Notes from the Ridge

Just came across this via my Google Alerts feed on a post from Rebekah Kendal and found it really interesting. The Shuttleworth Foundation has placed Freedom Toaster kiosks in various locations throughout parts of South Africa in an effort to increase citizen access to Open Source software, digital photography, and music files. The project started as an effort to overcome challenges users from the region face when trying to obtain Linux and Open Source software components via South Africa’s restricted telecommunications network. The system’s limitations, according to the Freedom Toaster site, make it impossible for people from certain regions to download large pieces of software.

The Freedom Toaster concept has the potential to vastly increase access to Open Source software for individuals living in developing countries, where the cost and other restrictions make it difficult to obtain software. According to Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Thwate and person responsible for the 2004 launch of Ubuntu Linux, ” Open standards, open source and software libre make it possible to jump onto the information highway without having to pay a toll. They give
people the tools to build amazing infrastructure, and to reshape those
tools in the ways that they need without having to ask permission.”

About the Shuttleworth Foundation:

The Shuttleworth Foundation, founded by Mark Shuttleworth in 2001, is passionate about social development. The organization drives social and policy innovation in the fields of education and technology, through policy dialogue and practical projects, and is currently focused on five broad themes:

• Educational leadership & management
• The promotion of communication & analytical skills
• Wireless & telecommunications regulation
• Collaborative content creation
• Intellectual property rights

Technorati Tags: open source, software

Yes, it seems as though Microsoft has indeed submitted its open software licenses to the Open Source Initiative (OSI) for official approval. Jon Rosenberg reports on the company’s Port 25 blog – a communication effort attached to Microsoft’s Open Source Software Lab – that “as Microsoft’s engagement with open source grows, we have to move from being trailblazers to being road-builders.” Interestingly, this road-building stance seems to play at odds with the company’s penchant for pointing fingers at those it feels have violated its patents – which, by the way, as Stephen Shankland commented, is an accusation Microsoft attorney Brad Smith and CEO Steve Ballmer made against both Linux and Opensource.org just this past May. Fortune Magazine also released an extensive article on the subject of Microsoft and software patents. (I need an aspirin…)

As Director of Source Programs at Microsoft, Rosenberg’s article announcing Microsoft’s ‘make nice’ effort with OSI does a good job of promoting the company’s efforts to contribute to the open license repository – specifically noting Microsoft’s efforts with Windows Installer XML (released on SourceForge.net) and its work with Codeplex, a highly lauded open source community project that gives some indication that, despite previous and sometimes hostile objections to the open source movement, Microsoft is taking a serious stab at open community software development. But one must remember that there is a big difference between open source in its purest sense and what Microsoft calls its Shared Source Initiative (SSI). Often, people who initially hear of SSI licensing see it as Microsoft’s realization that it can’t fight open source any longer – which is really not the case. Stephen Walli’s take on this concept pretty much sums it up:

“Most people imagine Shared Source as an avenue to open sourcing Microsoft’s key product assets and are disappointed when they see restrictive licenses and difficult eligibility requirements. It’s easy to assume that clearly Microsoft doesn’t “get it” with open source, or more deliberately is generating confusion in the marketplace.”

And Walli should know. As a former business development manager in the Windows Platform team at Microsoft, Walli was in the thick of it – working, as he puts it, “in the area between community development, standards, and intellectual property concerns.” Still, Microsoft contends that it remains firmly on the path of community-based software development. The following video provides at least a little perspective on this whole schizophrenic mess. It shows a presentation at the 2007 Open Source Convention (OSCON) by Bill Hilf, chief of Microsoft’s Open Source Strategy Department. Listen for his version of the “three Cs” and his personal take on software patents – specifically his quasi-apology for the above-referenced patent ordeal during the post-presentation Q&A:

Download Bill Hilf, Chief of Microsoft’s Open Source Strategy Department talks Open Source at OSCON 2007.

And so we have it. Microsoft may be heading down the open source path, but I cannot foresee a time when it releases the full source code for its more “citizen-centric” applications (MS Office, SQL Server, etc.). Though, there are times when the company is pretty darned altruistic, and we will continue to see the Codeplex project thrive. Heck, Microsoft has even issued forth an Open Source domain on its web site, which shows that they are indeed keenly focused on the topic. But alas, despite it all, I just can’t shake the feeling that Microsoft will never fully embrace the open source mantra.

Tags: Microsoft, open source, codeplex, Bill Hilf, Open Source Initiative, OSCON

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While taking part of the July 29^th EdTech Weekly – a weekly discussion of the latest news and resources of interest to the EdTech Community – an article pertaining to the Batavia, IL school district was passed through the chat. It seems that the Batavia School district is suggesting that parents of high schoolers upgrade their home computers to Microsoft Office 2007. In a letter sent by the School Board, parents were told that the district is in the process of upgrading their computers to the 2007 Microsoft Office product and that high schoolers would be best served if their home computers were equipped with the same MS Office version. Specifically, the letter stated that:

“If students use an older version of Microsoft Office at home, it is usually possible to translate their projects back and forth between different versions of Microsoft Office,”the letter said. “However, this can be a tedious process, and information may not be always be translated properly.”

Fortunately, the parents in this case who do choose to upgrade may be spared the $499.99 retail price for Office 2007 by purchasing their software via a group discount through a partnership with Cooperative Purchasing Network of Illinois, Microsoft and Virginia-based CampusTech. According to the article referenced above, the cost through CampusTech will be somewhere around $84.85 – a hefty discount indeed! And it must be said that the conversion between Office 2007 and Office 2003 isn’t really that much of a hassle.

Shifting Towards Open Source?

As a technology educator, I actually like to see my students using the latest and greatest software available. The question becomes, however, when does open source software come into play as “total cost of ownership” begins to creep? Now I imagine that it will be some time before we see the next iteration of the MS Office suite. But might it be time for schools to look into alternative open source solutions for software that may not be considered among the killer apps for business use in order to free up money for other uses? (I’m thinking with my Title I hat on now… as funding in this area seems to dwindle yearly.)

There is at least one more reason to go open source. As a technology teacher, I could use one less set of software licenses to worry about! I’d be more than willing to use OpenOffice.org software in my lab to cover the basic word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation functions my students must perform. It’s a solution that’s fast approaching the public’s general purview anyway as Wal-Mart begins its sale of sub-$300.00 Everex IMPACT GC3502 desktop computers equipped with Windows Vista Home Basic and OpenOffice.org 2.2 installed on a system that includes a 1.5GHz VIA C7 CPU, 1GB of DDR-2 SDRAM, an 80GB hard drive, a DVD burner, and integrated graphics, as well as a keyboard, mouse, and speakers.

By the way, according to the Everex fact sheet on the GC3502, it uses the VIA C7–D processor – providing for very low power consumption, advanced security features, and 1.5GHz of performance configured in such a way that it might actually save up to $10 per month on electricity usage. Awe – Wal-Mart’s helping us stay green…

Understandably, the Everex desktop, while powerful enough to handle email, word processing, and most web-based applications, would not be able to handle the latest version of AutoDesk’s DesignKids. That’s ok. It doesn’t have to. It offers what most people out there want for a price they can afford. And I do sort of like where it’s pointing… towards greater convergence of open source software and corporate interests.

Technorati Tags: education opensource openoffice.org everex