At its core, open source is about collaboration. Whether it’s version control, licenses, or issue trackers—everything exists to support people working with each other. Open source embodies a model for people to work together, building something greater than they can create on their own. Open source projects on GitHub come in all shapes and sizes,… Read More »
Openness is a set of values by which you live. It is not a prefix for a sector – open access, open source, open data, open government. Nor is it a license. Openness is not contingent on what license you use. Rather open is a personal position and it transcends both sectors and licenses. Living… Read More »
Ubuntu is very software rich. That is, there’re a lot of applications that can easily be installed from the “official” Ubuntu Software Centre. But there are some applications that can only be obtained by adding a PPA to your Linux system. Then the question that should lurk in the minds of a user considering… Read More »
In a previous post I introduced the concept of a personal package archives (PPAs) and how you’d create one if you are capable of developing software for Ubuntu. In this post we would be talking about how to add PPA configuration to your system and install software from them. If you know the web address… Read More »
Before we go into the topic (PPA) of the post, I would like to enumerate the different sources for applications for a Ubuntu system organized into four separate areas or “components”, based on the level of support offered by Ubuntu and whether or not the program in question complies with Ubuntu’s Free Software Philosophy. The… Read More »
It is being argued around some quarters that free software takes away the motivation for people to develop software, because they will not be able to make a living from it. The error in this system of reasoning is that it is thought that money or profit is the main (or only) motivation for developing… Read More »
Open source offers more realistic opportunities for developing countries as regards developing a universally competitive and viable tech/software industry than it’s opposite (i.e. proprietary software). In this post I would highlight five reasons why. #1. Homemade modifications Open source software offer less developed countries the “freedom to adapt it to their local setting depending on… Read More »
[featured-content-slider] Linux is loved by millions of users all over the world, because it is secure, fast, customizable and most importantly ‘free’ (as in freedom). Distrobution is a pilot project of FossNaija to help in put Linux in the hands of many Nigerians as possible. This is in line with the principles of Free and… Read More »
Close to half of all computer users around the world tend to get their software illegally, and business decision-makers are no exception. That’s one finding from a recent survey commissioned by the Business Software piracy Alliance (BSA) lobby group, which reported the results in a blog post last week. “An especially troubling finding in the… Read More »
Open data simply means information (data) that is readily available and accessible at any point in time by the general public with no ( or little) restriction. When this idea is extended to government it is about taken the vast majority of government datasets and information which doesn’t have privacy or security issues, and putting… Read More »
