Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Document Freedom Day

Celebrating information accessibility and raising awareness of Open Standards

Open Standards and why they matter

Open Standards are essential for interoperability and freedom of choice based on the merits of different software applications. They provide freedom from data lock-in and the subsequent vendor lock-in. This makes Open Standards essential for governments, companies, organizations and individual users of information technology.

Visible effects of Open Standards are that you can:
    • Choose any operating system or application and still be able to read and edit all your old documents.
    • Collaborate with others regardless of which software they are using.
    • Use any software of your choice to interact with businesses, the government, and others.

    Definition

    For the purpose of Document Freedom Day, the working understanding of "Open Standards" is that the standard be:

    • subject to full public assessment and use without constraints in a manner equally available to all parties;
    • without any components or extensions that have dependencies on formats or protocols that do not meet the definition of an Open Standard themselves;
    • free from legal or technical clauses that limit its utilization by any party or in any business model;
    • managed and further developed independently of any single vendor in a process open to the equal participation of competitors and third parties;
    • available in multiple complete implementations by competing vendors, or as a complete implementation equally available to all parties.
      What can you do?


      • Reject the creeping domination of computer desktops by a single language forcing people tolearn a foreign language before they can express themselves electro
      • Reject the ownership of office productivity tools by monopoly suppliers which imposes a de-facto tax on global electronic free speech and penalizes the economically disadvantaged.
      • nically.
      • Reject the ownership of file formats by proprietary software companies - documents belong to their creators, not software vendors.
      • Reject a closed software development process where errors can lie hidden and poor quality is accepted.
      • All this can be easily done by using LibreOffice 3.0
      for free from the Document Foundation
      .
      Download Libre office it now, and get your freedom back!

      Friday, March 23, 2012

      Free/Libre open-source software development: What we know and what we do not know

      Abstract
      We review the empirical research on Free/Libre and Open-Source Software (FLOSS) development and assess the state of the literature. We develop a framework for organizing the literature based on the input-mediator-output-input (IMOI) model from the small groups literature. We present a quantitative summary of articles selected for the review and then discuss findings of this literature categorized into issues pertaining to inputs (e.g., member characteristics, technology use, and project characteristics), processes (software development practices, social processes, and firm involvement practices), emergent states (e.g., social states and task-related states), and outputs (e.g. team performance, FLOSS implementation, and project evolution). Based on this review, we suggest topics for future research, as well as identify methodological and theoretical issues for future inquiry in this area, including issues relating to sampling and the need for more longitudinal studies.

      Wednesday, March 21, 2012

      What Is Apache Hadoop?

      The Apache™ Hadoop™ project develops open-source software for reliable, scalable, distributed computing.

      The Apache Hadoop software library is a framework that allows for the distributed processing of large data sets across clusters of computers using a simple programming model. It is designed to scale up from single servers to thousands of machines, each offering local computation and storage. Rather than rely on hardware to deliver high-avaiability, the library itself is designed to detect and handle failures at the application layer, so delivering a highly-availabile service on top of a cluster of computers, each of which may be prone to failures.

      Read more : http://hadoop.apache.org/

      Samsung Galaxy S3 May Get Wireless Charging Technology

      Iphone killer?

      http://www.muktware.com/articles/3428/samsung-galaxy-s3-may-get-wireless-charging-technology

      Linux 3.3 Boosts Linux Mobility




      Android and Linux are officially back together.

