Category Archives: Open Source Software

Corporations put their cash where their open source security is

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Summary: OpenSSL and Open Crypto Audit Project are the first open source projects to receive funding from the Core Infrastructure Initiative.

The corporate cash faucet has been turned on for vital, but neglected, open-source projects. The Core Infrastructure Initiative (CII) has reviewed under-funded but critical open source software projects and decided that Network Time Protocol (NTP), OpenSSH, and OpenSSL will get the first round of funding.

OpenSSL will receive funds from CII for two full-time core developers.

OpenSSL Software Foundation President Steve Marquess, who joined OpenSSL in April, said that he did not consider this enough and that he'd "ultimately like to see more than just two dedicated people working on OpenSSL, but these Linux Foundation fellowships are the most significant good news the OpenSSL project has ever had." The two new full-time programmers are Stephen Henson and Andy Polyakov.

The project, needless to say, is accepting additional donations. These can be coordinated directly with the OpenSSL Foundation (contact at info@opensslfoundation.com).

The Open Crypto Audit Project (OCAP) will also receive funding in order to conduct a security audit of the OpenSSL code base. Other projects are under consideration and will be funded as assessments are completed and budget allows.

The exact amounts being given to OCAP, NTP, and OpenSSH have not been revealed. In general, the CII provides funding for fellowships for key developers to work full time on open source projects, security audits, computing and test infrastructure, travel, face-to-face meeting coordination and other support. The Steering Committee, comprised of members of the Initiative, and the Advisory Board of industry stakeholders and esteemed developers, is tasked with identifying underfunded open source projects that support critical infrastructure, and administering the funds through The Linux Foundation.

"All software development requires support and funding. Open source software is no exception and warrants a level of support on par with the dominant role it plays supporting todays global information infrastructure, said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation in a statement. CII implements the same collaborative approach that is used to build software to help fund the most critical projects. The aim of CII is to move from the reactive, crisis-driven responses to a measured, proactive way to identify and fund those projects that are in need. I am thrilled that we now have a forum to connect those in need with those with funds.

In addition, the CII's backers, which already include Google, IBM, Intel, Cisco, Microsoft, and VMware have now been joined by Adobe, Bloomberg, HP, Huawei, and salesforce.com. These companies represent the ongoing and overwhelming support for the open source software that provides the foundation for todays global infrastructure. Each CII member has pledged a minimum of $100,000 a year for a minimum of three years to support critical open source projects.

Looking ahead, the CII also announced its Advisory Board. This group will advise the CII Steering Committee about the open source projects most in need of support. Its membership, a who's who of open source programmers, security experts, and lawyers includes:

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Corporations put their cash where their open source security is

The Linux Foundation’s Core Infrastructure Initiative Announces New Backers, First Projects to Receive Support and …

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 05/29/14 -- The Core Infrastructure Initiative (CII), a project hosted by The Linux Foundation that enables technology companies, industry stakeholders and esteemed developers to collaboratively identify and fund open source projects that are in need of assistance, today announced five new backers, the first projects to receive funding from the Initiative and the Advisory Board members who will help identify critical infrastructure projects most in need of support.

CII provides funding for fellowships for key developers to work fulltime on open source projects, security audits, computing and test infrastructure, travel, face-to-face meeting coordination and other support. The Steering Committee, comprised of members of the Initiative, and the Advisory Board of industry stakeholders and esteemed developers, are tasked with identifying underfunded open source projects that support critical infrastructure, and administering the funds through The Linux Foundation.

The computing industry has increasingly come to rely upon shared source code to foster innovation. But as this shared code has become ever more critical to society and more complex to build and maintain, there are certain projects that have not received the level of support commensurate with their importance. CII changes funding requests from the reactive post-crisis asks of today to proactive reviews identifying the needs of the most important projects. By raising funds at a neutral organization like The Linux Foundation, the industry can effectively give these projects the support they need while ensuring that open source projects retain their independence and community-based dynamism.

"All software development requires support and funding. Open source software is no exception and warrants a level of support on par with the dominant role it plays supporting today's global information infrastructure," said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation. "CII implements the same collaborative approach that is used to build software to help fund the most critical projects. The aim of CII is to move from the reactive, crisis-driven responses to a measured, proactive way to identify and fund those projects that are in need. I am thrilled that we now have a forum to connect those in need with those with funds."

