Open Source » Features »

  • The big promise of big data

    For Twitter, making sense of its mountains of user data was big enough of a problem that it purchased another company just to help get the job done.

    Written by Joab Jackson • 14 March 12 04:04
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    20 popular Ubuntu Linux apps you may want to try

    As Ubuntu Linux continues to grow in popularity, most discussions of it tend to focus on the basics of the operating system itself, including especially details about its desktop environment and user interface.

    Written by Katherine Noyes • 10 Feb. 12 07:01

  • PostgreSQL devs lift open source database to enterprise heights

    The release of the first beta of version 9.1 of the open source PostgreSQL database has opened a new era in enterprise-class reliability and data integrity that can compete with the big names, say its developers.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 06 May 11 15:20

  • For an old or slow PC, try Puppy Linux 5.2

    There's no doubt Canonical's popular Ubuntu Linux distribution gets the majority of attention in the Linux world these days, but there are myriad others equally worthy of consideration.

    Written by Katherine Noyes • 12 Jan. 11 08:58

  • 10 new open source projects to watch

    One of the most exciting things about open-source software is the sheer diversity of projects that are always under way. Aiming to recognize some of the most promising of those projects, Black Duck Software on Friday announced its 2010 open-source "Rookies of the Year" list.

    Written by Katherine Noyes • 11 Jan. 11 06:33

  • Five-year plan: 8 problems IT must solve

    There's a reason that so many businesses create five-year plans: If they're reasonable, they're achievable. Setting goals within that timeframe allows room for prioritization and opportunities to deal with the unexpected.

    Written by Paul Venezia • 27 Sept. 10 20:08

  • Open-source software's hidden snags

    When CIO Daniel Chan was first prompted to use open-source software, cost savings weren't top of mind.

    Written by Mary Brandel • 11 May 10 03:54

  • Horde open source groupware preps version 4 release

    The Horde open source messaging and groupware project is gearing up for the first major release of its application suite and development environment in years with version 4 due in mid-2010.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 06 April 10 11:44

  • Open source helps Facebook achieve massive app scalability

    People all over the world spend a total of eight billion minutes a day on Facebook. Some 3.5 billion pieces of content are shared every week, 400 billion Web pages are viewed every month and the site logs a staggering 25TB of data every day. David Recordon, senior open programs manager at Facebook, talks about how the social networking giant uses open source tools to achieve its massive app scalablilty.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 24 Feb. 10 09:40

  • Open-source hardware takes steps toward gadget mainstream

    Open-source software is one of the great success stories of the past few decades. The Apache HTTP Server is the world's most popular Web server, Linux has more than held its own against Unix and other proprietary operating systems, and Mozilla's Firefox browser has given Microsoft's Internet Explorer strong competition over the years.

    Written by Howard Wen • 04 March 10 07:06

  • Slideshow: KDE SC 4.4 screenshots

    KDE SC 4.4.0, Codenamed "Caikaku", has been released and has had many changes since the 4.3 release in August 2009. More than 7000 bugs fixed and 1433 new feature requests implemented, including a new interface for netbooks and touchscreen devices. We take a visual tour of KDE SC 4.4 and highlight the technologies well suited to consumers and IT departments.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 10 Feb. 10 11:04
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    5 open source office suites to watch

    The Microsoft Office productivity suite has risen to become the dominant application of its type for business IT management. But there are open source office productivity suites available that may provide a suitable alternative to Office, depending on your requirements.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 04 Feb. 10 13:01

  • Digital Gear: Android tablets charge ahead

    As users eagerly await tablets from companies like Apple and Microsoft, Fusion Garage jumped ahead with the demonstration of JooJoo, a handheld Internet and entertainment gadget with a 12.1-inch touch screen. Tablets are a new category of handheld devices with large screens for users to surf the Web and watch videos. JooJoo is due for release in a few months but could be held if a lawsuit is filed by TechCrunch, which originally partnered with Fusion Garage to develop the device under the name Crunchpad.

    Written by Agam Shah • 10 Dec. 09 06:24
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    5 open source VoIP softphones to watch

    The steady rise in people using IP telephony to communicate -- for personal and business reasons -- has led to the development of a number of different VoIP "softphones" that can be used on a PC or notebook.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 20 Nov. 09 14:16

  • Ubuntu 9.10 'Karmic Koala' is here: 5 things CIOs must know

    In case you’ve been too busy dealing with rogue iPhones, October 2009 was a big month for operating systems. Do CIOs care about operating systems? Probably not as much as they used to, but with Windows 7 and Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" (from here on abbreviated to simply "Karmic" for sanity purposes) being released within days of each other, CIOs at least have a reason to be excited about the future of the desktop. Here are five things about Karmic that senior IT executives should consider before disregarding Linux as an option for their desktop and server fleets.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 02 Nov. 09 12:59

  • 5 open source billing systems to watch

    Collecting money from customers should be the easy part of your business, but a contrary billing system can make life unnecessarily difficult for CIOs. In this edition of 5 open source products to watch, we take a look at billing systems. They’re open source, Web-based and can be extended and integrated to suit specific needs.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 03 Nov. 09 07:29

  • Five open source IP telephony projects to watch

    In addition to the well-known Asterisk, there is a vibrant community of open source software PBX systems that can be used for internal and service provider IP telephony. Here are five exciting open source VoIP and UC projects to keep an eye on.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 21 Oct. 09 10:53

  • ING Life India adopts open source to expand business

    In the insurance business, everyone's headed into the hinterland. But the cost of every new branch can bite deeply. Here's how going Open Source helped ING Life save US$1.7 million and funded its expansion plans.

    Written by Sneha Jha • 19 Oct. 09 10:41

  • QEMU virtualization reaches 0.11, brings 1400 changes

    Open source virtualization app QEMU has reached version 0.11 and brings some 1400 changes from 90 contributors.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 30 Sept. 09 14:06
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    Kings of open source monitoring

    Network monitoring is a fact of life for IT departments. Monitoring software ranges from simple ICMP-based scripts for up/down monitoring to midrange products like SolarWinds to high-end offerings such as HP's OpenView and IBM's Tivoli — all of which have their drawbacks.

    Written by High Mobley • 01 Oct. 09 16:11
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