Press "Enter" to skip to content

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.

Just Because It Says ‘Open Source Hardware’ Doesn’t Mean It Really Is

By Phil Shapiro on September 13, 2016 |

Community, Copyright, Hardware, Maker Movement, Patents and Video

Just Because It Says ‘Open Source Hardware’ Doesn’t Mean It Really IsOpen Source Hardware logo

Is it “organic,” or just merely “natural?” Is it really “open source hardware,” or merely hardware with a degree of openess? David Jones explains the problem in identifying which is which and who is whom.

The Video Screening Room

David L. Jones, an electronics design engineer based in Sydney Australia, explains his pragmatic solution to the use of the open source hardware logo — inspired by the varying gradations of the Creative Commons licenses.

Continue readingJust Because It Says ‘Open Source Hardware’ Doesn’t Mean It Really Is
Krita 3.01 Beta ReleasedKrita logo

Krita 3.01 Beta Released

By Phil Shapiro on September 9, 2016 |

Software, Tutorial and Video

Around since 2005, and with its Kiki the Cyber Squirrel mascot since 2012, Krita is a free and open source raster graphics editor designed to be a digital painting application similar to Corel Painter.

The Video Screening Room

The popular Krita painting program keeps getting even better. This new beta release of 3.01 includes features added from Google Summer of Code programmers. This screencast does a very good job explaining the new features, including new animation tools.

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 readingKrita 3.01 Beta Released
Getting Ready for VLC 3.0VLC logo

Getting Ready for VLC 3.0

By Phil Shapiro on September 6, 2016 |

Software and Video

Everything you ever wanted to know about VLC but were afraid to ask.

The Video Screening Room

VideoLAN (also called VLC) is a very popular media player available for all major technology platforms. Work is progressing towards a 3.0 release and in this new video you can meet some of the developers working to make that happen.

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 readingGetting Ready for VLC 3.0
David Beazley’s Keynote Talk at PyData Chicago 2016David Beazley

David Beazley’s Keynote Talk at PyData Chicago 2016

By Phil Shapiro on September 2, 2016 |

Software and Video

One of the things we’ve noticed over the years is how enthusiastic people are about Python, which shows in this keynote address by David Beazley.

The Video Screening Room

This post-lunch screencast presentation by David Beazley is so entertaining, you can enjoy it without knowing any Python programming whatsoever. The aside comments alone are worth the price of admission. I won’t tell you the topic of the presentation. Suffice it to say — plenty funny.

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 readingDavid Beazley’s Keynote Talk at PyData Chicago 2016

A Webinar on Big Data

By Phil Shapiro on August 30, 2016 |

Business

Big data is all the rage these days in the enterprise. If you’re trying to wrap your head around exactly what big data is, our contributing video editor has found this video from AWS.

The Video Screening Room

For all you open source data scientists out there, this hour-long recorded webinar explains the big data tools and services you can use on Amazon. I learned a lot of data science lingo watching this 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.

Continue readingA Webinar on Big Data
‘Show-and-Tell’ Cool Maker Projects on HangoutsShow-and-Tell Maker Movement

‘Show-and-Tell’ Cool Maker Projects on Hangouts

By Phil Shapiro on August 26, 2016 |

Community, Hardware, Maker Movement and Video

Wow! This live Hangout show looks a lot like a DIY version of one of the morning shows on over-the-air TV — and if there’s any doubt that the maker movement thrives on open source, the first guest’s project is all about Python and Arduino. Be sure to check out the cool Star Trek combadge. Beam us up, Mr. Shapiro!

The Video Screening Room

Lady Ada and Philip Torrone are both legendary makers and exemplary sharers of hacks and tips. Their weekly “Show-And-Tell” Google Hangout is always fascinating. These Hangouts are archived to YouTube.

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 reading‘Show-and-Tell’ Cool Maker Projects on Hangouts

Reviving Old Macs Using Linux

By Phil Shapiro on August 23, 2016 |

Hardware, Operating Systems, Tutorial and Video

These days, thanks to Apple’s move to Intel about a decade back, bringing new life to an old Mac by installing your favorite Linux distro is just as easy as it is with a standard PC, as you will see in this video.

The Video Screening Room

All Macintosh computers from about 2006 onwards were made using Intel CPUs and installing Linux on these computers is a breeze. You don’t need to download any Mac specific distro — just choose your favorite distro and install away. About 95 percent of the time you’ll be able to use the 64-bit version of the distro. On CoreDuo Macs, from 2006, you’ll need to use a 32-bit version.

Here is a screencast video I made on a revived Macbook that came into my hands recently. I downloaded Linux Mint 18 Xfce 64-bit ISO, burned it to DVD, inserted it into the Macbook (after the Macbook was turned on) and then booted the Macbook from DVD by holding the the letter “C” (which tells the Mac to boot from the optical drive).

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 readingReviving Old Macs Using Linux
Sal Ferrarello on Getting Started with ComposerComposer logo

Sal Ferrarello on Getting Started with Composer

By Phil Shapiro on August 19, 2016 |

Software and Tutorial

In this video, web developers can learn how to get their hands dirty with the PHP dependency manager, Composer.

The Video Screening Room

If you’re a WordPress developer, Sal Ferrarello (@salcode) of Reading, PA, explains how to install Composer, use it with a plugin or a theme and use it with a WordPress project. This video is from his WordCamp Philly 2015 talk.

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 readingSal Ferrarello on Getting Started with Composer
How to Install Ubuntu on a Chromebook PixelChromebook Pixel with Ubuntu

How to Install Ubuntu on a Chromebook Pixel

By Phil Shapiro on August 16, 2016 |

Distros, Hardware, Tutorial and Video

Chromebooks are really nice laptops, except for one tiny problem which is…well, Chrome OS. This week, our contributing video editor found an easy to follow step-by-step guide for installing Ubuntu on a Chromebook Pixel. Problem solved.

The Video Screening Room

The Chromebook Pixel of 2013 is a lovely computer. Want to make it even lovelier? Install Ubuntu on it. This well-done tutorial video shows and explains all the steps.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Girn7mgoRco?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

In three years time, the Chromebook Pixels of 2013 will be six years old and you’ll be able to buy one quite affordably on eBay.

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 readingHow to Install Ubuntu on a Chromebook Pixel
$5 Omega2 SBC Beats $300K Stretch GoalOmega2 SBC

$5 Omega2 SBC Beats $300K Stretch Goal

By Phil Shapiro on August 12, 2016 |

Hardware, Operating Systems and Video

The Omega2 is a quarter of the size of a credit card with a 580MH processor, 64MB RAM, 16MB flash, built-in Wi-Fi, a $5 price and with Linux preinstalled. What’s not to like about that?

The Video Screening Room

The most exciting developments in maker movement electronics is happening with low-cost Linux devices. In case you might not have heard of it, the Omega2 is a very small, very low-cost IoT Linux computer that you can program using many of the programming languages you already know. Check out the compelling Kickstarter video here.

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 reading$5 Omega2 SBC Beats $300K Stretch Goal
Latest Articles