Octave a free software replacement for MatLab

GNU Octave is a high-level language, primarily intended for numerical computations. It provides a convenient command line interface for solving linear and nonlinear problems numerically, and for performing other numerical experiments using a language that is mostly compatible with Matlab. It may also be used as a batch-oriented language.

Octave has extensive tools for solving common numerical linear algebra problems, finding the roots of nonlinear equations, integrating ordinary functions, manipulating polynomials, and integrating ordinary differential and differential-algebraic equations. It is easily extensible and customizable via user-defined functions written in Octave's own language, or using dynamically loaded modules written in C++, C, Fortran, or other languages.

GNU Octave is also freely redistributable software. You may redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) as published by the Free Software Foundation.

Octave was written by John W. Eaton and many others. Because Octave is free software you are encouraged to help make Octave more useful by writing and contributing additional functions for it, and by reporting any problems you may have.

Asterisk - The Open Source communications

Asterisk is software that turns an ordinary computer into a communications server. Asterisk powers IP PBX systems, VoIP gateways, conference servers and more. It is used by small businesses, large businesses, call centers, carriers and governments worldwide. Asterisk is free and open source. Asterisk is sponsored by Digium

Technocrati token 83F9RR9FQS4K

83F9RR9FQS4K , this token is for claiming the ownership of this blog!

Open Source Lebanon consulting

Open Source Lebanon Consuting

• Application Servers based on Linux Apache Mysql PHP or Linux Apache Tomcat Mysql JSP / JSF
• Full Security solution with Linux : Router, Firewall, Proxy. DMZ, 
• Office solutions based on OpenOffice or LibreOffice
• Developpement using Netbeans or Eclipse

For more informations sen email to oslm.consulting@cofares.net

IT Grads in Demand

IT Grads in Demand
NextGov.com (05/23/11) Brittany Ballenstedt

Employers are looking to hire graduates with degrees in computer science more than any other college graduates, according to a new survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). More than 56 percent of computer science majors who have applied for a job have received an offer, giving the major the highest offer rate for the class of 2011. NACE surveyed more than 50,000 college students and found that the job offer rate for computer science graduates has increased 13.8 percent from 2010. Half of engineering graduates who have applied for jobs have received an offer, and the overall job offer rate for 2011 graduates has risen to 41.2 percent from 38.2 percent a year ago. In a separate survey released earlier in the month, NACE reported that computer science graduates were receiving starting salaries of $63,000.

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ICT in Cnam Lebanon - all Free and Open source solutions

The information and communication technology service in Cnam Lebanon  to fourfold mission:

park management, computer networks and their safety features: local networks at each education center, the interconnection between the intranet and the centers managing access to the internet. based on Open Source Solutions (Linux routers, proxy and firewall)

Management platforms, resources and architecture of the web presence of the ISAE CNAM Lebanon: Applications in collaboration with Google Apps (email, Calendar, Online Documents and shared on Google cloud, the groups and Web collaboration tools, Calendar, video and images, blog, buzz, ...) Apache open source applications, TikiWiki (wiki, articles, blog and forum), phpBB (forum), Moodle (ODL platform) and Tomcat .

The specification and development of internal applications, their platform development and deployment forming the information system of the ISAE CNAM Lebanon (educational ERP): Human Resources management, auditors students management, management of teachers, results,  qualifications, management and planning schedules, management reviews.

Study and implementation of a solution distance distance education, real time or delayed, making maximum use of infrastructure intranet and internet.

For now the modules (see http://si.isae.edu.lb/) are developed progressively. We welcome all your comments or needs of the ISAE on our froeums or discussion groups:

The main functions are:

For listeners: Pre-register and then register, view your schedule and view your results online.
Heads of departments may set the qualifications catalog and composition, the prerequisites and equivalencies for each EU (education Unit). This information is taken into account for; registration
The tuition for each service center listed new listeners
The teaching hours of teachers are captured in real time.

How you can contribute, the easy steps.

You can contribute by asking to become editor in this blog, or to register on the http://fosln.cofares.net wiki. You can then advocate, argue, write testimonials, any thing that can help to promote Free and Open Source usage in Lebanon.

Cnam Liban teach using open source solutions

The computer science department at Cnam Lebanon, is committed to use open source for all their teaching activities. LAMP for web development, Java and j2ee for programming and enterprise applications, linux as systems, Android for mobile applications. Netbeans and Eclipse as EDI.