      Linus Torvalds released the Linux 3.3 kernel on Sunday, formally ending a two year dispute between mainline Linux kernel developers and Google Android developers.
      The Linux 2.6.38 kernel that was released in February of 2010 removed Android code after Linux kernel developers alleged that it wasn't being maintained properly. Friction between Linux and Android developers boiled over in the summer of 2010, as each side blamed the other for not being in the Linux kernel. Since then, tempers have cooled and an understanding has been reached and with Linux 3.3, Android is back.
      "Turns out I was wrong, we want these in the tree," Linux kernel developer Greg Kroah-Hartman wrote in his code commit adding Android drivers back into the Linux mainline.
      Looking beyond Android, Linux 3.3 is also a noteworthy release for its filesystem improvements. The Btrfs next generation Linux filesystem is getting improved integrity checks for data. New balancing capabilities are included in Linux 3.3 to help Btrfs work with RAID storage. Ext4 which is currently the default filesystem used by many Linux distributions also gets a boost. There is now an online resizing interface for Ext4 that is intended to help speed up resizing activities.
      "This patch adds new online resize interface, whose input argument is a 64-bit integer indicating how many blocks there are in the resized fs," Kernel developer, Yongqiang Yang wrote in his code commit.
      The Linux 3.3 kernel is also notable for a new virtual networking feature. The Open vSwitch virtual network switch is already being used in the OpenStack open source cloud computing framework.
      "In addition to supporting a variety of features expected in a traditional hardware switch, it enables fine-grained programmatic extension and flow-based control of the network," Kernel developer Jess Gross wrote in his kernel commit. "This control is useful in a wide variety of applications but is particularly important in multi-server virtualization deployments, which are often characterized by highly dynamic endpoints and the need to maintain logical abstractions for multiple tenants."
      Networking in Linux 3.3 also gets a boost by way of an Ethernet bonding technology called, 'team' contributed by Red Hat. Bonding enables multiple Ethernet devices to virtually be combined together. According to Red Hat kernel developer Jiri Pirki, 'team' is intended to be a very fast simple, userspace driven alternative to the existing bonding driver.
      The Linux 3.3 kernel is the second kernel released so far in 2012, following the Linux 3.2 kernel that came out in January. With the release, developers now turn their focus to Linux 3.4.
      "And obviously, the 3.3 release means that the merge window for 3.4 is now open, although I may keep of pulling stuff for a day or so to encourage people to test the actual release," Linus Torvaldswrote.

      Source:
      Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.

      Monday, March 19, 2012

      Pi Day: How the 'Irrational' Number Pushed the Limits of Computing

      Government Computer News (03/14/12) William Jackson 

      The challenge of determining the value of Pi has helped push the envelope of computing. "It has played a role in computer programming and memory allocation and has led to ingenious algorithms that allow you to calculate this with high precision," says mathematician Daniel W. Lozier, retired head of the mathematical software group in the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology's Applied and Computational Mathematics Division. "It's a way of pushing computing machinery to its limits." Memory is crucial in executing calculations, as are techniques for calculating efficiently, given the large strings of numbers involved. The calculation of Pi to longer and longer number strings has improved along with the advancement of computers, and the current record-holder is Japan's T2K Supercomputer, which calculated the value to 2.6 trillion digits in about 73 hours and 36 minutes. That marks a considerable upgrade from the ENIAC computer's 1949 estimation of Pi to 2,037 digits, which took 70 hours. Ten years later an IBM 704 was able to calculate Pi to 16,157 places in four hours and 20 minutes. "Pi serves as a test case for mathematical studies in the area of number theory," Lozier notes.

      Sunday, March 18, 2012

      After Review, SourceForge Gives the Boot to Anonymous-OS Project

      IDG News Service (03/15/12) Jeremy Kirk

      SourceForge removed Anonymous-OS, a Linux operating system project allegedly affiliated with the online activist group Anonymous, from its open source collaboration Web site after security experts said it could be dangerous.  Although the project does not appear to be connected with Anonymous, it has an intentionally misleading name and is not transparent, particularly in regards to security, according to SourceForge.  "We have therefore decided to take this download offline and suspend this project until we have more information that might lead us to think differently," according to SourceForge's Community Team.  Anonymous-OS is an Ubuntu Linux distribution, skinned with Anonymous logos and mottos, that includes many well-known tools for attacking Web sites and masking and analyzing Internet traffic and communications.  Although Anonymous-OS appears to be security related with an "attack-oriented emphasis," SourceForge notes that it is reluctant to pass judgment on projects.  However, it says "we believe this is the right decision in this case."
      http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/251956/after_review_sourceforge_gives_the_boot_to_anonymousos_project.html

