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Posts published in “Software”

In Search of a Linux iTunes Replacement

By Robert Glen Fogarty on July 21, 2016 |

Operating Systems and Software

In Search of a Linux iTunes ReplacementClementine

In this week’s installment, our resident Linux newb goes on the prowl with one thought in mind: To find the best-of-breed FOSS music player for GNU/Linux.

The Linux Gadabout

I’ve decided to take a break from swimming upstream. Sure, I enjoy the puzzles presented by limited RAM and weird popcorn sounds that happen when caging Ubuntu MATE in a rickety Sony Vaio laptop that’s more than a decade old. I love the creative solutions the FOSS Force community shares in a concerted effort to get me back in the saddle and on my way. But I think Christine Hall summed it up best when commenting on my last column via Facebook:

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Koha Integrated Library System Brings FOSS to LibrariesFloss Weekly Koha

Koha Integrated Library System Brings FOSS to Libraries

By Phil Shapiro on July 19, 2016 |

Community, Interview, Software and Video

The proprietary software used by most libraries is incredibly expensive, and comes with support costs that can be even higher. Projects like Koha bring the option of a free and open source solution into play.

The Video Screening Room

Randal Schwartz, from TWiT.tv’s “FLOSS Weekly,” interviews Nicole Engard and Brendan Gallagher, about the open source Koha Integrated Library System (ILS), which originated in New Zealand in 1999. Along with being a web developer, Nicole is a prolific blogger on Opensource.com and last year was recognized by Red Hat for her significant contributions to open source advocacy.

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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Ubuntu Hacked, Linux Journal Extremists & More…Bumblehive NSA

Ubuntu Hacked, Linux Journal Extremists & More…

By Christine Hall on July 15, 2016 |

Community, Distros, Operating Systems, Politics, Security and Software

Also included: Microsoft shows love of Linux with gift of Skype and Torvalds continues to be Torvalds.

FOSS Week in Review

The biggest Linux story this week by mainstream tech sites’ standards was Skype working to include Linux users in its installed base by releasing a new Linux client to replace obsolete software that hadn’t been updated in at least two years. According to many of the comments on FOSS Force’s coverage, Skype might consider itself a day late and a dollar short.

The big problem, of course, is Skype’s ownership by Microsoft, whose love of Linux is so far unrequited. Add to that the fact that Skype, like Microsoft, doesn’t have the monopoly it once had and the result is a less than enthusiastic response. However, it wouldn’t surprise me if Ubuntu doesn’t start installing the Skype client by default once it comes out of beta.

Now on to some news that’s really newsworthy…

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

FOSSForce.com
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How Open Source Is Becoming the Core of All SoftwareThe New Makers open source

How Open Source Is Becoming the Core of All Software

By Phil Shapiro on July 15, 2016 |

Business, Software and Video

The open source development model is taking over the enterprise. Two companies that were late coming to the OSS table but which now contribute much code are Cisco and Capital One.

The Video Screening Room

This panel discussion, recorded at this year’s OSCON in Austin, Texas, with two Cisco open source folks and a Capital One person is fascinating. Learn about how enterprises are acknowledging their use of OSS and taking greater responsibility for contributing back to it. Learn how people are more often using GitHub contributions as their resume. Learn how the open model allows companies to iterate faster in a rapidly changing world. If open source is becoming the default methodology, how is this changing mindsets within the enterprise?

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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David A. Wheeler: Working to Prevent the Next HeartbleedDavid A. Wheeler Core Infrastructure Initiative

David A. Wheeler: Working to Prevent the Next Heartbleed

By Robin "Roblimo" Miller on July 14, 2016 |

Community, Interview, Security and Software

The Heartbleed bug revealed that some important open source projects were so understaffed that they were unable to properly implement best security practices. The Linux Foundation’s Core Infrastructure Initiative , formed to help open source projects have the ability to adopt these practices, uses a lot of carrot and very little stick.

Robin "Roblimo" Miller

Robin “Roblimo” Miller is a freelance writer and former editor-in-chief at Open Source Technology Group, the company that owned SourceForge, freshmeat, Linux.com, NewsForge, ThinkGeek and Slashdot, and until recently served as a video editor at Slashdot. Now he’s mostly retired, but still works part-time as an editorial consultant for Grid Dynamics, and (obviously) writes for FOSS Force.

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LibreOffice and Nextcloud: It’s Almost Deja vu All Over Againfork owncloud for nextcloud

LibreOffice and Nextcloud: It’s Almost Deja vu All Over Again

By Christine Hall on July 6, 2016 |

Business, Copyright, Software and Web Apps

It’s easy to be tempted to draw a parallel between the recent fork of ownCloud by Nextcloud and The Document Foundation’s fork of OpenOffice six years ago. Slight differences are there, but they’re probably meaningless.

There are more than enough similarities between the recent forking of ownCloud to Nextcloud and the creation of LibreOffice out of OpenOffice six years ago to draw comparisons, but there are also many differences. As Yogi Berra might say, they are the same but different.

fork owncloud for nextcloudOpenOffice, if you’ll remember, was forked by a group of developers who had been frustrated for years by roadblocks to what they saw as necessary development by Sun Microsystems, which had created the open source project out of Star Office, a proprietary suite it purchased in the late 1990s. When the situation worsened after Oracle took ownership, the developers created The Document Foundation, forked OpenOffice and released it as LibreOffice under the GPL. Improvements became evident right away, with much of the early work centering on cleaning up the bloated code base.

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

FOSSForce.com
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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.

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Why I’m Unlikely to Ever Return Microsoft’s LoveMicrosoft German camput

Why I’m Unlikely to Ever Return Microsoft’s Love

By Christine Hall on June 29, 2016 |

Business, Community, Operating Systems and Software

While the mainstream tech press is ready to embrace “the new Microsoft” as a friend to open source, many who fought in the trenches against the corporate giant will never be able to forgive and forget.

Op-ed

Every time I write an article criticizing the depth of Microsoft’s proclaimed love of Linux, as well as questioning the motive behind it, I receive return criticism, often from places I would’ve, in the past, least expected, such as from within the GNU/Linux community. In places like Slashdot, some open source subreddits, and even occasionally on FOSS Force, there are commenters who accuse me of letting the past blind me to the great work that Microsoft is now doing for Linux and open source.

Microsoft German camputLet’s forget for a minute that I have plenty of reasons for seeing Redmond as a continuing threat to free tech. Let’s forget the patent issues the company still uses as a threat, as well as the fact that all of its contributions to open source are to support Azure and Windows, the latter of which remains proprietary and definitely not free software. Let’s also forget that this love of Linux was announced when Microsoft began betting on the cloud, where embracing Linux became necessary for survival. Can you imagine a Windows only cloud service? Neither can I.

Christine Hall

Christine Hall has been a journalist since 1971. In 2001, she began writing a weekly consumer computer column and started covering Linux and FOSS in 2002 after making the switch to GNU/Linux. Follow her on Twitter: @BrideOfLinux

FOSSForce.com
Continue readingWhy I’m Unlikely to Ever Return Microsoft’s Love