home posts – Page 28 – GFOSS – Open Technologies Alliance

It’s hard to believe today, but 10 years ago #Wikipedia was widely considered a doomed experiment run by utopian radicals.

3 November 2015 by Ellak-Editor

Today, Wikipedia is widely considered an invaluable resource. There are occasional errors and controversies, but for the most part it provides accurate, comprehensive information to billions of people every day. Wikipedia was founded in 2001, and for the first few years was mostly treated as curiosity by those outside of the Wikipedia “movement.” But Wikipedia … Read more

Speaker interviews prior to this year’s All Things Open conference

3 November 2015 by Ellak-Editor

This is a collection of speaker interviews prior to this year’s All Things Open conference on October 19 and 20, 2015. All Things Open is a conference exploring open source, open tech, and the open web in the enterprise. Reports IoT and open source contributions keynote at All Things Open 2015 — Nicole Engard reports from keynotes on passion in … Read more

Governments are more likely to be effective and credible if they are open to public consultation and oversight

2 November 2015 by Ellak-Editor

The Open Government Partnership (OGP), a unique coalition of governments and civil society organizations (CSOs) dedicated to making governments more open, accountable and responsive to citizens, is hosting its Global Summit in Mexico City this week. The OGP recognizes that governments are more likely to be effective and credible if they are open to public consultation … Read more

Myanmar’s “Big State Secret”, The biggest natural resources heist in modern history?

2 November 20153 November 2015 by Ellak-Editor

This 12-month investigation reveals an industry far bigger than previously thought, worth up to US$31 billion in 2014 alone. That is equivalent to nearly half the GDP for the whole of Myanmar, but hardly any of the money is reaching ordinary people or state coffers. Instead, the sector is secretly controlled by networks of military … Read more

The hidden digital divide

2 November 20152 November 2015 by Ellak-Editor

The unstoppable global spread of the internet is encouraging, but wider access alone won’t close the data gap. Tracking the path of the digital divide is no mean feat. Twenty years after it was first used, the term still means different things to different people. For some, it’s a simple yes-no answer to the question … Read more

10 #Linux #GUI #tools for #sysadmins

2 November 2015 by Ellak-Editor

Has administering Linux via the command line confounded you? Here are 10 GUI tools that might make your life as a Linux administrator much easier. Image: Jack Wallen If you’re a system administrator, it’s reached a point where Linux has become a must-know. This is especially true when you’re working in a larger environment. Many … Read more

U.S. Department of Education Launches Campaign to Encourage Schools to #GoOpen with Educational Resources

1 November 20153 November 2015 by Ellak-Editor

The U.S. Department of Education announced today the launch of #GoOpen, a campaign to encourage states, school districts and educators to use openly licensed educational materials. As part of the campaign, the Department is proposing a new regulation that would require all copyrightable intellectual property created with Department grant funds to have an open license. … Read more

Open Data Charter

28 October 2015 by Ellak-Editor

Institutions seeking to adopt the Open Data Charter should release a high-level public statement (issued by the Head of State, Minister, Secretary, Deputy Secretary, or other appropriate official) that articulates the adoption of the Open Data Charter and defines the following four key elements: Appointment of a key ministry, department, or agency, including a direct … Read more

We can’t allow the tech giants to rule smart cities

27 October 2015 by Ellak-Editor

Technology is transforming global cities. But we need to think hard about who controls a system where all people and things are tracked, all of the time. There’s the tank factory in Beijing that they have turned into an arts complex. There are the coffee joints around Tahrir Square, Cairo, where hijab-wearing women hunch over … Read more

LibrePlanet annual conference

27 October 2015 by Ellak-Editor

LibrePlanet 2016 March 19-20 Greater Boston Register now LibrePlanet is an annual conference for people who care about their digital freedoms, bringing together software developers, policy experts, activists, and computer users to learn skills, share accomplishments, and face challenges to software freedom. Newcomers are always welcome, and LibrePlanet 2016 will feature sessions for a wide … Read more