Feb-05 - Mar-05
From Schoolforge-UK
Meeting with Becta, 14th AprilAs announced in the Special Meeting on 24th February, Becta are organising a meeting to discuss Open Source Software to be held on 14th April at a location near Coventry. All who attended the Special Meeting should now have received an invitation, and any other members of Schoolforge-UK who wish to attend should click here to email John Ingleby no later than Thursday 30th March. |
Pupils 'do worse with computers'Oh dear, this report in today's Guardian suggests that giving children computers to use in school and at home may not be such a good thing. Research by Munich University indicates that students with computers show diminished performance in literacy, science and maths. As we all know, computers offer too many distractions... WikiSysop 09:44, 21 Mar 2005 (GMT) |
FLOSS deployment in Extremadura, SpainIDABC stands for Interoperable Delivery of European eGovernment Services to public Administrations, Business and Citizens. IDABC issues recommendations, develops solutions and provides services that enable European administrations to communicate electronically and offer modern public services to businesses and citizens. This IDABC report describes the LinEX initiative to deploy broadband services and FLOSS across Spain's poorest region, Estremadura, with a saving of 30 million euros compared to proprietary software solutions. |
EU Commission warns on Microsoft behaviourIs springtime really here? The BBC reports that the European Commission has warned Microsoft they aren't doing enough to comply with sanctions imposed for breaking anti-trust rules. This meant a lot more on reading Groklaw: 'So, at last, the issue is squarely on the table. Open Source software is a competitor of Microsoft, and they must take steps to assure that FOSS can interoperate with Microsoft products'. Or else open themselves up to a fine of up to 5 percent of the company's annual global sales if they fail to comply. Wow! |
Leaders see symbiotic growth for open source and biotechHere's some light on the horizon, an article in NewsForge describing how the BIOS initiative has extended the metaphor and concepts of Open Source into biotechnology research, including the BIOS Licence, which encourages sharing of patented technologies rather than monopolising them. Moreover, leaders in Biotech acknowledge the contribution of open source software for building collaborative networks, as well as for developing tools used in Biotech research. Good read after a rather depressing fortnight. |
DfES publishes e-StrategyThe DfES has published its eStrategy - 'Harnessing Technology: Transforming learning and children's services' - which describes the use of digital and interactive technologies to achieve a more personalised approach within all areas of education and children's services. Those interested are invited to join in the discussion at Moodle.org. (You can read only as guest, or create/use a Moodle.org account to post comments). |
UK councils use open source to hit e-targetsHere's some good news: ZDNet reports that UK local councils are taking up the open source APLAWS content management system at a high rate. The best part is that APLAWS is a government-funded open source project, aimed at assisting local authorities to deliver on-line services. Should save them a bit of money, too. |
Inaugural meeeting of BCS Open Source Specialist GroupThe inaugural meeting of the BCS Open Source Specialist Group (OSSG) took place on March 14th in London. The first part of the meeting was attended by (guesstimate) 70 people including some Schoolforge-UK members, and consisted of a presentation by Sarah Ewen of Sony about PlayStation 2 Linux. Sarah pointed out that in Japan, Open Source comprises (gasp!) over 60% of the PC market, so Sony is an all-OSS company. This was followed by the first formal OSSG committee meeting, at which officers were approved. The OSSG is open to people who are not BCS members, and full details can be found on their excellent web site at http://ossg.bcs.org.uk |
MS locks in UK schools via 'special status' sponsorship dealThe Register reports how a sponsorship deal between Microsoft and the Department for Education and Skills is positioning the giant to be the dominant supplier in UK schools. According to Register sources, it is already causing some schools to cancel open source projects. This deal contradicts the Department's own rules for sponsorship; copies of Schoolforge-UK members' letters can be found here (DfES) and here (MP). |
Software patent directive adopted by CouncilBBC reports that the Computer-Implemented Inventions directive was today passed by the Competitveness Council as a "A-item". So now the directive will go for its second reading in the EU Parliament, where any amendments will require an absolute majority of 367 MEPs. Visit FFII to discover who are your local MEPs and how you can lobby them. |
