Google Launches Open Source YouTube Channel

Google has launched an open source channel on YouTube. The aim is to collect and organize all the videos related to Google and open source projects in one location.

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LibreOffice - A Free Productivity Suite Makes Its Debut

LibreOffice a Free office suite makes its debut. LibreOffice is a fork of OpenOffice.org and is sponsored by Google and Novell. The office suite is essentially OpenOffice.org and even contains the very same icons and graphics of OpenOffice.org.
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Open Source Tools For Professional Photographers

Professional photographers through their pictures capture the true essence involving people, places, or things. They take pictures to sell products, entertain people, report the news, or bring back memories. All this involves lots of graphic work such as editing for invites, posters, magazine covers, touch ups etc.

Did you know there is a good collection of open source software available at a professional photographer's disposal ?

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How To Build An Open Source FreeNAS Server

Now a days, most people have more than one computer at home. If not, then there are a multitude of devices such as - laptop(s), WiFi enabled cell phones, network aware audio & video devices, and game consoles.

If that is true for you, then it is a fair guess that you will have your own private store of music, movies, and video games, not to speak of other valuable files which are scattered across any of the above mentioned devices you own.
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Abicollab.net - A free web based collaboration service

A collaboration service allows multiple people spread across the world to remotely get  together and edit a single document simultaneously. AbiCollab is one such service. What is interesting about AbiCollab is that it is based around the popular open source wordprocessor Abiword.
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Clipboard Managers in Linux

A clipboard manager is a computer program that adds additional functionality to basic clipboard usage. The main tasks of a clipboard manager are as follows :

1. To store data copied to the clipboard so that it can be pasted after closing the host application of the data copied.
2. To store and retrieve multiple clips from the clip history available – any number of times.

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Scribus - Free Desktop Publishing Software

Scribus is an open source Free DTP software in the same league as Adobe Pagemaker. Scribus is the ideal free page layout program for business, education, and small- and home-office professionals who want to create high-quality publications such as brochures and newsletters.

Some of the notable features of Scribus are as follows :
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Tornado - An open source web server, courtesy of Facebook

Facebook has released one of its core piece of infrastructure called Tornado under an open source license.

From the Facebook announcement:

Tornado is a relatively simple, non-blocking Web server framework written in Python, designed to handle thousands of simultaneous connections, making it ideal for real-time Web services.

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Apple Open Sources Snow Leopard's Grand Central Dispatch

Apple has again jumped on to the open source bandwagon by releasing the code for its Grand Central Dispatch technology.

Grand Central Dispatch takes full advantage by making all of Mac OS X multicore aware and optimizing it for allocating tasks across multiple cores and processors. Grand Central Dispatch also makes it much easier for developers to create programs that squeeze every last drop of power from multicore systems.
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Printer ready label layouts from command line

It is easy to create labels of different standard sizes from within OpenOffice.org. And OpenOffice.org is my choice for creating labels because I am used to working in it. However, there are a number of utilities in Linux which make creation of labels of different sizes a clinch.

More specifically, gLabels and LabelNation come to my mind. gLabels is a GUI application which provides tools to design your labels, where as LabelNation is a Python script which should be run from the command line.
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We will never kill Mono - Says Microsoft

Microsoft has applied the Microsoft Community Promise to it's C# initiative. What this means is - anyone can develop a C# compiler and use it to create applications in C#.

