Last month, we brought you a review of the MG, an Android powered handheld gaming system designed for casual games. The combination of vanilla Android and the MG’s custom parental controls made the device a compelling option for gamers young and old alike, and its comparatively low price combined with the vast Android software library [...]
Negative to Positive: Interview with Mayan Developer Roberto Rosario
The free and open source software community operates on a very simple principle: obey the license which the software is released under. But what happens when the rules of engagement set down in FOSS licenses like the GNU GPL are ignored? What do you do if a rival developer or company takes your code and [...]
Back to the Future: Pwn Pad Review
It was nearly one year ago that we took an in-depth look at the Pwnie Express Pwn Plug, a security appliance that absolutely exploded its way onto the scene. By combining an off the shelf hardware platform that was well supported by open source software, custom software front-end, and the experience and knowledge of their team of [...]
Taking Control: Interview with FLIRC Creator Jason Kotzin
We’ve covered a lot of hardware projects here on “The Powerbase”, from completely open source creations such as the OsciPrime, to 2012′s incredible influx of Kickstarter campaigns. But none of them have kept our attention as closely as Jason Kotzin’s FLIRC. Jason has managed to achieve a delicate balance between the obsessive attention to detail that comes [...]
A New Way to Play: MG Handheld Review
We first told you about the MG back in September of 2012, when it was in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign attempting to raise a staggering $950,000. Perhaps they were inspired by the historic success of the OUYA just a few weeks prior, hoping to repeat that system’s incredible funding level on the same $950,000 [...]
Integreen Brings Open Source Traffic Monitoring To Italy
The best way to fight an enemy is to start by learning everything you can about it, which is exactly what the team at Integreen are looking to do in the Italian city of Bolzano. By using the latest technology and banking on open source software, Integreen hopes to provide the city management with enough traffic [...]
F-Droid Free Software Repository: Interview with Ciaran Gultnieks
For users who chose Android over competing mobile operating systems because it was released under a free and open source license (Apache), or because they didn’t like the overbearing control exerted on them from certain smartphone manufacturers, it’s not hard to see how the existing Android marketplaces would leave a lot to be desired. These markets are full of [...]
Creating the OsciPrime: Interview with Manuel Di Cerbo
The OsciPrime has come a long way; from student project to commercial product, this open source hardware and software project is an excellent case study on just what it takes to turn a concept into a reality. To learn more about this fascinating project, we decided to speak with Manuel Di Cerbo, one of the OsciPrime’s original [...]
Open Source’s Final Frontier: Interview with Alexandru Csete
Sometimes it seems that open source has permeated every aspect of our modern technology. From our phones, to our browsers, and even our cars, open source software and hardware has finally started to make the move from niche hobby to big business. But there are still a few standout examples of technology which has, thus [...]
Monetizing Open Source with Fairware: Interview with Virgil Dupras
There has been a long standing belief (or perhaps more accurately, fear), that developers who chose to release the source code for their software under a free and open license can’t turn their project into a viable source of income. It’s not hard to see how this negative connotation has developed. Those who may not be well versed in the [...]