Additional Backers Represent Overwhelming Support for Open Source ProjectsAdditional founding members of CII include Adobe, Bloomberg, HP, Huawei and salesforce.com. These companies represent the ongoing and overwhelming support for the open source software that provides the foundation for today's global infrastructure. They join other members of CII who include Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Dell, Facebook, Fujitsu, Google, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, NetApp, Rackspace and VMware. Comments from some of the newest members are included below.

Range of Projects Prioritized for First Round of FundingUpon an initial review of critical open source software projects, the CII Steering Committee has prioritized Network Time Protocol, OpenSSH and OpenSSL for the first round of funding. OpenSSL will receive funds from CII for two, fulltime core developers. The OpenSSL project is accepting additional donations, which can be coordinated directly with the OpenSSL Foundation (contact at info@opensslfoundation.com).

The Open Crypto Audit Project (OCAP) will also receive funding in order to conduct a security audit of the OpenSSL code base. Other projects are under consideration and will be funded as assessments are completed and budget allows.

Esteemed Industry Experts Will Advise CII on Projects Most in NeedThe CII Advisory Board will inform the CII Steering Committee about the open source projects most in need of support. With highly esteemed experts from the developer, security and legal communities, the CII Advisory Board plays an important role in prioritizing projects and individuals who are building the software that runs our lives.

Alan Cox is a longtime Linux kernel developer and has been recognized by the Free Software Foundation for advancing free software.

Matthew Green is a Research Professor of Computer Science at the Johns Hopkins University and a co-founder of the Open Crypto Audit Project. His research focuses on computer security and cryptography, and particularly the way that cryptography can be used to promote individual privacy.

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Liferay Recognizes Aegif as a Platinum Partner in Japan

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Tokyo, Japan (PRWEB) May 29, 2014

Liferay, Inc., provider of the worlds leading enterprise-class, open source portal, announced today that Aegif has achieved Platinum Partner status. The company is a consulting firm based in Japan with a heavy focus on open-source consulting and strong reputation for pioneering Liferay in the Japanese market.

Since the beginning of Liferay Japan, Aegif has positively supported our business by leading us to mutual success," said Brian Endo, Liferay Japan's General Manager. "In the past two years, Aegif has steadily increased sales and trained many excellent engineers who qualified for Liferay authorization. They have met all the necessary conditions to become a Liferay Platinum Partner.

From 2009 to 2012, when Liferay Japan was first established, Aegif had been responsible for supporting all Liferay customers in Japan. Now, Aegif is engaged in product development including the localization of the Liferay product in Japanese, and is recognized as a high-value contributor with partnerships in approximately 140 countries.

We are proud to become the first Liferay platinum partner in Japan, said Terunao Nakura, Aegif's Liferay Technology Lead. We have seen the upward scale of supply and demand in Japan for global enterprise open source software. Liferay Portal's quality product coupled with a modularity that can be introduced at ease at the enterprise level is a requirement for our open source business."

Aegif has gained recognition from many satisfied customers as a consulting firm with abundant product knowledge and technical capabilities that include comprehensive customer services. In addition, as the only authorized training partner in Japan, Aegif has the unique opportunity to host Japanese trainings throughout the year.

"We would like to continue contributing to the growth of Liferay Portal in Japan by serving as the one-stop shop of adoption consulting, support, and training, said Nakura.

For more information about Liferay, visit http://www.liferay.com.

For more information about Aegif Corporation, visit http://www.aegif.jp.

About Liferay

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Liferay Recognizes Aegif as a Platinum Partner in Japan

Vivantech Announces General Availability of Ekualiti™: The First Complete Cloud Platform of Kuali Software Aimed at …

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San Diego, CA (PRWEB) May 28, 2014

Reducing time and resource requirements for Kuali implementations, Ekualiti Suite Offers Comprehensive, Cloud-based ERP Aimed at Higher Ed Institutions

Vivantech, a leader in consulting and development of enterprise grade, open-source software for higher education and a premier Kuali Commercial Affiliate, today announced the general availability of Ekualiti, the first cloud platform designed to host the entire suite of Kuali-based ERP software.

