Depuis quelques jours je regarde les épisodes (13 en tout) de la série de télé Go_Open, produite en Afrique du Sud grâce à Canonical et HP, entre autres. Cette série destinée au grand-public a été diffusée fin 2004 et présente des « success stories », des entrevues avec les entrepreneurs et pioniers locaux (en Afrique) et mondiaux des logiciels libres, ainsi que les derniers produits et nouvelles du milieu.
Je trouve que c’est un très bon travail de vulgarisation, malgré quelques inexactitudes techniques et de vocabulaire qui feraitent grincer les dents des purs et durs… genre l’éditeur de Linux Journal qui proclame « si je bloquais l’information que nous publions… alors que récemment ils ont limité l’accès à leur contenu en ligne aux abonnés (j’en suis).
Voici le résumé de chacune des émissions, je l’ai extrait des archives des émissions qu’on peut télécharger par BitTorrent. Si vous savez comment convertir du mp4 en .AVI pour produire des VCD ou si vous êtes interressés par des sous-titres en français, contactez-moi 🙂
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[RELEASE?]
'Go Open' Vol. 1 - Episodes 1 to 6 - 2004, 30 minutes per episode
'Go Open' is a South African-created TV series that aired in late 2004, and is
dedicated to open-source software. Created for a mainstream audience, the show
features a hyperkinetic presenter and interviews and showcases from both the
South African and world open-source/free software scene. As the official Go Open
website explains: "The program will showcase success stories, interviews with the
top local and international pioneers, and the latest products and news from the
open source world."
The creators of 'Go Open' (http://www.go-opensource.org/go_open/) have very
kindly permitted the show to be shared freely with a Creative Commons license.
This archive contains the first 6 episodes (from a total of 13) in a relatively
compact MPEG-4 format. The series was sponsored by the Shuttleworth Foundation,
the Meraka Institute, HP, and Canonical.
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[SPECIFIC INFO?]
The series' official website (http://www.go-opensource.org/go_open/) has the
following official episode descriptions:
--
[EPISODE 1]
Lead Story: Hollywood
The Linux Movies Group is an organization for the advancement and mutual
support of motion picture technologists using the Linux operating system. Its
the most popular operating system for animation and visual effects in the motion
picture industry.
Big Gun: Richard Stallman
Richard Stallman is a notable programmer whose major accomplishments include GNU
Emacs, the GNU C Compiler, and the GNU Debugger. GNU ? In 1985, he published the
GNU Manifesto, which outlined his motivation for creating a free operating system
called GNU, which would be compatible with Unix. The name GNU is a recursive
acronym for GNU's Not Unix. Soon after, he incorporated the non-profit Free
Software Foundation (FSF) to employ free software programmers and provide a legal
framework for the free software community. In 1989 Stallman invented and popularized
the concept of copyleft. By then, much of the GNU system had been completed, with
the notable exception of a kernel. This final gap was filled by Linux in 1991,
written independently of the GNU project using the GNU development tools and system
libraries. The arrival of Linux, and the availability of a completely free operating
system created some confusion, however, and most people now use the name Linux to
refer to the whole operating system. Stallman has attempted to change this by asking
people to call the operating system "GNU/Linux".
Doing it:Firefox
Mozilla Firefox. Its an Internet browser, so you use it to surf the net just like
Internet Explorer, or Safari if you use the Macintosh operating system. But this one
has loads of innovative features, its secure, its very fast, lightweight - and its
available on Windows, Linux and the Mac operating system.
Open Source Means Business: FOSS in retailers
Pick and Pay is a successful case of a large South African company rolling out open
source software. They are using it for quite large portion of their business,
till points and office. Staff have a choice in the offices as to whether they use
open source or Microsoft, as long as there is productivity, the choice is essentially
theirs.
What is hot: QuakeOS
In 1997, the computer gaming company id Software released a ground-breaking
first-person shooter game called QUAKE II. It went on to sell over a million
copies and was voted Game of the Year. In December 2001, id Software generously
made the QUAKE II 3-D engine available to the public under the GNU General
Public Licence (GPL).