      Friday, March 16, 2012

      Ubuntu for Android | Ubuntu

      A full Ubuntu desktop, on your docked Android phone. Your next desktop could be a phone! Read more

      http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android

      Research Survey: A questionnaire on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the Arab World

      Research Survey: A questionnaire on Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the Arab World
      Knowledge, usage, and needs
      Ma3bar is kindly inviting you to fill out the questionnaire that is available via http://www.fossarab.net/
      This questionnaire aims at gauging your views about the current status of Free & Open Source Software in the Arab region with the view of spreading awareness and promoting its adoption.
      This questionnaire is part of a research conducted by a regional research team affiliated with the Access to Knowledge for Development Center (A2K4D) at the School of Business of the American University in Cairo, in collaboration with Ma3bar, the Arab Support Center for Free & Open Source Software at the University of Balamand, Al-Kurah, Lebanon.
      Your opinion is vital for the success of this research and will be treated in the strictest confidence within the ethical code of practice for field research at the American University in Cairo; thus the information gathered will solely be used to compile statistics. No data about you as an individual will be disclosed in any published results.
      ________________________________
      Enquête Recherche: Un Questionnaire sur le Logiciel Libre et Open Source (FOSS) dans le monde arabe
      Connaissance, utilisation et besoins
      Ma3bar vous invite à bien vouloir remplir le questionnaire qui est disponible sur http://www.fossarab.net/?q=fr
      Ce questionnaire vise à évaluer votre point de vue sur l'état actuel des logiciels libres dans la région arabe en vue de propager la sensibilisation et la promotion de son adoption.
      Ce questionnaire fait partie d'une recherche menée par l'équipe de recherche régionale affiliée au centre "Access to Knowledge for Development" (A2K4D) à l'École de Gestion de l'université américaine du Caire, en collaboration avec Ma3bar, le centre de soutien arabe des logiciels libres et open source à l'Université de Balamand, El-Koura, Liban.
      Votre avis est essentiel pour la réussite de cette recherche et sera traitée dans la plus stricte confidentialité dans le code éthique des chercheurs à l'université américaine au Caire. Toutes informations recueillies seront exclusivement utilisées pour compiler des statistiques. Aucune des données personnelles ne sera divulgué dans les résultats publiés.
      ________________________________
      بحث إستطلاعي: استمارة البرمجيات الحرّة ومفتوحة المصدر في العالم العربي
      المعرفة، الاستخدام، والاحتياجات
      يدعوكم معبر لملء الإستمارة المتوفّرة على الموقع: http://www.fossarab.net/?q=ar
      تهدف هذه الاستمارة الى تبيان رأيكم حول الوضع الراهن للبرمجيات الحُرّة ومفتوحة المصدر في الوطن العربي بهدف نشر الوعي وتشجيع اعتمادها.
      هذه الإستمارة هي جزء من البحث الذي يقوم به فريق الأبحاث الإقليمي التابع لمركز "المعرفة من أجل التنمية" في كلية إدارة الأعمال في الجامعة الأميركية في القاهرة، بالتعاون مع "مَعْبَر"، المركز العربي لدعم البرمجيّات الحُرّة ومفتوحة المصدر في جامعة البلمند، الكورة، لبنان.
      ان وجهات نظركم مهمة جداً لنجاح هذا البحث العلمي وسوف يتم معالجتها في سرية تامة بحسب القوانين الأخلاقية والسلوكية المعتمدة للبحث الميداني في الجامعة الأميركية في القاهرة. لذا سوف تستعمل البيانات المجمَّعة لغايات احصائية فقط دون ذكر أسماء المشتركين في أي حال من الأحوال.

      Thursday, March 15, 2012

      Anonymous-OS Live distro


      The Anonymous annouce.

