Free and Open Source Software - Users & Suporters
About the Author
Free and Open Source Software - Users & Supporters (FOSS-US)
Open source software is more than just Linux. Campaigns can use Open Office suite or the MySQL database. Also for people who support open source software developers from groundless copyright and patent lawsuits and other forms of corporate harassment.
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URGENT for users who import large data files into MS ACCESS 2007 data base.
Microsoft admits a problem, "Access 2007 takes more time to import large [30 megabyte] .csv files than Access 2003 does," but claims slow import is fixed in MS Office 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1). Read More »
Microsoft admits a problem, "Access 2007 takes more time to import large [30 megabyte] .csv files than Access 2003 does," but claims slow import is fixed in MS Office 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1). Read More »
OpenOffice.org, the most popular free and open source software (FOSS) alternative to Microsoft Office has just announced its latest version, 2.4, is now available for a free download. OpenOffice.org is available for computers using either Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X or Linux.
The full text of the announcement e-mail is available here:
http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=announce&msgNo=356
Technical support options are available on this page:
http://support.openoffice.org/index.html
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
PS The word processor, spreadsheet and presentation modules of OpenOffice.org are excellent, the data base module is still a work in progress -- so you might not want to give up MS Access if you are already using it. Depending on what features you rely on most, your experience/satisfaction may differ.
OpenOffice.org 2.4 includes new features,
enhancements, and bug fixes to all its core components. OpenOffice.org 2.4 is available for immediate download from
http://download.openoffice.org
* * *
OpenOffice.org 2.4 is the eleventh release in the 2.x series (launched in October 2005) and demonstrates the Community's commitment to continuous and regular improvement of its software. The next major
release - 3.0 - is planned for the autumn/fall this year.
The full text of the announcement e-mail is available here:
http://www.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=announce&msgNo=356
Technical support options are available on this page:
http://support.openoffice.org/index.html
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
PS The word processor, spreadsheet and presentation modules of OpenOffice.org are excellent, the data base module is still a work in progress -- so you might not want to give up MS Access if you are already using it. Depending on what features you rely on most, your experience/satisfaction may differ.
I was following up on an article about a new low cost Linux PC being offered by Sears.com, when I saw they offered a good deal on a refurbished Dell desktop computer running Microsoft Windows.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00372544000P?vName=Computers+%26+Electronics&cName=Computers+%26+Printers&sName=Desktop+Computers
For $275.49 at sears.com
Dell Optiplex GX270
Sears item# 00372544000
Mfr. model# DELLDTP42854DWP
No monitor (any old monitors you can use?), but you do get a licensed copy of Microsoft Windows XP Pro.
Download OpenOffice.org and you have an MS Office compatible office suite (except the database is not yet complete and the other apps may not run macros).
You might want to upgrade the RAM memory to 1 or 2 gigs (2 gigs if you are using very large data files or running several apps at the same time). For example, Crucial.com has a 1 gig upgrade for $63.99 or 2 gigs for $127.99
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=OptiPlex%20GX270%20Series%20%28Small%20Form%20Factor%29
Shop around on the RAM including other manufactures such as PNY and your local consumer electronic and office supply stores (sunday ads and websites of Circuit City, BestBuy, OfficeDepot, OfficeMax and Staples).
Buying RAM is like shopping for windshield wiper blades for your car. Just look up which part number fits your car. Enter "Dell Optiplex GX270" as the computer type in this example at any of web sites.
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00372544000P?vName=Computers+%26+Electronics&cName=Computers+%26+Printers&sName=Desktop+Computers
For $275.49 at sears.com
The Dell Optiplex GX270 refurbished small desktop pc comes with an Intel Pentium 4-2.8GHz processor, 512MB of DDR RAM, a 40 GB hard drive, DVD-RW optical drive, floppy drive, keyboard, mouse and integrated LAN and Windows XP Professional. 1 year warranty
Dell Optiplex GX270
Sears item# 00372544000
Mfr. model# DELLDTP42854DWP
No monitor (any old monitors you can use?), but you do get a licensed copy of Microsoft Windows XP Pro.
Download OpenOffice.org and you have an MS Office compatible office suite (except the database is not yet complete and the other apps may not run macros).