In layman terms,here is how the Microsoft Community Promise work -Read more »

An indepth look at OpenOffice.org Office Suite

OpenOffice.org is arguably the finest office suites available in the public domain. It is a direct competitor of Microsoft Office. It includes a Word processor (OpenOffice.org Writer), a Spreadsheet (OpenOffice.org Calc),a Presentation program (OpenOffice.org Impress), a Drawing program (OpenOffice.org Draw) and a Database (OpenOffice.org Base).
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Sun Microsystems merges with Oracle

Sun Microsystems gets acquired by Oracle. This is the hot news making rounds on the net. This is a news which could have wide ramifications for the Open Source crowd. Why? Because Sun Microsystems creates some of the most well received, robust open source software around. Just to put it in perspective, let me list some of them which come to my mind.Read more »

New features in OpenOffice.org 3.1

OpenOffice.org rocks! Big time. The OpenOffice.org office suite which comes bundled with Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex which I am running on my machine, is version 2.4 even though version 3.0 has been released for some time now. But supposedly big things are happening in the yet to be officially released OpenOffice.org 3.1.

Some of the visual enhancements being - Antialiasing of images making them smooth, improvements in charts, grammar checking and hyperlinks management, just to name a few. Will OpenOffice.org 3.1 be a Microsoft Office 2007 killer ? May be not. But it is closing the gap by leaps and bounds passing each (minor) version release. More over, it can be obtained by one and all at an unbeatable price - Free.

Learn more about the new features being introduced in OpenOffice.org 3.1 which is due to be officially released 63 days hence.

Free CD and Address Label Templates Galore

I have often found the need to create labels, such as for pasting my contact address in a legible manner on my belongings, and of course while burning a blank CD or DVD, in which case I use the CD labels. Thanks to open source and more specifically OpenOffice.org, it is possible to create any number of labels of standard sizes and shapes. To create labels in OpenOffice.org, do the following :

1. Open OpenOffice.org word processor.
2. Click File > New > Labels

... and choose from the plethora of options in the dialog box. Lastly, Click on the "New Document" button to create the set of labels.

But why go through all the hassle of designing your own when you have ready made templates of labels available as a free download ? That is right, WorldLabel.com a manufacturer of labels has been in the forefront in creating free templates of labels of various sizes and shapes conforming to industry standards.

They recently published an exhibition of CD labels and Address labels in Open Document Template (ODT) format. The labels were designed using the CC licenced color palletes from ColorLovers.com which makes them all the more desirable.

Fig: Address Label templates from WorldLabel.com

Fig: CD Label Templates from WorldLabel.com

The address labels are compatible with Avery 5160 size and the CD labels with Avery 5931 size.

How easy is it to use WorldLabel.com free label templates ?

It is as easy as choosing your favourite design from the wide selection of label templates. Once you have choosen the right design, download the respective ODT document and open it in OpenOffice.org to enter the personalized information you wish to include.

Incidentally, since the templates are released in the ODT format, these can be opened in other office suites such as KOffice, StarOffice, IBM Lotus Symphony, or any other office suite which supports the Open Document format, apart from OpenOffice.org. If by any chance you are using MSOffice (perhaps using Wine in Linux), then you will need to download the Sun ODF plugin for MSOffice to read Open Document files.

The templates released by WorldLabel.com can be extensively modified by changing the font size, font style and color. You can even add another textbox for entering more information. More importantly, they are free to use. If you are a designer and wish to convert your design into a free label template, then you can submit your graphics to worldlabel[AT]gmail[DOT]com.

Update [Jan 17, 2009]: Worldlabel recently launched a blog which covers all open source topics. On the blog, I came across Solveig Haugland's in-depth article which explains Mail Merge in OpenOffice.org from start to finish which is quite informative. Also check out their Ebook which is available as a free download.

BBC's take on the Open Source alternative

Of course you know what open source and Free software means. Or else you wouldn't be visiting this blog and reading its articles in the first place. But it is always nice to get the point of view of a main stream media. And if the media in question is the BBC, then it gets all the more sweeter.

I have been an avid fan of BBC's technology program called 'Click' formerly known as 'Click Online'. In the last episode, Spencer Kelly - the Click presenter shows how you can build a fully functional working machine for nothing. BBC has published an article by Kelly called "The open source alternative" which gives an insight into how open source software can enrich our computing lives for zilch. The article also has a short interview with Paul Allen who is the editor of Computer Active magazine.

