Open and Free

Christopher Dawson of ZDNet Education contemplates One Laptop Per Child's founder, Dr. Negroponte, decision to move from Linux to Android and what that might mean for education and innovation.

Uses EtherPad OS

This paper describes a general process for evaluating programs, with specific information on how to evaluate Open Source Software / Free Software (OSS/FS) programs. This process is designed so that you can compare OSS/FS programs side-by-side with proprietary programs and other OSS/FS programs, and determine which one (if any) best meets your needs. This process is based on four steps: Identify candidates, Read existing reviews, Compare the leading programs' basic attributes to your needs, and then Analyze the top candidates in more depth. This set of Identify, Read Reviews, Compare, and Analyze can be abbreviated as "IRCA". Important attributes to consider include functionality, cost, market share, support, maintenance, reliability, performance, scaleability, useability, security, flexibility/customizability, interoperability, and legal/license issues.

MyPaint is a fast and easy open-source graphics application for digital painters. It lets you focus on the art instead of the program. You work on your canvas with minimum distractions, bringing up the interface only when you need it.

an open source involvement engine where you can document your open source contributions, browse volunteer opportunities, and find contributor near you. Great for beginners!

An excerpt from the new textbook (which is free to view), Practical Ope Source Software Exploration. The text is licensed under a CC BY-SA-3.0 license.

WinFF is a GUI for the command line video converter, FFMPEG. It will convert most any video file that FFmpeg will convert. WinFF does multiple files in multiple formats at one time. You can for example convert mpeg's, flv's, and mov's, all into avi's all at once. WinFF is available for Windows 95, 98 , ME, NT, XP, VISTA, and Debian, Ubuntu, Redhat based GNU/Linux distributions. WinFF is available in Brazillian Portuguese, Bulgarian, Chinese Tradditional, Danish, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Turkish.