You might want to upgrade the RAM memory to 1 or 2 gigs (2 gigs if you are using very large data files or running several apps at the same time). For example, Crucial.com has a 1 gig upgrade for $63.99 or 2 gigs for $127.99
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=OptiPlex%20GX270%20Series%20%28Small%20Form%20Factor%29
Shop around on the RAM including other manufactures such as PNY and your local consumer electronic and office supply stores (sunday ads and websites of Circuit City, BestBuy, OfficeDepot, OfficeMax and Staples).
Buying RAM is like shopping for windshield wiper blades for your car. Just look up which part number fits your car. Enter "Dell Optiplex GX270" as the computer type in this example at any of web sites.
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
Free College lectures at iTune U, YouTube & MIT
College lectures available for free at iTunes U, YouTube/Berkeley and MIT's OpenCourseWare.
Do they offer any Political Science?
Apple's iTunes U
http://www.apple.com/education/itunesu/
YouTube / Berkeley
http://www.youtube.com/ucberkeley
MIT OpenCourseWare
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm
AP News Story on Yahoo!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071229/ap_on_hi_te/megauniversity_world_classroom;_ylt=AncmSKcfs6N782_BrL_S8Uis0NUE
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
College lectures available for free at iTunes U, YouTube/Berkeley and MIT's OpenCourseWare.
Do they offer any Political Science?
Apple's iTunes U
http://www.apple.com/education/itunesu/
YouTube / Berkeley
http://www.youtube.com/ucberkeley
MIT OpenCourseWare
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm
AP News Story on Yahoo!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071229/ap_on_hi_te/megauniversity_world_classroom;_ylt=AncmSKcfs6N782_BrL_S8Uis0NUE
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Peru http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071224/ap_on_hi_te/one_laptop_one_village;_ylt=As4vSwGMwb_6ggueUsydvnSs0NUE
Jim Callahan
Google, the search engine company, is sponsoring a contest for high school students. The Google Highly Open Participation Contest (GHOP) is intended to get young people involved in open source development.
Link
Link
Several of the projects are web oriented and relevant to political web sites (such as this one). For example, there are web-oriented projects with Drupal (used by the Howard Dean campaign), Joomla! and the Mono Project. One of the Mono projects is, "Screencast: using mono and ASP .NET for creating web applications."
That Mono Screencast project is sponsored by Miguel de Icaza (read his blog ;).
Link
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
Link
If you're a student age 13 or older who has not yet begun university studies, we'd love to see you help out these [open source] projects. In return, you'll learn more about all aspects of developing software - not just programming - and you'll be eligible to win cash prizes and the all important t-shirt! You will, of course, need your parent or guardian's permission to participate where applicable.
Link
Several of the projects are web oriented and relevant to political web sites (such as this one). For example, there are web-oriented projects with Drupal (used by the Howard Dean campaign), Joomla! and the Mono Project. One of the Mono projects is, "Screencast: using mono and ASP .NET for creating web applications."
That Mono Screencast project is sponsored by Miguel de Icaza (read his blog ;).
Link
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
By Kim Sengupta
Published: 23 November 2007
Most of the foreign fighters involved in the Iraq insurgency come from Saudi Arabia and Libya, two of America's allies in the "war on terror", US forces have discovered from material obtained during a raid.
Documents and computers found in a tented camp used by Sunni militants near the Syrian border are said to have yielded biographical details of about 700 recruits arriving in Iraq in the past 15 months, showing that at least 60 per cent are from the two US allies.
The Saudis, one of America's longest standing allies, supplied 305, or 41 per cent, of the fighters and 137, or 18 per cent, came from Libya, where Colonel Gaddafi has become a more recent ally of Washington. Among the rest, 291 came from other North African countries.
Read this Link
Percy H Florez
Published: 23 November 2007
Most of the foreign fighters involved in the Iraq insurgency come from Saudi Arabia and Libya, two of America's allies in the "war on terror", US forces have discovered from material obtained during a raid.
Documents and computers found in a tented camp used by Sunni militants near the Syrian border are said to have yielded biographical details of about 700 recruits arriving in Iraq in the past 15 months, showing that at least 60 per cent are from the two US allies.
The Saudis, one of America's longest standing allies, supplied 305, or 41 per cent, of the fighters and 137, or 18 per cent, came from Libya, where Colonel Gaddafi has become a more recent ally of Washington. Among the rest, 291 came from other North African countries.