--
[EPISODE 2]
Lead Story: Blogging
Weblogging or blogging is a relatively new phenomenon, and an interesting
decentralized social commentary and information propagation network. It has
earned itself both accolades and criticism.
Blogging grew out of online journals and diaries, of people simply documenting
their day, or covering interesting things they had read on the web. Wikipedia
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogging) offers the following definition:
A weblog, or simply a blog, is a web application which contains periodic,
reverse chronologically-ordered posts on a common web page. Such a web site
would typically be accessible to any Internet user. Part of the reason blog
was coined and commonly accepted into use is the fact that in saying blog,
confusion with server log is avoided. Blogs run from individual diaries to
arms of political campaigns, media programs and corporations, and from one
occasional author to having large communities of writers. The totality of
weblogs or blog-related webs is usually called the blogosphere.
Big Gun: Don Marti
Don Marti, a graduate of Indiana University, is Editor-in-Chief of Linux
Journal. He is responsible for directing the editorial content of the magazine
and its web site, LinuxJournal.com. He is best known for his outstanding
support of the Linux community as a whole, and his community activism. Don
helped organize Windows Refund Day and Burn All GIFs Day. He co-founded
Electric Lichen, LLC, and joined VA Software (formerly VA Research) when
it acquired his firm in 1999.
Doing it:Workrave
WorkRave will make you take a break from the rigours of the mouse and the
monitor. If the Comments on this neat application are anything to go by,
its well ahead of its competitors.
Open Source Means Business: Brett Strydom, Systems Engineer
Brett Strydom is a young man who exemplifies the determination to overcome
serious obstacles. Born a sighted child, at the age of 6 he contracted an
extremely rare degenerative eye disease. He was afflicted with blindness
when the retinas of both his eyes became detached. At the start of his High
School career, Brett developed what can only be described as a passion
for computers, and nagged his family until everybody chipped in and bought
him an IBM286. The fact that it wasnt adapted to accommodate his special
requirements didnt deter him: he made a plan, as they say, and began a course
of Computer Studies. Eventually, he acquired a Braille keyboard, and went on
to study full-time at Wits, where he got a B.Sc. in Computer Science and Maths.
What is hot: Drive By Internet
Image We all know that to connect to the Internet, you need a telephone line
and a modem, a satellite uplink, or some other means of tapping into 'the Net'.
Unfortunately, in South Africa, the necessary telecommunications infrastructure
is not always there to tap into. About a third of South Africans don't have
a phone line, and roughly 88% of schools in the Northern Province lack an
Internet connection. Telkom has promised to make access available to rural
schools, but even where such access exists, the associated fees can be
prohibitively expensive.
Geek of the Week:Alastair Otter
ALASTAIR OTTER TECTONIC. He has been a journalist for a number of years,
more specifically in running on-line news sites. Alastair has a passion for
open source and is regarded as a local hero. His most recent project is an
on-line news site dedicated to free and open source software (FOSS). Alastair
shares his views on open source in South Africa and the role the media has played.
--
[EPISODE 3]
Lead Story: Mark Shuttleworth
Mark was born and raised in South Africa, and studied finance and
information technology at the University of Cape Town. He went on to found
Thawte, a company specialising in digital certificates and internet privacy,
developed using Open Source software. He sold Thawte to the American company
VeriSign in 1999, and founded HBD Venture Capital and The Shuttleworth
Foundation. In April 2002 Mark became the first African in space, as a cosmonaut
member of the crew of Soyuz mission TM34 to the International Space Station.
Mark maintains that 'If we are to lift Africa from her current circumstances,
we will need a generation of learners that are gifted with curiosity about
the world in which they live, and the tools to understand and shape that world'.
With this in mind he and his Foundation have invested in projects such as
TuxLabs, HIP2B2, The School Tool Project (to develop a common global school
administration infrastructure that is freely available under an Open Source
licence)and The Ubuntu Project, a community project with participation from
many volunteers, sponsored by Canonical Ltd.
