larry Cafiero, a.k.a. Larry the Free Software Guy, is a journalist and a Free/Open Source Software advocate. He is involved in several FOSS projects and serves as the publicity chair for the Southern California Linux Expo. Follow him on Twitter: @lcafiero

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