Read this Link
Percy H Florez
Nicholas F. Benton: We Are All Immigrants
Written by Nicholas F. Benton
Thursday, 22 November 2007
nfbenton@fcnp.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Equality and empathy among persons is, I can safety say, probably more at the core of my being than anything else, as no doubt it is for many others, as well. No matter how twisted some of my views may have been at certain points in my life, this one has never been negotiable.
Clearly, the current anti-immigration frenzy is not only a calculated diversion from Iraq, Iran, the energy crisis, the sinking dollar and a myriad of other pressing issues, but its instigators are exploiting nascent racist tendencies to sharpen its angry edge. The lip service might be about illegal immigration, but the sanctioning of “profiling” techniques in Prince William County and elsewhere is evidence of a more insidious underlying reality.
We are all immigrants. I grew up in the company of Hispanics and Jewish folk. My best friend in the fifth grade was the son of a Holocaust survivor, although I didn't appreciate the significance of that until years later. His mom (his father died in a concentration camp) was a large Jewish woman who was delighted that I came over after school and told stories to my friend's younger brother. I also had a friend in the Boy Scouts about that time. His name was Marty. I was the only one in the troop that he took aside to reveal his big secret, that he was Jewish. This was the 1950s, when McCarthyism was in flower. I was saddened that he felt he had to keep this secret. I guess I felt honored that he shared it with me, but it made me sad, though naturally, we remained good friends.
In those days, keeping such secrets was the honorable thing to do. It applied to the Hispanics who were prevalent in my Southern California community, too. If someone was in the U.S. illegally, the idea was to help the cover up. That's because there were many among my Hispanic friends whose families went back generations before mine did on what is now U.S. soil. They had cousins and uncles who would show up from south of the border, and no one ever thought of blowing a whistle on them, or ratting them out to the authorities. We were all struggling to get by, after all. I always liked my Hispanic friends particularly because while they had a little of the macho thing going, right beneath that they were completely loyal and would give you the shirt off their back with no questions asked.
After all, I am the grandson of immigrants, myself. Of the ones I knew best, mine came from Norway, by way of the recruitment of Scandinavians to the U.S. for the construction of the Great Northern Railroad that connected Chicago and Minneapolis to Seattle. This was after the historic Transcontinental Railroad that was built with immigrant Chinese labor, but not by long. The railroad barons looked to Scandinavia because those folks knew how to function in really cold weather. There was a massive campaign to populate Minnesota and the Dakotas, in particular. My relatives came to Valley City, North Dakota, in the 1870s. A group of four brothers and sisters came over from the "old country" over a six year period. The oldest, Olaf, was the head of the transplanted family in the U.S. The youngest sister was my great-grandmother.
Her daughter, my fondly remembered grandmother, was the same age, almost exactly, as the young daughter of Norwegian immigrants, Kathryn Forbes, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel, "Mama's Bank Account," that became "I Remember Mama" on Broadway, in a 1947 movie and in a TV series in the 1950s and 1960s. That book was about growing up in a Norwegian immigrant family living on the edge of poverty in San Francisco in the early 1900s, exactly when and where my grandmother was, also, as a young girl. This background, I feel, translated into her daughter’s, my mother’s, compassion. To her, people were people, and you respected and cared for them all, regardless. Like the mother in "I Remember Mama," too, my mother always made her children feel loved and secure, even as the family faced a lot of financial hardship that we never learned about until much later.
That's why when the time came, I had no hesitation identifying myself with the civil rights struggles sparked by Martin Luther King and others. I never had to think twice about civil rights issues, not for a moment.
I don't presume that my background on these matters is different than for many others, and that's the point. We are all either immigrants or born into families of immigrants sharing one small, lonely planet. Apparently there are still a lot of people who need to be reminded of that
=====0=====
Poisted on
Falls Church News Press
Nicholas F. Benton
Pag 11 on November 22 - 28, 2007
The original article: Link
Percy H Florez
Written by Nicholas F. Benton
Thursday, 22 November 2007
nfbenton@fcnp.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Equality and empathy among persons is, I can safety say, probably more at the core of my being than anything else, as no doubt it is for many others, as well. No matter how twisted some of my views may have been at certain points in my life, this one has never been negotiable.
Clearly, the current anti-immigration frenzy is not only a calculated diversion from Iraq, Iran, the energy crisis, the sinking dollar and a myriad of other pressing issues, but its instigators are exploiting nascent racist tendencies to sharpen its angry edge. The lip service might be about illegal immigration, but the sanctioning of “profiling” techniques in Prince William County and elsewhere is evidence of a more insidious underlying reality.