      Anonymous-OS Live is an ubuntu-based distribution and created under Ubuntu 11.10 and uses Mate desktop.
      Created for educational purposes, to checking the security of web pages. Please don’t use any tool to destroy any web page :)
      If you attack to any web page,  might end up in jail because is a crime in most countries!
      *** The user has total responsibility for any illegal act. ***
      Thanks to all author tools!
      ———————————————————————————————
      Here some of preinstalled apps on Anonymous-OS:
      - ParolaPass Password Generator- Find Host IP- Anonymous HOIC- Ddosim- Pyloris- Slowloris- TorsHammer- Sqlmap- Havij- Sql Poison- Admin Finder- John the Ripper- Hash Identifier- Tor- XChat IRC- Pidgin- Vidalia- Polipo- JonDo- i2p- Wireshark- Zenmap…and more
      Including Broadcom BCM43xx wireless driver.
      ——————————————————————————————
      We are Anonymous.We are Legion.We do not Forgive.We do not Forget

      Friday, March 9, 2012

      Stanford Offers More Free Online Classes for the World

      Stanford Report (CA) (03/06/12) Jamie Beckett

      Stanford University is introducing five free online classes in March as the next step in a university initiative to use new technologies to improve education.  The classes follow the launch of pilot classes last fall, which drew more than 350,000 participants.  "Stanford has been a pioneer in online education for many years, and we are pleased to continue expanding and refining our online offerings to benefit both our own students and students around the world," says Stanford University provost John Etchemendy.  Three classes--Design and Analysis of Algorithms, Natural Language Processing, and Cryptography--will launch March 12, and Game Theory and Probabilistic Graphical Models will launch March 19.  People enrolled in the free classes do not get Stanford credit for their work, but they do receive a statement of accomplishment if they successfully complete a course.  "Advances in video technology, social networks, and collaboration software have put us at an inflection point in technology for higher education," says Stanford professor John Mitchell, who will chair a multidisciplinary faculty committee on educational technology.  The committee will explore some of the complex issues around providing high-quality online education, as well as create an on-campus lab for experimentation.
      http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/march/online-courses-mitchell-030612.html

      Monday, March 5, 2012

      First Course Offered by MITx Begins Today

      MIT News (03/05/12)

      More than 90,000 people have signed up for the first course in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT's) MITx online-learning initiative, which starts March 5.  "We are eager to see how MITx courses can add even greater value to our traditional, time-tested approach to teaching," says MIT provost L. Rafael Reif.  Circuits and Electronics, which is open to the public, will introduce engineering in the context of the lumped circuit abstraction, helping students make the transition from physics to the fields of electrical engineering and computer science.  "We have built MITx in such a way that we will be able to release the software to the world as open source and to invite developers everywhere to help us improve the features we've created as well as invent new ones," says MIT professor Anant Agarwal.  The course features an introductory video describing how to use the platform, a schedule, an e-textbook, and a discussion board.  Each week students will watch video lectures and demonstrations, work with practice exercises, complete homework assignments, and participate in an online interactive lab designed to replicate its real-world counterpart.  Students also can take exams and check their grades as they complete the course.
      http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/6002x-mitx-begins-today-0305.html

      Friday, March 2, 2012

      Removing 'Black Sheep' Could Make Internet Run More Efficiently

      PhysOrg.com (02/28/12) Lisa Zyga

      Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) researchers are improving network transmission efficiency by identifying certain links or edges that can be removed to decrease the overall congestion.  These links, known as black sheep, are those that connect the busiest hubs.  "Our main findings reveal the effect of enhancing network capacity of edge-removal in networks and the prerequisite of the effect," says CAS's Guo-Qing Zhang.  The researchers demonstrated that modifying the network does not require a complicated redesign and that significant improvement is possible by deleting just a few well-chosen links.  The researchers analyzed a network model that simulates packet traffic to choose which links to remove.  Removing the black sheep links significantly increased the network's transmission capacity.  The researchers also recently found that for this method to work effectively the network structure must be heterogeneous in terms of node betweenness values.  "Our recent paper doesn't further improve network capacity of the method, but points out that heterogeneity of network structure is a necessary condition for the effect's existence, highlights the rationality based on betweenness, and discusses the effect's applications in engineering practice," Zhang says.
      http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-black-sheep-internet-efficiently.html