Open Source Means Business: Gail Reid / TuXlabs
Some 80 previously-disadvantaged schools in the Western Cape are now
benefiting from the Shuttleworth Foundations TuXlab programme. The labs
have been developed using old computers and Open Source software, which
provides users with freedom not obtainable from proprietary software. The
Foundation initiated the TuXlabs with the idea of providing an easy,
cost-effective, and replicable model for giving educators and learners
access to information technology and educational content.
Big Gun: Dirk-Willem van Gulik
Dirk-Willem van Gulik is a Partner at the Tribal Knowledge Group, with 15 years
of Internet engineering, consulting and project management experience. His
work on Apache has revolved around large enterprise systems such as portals,
entitlement systems and Web interfaces to legacy systems. He has worked with a
broad range of international standards bodies, such as the IETF on metadata,
protocols, URIs GIS and other Internet standards. Prior to TTKG, Dirk held both
VP of Engineering and VP of Research positions with Covalent Technologies, and
prior to Covalent he worked on projects at the European Commission, the United
Nations, telecommunications firms, satellite and space agencies. He has been on
the board of directors of the Apache Software Foundation since its inception.
In his free time he works on a co-operative Wireless network in his home town,
Leiden. The network currently covers virtually the entire inner city.
What is hot: Freedom Toaster
This Shuttleworth Foundation project began as a means of overcoming the difficulty
in obtaining Linux and Open Source software due to the restrictive
telecommunications environment in South Africa, where the easy downloading of large
pieces of software is just not possible. The Freedom Toaster is a conveniently
located Bring 'n Burn' facility, where users bring their own blank discs and make
copies of the open source software they require. Initially the name came about
directly as a result of the fact that Linux is a free Operating System and that
you toast a CD with Linux. However, it later became apparent that the name encapsulates
the philosophy of Open Source Software, where we have the freedom to choose which
software we use, the freedom to change it if we like and the freedom to share it
with anyone, for free.
Geek of the Week: Neil Blakey-Milner
NEIL BLAKEY-MILNER a strong advocate of open source with a passion for FreeBSD,
an alternative open source Unix flavour. Neil is also a massive python user, a
high level programming language that is seeing an increasing focus because of
its portability and flexibility. Neil is a true geek.
--
[EPISODE 4]
Lead Story: Intellectual Property in the 21st century
Built within current Copyright law, Creative Commons is a new system that allows
you to share your creations with others and use music, movies, images, and text
online, marked with a Creative Commons licence. Its been gaining prominence steadily
since its inception a few years ago. Creative Commons provides the space for artists
to control their future, using the Internet.
Big Gun: Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence (Larry) Lessig, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Creative Commons,
is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and founder of the School's Centre for
Internet and Society. Prior to joining Stanford he taught at Harvard Law School
and the University of Chicago Law School. In 2002, he was named one of 50 top
innovators by Scientific American. Lessig acquired a B.A. in economics and a B.S.
in management from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in philosophy from Cambridge,
and a J.D. from Yale. Although considered a liberal, he clerked for strongly-conservative
Judge Richard Posner and Justice Antonin Scalia. A well-known critic of extended
copyright terms, Lessig has been engaged in several notable cases.
Doing it:Gimp
GIMP is a free image manipulation package. It has forked out into a separate film
package cinepaint in use by many studios today. It's a powerful package with
an efficient plugin architecture. Get it from their homepage
Open Source Means Business: MWEB and SPAM
Spam is an increasingly-common e-mail Inbox offender. This unsolicited and invasive
form of communication has grown rapidly and vigorously, and is becoming a major
problem. The growth can be attributed to a greater number of spammers, availability
of easy-to-use spamming tools and a reduction in the response rates of e-mail users
around the globe. Spam, per se, is not illegal in South Africa, but it is dealt with
in section 45 of the Electronic Communications Act, 25 of 2002 (the ECT Act). A
sender who fails to do one of three things is guilty of an offence and liable on
conviction to an unspecified fine, or a maximum of 12 months imprisonment.
Geek of the Week:Barry Irwin
BARRY IRWIN Practical security and spam measures. How to avoid getting viruses
and spam.
