Ways non-programmers can contribute to open source, Raspberry Pi replaces textbook, and more

WEEKLY NEWS How non-programmers can contribute to open source projects You don't need programming skills to help out with an open source project. Duncan McKean shares a list of ways to get involved, even if you don't write code. Starting an open hardware company The creators of the Binary Epoch Clock Kit share lessons they've learned from building open hardware company, emphasizing that limitations are your friend. How the Eclipse Foundation evolves to stay relevant Ways foundations can stay relevant with their open source communities. From open source mapping to improving your car's GPS: The future of 3D navigation 3D data collection expert explains the future of 3D navigation using open source maps. Digital technology and creativity in the classroom prepares kids for the future Preparing students for learning in a digital age. Open source highlights September See what was hot on Opensource.com in September. Weekly wrap-up: Innovation Act could thwart patent trolls, open source needs more attorneys, and more Stories you may have missed from around the web. FROM THE ARCHIVES Save your brains: Get the open source guide to the zombie apocalypse Ruth Suehle Hershey Kisses, a pumpkin, and MaKey MaKey create an open source Halloween Casey Brown OPEN SOURCE EVENTS Here's what's coming up in November: Joomla! World Conference 2013 is scheduled for Nov. 8-10 at Harvard University in Boston, MA. Linux Symposium, an academic-style conference, is scheduled Nov. 18-21 in Ottawa, Canada. Check out the events calendar to see other upcoming open source events and submit your own! The Raspberry Pi has replaced the textbook at the State University of New York at Albany in the class, Information in the 21st Century. Find out how the Raspberry Pi is being used instead of a traditional textbook. Open source collaboration tool Open Atrium 2 is making it easier for internal teams to collaborate with their partners and constituents. Learn what's changed in the latest release of this intranet-in-a-box. Twitter's open source manager Chris Aniszczyk talks to us about his favorite open source license, saying it's almost a trick question. He also shares his way of explaining open source to people not familiar with it.

Bringing Linux to your car's dashboard, investing in diversity outreach, and more

WEEKLY NEWS How the Linux Foundation is helping the auto industry shift to open source infotainment systems Car makers are beginning to incorporate Linux-based operating systems into the in-vehicle infotainment systems that power a car's audio and entertainment systems. The disruptive business model for higher education is open source Colosa CEO Brian Reale makes a case for top tier universities to go out of the "selling education" business and into the "talent identification" business. The closed source enterprise is becoming a thing of the past Interview of Andy Hunt of The Pragmatic Bookshelf. Community management tips from Greg DeKoenigsberg of Eucalyptus Understanding the motivations of project participants is especially important. How Opensource.com Project Manager Jason Hibbets takes open source beyond technology Jason Hibbets leads the Opensource.com team. Create custom Linux-based systems regardless of the hardware Interview with Yocto Project community manager. Can IBM expect the same ROI from next round of investment in Linux? The paradigm is changing to 'the data center is the computer.' Weekly wrap-up: Stallman says surveillance is "social pollution," good week for civic geeks, and more Stories you may have missed from around the web. FROM THE ARCHIVES Beer: The open source beverage of choice By Mark Caron What a classroom will look like in 10 years By Sarah Fudin OPEN SOURCE EVENTS Here's what's coming up: OW2con'13 focuses on innovation developments in open-source, storage-related solutions. The summit is Oct. 22-24 in Santa Clara, CA. London Open Government Summit 2013 is the fifth edition of the annual community event that brings together technology experts, software architects, IT developers, project managers and decision-makers from 50 countries around the world. It takes place Nov. 12-14 in Paris-Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. Check out the events calendar to see other upcoming open source events and submit your own! When open source communities invest in diversity outreach, everyone benefits says Jessica McKellar, director of the Python Software Foundation. Jessica explains how she increased the number of women participants in the Boston Python user group. Drupal core co-maintainer Angie Byron has her finger on the pulse of the Drupal community, helping to manage over 1,600 contributors from all over the world. In this interview, Angie shares the top five things she loves about Drupal. A new project by free music composition and notation software provider MuseScore aims to make all 50,000 of the scores on its site available in Braille.

Newest warship powered by linux

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/10/the-navys-newest-warship-is-powered-by-linux/

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LibrePlanet 2014 seeks session proposals, volunteers for annual free software conference

LibrePlanet 2014 seeks session proposals, volunteers for annual free software conference

This post can be viewed online at https://www.fsf.org/news/libreplanet-2014-seeks-session-proposals-volunteers-for-annual-free-software-conference.

BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA -- Friday, October 18, 2013 -- The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today announced the call for sessions for LibrePlanet 2014. The FSF also announced the formation of a volunteer organizing committee and a call for exhibitors.

LibrePlanet is an annual conference for free software enthusiasts. LibrePlanet will be held in March 2014 in Cambridge, MA. LibrePlanet brings together software developers, policy experts, activists and computer users to learn skills, share accomplishments and face challenges to software freedom. Newcomers are always welcome, and LibrePlanet 2014 will feature programming for all ages and experience levels.