Read the article at bbc.co.uk.

100 of the Best Open Source Applications

The following is a list of about 100 of the best open source applications, that actually help make Linux more usable for people. This list aims to show potential Linux users that there is really a pile of large, effective, productive and usable range of free, Open Source applications. This list tends to lean towards tools which are invaluable in web development related work.

Read the whole list of 100 open source applications. You will definitely find some very useful applications which you did not know existed.

Cisco is hiring for multiple Open Source positions

Cisco is a hardware giant which is the leading supplier of networking equipment & network management for the Internet. Products include routers, switches, hubs, ethernet and so on. I am sure many would be aware of Cisco certifications such as CCNA, CCNP and CCIE. Cisco is among the top 100 Fortune companies in the world. And it is hiring Open Source enthusiasts to fill its technical positions. Read on to know whether you fit the job profile.

Jobs are based in San Jose, California Research Triangle Park, North Carolina Richardson, Texas.

Cisco is looking for the following skill sets :

• Software developers familiar with Linux or similar UNIX programming environments
• Developers who have contributed to the Open Source community
• Quality engineers
• Flexibility with programming tools including Eclipse IDE, C/C++, Java, Python, Perl, Bash, etc.
• Interest or experience with Agile methodologies
• User Interface/GUI development
• Tools development
• Software Managers for development and quality teams

Job positions
Performance Software Engineers (R819660, R819661)

Cisco seeks an Open Source Performance Software Engineer to define, design and build software for the Cisco products that generate significant revenue. He/she will also be expected to contribute to the implementation of any recommended performance optimizations.

Skills Required: 3-5 years experience in the S/W industry and an Engineering degree or equivalent.

Experience with Linux, Unix (and its variants) or other multi-threaded multi-processor Operating Systems is preferred. Development experience with multiple development languages including “C”, “C++”, “Java” and/or scripting languages is preferred.

Familiarity with performance measurement tools, analysis of performance related data and with the implementation of performance optimizations in multi-threaded multi-processor Operating Systems is desirable. In particular, this software engineer should be familiar with industry standard Open Source software architectures and implementations including Unix, Linux and a broad spectrum of Open Source components.

Knowledge of existing industry tools for the acquisition and analysis of performance data is desirable. Also, familiarity with existing Open Source tools and frameworks for understanding the performance of the system would be preferred.

Software Manager (R819707, R819716)

Cisco seeks an Open Source Manager of Software Development to lead the Open Source development engineering group in the design, development and engineering of our software platform. This manager will build, lead and motivate a high-performance engineering development team responsible for designing and bringing new software to market.

Skills Required: Experience with Linux, Unix (and its variants) or other multi-threaded multi-processor Operating Systems is essential. Requires BSCS/EE or equivalent and 8+ years of software development experience with 2+ years in a first level management role. Strong communication and team-building skills required.

The candidate should be able to understand and participate in high level design discussions for the purpose of providing feedback on the potential performance or testability implications of a proposed design. He/she must also be able to review existing designs and suggest alternate approaches that may result in improved system performance or testability.

He/she must also demonstrate effective communication skills as the role demands interaction with numerous other groups.

In particular, the Open Source, Manager of Software Development will be required to have significant experience with industry standard Open Source software architectures and implementations including Unix, Linux and a broad spectrum of Open Source components. Knowledge of existing industry open source tools (particularly performance analysis or test engineering, but general software development tools as well) would propel a candidate above others.

Technical Leader/Performance (R819655)

Cisco seeks an Open Source Performance Technical Leader to lead engineering groups in the design, development and engineering of software products.

Skills Required: A successful candidate will have at least 10 years experience in the S/W industry and have an Engineering degree or equivalent. Experience with Linux, Unix (and its variants) or other multi-threaded multi-processor Operating Systems is essential. Experience with performance measurement tools, analysis of performance related data and with the implementation of performance optimizations in multi-threaded multi-processor Operating Systems is expected.