--
[EPISODE 5]
Lead Story: Southern Smile
Southern Smile is the engaging name given to a productive collaboration between
countries in the developing world which share a common purpose in their
dedication to the increasing use of Open Source software. This common bond between
such countries as South Africa, Brazil, India and China, means the sharing of ideas
and information, to the mutual benefit of all.
Big Gun: Jon maddog Hall
Jon maddog Hall has been in the computer industry since 1969, using Unix since
1977, and Linux since 1994. He has been a software engineer, systems administrator,
product manager, marketing manager and professional educator. Jon has been the
Executive Director of Linux International since 1995, the first four years as a
volunteer. He has been employed by VA Linux systems, Compaq Computer Corporation in
the Digital UNIX Marketing group and Bell Laboratories, among other companies.
Open Source Means Business: Raymond Cossa
In September, 2002, President Thabo Mbeki and HP CEO Carly Fiorina launched the
Mogalakwena HP i-community, during the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).
Established in the Limpopo Province and overseen by HP's Emerging Market Solutions
division, the i-community is a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between HP, the
Limpopo Provincial Government and the Mogalakwena Municipality.
What is hot: Freedom League
The FREEDOM League of Geeks is designed to bring together the best of the Open Source
world and the country-wide community of people eager to introduce as many new people
as possible to the use of Open Source software. Anyone with the passion and ability
can sign-up as an Open Source GEEK and receive all the materials needed to convert
as many people and computers as possible. GEEKs will be able to log their installs
and track their progress.
--
[EPISODE 6]
Lead Story: Distributed Computing
Todays home-PCs are more powerful than we realize: more often than not, our normal
activities on our PCs rarely make use of its processing power. By parallel-linking
ordinary computers in what is called Grid or Distributed Computing, the resulting
computational power rivals that of so-called super-computers, at a fraction of the
price.
Prof. Alexander Holt, PhD(Edinburgh) of the School of Computer Science at Wits
University, is an Open Source Consultant, and a specialist in large-scale system
configuration.
Dr Fourie Joubert obtained his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Pretoria
in 2000. He is a Senior Lecturer at the University and currently also manages the
Bioinformatics and Computational Unit in the Department of Biochemistry at the
University of Pretoria, which is an ACGT core facility. This Unit is also the
National Bioinformatics Node in Gauteng, and is involved in research, training
(post-graduate and short courses) and service provision.
Big Gun: Bruce Perens
Bruce Perens is a prominent figure in the open source movement, with a long and
distinguished record. He is a former Debian GNU/Linux Project Leader, the primary
author of the Open Source Definition, a founder of Software in the Public Interest,
founder of the UserLinux project, and co-founder of the Open Source Initiative
(OSI). Perens also has a book series with Prentice Hall PTR called the Bruce Perens'
Open Source Series. He is an avid ham radio enthusiast and maintains technocrat.net,
which he styles a more mature forum than Slashdot. He is widely believed to hold
the record for the rate of Slashdot upmodding of his comments!
Open Source Means Business: Tiger Brands
Tiger Brands is one of South Africas biggest companies. Its largest sector is food
manufacturing, including products such as breakfast cereals, confectionery, dairy
products, canned and ready-to-eat foods, flour, salty snacks, and baked goods. Tiger's
healthcare division manufactures over-the-counter and prescription medicines as well
as hospital products. It also has operations in fishing, food retailing, and personal,
home, and baby care sectors. In 2004 it spun off its food store unit Spar. Along with
South Africa, Tiger Brands has African operations in Namibia and Zimbabwe. Other
Tiger operations are located in Australia, Canada, Latin America, the UK, and the US.
What is hot: 441 Call Centre
Four for one or 441, as its familiarly called - is a South African innovation:
a PC with one CPU and one hard drive, but with four monitors, four keyboards and four
mice (or should that be 'mouses'?) This ingenious, cost-effective development is based
on a customized Open Source software system, designed with developing countries in mind.
Its now being employed in the creation of a call-centre industry (SA Call Centre)
in Limpopo Province and is being piloted at the University of the North, with healthy
results on the computing budget! 441 looks every byte a winner!
