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Page created on February 22, 2022 | Last modified on February 22, 2022

  • 2009 OSI Board Elections held in April

    The OSI board’s annual nominations and elections were held on April 1, 2009. Highlights of this process included: 1. New Board Membership: The board seat vacated by Mr. Bruno Souza was filled by Mr. Andrew Oliver, who has been a board observer for the last year. 2. Amendment to OSI’s By-laws:

  • Open Database License

    If you think open data is as important as open source, then please take a look at a release candidate of the Open Database License (ODbL). It uses a combination of EU database rights, contract, and copyright to create a reciprocal license specifically designed for databases.

  • An Open Source Silo

    Okay, so Doc Searls has been blogging for a long time about how you don’t want to get involved in a silo (context: a silo is a proprietary user interface built on top of proprietary APIs built on top of a proprietary operating system running on proprietary hardware. If you can’t think of any examples,…

  • Wanted: Future trainers on “Free & Open Source Business Models for Africa” in East and Southern Africa!

    – Are you interested in building a successful business in Free/Open Source Software (FOSS), and in helping others to do the same? – Do you have a solid background in business and FOSS? – Do you have experience in training others, and/or are you part of a training institution? Then respond by MAY 30 to…

  • West Africa to invest in FOSS Study

    FOSSFA and OSIWA, in their Free and Open Source Software for West Africa and Beyond (FOSSWAY) project are set to invest in FOSS research in West Africa. In the recently published Call for Tender both organisations are awarding a research contract up to the tune of 65 000 US dollars for a Study to be…

  • OSI signs an MOU with the Korea Software Copyright Committee

    I visited Seoul last week to represent OSI at an open source conference and to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Korea Software Copyright Committee (SOCOP). SOCOP organized a conference with the title “Free Open Source Software License Insight Conference”, and the international speakers included Brett Smith of the FSF, Brendan Scott of…

  • When you’re in Open Source your error longevity is nearly eternal

    When you have a startup you ego-surf a lot. It isn’t for the normal reasons people ego surf (indeed there is something inside of me left over from my punk adolescence that dies a little every time I do this). It is for the reasons that PR firms ego search. To informally report how effective…

  • Do Patents Encourage or Hinder Innovation? The Case of the Steam Engine

    The Freeman, in December of last year, published an excellent study of a natural experiment in patents: the Steam Engine. The power of a steam engine is rated in “duty”: the amount of weight it can lift. During the 42 years from 1772 to 1813 duty rose 3.8 percent per year; during the 38 years…

  • Not a coder? Want to contribute to open source?

    Are you not a coder? Or are your coding skills rusty, having moved on? No matter! You can still contribute to open source. Open source is only one part of a program. The other part is open data. I’m encouraging people to contribute to OpenStreetMap. We’re running OpenStreetMap mapping parties all over the world. All…

  • 275 Open Source Policy Initiatives (and growing)…

    The Center for Strategic and International Studies released their sixth update to their CSIS Open Source Policy Study last year, and given their track record we should expect to see a new report later this year. The report now cites 275 Open Source policy initiatives, with 70% now reaching “completed” status. What is become clear…

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