In designing and researching new eGovernment services The push by the UK government to use more free and open source software for its eGovernment services is helping to get citizens more involved, says Bernard Tyers, a user experience researcher working for the UK’s Home Office. “Everyone can see how the design and research process works, … Read more
Last month, the European Commission officially launched the European Data Portal. The portal now hosts almost 400,000 datasets, almost twice as much as when the beta version was released last November. Here is an overview of the technical changes made since then: the Metadata Quality Assessment (MQA) has been enhanced and new graphs have been … Read more
European Research Council grants for code reviews The European Research Council (ERC) is funding several open source software research projects, including code audits, security testing and on cryptography. Each of four projects in Austria, France and Germany received just under EUR 2 million in so-called Consolidator Grants. One such grant was awarded to the code … Read more
Eric Schmidt is an influential figure, even among the parade of powerful characters with whom I have had to cross paths since I founded WikiLeaks. In mid-May 2011 I was under house arrest in rural Norfolk, about three hours’ drive northeast of London. The crackdown against our work was in full swing and every wasted … Read more
Traditionally, Brussels is the place to go for Free Software enthusiasts and developers at the end of January. During FOSDEM, hundreds of experts talk about their beloved project and discuss the past, present and future of Open Source. It is a great place for meeting like-minded people. At the afternoon before the start of the conference, the Free SoftwareFoundation … Read more
The government of Galicia (Spain) has made available conference videos, presentation slides and training material that focus on the use of free and open source software by Non-Governmental Organisations. The ethical and philosophical characteristics of this type of software fits well with NGOs, including collaboration and community-building, argues Amtega, the region’s agency for technological modernisation. … Read more
Linux is everywhere these days. It runs our phones, the web servers that underpin everything from Facebook to Google, even our cars. That means there’s a bigger demand for people who know how to work with the operating system than ever before, and those jobs often pay good money. The Linux Foundation is a non-profit … Read more
In an interview with the WSJ’s CIO blog, Lawrence Lessig proposes that the existence of cryptographic tools that allow for “zero-knowledge” data-querying, combined with the potential liability from leaks, will drive companies to retain less data on their customers. It’s a very lessigian analysis, grounded in the idea that social outcomes are driven by norms, … Read more
With a heavy heart Debian mourns the passing of Ian Murdock, stalwart proponent of Free Open Source Software, Father, Son, and the ‘ian’ in Debian. Ian started the Debian project in August of 1993, releasing the first versions of Debian later that same year. Debian would go on to become the world’s Universal Operating System, … Read more
The Europeana Space project is exploring different ways of reusing digital cultural heritage by running pilots in six thematic areas (TV, Photography, Dance, Games, Open and Hybrid Publishing and Museums). From 22-24 January 2016, the Open and Hybrid Publishing Pilot is organising the Hack the Book Festival in Athens, Greece, inviting designers, artists, publishers, programmers, authors, poets, … Read more
