Stand Up For ODF In The UK

Showing that no issue is actually sorted until the end of the process is reached, Microsoft is trying to get its partner network to speak up for OOXML as a document format for government interaction. In a posting to ComputerWorldUK, Simon explains that this would defeat the objective explained by Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude, who said

“The software we use in government is still supplied by just a few large companies. A tiny oligopoly dominates the marketplace. I want to see a greater range of software used, so civil servants have access to the information they need and can get their work done without having to buy a particular brand of software.”

So ODF Advocates once again need to speak up for openness and diversity – there are links in the article.

Making the most with Open Source

What opportunities does Open Source provide if you’re really looking to go big? Aiming to become “the next Red Hat” is an idea flawed from the start, as former XenSource CEO Peter Levine explains in his recent TechCrunch article. So what’s left if business models focussing on selling support and services all have a relatively low limit to their growth?

Those who are making the most money out of Open Source today are in fact not those who try to monetize a specific Open Source project, but those who innovate and build businesses that sit on top of a backbone of Open Source projects. Twitter, Square, Google and Facebook could all be given as examples of this sort of innovation. Importantly, the Open Source communities these companies engage with are likely to stay active and healthy as other community members also execute on their business model, gaining benefit from the project as well as making their own contributions (if they are smart).

For more, take a look at Simon’s InfoWorld article.

Does Nominet Hate Charities?

Simon’s blog post about the bias the UK’s domain authority is showing against charities obviously struck a nerve with them as they responded to him. Sadly, the response was not a reply; rather, it sought to focus on issues away from the main point while using logical fallacies to attempt to discredit his complaint. Since there was no reply, Simon has posted a more focussed restatement of the issue and is now awaiting a reasoned reply (rather than the further logical fallacies a domain salesman has posted so far).

EU and Copyright – Unfortunate update

Alexandra starts seriously wondering if the EU institutions are not making fun of European citizen. If not, a lack of competence must be denounced. Read more.

EU and the Review of Copyright Rules

Good news : the deadline for the Consultation on EU Copyright Rules has been extended to March 5th. With a bit of efforts, you might complete your responses to the eighty questions, and cross fingers that your voice will be heard… Unless this is just a distraction to keep civil society busy while the real legislative process is happening ? Alexandra expresses her doubts in ComputerWorldUK.

UK Domain Mismanagement

Alerted by a Twitter conversation, Simon checked Nominet’s rules concerning the new .UK domain and found they have a distressing bias against UK charities. It’s bad enough that UK web sites have to waste money on more domain names to protect their brand; these rules actually prevent charities from doing so. Read his article for more.

Net Neutrality – Act, Don’t Mourn

Alexandra posted to ComputerWorldUK last Friday with news of the worsening situation with net neutrality. It’s not just the push-back to the FCC that’s concerning; there are also real challenges posed as vendors corrode the principle. Read her posting to learn more and see what she suggests instead.

Understanding Google’s Sale Of Motorola

In InfoWorld today, Simon challenges the assertion some are making that Google’s sale of Motorola after such a short time is a sign of failure. Noting all the gains Google has made, both financial and strategic, he suggests actually the deal is both profitable and clever. Certainly it’s a deal for its time, focussing mainly on triaging the negative consequences of a patent system designed for an industrial age being misapplied to the meshed society.  Read all about it.

Meet At FOSDEM?

The coming weekend marks the return of the Free and Open Source Developers’ European Meeting — FOSDEM. Held annually in Brussels, it’s one of the world’s largest gatherings of open source developers and a crucial venue for many projects to get together and discuss their next year over a few beers.

Simon will be attending for us. If you would like to meet him, you’ll need to tell us as his diary is packed and the event is huge. Please use our contact form.

See you there!

Setting Up Our Voice-Over-IP Phone System

As I mentioned recently on Google+, I’ve recently installed a telephone system for Meshed Insights using a Raspberry Pi. Here’s a description of the system I’ve put together.

Raspberry PI PBX

The brains live in a model B Raspberry Pi. I installed the GNU/Linux distribution Raspbian using the easy NOOBS on an SD card, then installed RasPBX — FreePBX and Asterisk — using the Pi Store via the desktop as that was easiest. I enabled sshd so I can log in from the office (using a private key so it’s less hackable), set the unit to have a fixed IP on our internal network and then disconnected the keyboard, mouse and screen. The system now runs headless in our server room. Continue reading →