free and open source software (FOSS)

See the following -

Building Research Equipment with Free, Open-Source Hardware

Joshua M. Pearce | Science Magazine | September 14, 2012

Most experimental research projects are executed with a combination of purchased hardware equipment, which may be modified in the laboratory and custom single-built equipment fabricated inhouse. However, the computer software that helps design and execute experiments and analyze data has an additional source... Read More »

Chain Releases Open-Source Version of Chain Core Technology Powering Visa’s New B2B Connect

Giulio Prisco | Bitcoin Magazine | October 25, 2016

On October 21, 2016, Visa announced a new partnership with blockchain enterprise company Chain that will develop “a simple, fast and secure way to process B2B payments globally.” Dubbed Visa B2B Connect, the system will offer participating pilot financial institutions a consistent process for managing settlement through Visa’s standard practices...

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COTS, FOSS, or HOSS Solutions?

When looking to acquire a health IT system, the discussion often boils down to the question of Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) versus Free & Open Source Software (FOSS) solutions.  The reality is that some form of Hybrid Open Source Software (HOSS) solution is probably what you should aim to acquire and implement. For example, in the healthcare arena there are a numerous great, high quality, and expensive COTS health IT solutions that you can acquire. If the software doesn't quite fit all your needs, you simply write the vendor a check to develop whatever else you need that they don't currently include in their product. The annual license and support contract also guarantees you will get the latest updates and needed fixes. Read More »

Data Exchange Vendor Metriport Adopts Open Source

Metriport is addressing a problem similar to other IT companies in health care—a service to ingest and clean patient data for tasks such as providing care summaries during a patient transition—but is doing so in a very unusual way: through an entirely open source service. Because the choice to go open source is so central to their business model, I will discuss the importance of free and open source software in health care, then explain Metriport's service.

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Distributing Encryption Software May Break the Law

Developers, distributors, and users of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) often face a host of legal issues which they need to keep in mind. Although areas of law such as copyright, trademark, and patents are frequently discussed, these are not the only legal concerns for FOSS. One area that often escapes notice is export controls. It may come as a surprise that sharing software that performs or uses cryptographic functions on a public website could be a violation of U.S. export control law...

District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2)

District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2) is a free and open source health management data platform used by multiple organizations, including the European Union (EU), and governments worldwide. It is currently being deployed in 54 countries. DHIS2 is a development project by the Health Information Systems Program (HISP) and is used for aggregate statistical data collection, validation, analysis, management, and presentation...

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Education Management with Moodle: The Beginning, Middle, and Today

Moodle is the de facto standard in open source learning management systems. It is described as "a learning platform designed to provide educators, administrators and learners with a single robust, secure and integrated system to create personalised learning environments." Plus, Moodle is free software, licensed under the GPL. Martin Dougiamas, Moodle's founder and lead developer, generously took time from his busy schedule to have a good, long talk with me about why he created it, where it is today, and what's next in open education. First let me give you a little background. I was introduced to Moodle in 2005 while visiting a public school district in Portland, Oregon, which was using Moodle as part of their instructional delivery...

Estonian Schools Piloting Open Source Software

Alexandra Gerea | ZME Science | March 3, 2016

Schools in Estonia’s capital Tallinn are piloting a new program, gradually moving to PC workstations running on free and open source software. Students, teachers, school administration and kindergartens’ staff members are using LibreOffice, Ubuntu-Linux and other open source tools, saving millions of dollars on software fees. As computers have become ubiquitous, schools are basically forced to incorporate computers in the educational process. But buying a computer for a school isn’t as easy as simply buying a computer – you have to buy useful, licensed software through public auctions, and that often costs a lot of money...

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European Parliament To Weigh Open Source Pilots

Gijs Hillenius | JoinUp | June 18, 2014

Next Monday, the European Parliament's budget committee will consider a proposal from the Green/EFA group to pilot the use of open source encryption software, to be used by parliament members and their staff. The Green/EFA group is also asking to trial the use of open standards and open source to make available the EP's data available in machine-readable format...

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Extremadura Health Care Has Switched To Open Source [Spain]

Gijs Hillenius | JoinUp | June 10, 2014

The desktop computer systems of government healthcare organisations in the Spanish region of Extremadura all rely on free and open source software solutions. Over the past year, close to 10,000 computer workstations in public health care organisations have migrated to a customised version of the Debian GNU/Linux distribution...

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Federal Agencies Embracing Use Of Open Source Software Code

Liz Gormisky | Defense Daily | December 3, 2013

Federal agencies that previously relied on expensive, built-to-order software are now following a growing trend to embrace open source code. Read More »

Fixing Docs One README at a Time

"Documentation is highly valued, frequently overlooked, and a means for establishing inclusive and accessible communities," the GitHub team notes in their brand-new Open Source Survey. Based on 5,500 responses, the survey reveals that 93% of respondents say "incomplete or outdated documentation is a pervasive problem." However, only "60% of contributors rarely or never contribute to documentation." These stats won't surprise anyone who has spent more than a few minutes clicking through GitHub repositories. How many times have you clicked on a GitHub repo, skimmed the README, and thought: "Sounds interesting, but what does it actually do?"...

FOSS And Patents - Peer Collaboration As A Key To Countering Patent Risk, Guest Blog By Clark Asay

Clark Asay | Outercurve Foundation | February 26, 2013

In an earlier post I suggested that third-party patents pose the most significant risk of using free and open source software (FOSS). The risk boils down to this: with limited exceptions, someone with a patent that reads on FOSS can prevent anyone else from using that FOSS, even if you or somebody else independently created the software... Read More »

France Votes to Expand Open Source Use

Jon Gold | Network World | October 21, 2015

French voters voiced strong support for a proposal that will see the country’s government expand the role of free and open-source software in a national referendum on technology called the Digital Republic bill. More than 147,000 people voted on the Digital Republic bill’s 662 accepted proposals, and two open-source measures were the second- and third-biggest vote getters.

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Government of Quebec passes historic motion to adopt Free & Open Source Software

Richard McGravie | SFL | September 26, 2013

Last Tuesday, the Quebec National Assembly adopted unanimously a motion welcoming any initiative supporting the dissemination and publishing of free software in Quebec. This motion also encourages the Government to continue its efforts to promote the adoption of free software by government ministries and agencies. Read More »