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A new voice is rising from the great democracy of India, and that voice is proclaiming that the only responsible choice for public sector software is software that is first and foremost available to the public-to read and understand, to modify and improve, and to share and redistribute. The campaign Public Software for Public Sector…

When Eric Raymond posted the first of the Halloween Documents in 1998, it marked the end of the beginning for open source. That is to say those documents demonstrated that the logical superiority of the open source development model had penetrated the most headstrong corporate skull in the proprietary software universe: Microsoft. The fact that…

CNN reports Laptops bring lessons, maybe even peace. It’s good to see the One Laptop Per Child project back on track. To me, the most exciting thing about the One Laptop Per Child project is that it dared to challenge educational and capitalistic orthodoxy, offering an authentic platform for true experiential learning. The concept of…

Please lend your support to Carl Malamud’s effort to be appointed as the Government Printer, called YesWeScan. He has a history of breaking out closed (or difficult to get) government information. I’ve known him for over 17 years, and I trust that as the printer of government documents, he will make sure that these documents…

In December of 2008 it was discovered that Bernie Madoff may have perpetrated a scheme that defrauded investors of as much as $50B USD. With a fraud so large, the scandal cut across a wide range of social classes, from the financial aristocracy to the merely comfortable. One of the many questions asked was “how…

The latest news from Harrison Consoles (a company that pioneered the use of Linux in high-end audio applications) announces that Universal Studios has upgraded their massive theatrical mixing console with Harrison’s latest Linux automation system. The long and rather steep decline in real estate values and equities has been headline news for months. Less frequent,…

Hey all, I’m looking for speaking opportunities in the Northeast of the US, specifically near Boston, NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington DC, and Pittsburgh. Will talk about Open Source, Open Data, and OpenStreetMap. Thursday or Friday nights preferred. Tuesday nights not preferred. Also running mapping parties in Boston 2/14-15 and New York City 2/21-22. Follow the…

The Board of Directors of the OSI typically conducts two face to face meetings each year. Our first meeting in 2009 will take place this week, just before FOSDEM, one of the largest open source conference for developers. We want to use this opportunity to be more visible in Europe, and to meet open source…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) advocacy in Africa receives a big boost from the Open Society Institute for West Africa (OSIWA) ACCRA, GHANA – February 1, 2009

I am traveling again, and I am reading again. Today I am in Dubai, and on the way I read two great books: The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson and Remix by Larry Lessig. Just don’t ask me to choose which one I liked best! For the reader, I would recommend The Invention of…