Mar-05 - Apr-05
From Schoolforge-UK
Ndio Project - Ultra-thin clientBBC News has this report on a sub-£100 thin client called Ndio - Swahili for "yes" - being developed with (you guessed it) Ubuntu. With K12LTSP becoming portable to Ubuntu, and close links with SchoolTool, this is shaping up to a complete package for schools in the developing world (or anywhere, really). |
Schoolnet NamibiaSchoolNet Namibia is a nonprofit provider of internet service, hardware and training to the nation's schools. Since February 2000, close to 450 schools have received free hardware, free training on the Linux operating system and subsidized telephone service to help get the nation's young people online. As part of the plan, SchoolNet has teamed up with publishers to produce Hai Ti, a comic strip that spreads the word about the ways computers and the internet can transform learners' and teachers' lives. |
Debate on OSS between IBM, Sun and Open Forum EuropeGroklaw is carrying this report by an attendee at yesterday's debate at the University of Hertfordshire, between representatives of IBM, Sun and Open Froum Europe. All three agreed that the patent system is broken and in urgent need of reform, and that copyrights provided the appropriate protection. |
Schoolforge-UK affiliates with the Open Source ConsortiumThe primary aim of Schoolforge-UK is 'to bring together individuals and organisations that advocate, use, and develop open resources for UK schools and colleges'. The Open Source Consortium (OSC) is an association of Open Source companies, to which several of our corporate members already belong. In response to the meeting with Becta on 14/4/05, it has been agreed with OSC that Schoolforge-UK will drive the OSC's Education Working Group, with the aim of achieving widespread adoption of Open Source solutions in UK education. In the same way that we are affiliated with AFFS, the Education Working
Group will include members drawn from both Schoolforge-UK and OSC. |
IDC: Quality drives European open-source adoptionThis article in itWorldCanada discusses the recent IDC study entitled Western European End-User Survey: 2005 Spending Priorities, Outsourcing, Open Source, and Impact of Compliance, which confirms a) that the use of open source in important corporate deployments is now widespread, and b) that "European enterprises are adopting open source software on the grounds of quality and flexibility, rather than merely considering it 'good enough' because it is inexpensive". Groklaw adds: "What drives European companies to use Open Source isn't lower cost, the study found. It's quality and the ability to change the software at will". Worth repeating. |
Open source makes school appointmentThis eGov Monitor item reports on the meeting where Becta presented preliminary findings of their Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) study. The results are a huge acknowledgement of the pioneering work by many individuals in schools, who are demonstrating the potential of cooperatively-developed software. Richard Rothwell, Chair of Schoolforge-UK commented: "We trust that Becta will build on this positive start and work with the Free, Libre and Open Source Software community to encourage more schools and organisations to deploy FLOSS." |
India rejects software patentsAccording to this press release from the Free Software Foundation of India, the Indian Parliament has dropped amendments that would have enabled software patents to be granted on that continent. They add: "In a situation where India is emerging strong in the field of Information technology, such a law should have been disastrous, leading to monopolisation by mega corporations leading to closure of many software units, leaving many jobless." Will Euro MP's take heed? |
Bill Thompson likes Open Source softwareBill Thompson, the technology critic and essayist, likes Open Source software and has written about it in his latest BBC News article. He focuses on the advantages for bug fixing but also mentions the recent Demos report which discusses using open and collaborative techniques in wider fields. |
Rocard publishes report on software patents directiveMichel Rocard, EU Parliament rapporteur and former French prime minister, has published his report (in French) on the direction the Parliament should take at the 2nd reading of the Commission's directive on software patents, which will take place around 6th July. FFII applauds M. Rochard's proposals, and invites signatures in support. |
Democratising InnovationUser-centred innovation is at the heart of Open Source Development communities, any user can directly influence the design of the software that they use. So says Eric von Hippel, professor at MIT's Sloan School of Management, who has written "Democratising Innovation", available on the web under a Creative Commons licence. The Boston Globe has an interview with Eric von Hippel. |
Moodle goes big down underThis report in Stuff describes how a consortium of New Zealand Polytechnics have got together in a NZD 1 million joint project to enhance Moodle as their chosen Learning Management System. There's also a commentary with some caveats. |
Meeting with Becta 14/4/05There is a preliminary report of the meeting which Becta hosted yesterday for members of Schoolforge-UK and representatives of other Open Source interests, to discuss ways we can work together to widen the use of FLOSS in education. Due to the election, Becta's much-anticipated TCO report won't be available until after 5th May, but key conclusions are that FLOSS can provide an appropriate infrastructure for schools; it is well supported, with good reliability and performance; and it can significantly reduce the support component of schools' TCO per workstation. It was also agreed this site should be remodelled as a FLOSS support site, rather than a campaigning resource. |
BBC Announces Creative Archive LicenceIt was previously announced that the BBC's Creative Archive would be available under a Creative Commons (CC) licence. Well, not exactly, although the licence is based on CC. The BBC, Channel 4, the British Film Institute (BFI) and The Open University (OU) today announced the Creative Archive Licence as the first step in providing free internet access to thousands of clips from public service radio and TV programmes. |