This year, the theme of LibrePlanet is "Free Software, Free Society." How can free software protect journalists, whistleblowers, activists, and regular computer users from government and corporate surveillance? How can free software, or free software values like copyleft, community development, and transparency, be used by people fighting to create free societies around the world? What challenges are standing between us and our goal of free software ubiquity? With your help, we'll tackle these questions and more at LibrePlanet 2014.

Call for Sessions

"We invite presenters of all kinds and experience levels to submit applications; you don't have to be a coder to speak at LibrePlanet. Free software users, activists, academics, policymakers, developers, and others are all encouraged to help us build our most vibrant program yet," said Libby Reinish, a campaigns manager at the FSF.

"LibrePlanet 2014 will be held thirty years after the launch of the GNU System. This is the perfect opportunity to take stock of where we've been and where we're headed as a community," said John Sullivan, executive director of the FSF.

Call for sessions applications are currently being accepted at https://www.libreplanet.org/2014/call_for_sessions and are due by 21:00 UTC (17:00 Eastern time) on November 15, 2013.

Volunteer Committee

"Another first this year is a formal volunteer planning committee for LibrePlanet. This conference is about celebrating a movement built by dedicated volunteers, and we feel that our members should also have a hand in developing the conference program, logistics, social events, and outreach," said William Theaker, outreach and communications coordinator at the FSF.

Those interested in volunteering may sign up at LibrePlanet.org. Volunteers will be accepted on a rolling basis, but to participate in the volunteer planning committee please apply no later than 21:00 UTC (17:00 Eastern time) on November 15, 2013.

About LibrePlanet

LibrePlanet is the annual conference of the Free Software Foundation. What was once a small gathering of FSF members has grown into a larger event for anyone with an interest in the values of software freedom. LibrePlanet is always gratis for associate members of the FSF. To sign up for announcements about LibrePlanet 2014, visit https://www.libreplanet.org/2014.

LibrePlanet 2013 was held at Harvard University from March 23-34, 2013. Over 150 attendees from all over the world came together for conversations, demonstrations, and keynotes centered around the theme of "Commit Change." You can watch videos from LibrePlanet 2013 at http://media.libreplanet.org.

About the Free Software Foundation

The Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985, is dedicated to promoting computer users' right to use, study, copy, modify, and redistribute computer programs. The FSF promotes the development and use of free (as in freedom) software -- particularly the GNU operating system and its GNU/Linux variants -- and free documentation for free software. The FSF also helps to spread awareness of the ethical and political issues of freedom in the use of software, and its Web sites, located at fsf.org and gnu.org, are an important source of information about GNU/Linux. Donations to support the FSF's work can be made at https://donate.fsf.org. Its headquarters are in Boston, MA, USA.

Media Contacts

Libby Reinish
Campaigns Manager
Free Software Foundation
+1 (617) 542 - 5942
campaigns@fsf.org

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Your Car Is About to Go Open Source

Computerworld (10/09/13) Lucas Mearian

Automakers are working to standardize a Linux-based operating system for in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems that would make cars act more like smartphones.  "Today, automakers are having a hard time getting their customers to buy informatics systems because they only can do 10 percent of what a mobile phone can do," says Linux Foundation's Rudi Streif, who leads the Automotive Grade Linux workgroup.  "We're leveraging essentially an $11-billion investment already made in Linux by many other companies including IBM and Intel."  An open source IVI operating system would create a reusable platform made up of core services, middleware, and open application layer interfaces that eliminate the redundant efforts to create separate proprietary systems.  IVIs can require up to 40 million lines of programming and are a car's largest software system.  One major reason automakers want to adopt open source IVI platforms is because of the cost and complexity of maintaining their own systems over time.  "We'd like to be able to use an existing application on the phone and access it through the user interface," says Reaktor general manager Konsta Hansson.  After an industry standard open source IVI is created, researchers can begin developing user interfaces for mobile apps.
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9243075/Your_car_is_about_to_go_open_source

U.S. Ranks Fourth in Internet Freedom as Surveillance Grows Worldwide

Network World (10/04/13) Colin Neagle 

Although U.S. Internet freedom has decreased over the past year due to surveillance, the United States still ranks fourth in a recent Freedom House study of 60 countries. The study measured obstacles to accessing information online, content limitations, and violations of user rights. In addition, the study cites issues such as government blocking of specific Internet content, surveillance measures, and actions taken against online dissidents to governing or religious bodies. Iceland claimed the top spot on the list as the most free nation on the Internet, followed by Estonia, Germany, and the United States. The remaining top 10 included Australia, France, Japan, Hungary, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Surveillance has grown more advanced and pervasive in 35 out of the 60 countries examined, according to the study. The most restrictive countries were Iran, China, and Cuba. However, the study notes 16 countries, including Morocco, Burma, and Tunisia, that have increased Internet freedom. Meanwhile, Freedom House says India showed the biggest drop in Internet freedom over the past year. Freedom House said the drop was due to "deliberate interruptions of mobile and Internet service to limit unrest, excessive blocks on content during rioting in northeastern states, and an uptick in the filing of criminal charges against ordinary users for posts on social-media sites."

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