open source

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Potentially Huge Cyberattack Stopped by a Single Person

Microsoft engineer Andres Freund praised as the 'Silver Back Gorilla of nerds'

(Newser) - If you're not fluent in coding, just know this: "Had it not been discovered, it would have been catastrophic to the world," a security analyst at Analygence tells Ars Technica . He's referring to a carefully hidden "backdoor" found in the open-source software Linux that could...

5 Ways Facebook Could Fail

 5 Ways Facebook 
 Could Fail 
Jul 25, 2010 5:11 AM CDT

5 Ways Facebook Could Fail

How the giant may be slain

(Newser) - Facebook, which this week welcomed its 500 millionth user , is the undisputed king of the Internet. But, warns Ryan Singel on Wired , other giants (think: Friendster, Geocities) have fallen. Here are some of Facebook's potential foes:
  • Open Sourcing—New ventures like Diaspora, OneSocialWeb, the Appleseed Project, and WebFinger are experimenting
...

Facebook Alternative Raises $115K in Donations

Public hungry for more private options

(Newser) - How unhappy are people with Facebook's latest privacy infractions? So unhappy that four NYU students have raised $115,000 in 19 days for Diaspora , their non-profit alternative, even though they haven't written a single line of code yet. “That's the equivalent of a significant angel round of funding in...

Wales: Wikipedia Changes Exaggerated

Only a few posts will be delayed for approval

(Newser) - Wikipedia's editorial changes aren't so sweeping after all, says co-founder Jimmy Wales. Reports that the open-source encyclopedia would restrict edits to entries on all living people are “just completely wrong," he tells Time. Instead, the site will adopt “flagged revision”—in which edits are checked by...

Steve Jobs Is a Controlling Jerk
 Steve Jobs Is a 
 Controlling Jerk 
OPINION
Aug 10, 2009 2:06 PM CDT

Steve Jobs Is a Controlling Jerk

Mahalo's founder explains how he fell out of love with Apple

(Newser) - Jason Calacanis, a man who owns $20,000 worth of Apple products, has had it with Apple. In a lengthy blog post, the Mahalo founder says Apple’s become an anti-competitive bully. Steve Jobs, once “our LSD-taking, radical free-thinking and fight the power hero,” has become “the...

Open-Source Software a Cheap Fix for Hospitals

(Newser) - Hospitals around the country are scrambling to comply with a federal mandate that they digitize their records systems, and one Texas hospital is an example of how to do that virtually for free, the Wall Street Journal reports. Developed with billions of taxpayer dollars, the Veterans Health Administration’s software...

Spooks Use Wiki to Share Intel
 Spooks Use Wiki to Share Intel 
Apr 8, 2009 3:48 PM CDT

Spooks Use Wiki to Share Intel

Site enables rapid sharing of information, advocates say

(Newser) - The CIA has grown wise to the power of open-source collaboration, and Intellipedia—a classified version of Wikipedia—is humming with activity 3 years after its debut, Time reports. The site boasts 900,000 pages of content written by 100,000 identified intelligence professionals. Advocates cite the rapid treatment of...

Docs Foresee Trouble With Digitizing Records

For electronic records, money is there but technology isn't

(Newser) - The administration's push to digitize health records is raising red flags with an important constituency: doctors. "We have a long way to go," said the lead author of a report out today that shows only 9% of hospitals have computerized records. His article is part of a...

Green Font Cuts Ink Costs
 Green Font Cuts Ink Costs 
Dec 23, 2008 3:00 PM CST

Green Font Cuts Ink Costs

'Ecofont' has holes in the letters to save ink

(Newser) - A new font designed to cut printing costs saves ink by not completely filling in the letters, the AP reports. The “Ecofont,” designed by Dutch firm Spranq, has small holes in the middle of the letters that cut ink usage by 15%. The font is free on Spranq’...

Big Dreams for Android Aren't Just Google's
Big Dreams for Android Aren't Just Google's
OPINION
Oct 21, 2008 2:45 PM CDT

Big Dreams for Android Aren't Just Google's

Operating system looks to potential well beyond phones: Malik

(Newser) - Google’s release of the code for its Android operating system today—a day before the G1 phone hits stores—paves the path for transformation of the cell-phone industry and beyond, Om Malik writes on GigaOm. As coders enhance Android and develop add-ons, either for existing devices or new ones,...