[EPISODE 7]
Lead Story: Voice over IP
Internet Voice, also known as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is a technology
that allows you to make telephone calls using a broadband Internet connection
instead of a regular (or analogue) phone line. Some services using VoIP may only
allow you to call other people using the same service, but others may allow you
to call anyone who has a telephone number - including local, long distance, mobile,
and international numbers. Also, while some services only work over your computer
or a special VoIP phone, other services allow you to use a traditional phone through
an adaptor.
Big Gun: Eric S. Raymond
But who is Eric S. Raymond generally identified as ESR? I wonder that myself,
sometimes. I'm a long-time hacker, active in the Internet culture since the 1970s,
who got unexpectedly famous in the late 1990s
.. it took me twenty years to become
an overnight sensation. I either founded or re-invented (depending on who you ask,
and how some history is interpreted; I prefer re-invented, myself) the Open Source
Movement.
.Today I'm one of the half-dozen or so most influential people in that
movement; in fact, a lot of people would put me among the top three, with Linus
Torvalds and Richard M. Stallman. The community has a tradition of tri-letterizing
its heroes I suppose that began with Stallman, already a hero when I was a fledgling
programmer in the early 1980s, who was generally known as RMS even then
.I think
I started to be routinely triletterized into ESR around 1998 on Slashdot; that
was a few months after the fame thing started to kick in seriously. It's at best
a mixed blessing. Fame is tactically useful, but the pressures and expectations that
go with it can be nasty stuff. If you want to learn more about me, browsing through
my essays would be a good place to start.
Doing it:Gaim
GAIM is a multi-protocol instant messaging (IM) client for Linux, BSD, MacOS X,
and Windows. It is compatible with AIM and ICQ (Oscar protocol), MSN Messenger, Yahoo!,
IRC, Jabber, Gadu-Gadu, SILC, GroupWise Messenger, and Zephyr networks.
Open Source Means Business: Solly Masinga
In a remarkably short period of time, he went from temporary employment as a packer,
to mastery of Open Source and full-time responsibility for testing, support systems
and customisation of the locally-developed 441 system, at the HP I-Community Centre
in Limpopo. Thats the rags-to-riches story of the unstoppable Solly Masinga. Younus
Hassan is a Technical Support Engineer. Moshe Masifo is a Systems Administrator. Refiloe
Seseane visited the I-Community Centre to meet Solly, and hear what his mentors had to say.
What is hot: Ubuntu Linux
Ubuntu Linux is a complete Linux-based operating system, freely available with both
community and professional support. The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas enshrined
in the Ubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge, that software
tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite any disabilities,
and that people should have the freedom to customise and alter their software in whatever
way they see fit.
--
[EPISODE 8]
Lead Story: Google
Google is a play on the word googol, which was coined by Milton Sirotta, nephew
of American mathematician Edward Kasner, and was popularized in the book, "Mathematics
and the Imagination" by Kasner and James Newman. The fanciful term refers to the number
10 raised to the hundredth power. Google's use of the term reflects the company's mission
to organize the immense, seemingly infinite amount of information available on the web.
Big Gun: Larry Lessig
Larry Lessig is a Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and founder of the schools
Centre for Internet and Society. Prior to joining the Stanford faculty, he was the Berkman
Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Lessig was also a fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg
zu Berlin, and a Professor at the University of Chicago Law School. He clerked for Judge
Richard Posner on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice Antonin Scalia on the United
States Supreme Court.
Doing it:Rhythmbox
Rhythmbox is an integrated music management application, originally inspired by Apples
iTunes. Its available for Unix or Linux running the Gnome Desktop. Like iTunes, you can
use it to browse, search and sort the music on your computer. It supports just about any
music format, be it MP3, or Ogg Vorbis. Convert your CDs to one of these formats, and
set up your own playlists. You can even use it to tune into Internet radio stations.
