BASH – Shellshock
Posted: 28 September 2014 Filed under: Linux | Tags: BASH, bug, Open Source, patch, security, shell, Shellshock Leave a commentMozilla Needs Your Support
Posted: 29 December 2011 Filed under: Open Source | Tags: browsers, email client, Firefox, freedom, Internet, Mozilla, Open Source, Seamonkey, Sunbird, Thunderbird Leave a commentMozilla has done a lot of good in this world of greed.
They could sure use a little help from you, though. If you can spare a buck or two to assist in the continuing efforts of this fine organization to create quality free software and make the Internet a better place for all, then for sure… drop some dough in their tip jar. They’ll appreciate it… and so will I. ๐
From their recent email newsletter:
Hi there,
As 2011 comes to a close, we at Mozilla want to say thank you to all of our Firefox users, supporters and community members. Quite simply, we do what we do because of you.
Mozilla is the force behind Firefox, but we’re also a whole lot more than that. And the more people I talk to, the clearer it becomes that not everyone knows what Mozilla is and how we’re different. So today, I wanted to make sure you understand it because you’re such an important part of our story.
Read the rest of Executive Director Mark Surman’s article, and thanks for anything you can do to help out.
Regards,
~Eric
Wikipedia – Or How I Became a Free Knowledge Junkie
Posted: 6 December 2011 Filed under: Miscellaneous | Tags: anarchy, Dana Blankenhorn, free knowledge, Jimmy Wales, Open Source, opensource.com, user editing, Wikipedia 7 CommentsAh… Wikipedia. It’s anarchy in action.
And by that I mean the true meaning of anarchy –> a utopian society of individuals who enjoy complete freedom without central authority of any kind. Many of you who know me, or read my blogs regularly, know that I am a passionate proponent of free knowledge and a supporter of Wikipedia and other similar organizations that provide free access to knowledge.
I firmly believe that ALL schooling, up to and including college and post graduate studies, should be freely available to every human being. Learning should not be meted out by business based on one’s ability to pay. It should be a RIGHT… and freely given to those seeking it. Enough about my philosophical ideas, though.
The main purpose of my writing here today is to alert you to a nice article at opensource.com by Dana Blankenhorn about Wikipedia:
Mirror mirror on the wall, what’s the most important open source project of them all?
- Are you asking about economic impact? Then it’s probably Linux, or maybe the Apache Web server.
- Are you asking about user base? In that case I’m thinking Google’s Android, or Mozilla.
- But if you’re talking about active participation, getting people’s hands on the guts of the thing, having them donate that back to the commons, and fulfilling the idea behind open source, there can be only one answer. Wikipedia*.
*Emphasis mine.
Read the article if you have a moment. Stop in at Wikipedia and help out if you can. And, as always, they could use a buck or two to help defray costs of operating this wonderful site. Donate a little something, if you can spare it. Hard times right now for 99% of us; yet, Wikipedia is so important that if you can spare just a few dollars, it would be most appreciated.
Disclaimer: I am NOT an employee of Wikipedia or its parent Wikimedia Foundation. I’m not a paid fundraiser. I’m just an individual who believes in the importance of keeping knowledge free and available to all. The two greatest allies of oppression and tyranny in this world are ignorance and apathy; do your best to be neither.
Go learn something now! <– Clicking this link will lead you to a random Wikipedia entry. ๐
Later…
~Eric
Happy Birthday LibreOffice!
Posted: 4 October 2011 Filed under: Open Source | Tags: eWeek, LibreOffice, MS Office, Open Source, OpenOffice, openoffice.org, The Document Foundation 1 CommentIt’s been a little over a year since Oracle decided to be a meanie regarding OpenOffice.org, which resulted in the forking of the project.
LibreOffice was born. ๐
By: Fahmida Y. Rashid @ eWeek
2011-09-28
The Document Foundation marks the first anniversary of the day developers broke away from Oracle-controlled OpenOffice.org to launch the LibreOffice office productivity suite.
A year after forking the OpenOffice.org project to create a community-driven office productivity suite, The Document Foundation estimated that LibreOffice has 25 million users worldwide.
Read the rest of the article at eWeek.com
I’m still hoping that OpenOffice and LibreOffice will merge once again and become a viable competitor for MS Office.
Later…
~Eric
Open Source, Open People, Open Arms, an Open World
Posted: 10 September 2011 Filed under: Open Source | Tags: Adobe, Firefox Browser, Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Mozilla Openness Facts, Open Source, Paul Rouget, Photoshop, software 11 CommentsAre you part of the Open Source community? Do you favor Open Source products? Do you possibly contribute to Open Source?
You know, you don’t have to give money to contribute to Open Source. You can help by giving your time, your talents, your feedback; you even help by using the Open Source products. If no one used it, what would its purpose be? Wouldn’t it be nice if the whole world could be Open Source?
Mozilla is one of my favorite Open Source projects. Ever heard of them? Sound familiar, huh? Mozilla is the creator of the Firefox web browser, the only browser software to give Internet Explorer a run for its money over the last few years or so. Many of you reading this probably use FF on your own systems; be they powered by MS Windows or Linux. You can even run FF on Mac.
There are many browsers out there in the world. There are also many software projects. Some are closed source, like Adobe Reader or Photoshop. Many, however, are Open Source. Many are also created as “labors of love” by folks expecting no remuneration whatsoever for their labors.
I won’t sit here and harp about using Open Source only. Even I occasionally use a closed source piece of software. It’s not a sin. If you do use some Open Source stuff on your systems,ย try to remember to support the creators, hackers, coders, tweakers, and beta testers who made those great apps what they are. If there’s a donate button somewhere, drop a couple bucks in the tip jar. Every little bit is appreciated… and helps these folks to continue working on these fine projects.
Learn more about Mozilla from Mozilla coder Paul Rouget’s excellent blog post and video, Mozilla Openness Facts. They say nothing in this world is free. That may be true, but whatever you pay for free is a price worth paying.
Have a great weekend.
~Eric
Community Burnout
Posted: 1 September 2011 Filed under: Tech Newsflash | Tags: burnout, community, Linux, Open Source, support Leave a commentThose of us in the Linux/Open Source community understand this well, I’m afraid.
Bruce Byfield writes:
Hang around the free and open source software community for any length of time, and you can’t help seeing examples of burnout. A colleague takes on too much, and suddenly they’re working harder for fewer results.
They have a hard time concentrating on their work. They neglect their personal life. When challenged, they become defense and unusually hostile. Eventually, they withdraw — and, sometimes, they don’t come back.
Read the rest of this interesting article at Datamation.
Later…
~Eric