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Posts published by “Phil Shapiro”

For the past 10 years, Phil has been working at a public library in the Washington D.C.-area, helping youth and adults use the 28 public Linux stations the library offers seven days a week. He also writes for MAKE magazine, Opensource.com and TechSoup Libraries. Suggest videos by contacting Phil on Twitter or at pshapiro@his.com.

Take Linux From Zero to Boot in Less Than a Second

By Phil Shapiro on January 27, 2017 |

Operating Systems, Tutorial and Video

Take Linux From Zero to Boot in Less Than a SecondBooting Linux

Some of us here at FOSS Force don’t mind waiting for a computer to boot. It reminds us of the old days when, after turning on the TV, radio or record player, we had to wait for the tubes to warm up.

The Screening Room

Booting Linux

At 2015’s Embedded Linux Conference Europe, Jan Altenberg, who works for Linutronix in Germany, explains how Linux can be optimized to boot in less than one second. Find out more in this fascinating video.

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The Open Source Way of Reaching Across Languages

By Phil Shapiro on January 24, 2017 |

Community, Software and Video

Open source enthusiasts have no shame in explaining that they’re involved in building a better world. One way of doing that is reaching across language barriers. When this Spanish screencast about FreeCAD caught my eye on YouTube, I knew I had to write about it for FOSS Force.

Phil Shapiro

For the past 10 years, Phil has been working at a public library in the Washington D.C.-area, helping youth and adults use the 28 public Linux stations the library offers seven days a week. He also writes for MAKE magazine, Opensource.com and TechSoup Libraries. Suggest videos by contacting Phil on Twitter or at pshapiro@his.com.

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Walmart’s Contributions to Open Source

By Phil Shapiro on January 20, 2017 |

Business

You might first think about open source in the context of outstanding tools for lean startup companies, but open source also finds a welcome home in behemoth, established companies, such as Walmart. In this O’Reilly OSCON video interview with Walmart Lab’s Alex Grigoryan, learn how Walmart both benefits from and contributes back to open source. The key takeaway? Open source allows you to reuse software components in labor saving ways.

Phil Shapiro

For the past 10 years, Phil has been working at a public library in the Washington D.C.-area, helping youth and adults use the 28 public Linux stations the library offers seven days a week. He also writes for MAKE magazine, Opensource.com and TechSoup Libraries. Suggest videos by contacting Phil on Twitter or at pshapiro@his.com.

Continue readingWalmart’s Contributions to Open Source
FOSS Compositing With NatronNatron

FOSS Compositing With Natron

By Phil Shapiro on January 17, 2017 |

Software and Video

Anyone who likes to work with graphics will at one time or another find compositing software useful. Luckily, FOSS has several of the best in Blender and Natron.

<h3the Viewing Room

Natron

Get a quick overview of Natron, cross-platform open source digital compositing software in this new YouTube video.

Phil Shapiro

For the past 10 years, Phil has been working at a public library in the Washington D.C.-area, helping youth and adults use the 28 public Linux stations the library offers seven days a week. He also writes for MAKE magazine, Opensource.com and TechSoup Libraries. Suggest videos by contacting Phil on Twitter or at pshapiro@his.com.

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A First Look at the Samsung Chromebook PlusSamsung ChromeBook plus

A First Look at the Samsung Chromebook Plus

By Phil Shapiro on January 13, 2017 |

Distros, Hardware and Video

Based on this video, it appears as if this Chromebook from Samsung would be a great machine with GNU/Linux installed on it.

The Viewing Room

Samsung ChromeBook plus

When watching this video, imagine how nice this Chromebook would be with a full Linux install.

Phil Shapiro

For the past 10 years, Phil has been working at a public library in the Washington D.C.-area, helping youth and adults use the 28 public Linux stations the library offers seven days a week. He also writes for MAKE magazine, Opensource.com and TechSoup Libraries. Suggest videos by contacting Phil on Twitter or at pshapiro@his.com.

Continue readingA First Look at the Samsung Chromebook Plus
Looking for Some Open Source Virtual Reality?Razer OSVR HDK2 virtual reality headset.

Looking for Some Open Source Virtual Reality?

By Phil Shapiro on January 10, 2017 |

Gaming, Hardware and Video

For those of you who like your reality virtual and your software open, there are options — such as this nifty headset our Phil Shapiro found while searching YouTube.

The Screening Room

Razer OSVR HDK2 virtual reality headset.

Virtual reality is the big deal these days and it’s great to see open source is alive and well in this realm. This newly uploaded video shows one of the VR solutions open source enthusiasts can explore and enjoy, the Razer OSVR HDK2 virtual reality headset.

Phil Shapiro

For the past 10 years, Phil has been working at a public library in the Washington D.C.-area, helping youth and adults use the 28 public Linux stations the library offers seven days a week. He also writes for MAKE magazine, Opensource.com and TechSoup Libraries. Suggest videos by contacting Phil on Twitter or at pshapiro@his.com.

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Inkscape 0.92 Is ReleasedInkscape 0.92

Inkscape 0.92 Is Released

By Phil Shapiro on January 6, 2017 |

Software

Wednesday saw the official release of Inkscape 0.92. Eleven months in the making, this version comes with many improvements, including mesh gradients, an improved Pencil tool that features interactive smoothing and much more.

The Screening Room

Inkscape 0.92

Inkscape, the very popular open source cross-platform vector drawing program, has released version 0.92. Check out the new features in this very nicely done video. (Note: The sound level is a bit loud in this video. You might want to turn the volume down on your computer before starting the video.)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EI1hxXt9U4c?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

The program is so popular, a student in Los Altos, California, once asked his parents to get it for him as a Christmas present. Suppose your child’s fondest wish was to own a no-cost software program from which they could derive thousands of hours of use and enjoyment. Without knowing it, this child gave his parents a Christmas gift of their own. And the programmers who make Inkscape? They gifted the entire world with this wonderful program.

Phil Shapiro

For the past 10 years, Phil has been working at a public library in the Washington D.C.-area, helping youth and adults use the 28 public Linux stations the library offers seven days a week. He also writes for MAKE magazine, Opensource.com and TechSoup Libraries. Suggest videos by contacting Phil on Twitter or at pshapiro@his.com.

Continue readingInkscape 0.92 Is Released
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