“Open” or “Free” You might not know it based on some current community commentary, but at its origin the term “Open Source” was intended to be a straight drop-in replacement for “Free Software”. There was no philosophical or conceptual difference; instead there was a linguistic concern (“free” has multiple meanings) and a marketing concern (“free” makes [...]

Tristan Nitot, President of Mozilla Europe, makes some interesting points in a recent story in SkyNews: They take for granted that the freedom they enjoy is forever. I don’t think it is like that. The internet is full of promise but the future is not bright unless we make sure it is. This rings true [...]

There’s quite a bit of chatter about the Open Office Mouse, much of it drawing disdainful parallels to the “complexity” or “tin ear” of Open Source software in general. Why a mouse with so many buttons? Apple only needs one (or two)! Why those Open Sourcers have no clue about user interfaces and slick marketing, [...]

Today I ran across a couple of interesting posts on the theme of how criticism is received. I have a bit of real-world experience in this matter, but having worked on a farm as a youth, virtual poop flying around doesn’t bother me too much. If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything [...]

Not the kind you might first think of – I mean actual political party type politics trying to use Open Source one way or the other in rhetoric. Take a quick step outside and see how some people see Open Source in relation to ”real” politics. Slate: Bizarro World Sends Reporter to Earth There is a truly bizarre article [...]