Open Source Assistive Technology Software (OATS)"Assistive Technology Software" describes software tools that make it easier for handicapped or elderly people to use computers. A good example is PowerTalk, which speaks the text of PowerPoint presentations. The OATS project aims to create a repository of Open Source Assistive Technology Software, as well as a virtual meeting place where people working on OATS projects can share ideas. |
Yahoo! Creative Commons SearchYahoo have a Beta web search engine that displays hits from content that is tagged as having a creative commons license. See http://search.yahoo.com/cc. You can find out more about Creative Commons Licensing, which is rather like Open Source but for media other than software, at http://creativecommons.org. |
IBM opens lid on its treasure chestThis article in the International Herald Tribune provides more insight into IBM's announcement that from now on all their patents donated to OASIS will be free. This follows the company's donation of 500 patents to the Open Source community back in January. Groklaw has more discussion about the IBM move. |
UNDP IOSN: No software patentsThe International Open Source Network (IOSN) is sponsored by the UN to provide a center of excellence for FOSS in the Asia-Pacific Region. This page on their web site provides resources to explain why software patents are harmful to innovation and the development of Free/Open Source Software, and why countries should not recognize them, or be pressured into adopting them during trade agreement negotiations. Is Europe a lost cause then? |
Reports on UK Patent Office's "technical contribution" workshopsYou may know that the UK government firmly supports the present text of the EU "directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions". Lord Sainsbury, the minister responsible, was confronted last December by a roomful of developers who strongly contested his assertion that the directive imposes clear limits on software patenting. The minister generously agreed to set up a series of workshops to attempt to clarify directive's contentious "technical contribution" clause. The workshops have now taken place, and the UKPO report is here, with participants' reports here. We wait with interest to see how the UK Patent Office will brief Lord Sainsbury on the outcome of these workshops. |
Hacker High School: Learning about Internet securityContrary to the "cracker" overtones of its name, Hacker High School (HHS) is a programme of license-free, security and privacy awareness teaching materials with back-end support for teachers of elementary, junior high, and high school students. It includes lessons on utilizing Internet resources safely such as web privacy, chat protection, viruses and trojans (malware), and how to recognize security problems on your computer. All lessons work with a "live linux" CD that boots off any PC with a CD-rom drive. HHS can be used ro supplement student course work or as part of after-school and club activities. HHS has been developed by ISECOM (Institute for Security and Open Methodologies), an open-source collaborative community since January 2001 with non-profit status in the USA and Spain. There's also a BBC World article about HHS. |
A Manifesto for a Digital BritainYou may have noticed this BBC report about a project by the Institute of Public Policy Research (an independent think-tank) to develop "A Manifesto for a Digital Britain" by inviting the public to post ideas on the project web site. This week (7-13 April) they are inviting ideas on "How can we innovate better?", with additional themes in the next 2 weeks. Results will be published in the Manifesto during July 2005. Readers of Schoolforge-UK will certainly want to contribute to this! |
Linux vs XP: Survey ResultsA survey of 1,700 readers of The Register carried out by Quocirca reveals the extent to which companies are now considering migrating to Linux, with passionate responses in support of both Linux and Windows XP. The survey is self-selecting, and it's not known how well El Reg represents the general business population, but the results are summarised here and here and you can obtain a copy of the report Migrating to Linux at the Desktop. |
Microsoft Accepts Most EU DemandsThis report in BetaNews details how Microsoft has accepted 20 out of 26 demands from the EU Commission, following the 497 million euro fine when the Commission found the company had abused its position in the market to stifle competition. At the same time, The Register reports that IBM, Nokia and Oracle have voiced support for the EU Commission, countering Microsoft's claim that the EU's position doesn't have industry support. |
Sponsorship Proposal from the Open Source CommunityFollowing correspondence with the Specialist Schools Trust about sponsorship by Microsoft (see news article below) Ian Lynch has prepared this proposal for a sponsorship package from the Open Source community worth £20,000 per school. In estimating the true value of the proposal, Richard Rothwell points out this link. |
ODPM Promotes Open Source in Local GovernmentThe Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) is supporting a major venture to promote Open Source in local government. The Open Source Academy brings together a consortium of 10 founding authorities with support from industry, to launch a wide-ranging programme aimed at tackling each of the major obstacles to OSS use. It aims to join up public sector work on OSS with European-wide initiatives during the year of the UK's EU Presidency. |
Plan to Tackle Britain's "digital divide" Unveiled by GovernmentInteresting juxtaposition: this BBC article describes the report Connecting the UK: the Digital Strategy (PDF) with proposals to remove obstacles of cost, lack of training and confidence that still prevent 53% of UK residents from going on-line. Compare this report with Brazil's "PC Connectado" program reported below. |