The last bastion of proprietary software use for teaching in some introductory courses is office (especially for courses in others departments)! 

Android and Open Sorce survey

Android Took 36% Smartphone Share in Q1: Gartner

Google's Android operating system extended its smartphone platform lead, while Apple's iPhone remains a powerful force. Symbian, Blackberry and Windows continue to fall. 

Open-Source Software Going Mainstream in Enterprises: Survey

More businesses are becoming more confident about picking open-source software over products from vendors of proprietary licensed applications, according to a new report.

Java Use Increases Among Developers Worldwide: Survey

According to a recent Evans Data survey, the use of the Java programming language has increased among developers around the world

Although Java has been recognized as the most popular and widely used programming language in the world, a new study from Evans Data indicates that Java use grew even more over the last year.
According to Evans Data, Java enjoyed strong growth last year among developers in all regions. The largest increase is in the Asia-Pacific region where developers using Java at least some of the time has increased from 61 percent to 68 percent since the spring of 2010, Evans Data officials said. A similar increase of 7.6 percent occurred in North America. In the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, the number of total users has also increased, though to a smaller degree, Evans Data said.
“We’re seeing a definite resurgence in Java development across all regions,” Janel Garvin, CEO of Evans Data, said in a statement. This resurgence “correlates directly with the increasing importance of the smartphone as a development target,” she added. “Java is the most widely used language for smartphone development, and is well-suited for most of the major platforms, including Android, Blackberry, Symbian and cross-platform Web development. Asia-Pacific developers are slightly out in front because smartphone development has been more deeply ingrained in that region.”
Although total users has increased in all regions, those who employ the language more than 50 percent of the time has remained steady.
The Evans Data Global Development study is based on an in-depth survey of over 1,200 software developers worldwide. It has been conducted twice a year since 2000 and follows development trends in three major regions. The latest volumes will be sent to subscribers this month. The Table of Contents is available for interested parties.

[FR] Un employé d'Apple rapporterait plus de 400 000 dollars par an. Ou comment faire le buzz avec un calcul simpliste

Chiffres - D’après un calcul très (trop) simple, chaque salarié d’Apple rapporterait 419 528 dollars par an, devenant par la même occasion les employés les plus rentables du secteur, loin devant Google et Microsoft.
Au menu aujourd'hui, un troll au goût de pomme ! Prenez le résultat net réalisé par la firme de Steve Jobs au cours des 12 derniers mois, divisez par le nombre d'employés de la compagnie et observez le résultat.
Armé de sa calculatrice, le site Pingdom a fait le calcul. Conclusion : les employés d'Apple sont les plus rentables du marché des nouvelles technologies. Apple monte sur la première marche du podium. Au vu des résultats, la firme à la pomme peut être fière de ses petites fourmis, qui rapportent chacune pas moins de 419 528 dollars par an. On ne s'étonnera pas que l'"info" fasse le buzz sur la Toile.
« Ne nous blâmez pas ! » Impressionnant ? Reste que la méthode n'a franchement aucun intérêt, si ce n'est de comparer les performances des compagnies en fonction de leur masse salariale. L'analyse est très clairement discutable, puisqu'au final les sous-traitants et fournisseurs, qui participent indirectement mais fortement à la création de valeur, n'entrent pas en compte dans le calcul. Sur la même base de calcul, les concurrents sont clairement à la traine, mais affichent toutefois des scores plutôt juteux. Google se hisse à la deuxième place avec 336 297 dollars suivi par Microsoft et ses 244 831 dollars de profit par employé par an.

Project of the month

OpenPetra

OpenPetra is a free and easy-to-use administration software package for non-profit organizations. Specifically designed to meet the administrative requirements of an international mission agency or other non-profit organisation, OpenPetra runs standalone or as a multi-user system in an office ... Read more.

From the Blog

May 2011 Project of the Month: OpenPetra

Non-profits and other charity organizations need all the help they can get, administratively speaking. That’s why it’s great to see something like what the folks at OpenPetra have put together. Flexible and customizable, it helps volunteers and non-profit agencies get the management tasks out of the way and focus on what’s really important: the cause Read more…

FreeCAD General purpose Open Source 3D CAD/MCAD/CAx/CAE/PLM modeler

FreeCAD is a general purpose Open Source 3D CAD/MCAD/CAx/CAE/PLM modeler, aimed directly at mechanical engineering and product design but also fits in a wider range of uses around engineering, such as architecture or other engineering specialties. It is a feature-based parametric modeler with a modular software architecture which makes it easy to provide additional functionality without modifying the core system.
FreeCAD is based on OpenCasCade, a powerful geometry kernel, features an Open Inventor-compliant 3D scene representation model provided by the Coin 3D library, and a broad python API. The interface is built with Qt. FreeCAD runs exactly the same way on Windows, Mac OSX and Linux platforms.
Learn more here...