Until now, the high cost of commercial ERP software has been positioned beyond the reach of many small- and medium-size colleges and universities. Ekualiti is the first cost-effective alternative to proprietary ERP software that blends the economy of open source Kuali software with instantly-available functionality. Modules available now include Ekualiti KC for research and grant administration, and Ekualiti Rice for business process automation.

Designed specifically for the business process needs of higher educational institutions, Ekualiti addresses the need for an affordable, comprehensive ERP solution that is quick to deploy, highly scalable, and easy to use and navigate. Ekualiti gives customers the comfort of an open-source solution with an open data format and eliminates the licensing fees, annual maintenance fees, and restrictive vendor lock-in typical of proprietary software. These economical features address the need for many higher educational institutions to contain ERP costs as they face increasing budget constraints and demand for quality education at a good value.

Vivantech clearly understands the challenges that colleges and universities face as they automate their business processes, said Kent Brooks, Director of IT at Casper College in Casper, Wyoming. Small colleges like ours feel the pressure to reduce licensing costs. Kuali-based software in the cloud helped us overcome our resource limitations, plus it made deployment so much faster.

Brooks added that Vivantechs flexible, modular approach to cloud-based Kuali is ideal for schools like Casper College. We can add capabilities as we go, without having to deploy everything at once. Ekualiti Rice is helping us to reduce our paper-based workflows, and Ekualiti KC is helping us with grants management. We look forward to using other Ekualiti capabilities as we work to operate more efficiently and improve our services.

We have been implementing Ekualiti Rice and Ekualiti KC into our ERP system and six months into the process, were very happy to be working with Vivantech, said Dennis Stutes, CTO, Alliant International University. Vivantech has helped us in account provisioning so we can access third party systems. To provision those accounts for different applications is very complex and is a manually intensive endeavor. Vivantech has adapted to everything weve asked and found ways to match our requirements.

Many small and mid-size colleges and universities recognize the cost and control advantages of open-source software, but dont have the IT resources to make it work for their institutions, said Randy Ozden, Vivantech President and Chief Executive Officer. Vivantech has completed many Kuali implementations over the years. We came to understand that if we could deliver a user-friendly interface and rich functionality instantly, right from the cloud, we could make open source software much more approachable and feasible for a broad base of schools. By bringing Kuali to the cloud, were able to provide colleges and universities the business process automation they need at a much more affordable price.

Ozden added that even large universities will find Ekualitis UI, upgrade tools, flexibility, and scalability very attractive for their Kuali implementations as they consider migrating some business systems to the cloud over time.

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Autodesk Plans 3D Printers, More Open Source Software

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Autodesk is making a big commitment to 3D printing with three recent moves to put its software and services, and even some new hardware, at the center of that industry.

Autodesk CEO and President Carl Bass blogged on May 14 that later this year the company will launch an open-source software platform called Spark for driving 3D printers. He also announced the company will start selling its own 3D printer, whose design will be open-sourced as part of the launch.

Those announcements come on the heels of a partnership formed in April to integrate an application programming interface (API) of 3D Hubs, a rapidly-growing, Amsterdam-based global network of nearly 5,000 3D printers available online for public use, with Autodesk's 123D family of 3D printing-support apps. Users will be able to select a nearby printer online, upload files in .STL format and pick up the finished objects, usually within two days. The API is to be integrated into the entire Autodesk platform by end of year.

That the San Rafael, Calif.-based engineering software vendor would shift to hardware to support the 3D industry has raised the eyebrows of analysts and pundits, who noted that the launch could shake up the nascent 3D printing market. "The uncertainty associated with the hype shouldn't overshadow the opportunities that 3D printing creates," noted Michael Shanler, a director with consultant Gartner Research.

In his In the Fold blog, Bass wrote, "Spark will be open and freely licensable to hardware manufacturers and others. Same for our 3D printerthe design will be made publicly available to allow for further development and experimentation. The printer will be able to use a broad range of materials, made by us and by others, and we look forward to lots of exploration."

Autodesk's moves come at a time when use of 3D printing is growing in design and construction, and although the thrust seems aimed at consumers, the potential to address construction needs is clear.

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Autodesk Plans 3D Printers, More Open Source Software