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Open Source Isn’t Just About Code – Other Ways In Which You Can Contribute!
Talking to developers and reading about open source I often get the feeling that the general notion is that open source is just about code and commits...Sure, code is what ultimately ships and has a direct impact on the users of an open source project, so yes commits and code are important. But it’s by no means the only way you may contribute to a project. Projects mostly are a whole ecosystem, which is about more than just code. Here are a couple of other ways you may contribute to a project.
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Help This Open Access Journal Plan Their Upcoming Open Source Strategy Issue
The TIM Review is an open access journal with an upcoming Open Source Strategy issue they want you to contribute to. Mekki MacAulay is the guest editor for the issue, and in this interview find out more about the journal, this issue, and how you can share your expertise on the subject.
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The Impact of the Linux Philosophy
All operating systems have a philosophy. And, the philosophy of an operating system matters. What is the Linux philosophy and how does it affect the community? How has it changed software development for the ages?
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Turning Mobile Devices Into Emergency Tools
The strongest recorded storm to ever hit land slammed into the Philippines at 195 miles per hour just over a year ago, on 8 November 2013...One of the problems in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan was the failure of mobile phone networks. Many base stations were damaged or ran out of power, rendering the tools — which could otherwise have enabled separated families or health workers to communicate — powerless. But there are simple and affordable tweaks that handset manufacturers could introduce to make their products more resilient and useful in disasters, according to Wladimir Alonso, a global health researcher at the US National Institutes of Health...
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Open Source GIS Challenges Proprietary Vendors: Interview with Paul Ramsey of Boundless
In the world of geospatial technology, closed source solutions have been the norm for decades. But the tides are slowly turning as open source GIS software is gaining increasing prominence. Paul Ramsey, senior strategist at the open source company Boundless, is one of the people trying to change that.
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Ken Banks and FrontlineSMS: How 'Reluctant Innovators' Offer Hope to the World
Ken Banks might, in some respects, be described as a reluctant innovator. In 2005, he created FrontlineSMS, a simple piece of software that enables a cheap laptop to use a mobile phone to send, receive and collate group text messages, effectively creating a communication network. It’s an idea that has helped many NGOs connect with isolated populations.
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Canceling Elsevier Subscriptions Would Pay for Transition to Open Access
A central question for many people involved in Open Access is whether it can, or will save money. Most analyses suggest that a fully OA environment is cheaper (or at worst similar in cost) for institutions...But for research intensive institutions in particular taking the lead by investing in a transition to Open Access while also covering the costs of existing subscriptions could be expensive. At the same time real concerns are emerging about some traditional publishers successfully driving costs higher. How can countries and institutions invest in creating an Open Access environment that serves their needs and brings costs down without spending too much on the transition?
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Tolven-The “Unified Platform” that Delivers All-in-One EHR/PHR/HIE
It is hard to miss the fact that the healthcare industry in the United States and other countries are finding that their existing health IT solutions are not interoperable and are simply unable to distribute, or even acquire, critical patient information. There are two fundamental approaches to fixing this problem. First try to bolt on capabilities that will create kludge systems that have partial interoperability capabilities, or start from scratch with a fully unified platform that has all the interoperability capabilities built-in from the ground up. That would be the Tolven Platform, and that is what this article examines. Read More »
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Workshop Lays Out Strategy for Common VistA Code Base
Who Says a Common VistA Code Base is Unattainable? Certainly not the Open Source Electronic Health Record Alliance (OSEHRA), nor 27 principal developers of VistA who participated in the first OSEHRA Code Alignment Workshop held in Oakland, California, last week. An unprecedented effort, the workshop brought together government and private organizations dedicated to open source solutions for the challenges facing healthcare. Its primary objective was to facilitate rapid innovation for the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA), the electronic health record (EHR) software used by Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities as well as hundreds of medical centers in the U.S. and abroad, totaling approximately 2,500 facilities worldwide. Read More »
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VetAdvisor Deploys SugarCRM to Create a World-Class Veteran Relationship Management Platform
VetAdvisor, the nation’s expert in veteran-centric holistic care, has rapidly expanded its reach to military veterans through its recent deployment of the SugarCRM customer relationship management (CRM) platform. Leveraging SugarCRM’s advanced open source CRM platform, VetAdvisor is able to provide proactive coaching services across behavioral health, wellness, financial, and all aspects of transition and career development.
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