Status.net the Open Source social software

THE RISE OF SOCIAL SOFTWARE

Social software is fueling business innovation. From internal sharing, problem solving and team building to external engagement, social software creates an open environment for collaboration.

STATUSNET SETS THE BAR

StatusNet is the world's leading Open Source social software. Its OnDemand and OnPremise options power collaboration for small teams and global corporations.

StatusNet is the world's most flexible social software solution. Quickly and easily implemented, StatusNet is an open, robust and extensible platform capable of evolving with your needs.

Read more about it

Open Source and cloud

As policy discussions on the 'Cloud' unfold in Washington, Brussels and around the world, last week's Red Hat Summit in Boston, where more than 2,500 developers and software leaders gathered from around the world, focused attention on open source and the 'Cloud.'

WE HOST (FTP and WEB) FREELY for open source and free software uses

If you wish to host an activity related to "Open Source" or "Free Software", you can ask to get your space (an ftp account and a virtual domain on LAMP plateform) by sending a mail to community@cofares.net and give us the goal and purpose of thes needed web presence.

Skype goes to Microsoft an Me to Ekiga

Here you can get the Ekiga Free and open source Voice et Video Over IP : Download Ekiga Binaries or Source Code | Ekiga ~ Free Your Speech

PlayOgg!

Increasingly, proprietary software companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe are pushing video and audio formats that restrict access and restrict software developers.

Thankfully, there is an alternative that can be played on all computers without restriction — Ogg. With Ogg, professional grade multimedia formats such as Vorbis, Theora, Speex and FLAC come to life!

Vorbis and Theora are used extensively by free software projects, artists and a growing number of music and video distributors.

Take the next step ..... Read More

Common misconceptions about FOSS applications

Misconception: FOSS applications cost nothing. Reality: Vendors do sell open source applications. While these systems may ultimately present cost savings, much depends on maintenance, implementation, and other cost factors.	Misconception: FOSS applications are too risky for mission critical uses. Reality: Open source software is relied upon for mission-critical servers, enterprise applications, and embedded devices.
Misconception: FOSS isn't ready for the enterprise. Reality: In fact, there is a growing segment of enterprise applications that are free and open source software. Some mature applications are visible in TEC's evaluation centers.	Misconception: There's nobody to call when you have a problem. Reality: Most companies providing FOSS applications model their businesses around providing support, implementation, and customization services.

Netcraft News: May 2011 Web Server Survey

Netcraft News: May 2011 Web Server Survey

What is Free Software

"if you see open source as only business you will never understand it"
Quoted for truth!


Visit the FSF page to read more

Associate member of FSF

A strong free software movement focused on the principled issues of software freedom — and a strong FSF in particular — will determine what freedoms the next generation of computer users enjoy. At stake is no less than the next generation's autonomy.

— Benjamin Mako Hill, writer, technologist and FSF board member

Places for hosting your Open Source Projects

Some free repository hosting infrastructure:

Sourceforge.net - for any kind of projects
java.net - for java related projects
Google code - for any kind of projects
launchpad.net - all kind of projects

Open Source projects : ISAE Cnam Liban

Some open source projects hosted at "google code" for ower students of ICT departement at ISAE Cnam Liban.

Pascal Farès : ISAE Cnam Liban: Quelques projets libre (open source):

Free Linux programming books | Linux Programming Books Free

You can find by following this link : Free Linux programming books | Linux Programming Books Free , some useful free ebooks.

what is the open source business model?

