Category Archives: Open Source Software

Open Source Alternatives For Windows XP

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As the sun sets on Microsofts support for Windows XP this may be a great time to think about trying out a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) operating system for your still-working PC.

Picture: MBK

This is especially the case when older hardware cannot run newer versions of Windows (such as 7, 8 or 8.1). Your only other option then is to either dispose of the old XP machine or it keep running and face potential security threats.

But many software developers, both hobbyists and professionals alike, have contributed to a growing body of FOSS programs that now numbers in the tens of thousands. These software programs are licensed for anyone to freely download and use.

To simplify the downloading and installing, collections of these many software components, called distributions, are available ready for users to download and start using straight away.

Many of these distributions are based on the Linux kernel, which is highly regarded due to its robustness, performance, security, broad support and low cost.

Linux has become the dominant operating system for internet sites, powering Google, Facebook, YouTube and many others. It is also the dominant operating system powering Android phones and tablets, televisions, home routers and many other devices.

Over the years, Linux-based distributions have become more and more popular and any machine capable of running Windows XP is a good candidate for running a Linux distribution such as:

Thats just to name a few there are many more available.

These package together a suite of standard programs which enable you to do the types of things you would do in Windows XP, such as search the web, send and receive emails, edit and print documents.

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Open Source Alternatives For Windows XP

HMRC uses Hadoop to tackle corporate tax avoidance

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HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is driving the use of open source technology with a Hadoop NoSQL big data engine to analyse corporate tax.

Government austerity measures have driven HRMC costs down by 20% over the last four years. The organisation is committed to reduce costs by another 22% over the next four years.

Addressing delegates at the Open Source Open Standards 2014 conference in London, Mark Dearnley chief digital officer of the HMRC, said open source software was a great way to change the dynamics of how software is developed.

According to Dearnley, analytics offered among the biggest opportunities for the use of open source software at the HMRC. He said: "Analytics is the first area where open source software has led the thinking."

Working with its system integrators, HMRC has developed a macro enterprise data hub, built on Hadoop. Dearnley said: Open source software is more cost-effective. It drives the commoditisation of infrastructure and use of software and drives a different delivery model, which is massively more cost-effective.

Corporation tax compliance is another example of Hadoop at HMRC. In the UK, companies need to submit tax returns electronically in the iXBRL format specified by HMRC.

Dearnley said it took two and a half months to develop a complete Hadoop stack and load in all the corporation data, allowing tax officers to start analysing company tax returns. He said the users were impressed by how fast IT delivered and the speed with which they could get value.

While using Hadoop for analytics has proved the value of open source software at HMRC, he said his ambition was to create a level playing field for open source software: "At the moment the pendulum is a bit too far, the other way."

HMRC runs 5,000 servers but only 3% run Linux. A quarter of its systems are virtualised, mainly on VMware, and it runs 3% of its system in the cloud, he said implying a substantial opportunity to deploy open source technologies in HMRC's infrastructure. Of the 500 enterprise applications at HMRC, Dearnley said 95% were based on proprietary platforms.

He admitted the penetration of open source software at HMRC was low: "We have some way to go. Our future will be a combination of private and public cloud, commodity compute, some of our databases are rather large and don't run in virtualised environments, so we will optimise our database cloud."

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HMRC uses Hadoop to tackle corporate tax avoidance

It Takes a Village To Raise a Child – One That is Interoperable | Collaboration Summit 2014 – Video

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It Takes a Village To Raise a Child - One That is Interoperable | Collaboration Summit 2014
In this keynote address, AllSeen Alliance Chairman Liat Ben-Zur, will discuss how collaboration and open source software accelerates technology innovation an...

By: TheLinuxFoundation

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It Takes a Village To Raise a Child - One That is Interoperable | Collaboration Summit 2014 - Video

Free and open source software [European Internet Governance and Beyond] – Video

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Free and open source software [European Internet Governance and Beyond]
Stefano Zacchiroli (Debian), Simon Phipps (Open Source Initiative), Matthias Kirschner (Free Software Foundation Europe). Moderator: Radek Pietro. Panel session at "European Internet Governance...

By: Piratpartiet Youtube

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Free and open source software [European Internet Governance and Beyond] - Video

Range Networks Unveils Enhanced OpenBTS Platform

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Software Allows Deployment of Mobile Networks by Open Source Cellular Developers

SAN FRANCISCO Range Networks, the leading provider of commercial open source cellular systems and leader of the OpenBTS software project, today announced the release of OpenBTS 4.0. The software is now shipping in Range Networks laboratory development kits and commercial base stations and is also available to the OpenBTS community as a free download.