Open Source Means Business: e-Commerce
e-commerce, or electronic commerce, is defined as the conduct of financial transactions
by electronic means. With the growth of commerce on the Internet and the Web, e-commerce
often refers to purchases from on-line stores on the Web, otherwise knows as e-commerce
websites. They may also be referred to as "virtual-stores" or cyber stores. Since the
transaction goes through the Internet and the Web, some have suggested another term:
i-commerce (Internet commerce). e-commerce can be business-to-business (B 2 B) or
business-to-consumer (B 2C).
What is hot: Turbocash
Turbocash is a well-known and established accounting software, developed internationally
and locally over the last 16 years. The good news is that it has been released as Open
Source, and the Full Version is available as a free download. Although mainly used by
small and medium-sized businesses, it can be scaled up to suit a large organization.
--
[EPISODE 9]
Lead Story: NASA's Mars Expoloration Rover
On 10th June, 2003, the first Mars Exploration Rover (MER-A) Spirit, was launched on a
Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The MER-B Rover, Opportunity, followed on
the 7th of July, 2003. Spirit landed on Mars on the 3rd of January, 2004, and Opportunity,
on the 25th of that month.
Big Gun: Bob Young
Founded in 1993, Red Hat is the premier Linux and Open Source provider. Its the most
recognized Linux brand in the world, serving global enterprises through technology and
services made possible by the Open Source model. Solutions include Red Hat Enterprise
Linux operating platforms, sold through a subscription model, and a broad range of services:
consulting, 24/7 support, and the Red Hat Network. Red Hat's global training programme
operates in more than 60 locations worldwide and features RHCE, the global standard Linux
certification.
Doing it:Audacity
Audacity is a free audio editor. You can record sounds, play sounds, import and export
WAV, AIFF, Ogg Vorbis, and MP3 files, and more. Use it to edit your sounds using Cut,
Copy and Paste (with unlimited Undo), mix tracks together, or apply effects to your
recordings. It also has a built-in amplitude envelope editor, a customizable spectrogram
mode and a frequency analysis window for audio analysis applications. Built-in effects
include Echo, Change Tempo, and Noise Removal, and it also supports VST and LADSPA plug-in
effects.
Open Source Means Business: Hartbeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory
The Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) is the only major radio
astronomy observatory in Africa. Its located in a valley in the Magaliesberg hills,
50 km west of Johannesburg. It operates as a National Research Facility under the auspices
of the National Research Foundation (NRF).
What is hot: Xplanet
ImageXplanet was inspired by Xearth, which renders an image of the earth into the X root
window. All of the major planets and most satellites can be drawn, similar to the Solar
System Simulator. A number of different map projections are also supported, including
azimuthal, Lambert, Mercator, Mollweide, orthographic, and rectangular.
--
[EPISODE 10]
Lead Story: Computer Security
Its about vulnerability... Your home computer is a popular target for intruders:
they want what youve stored there. They look for credit card numbers, bank account
information, and anything else they can find. By stealing that information,
intruders can use your money to buy goods and services for themselves. But its
not just money-related information theyre after: they also want your computers
resources, meaning your hard disc space, your fast processor, and your Internet
connection. They use them to attack other computers on the Internet. In fact,
the more computers an intruder uses, the harder it is for law enforcement to figure
out where the attack is really coming from. If intruders cant be found, they
cant be stopped, and they cant be prosecuted.
Big Gun: Bruce Schneier
Bruce Schneier is an internationally-renowned Security Technologist and author.
Described by The Economist as a "security guru," he is best known as a refreshingly
candid and lucid security critic and commentator. When people want to know how
security really works, they turn to Schneier. His first bestseller, Applied
Cryptography explained how the arcane science of secret codes actually works,
and was described by Wired as the book the National Security Agency wanted never
to be published. His book on computer and network security, Secrets and Lies,
was called by Fortune a jewel box of little surprises you can actually use. His
current book, Beyond Fear tackles the problems of security from the small to the
large: personal safety, crime, corporate security, national security.
Doing it:Thunderbird
Mozillas Thunderbird makes e-mailing safer, faster, and easier than ever, with
the industry's best implementations of features - such as intelligent spam filters,
built-in RSS reader, quick search, and much more. It offers the most effective
tools for detecting junk mail analyzing the e-mail and identifying those most
likely to be junk. You can automatically have your junk mail deleted or you can
put it in a folder you specify, just in case you suddenly develop an interest
in reading junk mail!