It is often confusing to people to learn that an open source company may give its products away for free or for a minimal cost.
How do open source companies make money?
While it is true that an open source business may not make money directly from its products, it is untrue that open source companies do not generate stable and scalable revenue streams.
In actuality, in the 21st century web technology market, it is the open source company that has the greatest long-term strategic advantage. This is demonstrated by companies such as LINUX, Apache, and Netscape, a host of web-specific technologies such as Java, Perl, TCL, and a host of web-specific technology companies such as Sendmail.
The open source business model relies on shifting the commercial value away from the actual products and generating revenue from the 'Product Halo,' or ancillary services like systems integration, support, tutorials and documentation.)
This focus on the product halo is rooted in the firm understanding that in the real-world, the value of software lies in the value-added services of the product halo and not in the product or any intellectual property that the product represents.
In actuality, the value of software products approaches zero in the fast-paced, highly-customized, ever-changing world of information technology.
But it is not simply an acknowledgement of the revenue streams generated by the product halo that makes open source a compelling business strategy.
Open source also cuts down on essential research and development costs while at the same time speeding up delivery of new products.
This paradoxical situation arises from the fact that within an open source project, the community members themselves provide free research and development by contributing new solutions, features, and ideas back to the community as a whole. The company that sits at the center of any successful open source project may reap the rewards of the work of thousands of highly-skilled developers without paying them a cent.
A final strength of the open source business model lies in its ability to market itself.
Because open source products are typically released for free, open source companies that can produce quality products and generate a good reputation can almost immediately grab huge shares of any market based on the complex and far-reaching global referral networks generated by users.
In fact, in the web technology space, almost every global standard has been based upon open source technology.
By using the open source technology model, we can create a superior product, which immediately has a competitive advantage, and which generates multiple scalable revenue streams while being freely available throughout the community.

Free software movement (WiKiPedia)

The free software movement is a social and political movement^[1] with the goal of ensuring software users' four basic freedoms: the freedom to run it, to study and change it, and to redistribute copies with or without changes. The alternative terms "software libre", "open source", and "FOSS" are associated with the free software movement. Although drawing on traditions and philosophies among members of the 1970s hacker culture, Richard Stallman founded and launched the movement in 1983 by founding the GNU Project.^[2]

The free software philosophy at the core of the movement drew on the essence and incidental elements of what was called hacker culture by many computer users in the 1970s, among other sources.

Stallman founded the Free Software Foundation in 1985 to support the movement.

Open source movement (wikiPedia)

The open source movement is a broad-reaching movement comprised both officially and unofficially of individuals who feel that software should be produced altruistically^{[citation needed]}. The source code of open source software is available for others to use and adapt. It is said to be generally more stable than proprietary software as well as more secure and less likely to get a virus^{[citation needed]}. Open source software is made available to anybody to use, or to modify as its source code is made available. The freedom of the software is subject only to the stipulation that the user of the software makes any enhancements or changes as freely available to the public. Open source software promotes learning and understanding through the dissemination of understanding. The main difference between open source and traditional proprietary software is in the terms of user and property rights. These rights reside in the conditions of use that are imposed on the user by the license of the software, as opposed to a difference in the programming code. With open source software, users are granted the right to both the program's functionality and methodology. With proprietary software programs, such as Microsoft Office, users only have the rights to functionality.^[1] Libraries are using open source software to develop information as well as library services. The purpose of open source is to provide a software that is cheaper, reliable and has better quality. The one feature that makes this software so sought after is that it is free. Libraries in particular benefit from this movement because of the resources it provides. They also promote the same ideas of learning and understanding new information through the resources of other people. Open source allows a sense of community. It is an invitation for anyone to provide information about various topics. The open source tools even allow libraries to create web-based catalogs. According to the IT source there are various library programs that benefit from this. “MARC.pm (http://marcpm.sourceforge.net) is a Perl-based module for reading, manipulating, outputting, and converting bibliographic records in the MARC format.”^[2] Programmerswho support the open source movement philosophy contribute to the open source community by voluntarily writing and exchanging programming code for software development.^[3] The term “open source” requires that no one can discriminate against a group in not sharing the edited code or hinder others from editing their already edited work. This approach to software development allows anyone to obtain and modify open source code. These modifications are distributed back to the developers within the open source community of people who are working with the software. In this way, the identities of all individuals participating in code modification are disclosed and the transformation of the code is documented over time.^[4] This method makes it difficult to establish ownership of a particular bit of code but is in keeping with the open source movement philosophy. These goals promote the production of “high quality programs” as well as “working cooperatively with other similarly minded people” to improve open source technologies.^[3]

A new network is born!

The Open Source Lebanese Movement,  aims to federate and promote the Open source models and concepts for making business.... Come back soon ....