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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.

A Discussion on Contributing to Open Source

By Phil Shapiro on July 8, 2016 |

Community and Video

Are you wondering how to get involved in an open source project? Maybe this episode from the Mondern Web podcast will give you some ideas.

The Video Viewing Room

Learn tips for participating in an open source community from Ben Lesh and Zack Chapple in this engaging short video interview by Tracy Lee.

The key take-away? Don’t be shy if you have something to offer. My friendly additional tip — find yourself a buddy or mentor. They can help show you the ropes. Before you know it — you’ll be someone else’s buddy/mentor. That’s the way that the world goes round.

Continue readingA Discussion on Contributing to Open Source
Using Blender to Edit VideosBlender edit screen

Using Blender to Edit Videos

By Phil Shapiro on July 5, 2016 |

Software, Tutorial and Video

Sometimes applications have capabilities that go beyond their primary use. Our contributing video editor found this excellent video tutorial on editing videos in Blender, an app that’s primarily used for creating animated films.

The Video Screening Room

Blender is well-known for its 3D animation features, but did you know it also contains a very fine video editor? This explanatory screencast shares a lot of tips and tricks. I especially enjoyed when the screencaster made mistakes and then explained them. That can add a lot of value to a screencast. In fact, I’d pay good money for mistakes.

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 readingUsing Blender to Edit Videos
Open Source: It’s Not Just About Software Anymoreopen source development

Open Source: It’s Not Just About Software Anymore

By Phil Shapiro on June 28, 2016 |

Community, Hardware and Potpourri

Open source is no longer just about the software that sits on your computer. Open methods are being used to develop everything from better automobiles to life altering medical devices.

The Video Screening Room

This inspiring short video from Red Hat, uploaded Monday to YouTube, suggests why open source methods can yield flourishing results.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IOuDi644ac?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

If you’re an open source enthusiast, make sure you are subscribed to the Red Hat Videos YouTube channel to stay in the loop about future videos they upload. Maybe one of those videos will cover some open source project you’re working on. Also, ask yourself what youngsters do I know who would find this video to be inspiring. Share the link to this video with them and you will have planted a seed that could someday grow into a mighty oak.

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 readingOpen Source: It’s Not Just About Software Anymore

Joe Colantonio: ‘Why Recreate the Wheel — Use Open Source’

By Phil Shapiro on June 24, 2016 |

Software and Video

Joe Colantonio wants to “show you how to succeed with all your testing efforts.” He says, “Automation testing, like all development efforts, is difficult. Most projects don’t succeed.” Frankly, it’s all a little over our heads.

The Video Screening Room

In this new video, Joe Colantonio, speaking from his home in Providence, Rhode Island, asks the sensible question, “Why re-create the wheel from scratch when there are a lot of open source solutions that might well fit your software testing needs?” In this video, he goes on to explain the high points of these six open source programs:

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 readingJoe Colantonio: ‘Why Recreate the Wheel — Use Open Source’
Putting Together a Video Book ReviewVideo book review NeuroTribes

Putting Together a Video Book Review

By Phil Shapiro on June 21, 2016 |

Community, Internet, Media, Reviews and Video

Some things are easier than you might think. For example, here our contributing video editor gives you an example of a way that you can give thanks to a favorite author in a useful way with nothing more than a laptop, some freely available software and a YouTube account.

The Video Screening Room

If you encounter an excellent new book and you want to thank the author, your first inclination might be to track down the author’s email address and send them a thank-you message. A more meaningful step, though, is to write a short book review on Amazon (or elsewhere) explaining why others might also like the book. You can go one step further, too, and create a video book review that can be shared via social media.

To show other people what is possible, here is a screencast-style video book review I recently created on my Linux laptop. The book I’m reviewing is titled “NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity,” a history of autism published in 2015.

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 readingPutting Together a Video Book Review
Open Source AgricultureControlled environment agriculture

Open Source Agriculture

By Phil Shapiro on June 17, 2016 |

Software and Video

An open source tool, the Food Computer, is being developed at MIT that can be used to create, save, and share climates for growing crops, maximized for nutrition, yield and taste, regardless of location or season.

The Video Screening Room

MIT Mechanical engineer Camille Richman explains in this TEDx talk how open source “climate recipes” can democratize food production via her work with the “open phenome project.”

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 readingOpen Source Agriculture
Open Source Bionics Promise: Affordably Make Lives Betteropen source bionics

Open Source Bionics Promise: Affordably Make Lives Better

By Phil Shapiro on June 14, 2016 |

Hardware, Software and Video

We already know that open source gives us better and more secure software. But with the advent of 3D printing, the open source model shows even more meaningful promise in areas like open source bionics.

The Video Screening Room

Learn about the promise and economically disrupting effect of 3D printed prosthetics in this short, engaging video about open bionics.

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 readingOpen Source Bionics Promise: Affordably Make Lives Better
Software Freedom Conservancy’s Karen Sandler On FOSS and the IoTKaren Sandler

Software Freedom Conservancy’s Karen Sandler On FOSS and the IoT

By Phil Shapiro on June 10, 2016 |

Hardware, Software and Video

As an increasing number of our devices become connected to the Internet, Karen Sandler explains, the openness of open source becomes more important than ever.

The Video Screening Room

A fascinating interview conducted by Jenn Webb at this year’s OSCON with Karen Sandler, open source evangelist and executive director of the Software Freedom Conservancy, was uploaded to YouTube this week. These thoughts of hers really hit home — “We’re only as safe as our weakest leak…. With the Internet of Things, all the software that seems not-so-critical is becoming critical — because everything talks to each other and interacts with each other. And so free and open source software has never been so important.”

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 readingSoftware Freedom Conservancy’s Karen Sandler On FOSS and the IoT
Using Inkscape in CartographyInkscape logo

Using Inkscape in Cartography

By Phil Shapiro on June 7, 2016 |

Software, Tutorial and Video

There are literally thousands of practical uses for the free and open source Inkscape vector graphics editor. Here, we get a glimpse at how mapmakers can use it in combination with another FOSS tool.

The Video Screening Room

Michele Tobias, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Parks and Recreation, gave a fascinating talk last month at the FOSS4G North America conference in Raleigh, North Carolina. She spoke about cartography and Inkscape, explaining the process of bringing GIS (geographic information systems) software data into Inkscape. Her tips and insights are available for all to learn from in this YouTube video. Viewing this video, you not only learn some GIS, you learn some Inkscape features too.

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 readingUsing Inkscape in Cartography
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