We are all immigrants. I grew up in the company of Hispanics and Jewish folk. My best friend in the fifth grade was the son of a Holocaust survivor, although I didn't appreciate the significance of that until years later. His mom (his father died in a concentration camp) was a large Jewish woman who was delighted that I came over after school and told stories to my friend's younger brother. I also had a friend in the Boy Scouts about that time. His name was Marty. I was the only one in the troop that he took aside to reveal his big secret, that he was Jewish. This was the 1950s, when McCarthyism was in flower. I was saddened that he felt he had to keep this secret. I guess I felt honored that he shared it with me, but it made me sad, though naturally, we remained good friends.
In those days, keeping such secrets was the honorable thing to do. It applied to the Hispanics who were prevalent in my Southern California community, too. If someone was in the U.S. illegally, the idea was to help the cover up. That's because there were many among my Hispanic friends whose families went back generations before mine did on what is now U.S. soil. They had cousins and uncles who would show up from south of the border, and no one ever thought of blowing a whistle on them, or ratting them out to the authorities. We were all struggling to get by, after all. I always liked my Hispanic friends particularly because while they had a little of the macho thing going, right beneath that they were completely loyal and would give you the shirt off their back with no questions asked.
After all, I am the grandson of immigrants, myself. Of the ones I knew best, mine came from Norway, by way of the recruitment of Scandinavians to the U.S. for the construction of the Great Northern Railroad that connected Chicago and Minneapolis to Seattle. This was after the historic Transcontinental Railroad that was built with immigrant Chinese labor, but not by long. The railroad barons looked to Scandinavia because those folks knew how to function in really cold weather. There was a massive campaign to populate Minnesota and the Dakotas, in particular. My relatives came to Valley City, North Dakota, in the 1870s. A group of four brothers and sisters came over from the "old country" over a six year period. The oldest, Olaf, was the head of the transplanted family in the U.S. The youngest sister was my great-grandmother.
Her daughter, my fondly remembered grandmother, was the same age, almost exactly, as the young daughter of Norwegian immigrants, Kathryn Forbes, who won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel, "Mama's Bank Account," that became "I Remember Mama" on Broadway, in a 1947 movie and in a TV series in the 1950s and 1960s. That book was about growing up in a Norwegian immigrant family living on the edge of poverty in San Francisco in the early 1900s, exactly when and where my grandmother was, also, as a young girl. This background, I feel, translated into her daughter’s, my mother’s, compassion. To her, people were people, and you respected and cared for them all, regardless. Like the mother in "I Remember Mama," too, my mother always made her children feel loved and secure, even as the family faced a lot of financial hardship that we never learned about until much later.
That's why when the time came, I had no hesitation identifying myself with the civil rights struggles sparked by Martin Luther King and others. I never had to think twice about civil rights issues, not for a moment.
I don't presume that my background on these matters is different than for many others, and that's the point. We are all either immigrants or born into families of immigrants sharing one small, lonely planet. Apparently there are still a lot of people who need to be reminded of that
=====0=====
Poisted on
Falls Church News Press
Nicholas F. Benton
Pag 11 on November 22 - 28, 2007
The original article: Link
Percy H Florez
Barack Obama was not my first choice, but after looking at these three clips from his talk at Google's HQ in Mountain View, California, I will have to give him a second look. Read More »
Get Out The Vote (GOTV) or more precisely Get Out OUR Vote becomes THE crucial operation of the last 72 hours of the campaign. By now, the campaign should have identified a large number of voters who have said they will vote for our candidate. You've got the list, now what? The clock is ticking... Read More »
If you read my, "Why FREE Software?" you might wonder, why Windows?
Microsoft Windows on the desktop or notebook computer is a special case.
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL Read More »
Microsoft Windows on the desktop or notebook computer is a special case.
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL Read More »
Why use FREE Software? Why use OpenOffice.org instead of just "making a copy" of Microsoft Office?
Legal Reasons -- the $1,000,000 reward
BSA - Official Site
www.BSA.org/reportpiracy Earn up to $1 million for Reporting Pirated Software - All Confidential
Link
Link
Note: $1,000,000 reward for turning you in and you may still face criminal prosecution.