Open Source Means Business: Embedded Systems
Essentially, an embedded system is a small, customised operating system for
single-use systems. Its the computer we almost certainly use everyday, without
necessarily being aware of it the wrist-watch, the cell-phone, the CD player,
the digital camera. All of these devices (and a host of others) have computers
embedded in them. And Open Source makes it easier
. Marc Chase spoke to some local
practitioners in the business of embedded systems Abraham van der Merwe of
Frogfoot: Adriaan Graaff , I.T. Director at Namitech; and Demetrios Savvides of
Powerband.
What is hot: HP i-centre
In September 2002, Johannesburg played host to the United Nations World Summit
on Sustainable Development - a high-profile forum that brought together experts
from around the world to debate practical solutions to the problems faced by
emerging economies. At the Summit South African President, Thabo Mbeki, joined
HP CEO Carly Fiorina to launch the Mogalakwena HP i-community - an innovative
three-year partnership between HP, the Limpopo Province and the Mogalakwena
Municipality. Fiorina addressed community stakeholders, government officials
and business leaders and reaffirmed HP's commitment to the project. President
Mbeki stressed the strength of commitment from the country's highest office,
promising to "insert myself into this process, to go there myself and see."
The Mogalakwena HP i-community's primary intention is to find breakthroughs
in the ways that information and communication technology (ICT) can enable
sustainable social, economic and environmental development. As a result, its
mandate is to provide the Mogalakwena community with ICT access and training
- as well as sustainable livelihoods solutions - and thereby stimulate education
and employment opportunities.
--
[EPISODE 11]
Lead Story: Open Source in Education
The eighth IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing) World
Conference on Computers in Education, WCCE 2005, is to be held at the University
of Stellenbosch from 4th to 7th July this year. It will explore the use of
Information and Communication Technologies in Education and the Teaching of
Informatics, provide an opportunity for participants to review progress since
WCCE 2001, report on successful (and unsuccessful) ICT projects in Education,
and predict trends for the future.
Big Gun: Richard Stallman
Richard M. Stallman is the founder of the GNU Project, launched in 1984 to develop
the free software operating system GNU. The name ``GNU'' is a recursive acronym
for ``GNU's Not Unix''. GNU is free software: everyone is free to copy it and
redistribute it, as well as to make changes either large or small. Non-free software
keeps users divided and helpless, forbidden to share it and unable to change it.
A free operating system is essential for people to be able to use computers in
freedom. Today, Linux-based variants of the GNU system, based on the kernel Linux
developed by Linus Torvalds, are in widespread use. There are estimated to be
some 20 million users of GNU/Linux systems today.
Doing it:Getting Help
Mark: So what do you do when things go wrong? Open Source isnt produced by a
company, so its not immediately obvious where you would go to get technical
support. And what were going to show you today is how the Open Source community
which is the thousands and thousands of people who write Open Source software
participate in helping the people who write Open Source Software.
Open Source Means Business: Pipeline Performance Technologies (Thin Client)
The "Thin Client" method of computer networking is a well-established technology
by which old, used or donated computers are used simply as a terminal to access
the full computing power of a new and powerful server in the back room as though
it were that server. The Thin Client network ensures that each terminal, regardless
of its own computing characteristics, delivers the speed and capability of the
server, so each user experiences top quality, smooth, fast computing. Its a
cost-effective solution made even more affordable because Linux is involved.
What is hot: Noodle Linux
Noodle Linux hot off the stove: a new Linux distro with a funky sense of humour.
Marc Chase got the inside story from two of its developers Ross Addiz and Bongani
Hlope, of MIP Holdings.
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[EPISODE 12]
Lead Story: China's 'Red flag' goes open
Last year, a number of Chinese software companies joined forces with overseas vendors
such as IBM Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Intel Corp, and Novell Inc. to form the
China Open Source Software Promotion Alliance, China's first Open Source software
organization. The objectives of the alliance include co-operative Linux development,
promotion of Open Source development and application in China, driving exchanges
and co-operation among Open Source communities in northeast Asia, and making
contributions to the international Open Source community.
