Open Source

This white paper provides practical recommendations and facts to consider for a successful deployment of open source software.
In the beginning, open source solutions were the shiny play things of the techno crowd. After all, they were fun, new, and most important, free. No one would have considered using them in any real world corporate IT [...]

Now more than ever, open source technology is the smart choice for navigating uncertain economic waters. In a competitive business environment, open source gives you the means to drive down costs while increasing system and staff efficiencies. OSCON 2009 is where you’ll find the latest information and new ways to connect with the growing community [...]

Learn the different alternatives to open source data integration, including the costs, visible and hidden, of these alternatives, on several types of projects.
With cost often viewed as one of the major reasons to adopt open source technologies, the Return On Investment (ROI) of open source must be determined precisely when looking at deploying data integration [...]

VirtualBox is a general-purpose full virtualizer for x86 hardware. Targeted at server, desktop and embedded use, it is now the only professional-quality virtualization solution that is also Open Source Software. [Discovered via Major Geeks]
[62.3M] [Win2k/XP/Vista] [FREE]

Dispel the five major myths surrounding Open Source security and gain the tools necessary to make a truly informed decision for your IT organization.
When choosing between proprietary and Open Source security solutions, many organizations are misled by Open Source myths. As a result, they ask the wrong questions when evaluating their options and unnecessarily limit [...]

Most of you reading this are likely doing so with the now popular Web browser lovingly known as Firefox. Born out of the frustration to need something with less bloat, Firefox fit the bill with flying colors. These days, however, this is looking less and less like what we can expect from them in the [...]

Not too long ago, I shared my thoughts on Microsoft’s introduction of Silverlight, its blatant lack of Linux support, and how it was aiming at regaining its browser dominance. Well, it looks like the Open Source crowd has picked up the pieces again with a solution to conquer what ails the common Linux user. Silverlight, [...]

After getting home from Linuxfest Northwest, I found that I had a lot of decompressing to do. After all, it was Sunday, and Monday was just around the corner. But I must admit that if there is one thing that will keep bringing me back year after year, it has to be the wealth of [...]

Is there really the level of competition in the Open Source world that we see in the Closed Source world? This is something that has been stuck in my mind lately as I have been told so many times by Closed Source developers that by opening the code you are creating your own competition. Today, [...]

In an open letter released today, the OpenOffice.org community invites Michael Dell to work with it to pre-install OpenOffice.org 2 office software on Dell computers. Dell’s own IdeaStorm Web site has recorded an overwhelming customer demand for this feature, currently showing over 70,000 requests for OpenOffice.org 2.
The OpenOffice.org community is the home of the leading free software competitor [...]

I have always been interested in trying new software, specifically free software. One of the most well known pieces out there is OpenOffice. I normally use Microsoft Office, but have tried OpenOffice limitedly. Well, in order to give it a fair shake, I have made the decision to try it full time [...]

One of my favorite operating systems of all time was OS/2. Man, I loved that OS! It was so rock solid that I rarely rebooted. I was using it years before Microsoft came out with its 32 bit OS, Window 95, and it would still be years later before it had a [...]

Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP, Python, and Perl - a mixture that seems to have moved beyond the
fossilized carbon stage. With heat and pressure, it has molded this
stack into a beautiful diamond. Linux
has grown from a group of tinkering hobbyists to a multibillion dollar industry. Apache
dominates the Web server market with an almost three times [...]

It is time to put duct tape on the mouths of the zealots on both sides and have a real debate about Open Source code and propriety code. Both sides vehemently argue that their solution is the best. Honestly, it comes down to what works. I have used software that I had to pay for [...]

Red Hat Magazine is hot off the (electronic) presses, and this month’s issue features a cool article called “Open Source on the force: An officer speaks”. The article discusses a police officer who turned to a basic DOS solution on old hardware to solve a problem ten years ago, and has since discovered Linux and [...]

I can’t speak for larger enterprises, but having worked with schools and SMBs, I hate it when I see Steve Ballmer trying to convince me that Microsoft has a better ROI than Linux and Open Source systems. The price quotes I received for SQL Server alone blew out my annual budget at one job, and [...]

Governments using and sharing Open Source software - sounds like a rather progressive idea, doesn’t it? So progressive, in fact, that it’s no surprise to find it started in Massachusetts with the Government Open Code Collaborative. This collaboration began early last year and launched its official site (driven by Plone and running on [...]

In spite of recent criticisms hurled at MySQL, there is a lot of industry talk taking place regarding Open Source databases. This could be perfect timing with major updates to MySQL and PostgreSQL scheduled for release this month.

While most of us were busy predicting insecure Web browsers would be the downfall of the Internet, the folks at Mozilla were slowly positioning themselves to save the day. As a result of promotions like Switch, Spread Firefox, and a 2-page New York Times ad, Mozilla Firefox has been downloaded over 13 million times [...]

Over the past few days, I have had a number of people emailing me asking how they can successfully upgrade their Firefox and Thunderbird programs. The main fear seems to be that if they try to upgrade outright, there might be a loss of data.