All your opposition has to do is guess that you have pirated software (is it on your in-kind contribution or expenditure reports?) and drop a dime or visit the above web site.
Philosophical Reasons -- Richard M Stallman (RMS)
Link
Practical Reasons
Why pay $100-$500 for each licensed copy of Microsoft Office when you can download a licensed copy of OpenOffice.org or StarOffice for free? For each copy of Microsoft Office wouldn't you rather pay the postage on another 100 copies of your direct mail piece? Reward your volunteers, buy a radio adv, pay postage; if you can't think of 100 better ways to spend a couple of hundred bucks (than licensing software) in a campaign, then why are you in politics? Perhaps you should look for another line of work!
As a consultant, I have used Microsoft software and I have trained on Microsoft software (MCSE, MCDBA). But, I ultimately decided I didn't like the Microsoft business model. Sure, it was great that they were giving you a cut of the revenue from selling their software, but ultimately it is like a financial adviser selling you a mutual fund on commission; wouldn't you be better off with a "no load" mutual fund and an unbiased financial adviser. Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is like a "no-load" mutual fund and a consultant that recommends FOSS is not on commission from Microsoft or any other software vendor.
Jim Callahan, MBA, (& Microsoft Certified MCSE, MCDBA)
Orlando, FL
Legal Reasons -- the $1,000,000 reward
BSA - Official Site
www.BSA.org/reportpiracy Earn up to $1 million for Reporting Pirated Software - All Confidential
Link
The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) * * * operates approximately 65 hotlines around the world for callers who seek information about piracy or who wish to report suspected incidents of software piracy. * * * Our ultimate goal is to demonstrate to organizations and consumers the legal and practical risks associated with software piracy. * * * BSA takes action against software resellers and end-user organizations that make unauthorized copies of software and works closely with law enforcement agencies to coordinate enforcement of criminal copyright laws.
Link
Note: $1,000,000 reward for turning you in and you may still face criminal prosecution.
All your opposition has to do is guess that you have pirated software (is it on your in-kind contribution or expenditure reports?) and drop a dime or visit the above web site.
BSA�¢ï¿½ï¿½s enforcement program has been instrumental in bringing thousands of organizations into software compliance with software copyright compliance, closing down pirate Internet sites, stopping the illegal sale of pirated software through Internet auction sites and pirated software retail outlets, and seizing illegal CD presses.
Philosophical Reasons -- Richard M Stallman (RMS)
Link
Practical Reasons
Why pay $100-$500 for each licensed copy of Microsoft Office when you can download a licensed copy of OpenOffice.org or StarOffice for free? For each copy of Microsoft Office wouldn't you rather pay the postage on another 100 copies of your direct mail piece? Reward your volunteers, buy a radio adv, pay postage; if you can't think of 100 better ways to spend a couple of hundred bucks (than licensing software) in a campaign, then why are you in politics? Perhaps you should look for another line of work!
As a consultant, I have used Microsoft software and I have trained on Microsoft software (MCSE, MCDBA). But, I ultimately decided I didn't like the Microsoft business model. Sure, it was great that they were giving you a cut of the revenue from selling their software, but ultimately it is like a financial adviser selling you a mutual fund on commission; wouldn't you be better off with a "no load" mutual fund and an unbiased financial adviser. Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is like a "no-load" mutual fund and a consultant that recommends FOSS is not on commission from Microsoft or any other software vendor.
Jim Callahan, MBA, (& Microsoft Certified MCSE, MCDBA)
Orlando, FL
Crosstabs are included in the new version of the open source (FREE) version of the JasperReports report writer.
A report writer is used when a data base does not include a built in report writer like the one included in Microsoft Access (most server data bases do NOT include a report writer).
Crosstabs are a way of displaying counts or percentages from a data base or data file. For example, when you see a table showing Democratic voter registration by Race and Gender -- you are most likely looking at a crosstab report.
Report on Yahoo! News / Techweb
Link
One past problem with JasperReports was that the software was free, but they charged an arm and leg for the documentation.
This time, I was, however, able to find the CROSSTAB command documented here:
Link
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL Read More »
A report writer is used when a data base does not include a built in report writer like the one included in Microsoft Access (most server data bases do NOT include a report writer).
Crosstabs are a way of displaying counts or percentages from a data base or data file. For example, when you see a table showing Democratic voter registration by Race and Gender -- you are most likely looking at a crosstab report.