Big Gun: Alan Cox
Welshman Alan Cox is a renowned Linux guru, now working full-time at Red Hat. Founded
in 1993, Red Hat is the premier Linux and Open Source provider. It serves global
enterprises through technology and services made possible by the Open Source model.
Solutions include Red Hat Enterprise Linux operating platforms, sold through a
subscription model, and a broad range of services: consulting, 24x7 support, Red
Hat Network. Red Hat's global training program operates in more than 60 locations
worldwide and features RHCE, the global standard Linux certification.
Doing it:Installing Linux
Ubuntu Linux is a complete Linux-based operating system, freely available with
both community and professional support. The Ubuntu community is built on the ideas
enshrined in the Ubuntu Manifesto: that software should be available free of charge,
that software tools should be usable by people in their local language and despite
any disabilities, and that people should have the freedom to customise and alter
their software in whatever way they see fit. These freedoms make Ubuntu fundamentally
different from traditional proprietary software: not only are the tools you need
available free of charge, you have the right to modify your software until it works
the way you want it to.
Open Source Means Business: Translate.org
Translate.org.za is a non-profit organisation producing Free and Open Source software
that enables and empowers South Africans. The Translate Project started in 2001 with
the vision of providing Free Software translated into the 11 official languages of
South Africa. Free Software in your language is true empowerment. The project is run
by committed volunteers, and sponsored by the Department of Communications, The
Shuttleworth Foundation, Obsidian Systems, St James Software and Hewlett-Packard
(South Africa).
What is hot: GNU Backgammon
Want to be a player on the Internet? A player of Backgammon, that is. Software Engineer
Matthew Ryder, and on-line player , Dr Peter Wisniewski, a GP, extol the benefits
of the digital version of this ancient and highly-popular game.
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[EPISODE 13]
Lead Story: Making money from Open source
The most outstanding local example of making money from Open Source Software
is undoubtedly the Mark Shuttleworth Story, a garage-to-riches tale of hard work,
Open Source and business acumen, resulting in the creation of South Africas
best-known IT multi-millionaire, and Africas first astronaut!
Another local example of the commercial potential of Open Source is Afribiz, a
company that provides network specific services including mail servers, firewalls,
print servers, fax servers, file servers, web servers and a host of other server
and network related services to businesses. The companys strategy includes
cost-effective, stable and low maintenance products.
Open Source Means Business: Starfish
A local technology company, Starfish Mobile Technologies, focuses its energies
on cell-phones, creating innovative SMS campaigns in the field of Permission
Marketing. And theyve done it with the indispensable help of Open Source.
Marc Chase spoke to Starfishs Marketing Director, Wayne Nelson-Esch, and
David Zarraga, of Xurpass, and Head of Operations, Starfish Mobile.
Big Gun: Robert Young
Bob Young is a Co-founder and former Chairman of Red Hat (1993-2000).
He describes himself as a Serial entrepreneur. Hes a graduate of the
University of Toronto (1976), and Founder of The Centre for the Public Domain
(1999), a non-profit foundation that supports the growth of a healthy and
robust public domain of knowledge and the arts. Bob is also CEO and founder
of Lulu.com, home of Bob Youngs Store and Lulu Enterprises, in Raleigh,
North Carolina. Lulu.com is a site that allows content creators and owners
to bring work directly to market without surrendering control of their
intellectual property.
What is hot: Open Source outside the computer
Refiloe Seseane: I wonder if you realize that Open Source software or Open
Source is not just limited to the world of computing. The concept has always
existed. The Open Source way of thinking comes from situations where its
better for everyone to spread their knowledge and to allow for progress.
But it also touches our lives daily, and sometimes we take it for granted.
Like when you attempt a gourmet meal from a recipe. Recipes are often given
out freely. Some restaurants even publish their recipes to make their brands
more accessible. Libraries and newspapers are a free source of knowledge and
news.
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[LICENSE?]
Please note that 'Go Open' Vol. 2 is licensed under the
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