In particular, this technical leader will be required to have significant experience with industry standard Open Source software architectures and implementations including Unix, Linux and a broad spectrum of Open Source components. Knowledge of existing industry tools for the acquisition and analysis of performance data is needed. Also, this technical leader should be familiar with existing Open Source tools and frameworks for understanding the performance of the system.

The candidate should be able to understand and participate in high level design discussions for the purpose of providing feedback on the potential performance implications of a proposed design. He/she must also be able to review existing designs and suggest alternate approaches that may result in improved system performance.

He/she must also demonstrate effective communication skills as the role demands interaction with other design groups who will need to both understand the performance of the existing and communicate to the design team possible changes to improve system performance.

This technical leader will also be expected to work with the many cross-functional organizations who be depending upon the team for delivery of high performance Open Software components. He/she will be expected to work with various product teams to both help them to analyze their platform specific performance and to suggest possible improvements.

Open Source Test Engineer (R821917, R821937)

Cisco seeks an Open Source Software Test Engineer to define, design and build test tools and test programs. You will champion new methodologies and create scalable software solutions that interact with widely deployed Internet products, thereby touching an endless number of users worldwide.

Skills Required:
A successful candidate will have at least 3-5 years experience in the S/W industry and have an Engineering degree or equivalent.

• Experience with testing on Linux, Unix (or equivalents)
• Basic understanding of networking technology.
• Devtest experience should include developing test plans, execution of test plans and automation.
• Experience with white-box and system-level testing.
• Familiar with basic test processes - test result reporting, defect filing & diagnosis, verifying fixes.
• Experience with Management Interface testing including CLI, SNMP and XML-based interfaces.
• Experience with Software Test Development using scripting languages like Tcl/Expect, Python, C, C++, Java and XML.
• Experience with tools (Eclipse).
• Effective communication skills and should be able to work closely with development and other test teams.
• Have an innovative approach and passion for Quality
• Team player and can work with minimum supervision
  

Additional Skills Preferred:

• Experience with using and or developing different testing tools - test generation, code coverage, web interface for test reporting and execution
• Experience with kernel level testing
• Experience with testing embedded system software
• Familiar with the agile development process
  

In particular, this software engineer should be familiar with industry standard Open Source software architectures and implementations including Unix, Linux and a broad spectrum of Open Source components. Knowledge of existing industry tools for test development is desirable. Also, familiarity with existing Open Source tools and frameworks would be preferred.

He/she will also be expected to contribute to the implementation of any recommended test optimizations.

Program Manager (R821943, R821944)

Cisco seeks a software program manager to help the Open Source development engineering group in the design, development and engineering of software products. Working collaboratively with cross-functional stakeholders, the program manager helps align teams and business priorities to establish project and program schedules and plans. The ideal candidate brings a track record of success in a similar role, strong interpersonal skills, a can-do attitude, and significant experience working with multiple programs and stakeholders at once.

Experience with Linux, Unix (and its variants) or other multi-threaded multi-processor Operating Systems is essential.

Requires BSCS/EE or equivalent and 8+ years of software development experience with 2+ years in a program management role. Strong communication and team-building skills required.

The candidate should be able to understand and participate in high level design discussions for the purpose of ensuring a common understanding of expectations and deliverables. He/she must also demonstrate effective communication skills as the role demands interaction with other business units with different organizational imperatives.

Skills required :

Candidate will also need to coordinate cross- functional development programs and provide development leadership for current and future products. The successful candidate will

• Be able to work with a wide range of professionals and distributed teams
• Knowledge of and training in product lifecycle processes
• Exceptional facilitation, interpersonal, and written and oral communication skills
• Integrate efforts of all relevant stakeholders
• Provide effective risk assessment and management
• Define critical path risks, complex scheduling and release planning
• Develop proactive and reactive measures to mitigate risks
• Develop and maintain realistic project schedules
• Track and report relevant metrics
• Assess and integrate requirements
• Ensure project process and guidelines are followed or managed appropriately
  

Required Knowledge:

• Delivery of shipping software products.
• Direct software development experience.
• Experience with open source operating systems.
• Negotiation and persuasion skills.
• Motivated high energy contributor.
  