JasperSoft, a maker of open-source business intelligence software, has upgraded its BI suite
* * *
Key new features include an ad-hoc report designer that leverages AJAX in building reports containing custom formulas and charts and cross-tabs with drag-and-drop capabilities.
Report on Yahoo! News / Techweb
Link
One past problem with JasperReports was that the software was free, but they charged an arm and leg for the documentation.
This time, I was, however, able to find the CROSSTAB command documented here:
Link
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL Read More »
Your group or organization would have to hire its own web hosting service, but the software is available for FREE from the City of Newport News, Virginia.
The City of Newport News is offering the software that runs its web site as well as the knowledge base we created through the implementation process to any organization or individual, free of charge. Our intent is to create a collaborative software ecosystem, where government organizations, non-profits and the private sector work together to share the cost of enhanced capabilities. * * *
* We used a leading Open Source web Content Management System "Plone" (based on Zope and Python) available on Windows, Linux and Mac.
* We added our own set of "Plone Products" - this is what we are licensing as Open Source (GPL). We also selected and integrated about 20% of the available off the shelf add-on Plone Products and other complimentary Open Source tools and utilities to create a scalable, full function, redundant and highly available operating environment.
* * * To see the capabilities of our production environment, please look at Link
City Newport News Open eGov web page
Link
City of Newport News home page
http://www.nngov.com
Announcement on Plone.gov
Link
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL Read More »
Web sites, data bases, polling, statistical analysis, and redistricting are all software intensive and ripe for free software and community building.
This is just a raw dump of some things I have been looking at. Almost every program listed will run in Windows, Apple Mac OS/X and Linux. Read More »
This is just a raw dump of some things I have been looking at. Almost every program listed will run in Windows, Apple Mac OS/X and Linux. Read More »
Ethics, Freedom and Computers an address by Richard M. Stallman on receiving an honorary degree by The University of Pavia, in Italy on October 15, 2007.
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Thanks to Linux Weekly News lwn.org for this link.
Link
FREE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION
http://www.fsf.org/
What should be the role of free software in a democratic political party?
Link
I admire the ideals of Richard Stallman, though I still run Microsoft Windows and use Google mail (although with Firefox and Openoffice.org), just as I admire the ideals of vegetarians and still eat some meat.
Richard Stallman's ideas and ideals are as profound deep and searching as in the areas of economics and politics as those of Ghandi or Martin Luther King. We as democrats (small d), should examine our conscience and actions in light of the ideals that Richard M. Stallman has set forth.
Web sites, data bases, polling, statistical analysis, and redistricting are all software intensive and ripe for free software and community building.
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
"All the forms of freedom that we hold dear are transformed when we carry out the relevant activities through computers."
"Not everyone wants to be a programmer, not everyone will learn personally how to study the source code and change it. But, in a world where your software is free you can, if you feel it necessary, hire someone else to change it for you. You can persuade your cousin programmer to change it for you if you say it's really important. You can join together with other users and pool your funds to hire a programmer. And the simple fact that there are millions of programmers who can study and change the software will mean that if the software is malicious, almost certainly somebody else, who has the requisite skills, will find that and correct it, and you will get the corrected version without any special effort of your own."
"So we all benefit, programmers and non-programmers alike, from the freedoms that free software grants to us. The freedom to cooperate and the freedom to control our own lives personally. They go together because both of them are the opposite of being under the power of the dictatorial software developer that unilaterally make decisions that nobody else can change."
"Schools should teach their students to be citizens of a strong, capable, independent and free society. And this means teaching them to use Free Software, not proprietary software. So none of the classes in this University should teach proprietary software."
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Thanks to Linux Weekly News lwn.org for this link.
Link
FREE SOFTWARE FOUNDATION
http://www.fsf.org/
What should be the role of free software in a democratic political party?
The idea of the Free Software movement is that computer users deserve the freedom to form a community. You should have the freedom to help yourself, by changing the source code to do whatever you need to do. And the freedom to help your neighbor, by redistributing copies of programs to other people. Also the freedom to help build your community, by publishing improved versions so that other people can use them.
Link
I admire the ideals of Richard Stallman, though I still run Microsoft Windows and use Google mail (although with Firefox and Openoffice.org), just as I admire the ideals of vegetarians and still eat some meat.