Northwestern Using Emails to Combat File Sharing

Campus prefers education campaign to punishment

(Newser) - Northwestern University has a way to decrease peer-to-peer sharing of copyrighted files: send students emails. The system, called Be Aware You’re Uploading, delivers email notifications to active p2p users on the network, Ars Technica reports. BAYU has a successful track record of reducing p2p usage and copyright violations. It’...

Firefox 3 Rocks
 Firefox 3
 Rocks 
NEW RELEASE
Jun 17, 2008 2:20 PM CDT

Firefox 3 Rocks

'While it’s not perfect, it comes pretty close,' reviewer says of Mozilla's latest

(Newser) - Download Firefox 3, out today. That’s what Michael Calore suggests on Webmonkey. The new version of the open-source browser lets users set application-specific links on Web pages—such as “mailto” links—to launch webapps instead of other applications—say, Gmail instead of Outlook. It also supports using webapps...

One Laptop Per Child Embraces Windows XP

Move gives new life to seemingly immortal operating system

(Newser) - Now that Microsoft has signed on to the One Laptop Per Child initiative—aimed at getting low-cost PCs to kids in poor countries—its Windows XP operating system is again getting a new jolt of life, reports InternetNews.com. The project originally used only free, open-source software such as Linux,...

Tech Hybrids Blend Lofty Ideals With Bottom-Line Business

(Newser) - Tech companies that blend social missions with business ambitions are all the rage in Silicon Valley. Called “social enterprises,” they often generate sizable revenue (unlike most nonprofits), that’s then retained and reinvested (unlike most for-profits). Now, an ecosystem of related organizations is emerging, such as specialized legal...

Google Android a Hit with AT&T
Google Android a Hit with AT&T
Apr 3, 2008 12:01 PM CDT

Google Android a Hit with AT&T

Wireless chief praises open-source mobile system, but doesn't commit to it

(Newser) - Google’s Android mobile operating system may find a home with AT&T, the Wall Street Journal reports. Signalling what could be a major victory for the platform, the telecom’s wireless chief said he was “confident” Android “is something we are going to want in our portfolio....

New Phones Compete With Software, Not Hardware

Applications and entertainment options more important than iPhone's aesthetics

(Newser) - The iPhone may have buzz, Wired writes, but the smartphone market is deviating from the model of Apple’s “Jesus phone,” particularly in the software area. Wary of Apple’s restrictive software development policies, Wired pegs the Nokia N95, with an open source application platform, as more influential...

Microsoft Tries to Appease EU With Blueprints

But skeptical regulators say it's deja vu from US software giant

(Newser) - Microsoft plans to share the secrets of its most popular products, the company announced today, in an effort to satisfy EU regulators who want the software giant to improve its interoperability. The European Commission did cautiously applaud the move, but noted that Microsoft has already made at least four similar...

Humanitarian Relief is a Text Message Away

Social sites like Twitter, Facebook part of Google's new venture

(Newser) - A Google-funded website that uses technology to spread the word about emergencies launches today, CNET reports. The company's charitable arm has put $5 million into InSTEDD, which will use social software like Twitter and Facebook to alert humanitarian groups to crises and organize rescue operations. “Social networking in the...

Sun Reveals Profit Boom, $1B MySQL Buyout

Open-source software developer latest acquisition for giant

(Newser) - Sun Microsystems revealed two surprises today: The computer company showed quarterly earnings that have nearly doubled from a year ago, and it said it would buy open-source software developer MySQL for $800 million in cash and $200 million in assumed options. Sun’s earnings in the second quarter—which ended...

Wiki Founder May Take on Facebook
Wiki Founder May Take on Facebook
Nov 17, 2007 9:13 AM CST

Wiki Founder May Take on Facebook

Jimmy Wales' new project combines networking, search

(Newser) - Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales is apparently going after Facebook and Google in the social-networking arena, Wired reports. Wales showed slides of his upcoming project during a speech in South Africa, and a tech blogger on hand described it as a "search/social networking hybrid" that incorporates elements of both internet...

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