Working knowledge of Cisco hardware and software components (IOS, OS'es, drivers, utilities) is a plus, but not required.

How to apply
If you meet the necessary requirements for the job position, visit the Cisco website and apply online. Or you can also contact Cisco recruiter Brent Rogers [Email id : breroger [at] cisco [dot] com ] directly.

Portable Apps - Carry all your favorite Open Source applications where ever you go

Recently while visiting a friends house, I ran into a situation where I had to use his computer. His computer is a rather old one which he has seldom maintained properly. He still has Windows 98 loaded on it. The very same Windows OS which came pre-installed on his computer when he bought it a couple of years back. And most applications including the web browser (IE) have not been updated. In fact the web browser he has on it is IE 4.0. And as you will know, IE 4.0 does not have good CSS support and so render most websites poorly. And on top of all that, he is so tech phobic that he was not inclined to allow any other software on his machine.

That was when I felt the need for a solution where in I could use a standalone version of my favorite applications. And after some googling, I came across this unique website called portableapps.com which has a collection of many Open Source and GPLed software which I use on a daily basis.

The idea is that you can use these applications without installing on the hard disk. For instance, faced with a situation such as mine, you can easily carry all the applications on a USB stick and then just plug in the USB stick and click on the necessary application to start using it. It is as simple as that.

The website provides the portable applications bundled as a suite in two different formats which is :

• Standard format 89.5 MB and
• Lite format 30.4 MB size
  

At present, there are over 50 different open source applications including the latest version of Firefox (2.0). And all the applications are guaranteed to work in Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Vista and Wine. Some applications are also known to work in Windows 95 too.

Advantages of using portable apps
You can carry the following things with you on a USB stick ...

• Your web browser with all your favorite bookmarks
• Your calendar with all your appointments
• Email client with all your contacts and settings
• Instant messenger and your buddy list
• The whole office suite (OpenOffice.org) along with your documents and presentations
• An anti-virus program and other computer utilities
• All your important passwords and account information securely.
  

You can also put portable apps to use in diverse ways such as ...

• Have your favorite websites handy to recommend to a friend or colleague
• Have your presentation AND the required software ready to go for that big meeting
• Have your password with you if you want to bank online while traveling
• Have utilities handy when visiting family or friends that are having PC problems
  

If you are always on the move and are forced to use computers not your own, then this handy suite of open source applications will be a real convenience to you especially if you are wedded to using open source applications to get your job done.

How to create a custom DVD from multiple video formats

I have always found it a hassle to convert a video file from one format to another in Linux for lack of (or rather, not being aware of) a good Free video conversion suite. I have tried converting an Avi file to another format such as mp4 using some software but the results were far from satisfactory. I take it that it has more to do with the settings I selected than the fault of the software I used.

Axel has written a quite detailed article explaining how to create a custom DVD using a Free video conversion software called DeVeDe. What is really interesting about his article is that he shows the exact settings he used in the conversion - a big factor if you want your converted video file to have more or less the same quality. In fact my experience shows that you need to get the ratio of number of frames per second with respect to resolution of the video right else the quality of the video might suffer.

Fig: DeVeDe software interface

He has used the Windows version of DeVeDe but this is a software which is available for Linux as well. For example, in Ubuntu, you can install this software using the command :

$ sudo apt-get install devede

You need to have Mplayer, Mencoder, DVDAuthor, VCDImager, MKisofs and all the proprietary codecs installed though since DeVeDe is just a front-end. More over since DeVeDe is a Python script, it requires Python as well. For more details on the actual steps required to convert a video file from one format to another, do read the guide.