Richard Stallman's ideas and ideals are as profound deep and searching as in the areas of economics and politics as those of Ghandi or Martin Luther King. We as democrats (small d), should examine our conscience and actions in light of the ideals that Richard M. Stallman has set forth.
Web sites, data bases, polling, statistical analysis, and redistricting are all software intensive and ripe for free software and community building.
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
The New York Times has an article on social networking for Apartments and Condos, "Meet your neighbors, but just not in person" after discussing a service that charges $6,000 to set up a site for one complex, it goes on to discuss a free experiment at the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
Link
I have created GrandeDowntownOrlando in the 32801 zip, but sorry it is private and for residents only. Create your own!
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
Link
Others have experimented with social networking Web sites aimed at city residents without intending to make money. I-Neighbors.org is a site set up by Keith N. Hampton, a sociologist at Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, to study the role that Web sites can play in strengthening offline social ties.
Mr. Hampton said that I-Neighbors continues to grow, with 45,000 people now using the free service. He said, however, that people in apartment buildings generally do not pursue social connections with their neighbors.
I have created GrandeDowntownOrlando in the 32801 zip, but sorry it is private and for residents only. Create your own!
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
An idea for creative finance that would help children and provide notebook computers with wireless web browsers for Hillary Clinton's campaign GOTV operations. Read More »
Better Automated ReDistricting (BARD)
Good News: Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)
Bad News: Too complex to use in practice (written for PhD dissertation)
GNU General Public License (GPL)
Written as "R" package to run in "R."
"A package for better automated redistricting. Description. BARD will automatically generate redistricting plans using multi-criteria optimization algorithms ..."
Link
Project on SourceForge
Link
"This package for Better Automated ReDistricting will automatically draw district maps to meet goals chosen by the user. BARD is an R module and is downloadable through CRAN (http://cran.r-project.org)."
If you can agree on a common criteria, has good automated scoring. Written by Harvard PhD. Reads and writes SHAPE map files. Uses statistical program to display district outline map -- although it can import SHAPE files does not have GIS (or even Google Map) capabilities.
Have time to improve user interface before April 1, 2011 (when data gathered on April 1, 2010 will be start being released).
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
Good News: Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)
Bad News: Too complex to use in practice (written for PhD dissertation)
GNU General Public License (GPL)
Written as "R" package to run in "R."
"A package for better automated redistricting. Description. BARD will automatically generate redistricting plans using multi-criteria optimization algorithms ..."
Link
Project on SourceForge
Link
"This package for Better Automated ReDistricting will automatically draw district maps to meet goals chosen by the user. BARD is an R module and is downloadable through CRAN (http://cran.r-project.org)."
If you can agree on a common criteria, has good automated scoring. Written by Harvard PhD. Reads and writes SHAPE map files. Uses statistical program to display district outline map -- although it can import SHAPE files does not have GIS (or even Google Map) capabilities.
Have time to improve user interface before April 1, 2011 (when data gathered on April 1, 2010 will be start being released).
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
OpenOffice.org is a free replacement for Microsoft Office.
ZDNet is reporting:
OpenOffice bug hits multiple operating systems
Link
TIFF files are most often created when documents are scanned or faxed. So, if you were running an old version of OpenOffice.org AND someone e-mailed you a scanned or faxed document in TIFF format -- this might concern you. Documents you scan or fax yourself should not be affected (unless your machine is already infected) because the normal process of scanning or faxing with your PC should not introduce a virus into a TIFF file.
TIFF files are not commonly used on websites unless they are archiving scanned documents or faxes.
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
ZDNet is reporting:
OpenOffice bug hits multiple operating systems
Link
OpenOffice version 2.0.4 and earlier versions are vulnerable to maliciously crafted TIFF files, which can be delivered in an e-mail attachment, published on a Web site or shared using peer-to-peer software. The next version of OpenOffice (version 2.3) arrived on September 17 and is not affected by the flaw.
TIFF files are most often created when documents are scanned or faxed. So, if you were running an old version of OpenOffice.org AND someone e-mailed you a scanned or faxed document in TIFF format -- this might concern you. Documents you scan or fax yourself should not be affected (unless your machine is already infected) because the normal process of scanning or faxing with your PC should not introduce a virus into a TIFF file.
TIFF files are not commonly used on websites unless they are archiving scanned documents or faxes.
Jim Callahan
Orlando, FL
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