The latest generation of OpenBTS offers significant improvements in processing capacity and system management features, including multi-node network scaling enhancements to Range Networks' commercial systems. These enhancements further the migration of radio access network (RAN) infrastructure to low cost, standard hardware using open source software.

OpenBTS 4.0 Key Facts:

-- Expanded capacity: Concurrent registration processing capacity has been increased by 14x, providing improved SIP authentication and service for over 1000 subscribers on a single node. -- Frequency scanning and system management API: Includes a built-in channel-scanning tool for transmission frequency selection whendeploying systems. Also included is a newly implemented JSON API that allows mobile network operators to easily configure and manage the software remotely. This is done through a browser-based administrative console and provides third parties with an effective way to develop tools and interfaces for OpenBTS and other components. -- Seamless handover and enhanced encryption: A completely new Layer 3 architecture has significantly improved network scalability, including improved handover for multi-node networks. The software now supports the A5/1 and A5/3 GSM link encryption algorithms for enhanced security. -- 4.0 field-tested by small carrier in French overseas territory: Following several weeks of field trials, OpenBTS 4.0 is the foundation of a new, multi-node, low-cost commercial network being implemented by French carrier GlobalTel that will cover the island and city of St. Pierre (pop. 7000) of the French territory St. Pierre & Miquelon, located off the coast of Newfoundland. -- Platform for open source innovation: With its improved performance, Range Networks expects to see an increase in new and interesting applications, services and OEM integration based upon the OpenBTS 4.0 platform. -- Enhanced open source program: Range Networks is also announcing the assignment of a senior engineer, Michael Iedema, as a technical resource dedicated to inciting innovation in the OpenBTS open source community.

SUPPORTING QUOTES:

Christophe Boutin, CEO of GlobalTel, said: "Range Networks' OpenBTS 4.0 and base stations have been fundamental in helping us build a cost-effective carrier network in the remote territory of St. Pierre & Miquelon. We have been testing the network thoroughly for weeks as we prepare to launch this service and are impressed by the improvements in overall stability and performance in this new release."

Edward Kozel, CEO of Range Networks, said: "This launch represents a significant milestone in Range Networks' product development. In addition to the new features, OpenBTS continues to provide stability, reliability and scalability. We see this as a major leap forward in terms of what OpenBTS can do for expanding the reach of non-traditional mobile networks."

About Range Networks Range Networks is developing the future of cellular networks. Founded by the inventors of OpenBTS, the company is the leader in commercial open source cellular systems. Range Networks' systems are simple to deploy and manage at a fraction of the cost of traditional solutions. Based on OpenBTS, Range Networks delivers mobile connectivity for rural communities, remote industries and emergency responders, and supplies development networks to commercial labs and universities. Additional information is available at: http://www.rangenetworks.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: Kim Dearborn Nadel Phelan, Inc. +1-831-440-2407 kim.dearborn@nadelphelan.com

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Range Networks Unveils Enhanced OpenBTS Platform

Would You Like Your Open Source All the Way?

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Open source is no stranger to the enterprise, but most businesses compartmentalize -- open source for this, proprietary software for that. Is some of each the best of both worlds, or could businesses benefit by taking the 100 percent open source plunge? IDC's Michael Fauscette and Red Hat's Tim Yeaton kick around some of the issues surrounding full open source adoption in the enterprise.

The enterprise software industry today can be compared to the menus offered at fast-food eateries. Some offer their star item only one way. Others let you have it your way.

Tim Yeaton, SVP of the Infrastructure Group at Red Hat

How much choice you have often determines where you do your eating. The same option -- or lack of it -- is the driving principal behind attracting and keeping enterprise customers paying for open source product support.

Even when businesses funded their own code solutions, the freedom to build it your way or buy it somebody else's way was a critical choice. Now those times are changing.

Blended Family

Open source software once was compiled in purity to offer program users a choice other than proprietary products. Today's rush to a changing market may be pushing software developers to capitalize on using open source as prefabricated code -- in small or large chunks. A growing trend shows software developers incorporating free code into programs marketed as proprietary packages.

So, is open source gaining as a business model in its own right or morphing into proprietary products? There are some signs that enterprise IT is gearing up for more adoption of open source technology. However, there also are indications of a growing complacency with mixing the two. Many businesses settle for sharing the computing load by running certain tasks with open source packages and using proprietary products for other computing processes.

Michael Fauscette, GVP of Software Business Solutions at IDC

Can companies venture beyond a divided list of tasks handled by both closed and open source deployments to commit 100 percent to open source? Tim Yeaton, the senior vice president of the infrastructure group at Red Hat, suggests that the movement to convert from proprietary software is already well established in business. Enterprise is involved in a massive change of perspective in applying more than just coding to corporate computing solutions.

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Would You Like Your Open Source All the Way?