Danish Parliament obliges Minister to renegotiate software patents in CouncilWhat a cliff-hanger! The Danish Parliament has instructed their representative to request, in the EU's Competitiveness Council meeting next Monday, that the Computer-Implemented Inventions directive be discussed as a "B-item" - requiring a vote !! - at a later date. Poland has declared support for such a move, but it is still possible for a majority of Council members to decline the wish of Denmark and Poland. With the parliaments of Spain, Germany, and Holland also against the directive, this is unlikely, but who knows? |
EU Commission won't retstart patents directiveThe Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII) reports that the EU Commission has declined repeated requests from the EU Parliament to restart its failed "Computer-Implemented Inventions" directive from scratch. Instead, the existing directive, which legitimises granting European software patents, will be presented yet again for adoption as an "A-item" (not requiring a vote) at the Competition Council meeting on 7th March. The focus is now on persuading Council members to turn the motion into a "B-item" that must be discussed at the meeting. |
Unanimous Bundestag vote against software patentsLate last night the German Bundestag joined the Dutch and Spanish parliaments, the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament, and the Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee in voting to have the software patents legislation process restarted by the EU Commission. The Bundestag vote was in fact unanimous, something that happens only rarely. However it's still not certain that the Commission will heed the growing clamour for restart. |
EU software patent directive headed for scrapyardBBC News reports that the draft Computer-Implemented Inventions directive is headed for a fresh start, after the Conference of Presidents of the European Paliaments today voted to adopt the 2nd February decision of the Legal Affairs Committee (JURI). Now, will the EU Commission finally bow to this request? More details can be found here. |
OpenOffice.org database needs supportIan Lynch reports that the OpenOffice.org database project needs support. If we want a really good database implementation with OOo we are going to have to think of some ways of raising some money. http://hsqldb.sourceforge.net/web/openoffice.html Please give what you can! |
Now the Dutch step in to block software patents A-itemResponding to the EU Council's intention to yet again present the Computer-Implemented Inventions directive as an A-item (i.e. not requiring a vote) at the 17th February meeting of EU Finance Ministers, the Dutch Parliament passed a motion instructing their representative to block this item, should it appear. The Spanish and now the Danish Parliaments passed similar motions, and the German Bundestag is expected to do so soon. Also on the 17th, the Council is due to respond to the JURI Committee's motion to retart the whole patent legislation process. And on the same day, anti-software patent activists are organising a demonstration in Brussels. As Groklaw comments "This is better than a movie". |
Children 'lack web safety advice'Nearly one in three children have not had any lessons on safe surfing, according to this study by the London School of Economics. Furthermore, the children who are most exposed to online risks - such as bullying, online porn or privacy invasion - are those who are most experienced at using the internet. The report suggests that 'Schools should provide more specific guidance on internet safety, searching and reliability of websites,especially to the younger children (9-11 years) and the oldest (18-19 years), who are less likely to have received such lessons’. |
Nicholas Negroponte floats sub-$100 PCThis BBC article describes Nicholas Negroponte's vision for a low-cost PC tailored for the needs of education in developing countries. With an ethernet port, the device could double as an X-terminal as well as take-home laptop, and one wonders why schools in more developed countries shouldn't use them too. |
European Parliament JURI Committee votes for restart of patent directiveYesterday, the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament (known as JURI) voted overwhelmingly for a re-start of the EU legislation on "Computer-Implemented Inventions". Hopefully this will end the stand-off between the Council, which supports a version of the directive that many believe will open the way for European software patents, and the Parliament, which voted in September 2003 to restrict such patents. FFII has a good explanation of what happened, and what's next. To understand why software patents threaten open source, read today's BBC News article. |
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