Open Source

Assuming you buy into this article’s statement that somehow Adobe likes Open Source, you might find yourself wondering why everything they produce seems to be proprietary! Flash, Photoshop, you name it, it’s not open source.
Despite my skepticism, it does look like on the back end of things, Adobe does have some open source code rolling [...]

Open source soda pop? Seriously? Yes, there really is such a thing. But unlike its software cousins, OpenCola is clearly not seeing anything close to the level of success seen with the various open source programs out there.
So what do open source apps and drinks have in common? The fact that the recipes/code are totally [...]

For years, I found myself defending the photo editor known as GIMP simply because it was different at some level. As absurd as this will seem to most Linux users, this comparison to Photoshop has been an issue for quite some time.
Well some of the mystique that has kept many users away from GIMP looks [...]

This one really has me speechless. Really interested in how MS is defending this one when their motivation is highly suspect considering the fact that they are still spreading FUD about Linux in stores like Best Buy to this very day.
According to the Redmond software company, MS is merely looking to provide a forum from [...]

Even my Mac using wife is second guessing Photoshop after seeing what a GIMP variant known as GIMPShop was able to provide for her. Bundled with the PS keyboard shortcuts, she found that the two applications were more comparable than she ever imagined.
But for those of us that do not need to unlearn everything Adobe, [...]

Cannot say that I ever gave a ton of thought to seeing camera going open source. Sure, I am a fan of open source hardware as it certainly has some merits, but getting my head around an open source camera would not have likely happened until I read this today.
Imagine a world where end users [...]

This article brings up some fascinating thoughts on what works and what does not regarding saving money with open source software. It’s not merely the price of the software itself, as sometimes there are still support costs. No, it is a matter of actually looking at all of the costs involved to see if the [...]

Are US schools really this adverse to using open source technology? Is it due to a perceived lack of support? Maybe this is the general consensus, however I would say that slowly but surely, US schools are moving over to open source/closed source mix out of the need for budget cuts.
A simple Google search will [...]

Sometimes people read too much into numbers when in truth, it is they that are in many ways irrelevant. As you can see in this article, Matt Asay believes that the GPL is losing ground as web based software seems to use other open source licenses. Well, this is the way the numbers presented in [...]

Some people might point out that this is a long time coming. The road has been paved for Firefox to come to Android. Now I realize this might seem sort of odd, what with Android already providing a browser and all. Still, it never hurts to have choice.
Native code has something going for it, when [...]

As times go from challenging to difficult, organizations are suddenly finding that their “Meh, this is hard” attitudes are changing in a hurry due to a lack of funds to feed the proprietary hunger that is closed source software.
It may be “shiny”, but cost effective, keep dreaming. Even when you consider any potential learning curves [...]

Speaking as a guy who grew up with one of the original Sony Walkman cassette players in the early 80’s, I still have hopes for the Walkman brand. Even in its current version, I think that with a revamp of technology Sony can perhaps breathe in some new life to an otherwise iPod ruled concept [...]

Normally, a statement like this in the title of this article might be seen as something that is controversial.But as it turns out, there is actually some truth to it, be it not without its own back-story. At the end of the day, it comes down to this. Yes, there are businesses that leech off [...]

While folks such as myself prefer using desktop Linux, others find that they would rather stick with Windows for whatever reasons they have. But many of these Windows users might be candidates for using open source apps designed to run on Windows.
One way of doing this is to use what is called the OpenDisc. Formally [...]

KOffice for the most part, has always been pretty solid software. Quicker than say, Open Office, it is designed to provide the casual KDE users just about everything they might want from a good office suite.
Sadly though, it appears that it does not provide a MS Office filter. So you might experience some issues trying [...]

I discovered this article today and right off the bat, I had the feeling that this ex-Microsoft programmer had an ax to grind with their employer. I read this article three times. Each time, I had held out hope that there was some concrete nugget I could point to in hopes of getting myself interested [...]

Microsoft Sharepoint is one of those proprietary products that you either love or hate. There just is not a lot of in between. Thankfully, I have been free of it for my time in the world and if all goes well, I will be continuing this trend.
But since this is the Linux section of Lockergnome, [...]

Personally I have generally felt like Mozilla Prism was a project without a purpose. And even today, I maintain my doubts as to its value. At its core, Prism is a version of Firefox without the functionality. It offers the ability to create desktop icons and to a lesser extent, gives the user the feeling [...]

Are trademarks as big of a hassle as software patents in the eyes of most Linux users. Surprisingly, no, as it is only designed to protect a brand and not code belonging to the community at large. Yet at the same time, I think many people fail to realize that it is trademarks that allow [...]

Honestly, Oo 3.0 sucked. There was absolutely no compelling reason to use it over 2.x outside of the fact it happened to come installed with my current Ubuntu installation. Again, not trying to be a downer as I like Oo well enough, however I actually found the upgrade to be of little consequence frankly.
As you [...]