Monday, July 14, 2003
Formed only a few days ago, the OpenGroupware.org announced that it is releasing to the Open Source community the code of the OpenGroupware.org (OGo) server, in an effort to provide a viable alternative to Microsoft Exchange on the Linux and Sun Solaris Platform.
From the announcement: "The OGo software provides document sharing capabilities for OpenOffice.org documents and will enable users of MS Outlook (97/2000/XP), Ximian Evolution, Mozilla Calendar, OOo Glow (OpenOffice.org Groupware Project's client product), Apple's iCal and other standards-based groupware clients to collaborate. OGo software will enable users to share calendar, address book and e-mail information; they can communicate via instant messaging, share folders, exchange documents, track changes, share a whiteboard, and browse the Web all at the same time -- all upon open Internet standards and without paying or managing cumbersome licensing fees."
Quote of the Day:
"Give a person a fish and you feed him for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and he won't bother you for weeks." — author unknown
Friday, July 11, 2003
Desktop Linux Technology and Market Overview. Report prepared by Bart Decrem for the Open Source Application Foundation, July 2003A product of a short-term research project, this 34-page report (in PDF) takes a look at the history and the current state of Linux on the desktop, considers the obstacled for its wider adoption, offers suggestions for leverage, and makes predictions for the next several years. While these predictions are, in my opinion, a bit optimistic (10% share of the desktop OS market within the next four years), and the assertion that "desktop Linux is no longer a technical challenge – it’s a marketing challenge” doesn't ring true to someone who genuinely but without ideological bias did try to use Linux on the desktop, only to end up frustrated and disappointed, the bulk of the report is an interesting read.
Tuesday, July 8, 2003
Permanet, Nearlynet, and Wireless Data by Clay Shirky, March 2003Why were the phones built into the backs of airplane seats never (or extremely rarely) used?
Why was the Iridium satellite phone system such a disaster?
Why is the 3G wireless service likely to become just another, hugely expensive failure?
What are the assumptions of the proponents of such systems and why are they wrong?
Why do "lousy and cheap" services tend to have a long-term advantage over "good and expensive" ones?
These and a few other questions are convincingly answered in this short but fascinating article written by one of the renown contemporary thinkers pondering innovation and its social impacts. Highly recommended.Quote of the Day:
"The future always comes too fast and in the wrong order." — Alvin Toffler
Tuesday, July 1, 2003
Stanford University has just released its course management system, called CourseWork, as open source, available for free. Currently in version 2.5, this scalable, modular system allows easy creation of course Web sites with announcements, on-line readings, syllabi, schedules, assignments and quizzes, discussion boards, and gradebooks. Written in Java, it requires several 3rd party components on the server side - Apache, Tomcat, and an SQL database (e.g. Oracle) - but no specialized client for the end users: a Java-enabled Web browser is the only requirement. The system's look and feel as well as existing modules can be modified, and new components added. Stanford Academic Computing, the devoloper of this software, is itself working on new features for future releases of CourseWork.
Monday, June 30, 2003
- "Electronically Enabling Communities for An Information Society"
- Colloquium on Research Results, Lessons Learned, Policy Recommendations
- Held September 15-16, 2003 in Prato, Italy
- An opportunity for practitioners, researchers and policy makers from research centers, universities, cultural institutions, and agencies involved in governance to discuss and reflect on the role and opportunities for emergent communities as constrained by physical, distance, resource, political, and gender barriers for effective participation in an Information Society.
- Possible topics: What Are the "Many Voices" in the Information Society? — What Are Their Barriers to Participation and What Opportunities Do They Present?— How Are These Many Voices "Sustainable"? — Many Voices as Communities of Interest (and of Place)? — Strategies for Innovation — ICTs and Local Economic Development at the Margins — Do ICTs Contribute to Poverty Alleviation? — Telecentres: Best Practices, Cost-Benefit Assessment — What Contribution Can ICTs Make to Building Civil Society? — Communities, ICTs and Emergent Democracy — What is the (Appropriate) Role of the Private Sector?
Sunday, June 29, 2003
- Held August 6-8, 2003 in Arlington, VA
- A premier venue for the presentation of the cutting edge of the state-of-the-art in education and training systems, job performance improvement systems, and knowledge management systems. The conference objective is to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest in research, design, and development in order to furnish attendees information on systems that are applicable in areas such as: Higher Education and Schools — Defense and Homeland Security — Skills Training — E-Learning — Knowledge Management/EPSS — Instructional Systems Development
Thursday, June 19, 2003
This large (over 500 pages!) but highly readable report written by Luigi Canali De Rossi, a freelance reporter and reviewer, is well worth its $99 price tag (single copy for individuals or a "shareable" copy for a class). Although the title seems to limit the report's audience to the Small Office-Home Office (SOHO) owners, it is a great resource for nonprofit organizations and academic institutions as well - in fact, anybody who is interested in using Web conferencing but does not have deep pockets. Here the SOHO qualifier means merely that the author decided to focus on affordable, small scale tools instead of those targeted at large enterprises. (Although he includes, for good measure, reviews of three of the latter tools at the end of the report).
18 conferencing tools are included in the report, from the well known and covered extensively by the media elsewhere (Netmeeting, Groove), to the relatively obscure (eBLVD, Cata), each described in detail on multiple pages and illustrated with numerous screenshots. The author has obviously put a lot of effort into getting to know each tool's functions, design, pros and cons, cost, technical requirements, etc. The reviews are extensive but written in plain English, devoid of hermetic "geek speak". Comparison tables and a long list of vendors of conferencing tools (many more than the reviewed 18) complete the work. Added bonus: the report, published in March 2003, is still fairly current, but a new edition (with a lot of new tools reviewed) is coming out this Summer and it will be available for free to those, who buy the first edition - two great reports for the price of one!