GNU/Hurd — the completely free, Stallman-born kernel — continues to live on through its latest Debian-ized release. And what better delivery mechanism than the most stable and most glacially released distribution out there — Debian! While GNU/Hurd is still not considered production-ready, and may not even get there, we are still amazed to see releases [...]
The Era of the Open Source Gun
May 6th, 2013 will stand out in the memory of anyone involved in the 3D printing community as the day that the mass media, for better or for worse, really took notice of this rapidly evolving field. That’s because as of right now, anyone in the United States can legally download and print their own [...]
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 [...]
AOKP Drops SuperSU for Open Source Superuser
The Android Open Kang Project (AOKP), one of the most popular custom Android builds currently available, has just unveiled their 6th build of Jelly Bean. Along with the normal host of bug fixes and improvements, this build features an especially important addition: the removal of SuperSU in favor of Superuser. Open Source Prevails As we’ve [...]
Gold Farmers May Face Heavier Treasury Scrutiny Under New FinCEN Guidance
On March 18, FinCEN – the financial crimes enforcement arm of the United States Treasury – released guidance regarding the use of BitCoin and other virtual currencies that are exchanged for actual cash. This ruling could have meaning, however, for “gold farmers” as well. Gold farmers, or businesses that deal in the buying, selling and [...]
“Hacking the Xbox” Released as Free eBook in Honor of Aaron Swartz
Well known hacker Andrew “bunnie” Huang has announced via a post on the website for “No Starch Press” that he has decided to release his infamous work “Hacking the Xbox” as a free eBook in honor of Internet activist Aaron Swartz. Honoring Aaron Aaron’s shocking suicide in January of this year, widely believed to be [...]
Swiss City Mandates Use Of Open Source, Banishes Microsoft Officially
Europe Moving Forward In an overwhelming majority vote, the city council in Bern, Switzerland has moved to implement all future infrastructure with open source technologies. The “Party Motion”, as it is called in Switzerland, was submitted over a year ago, and has finally been realized. Plans to move forward with open source design, strategy and [...]
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 [...]
Android Community Demands MIUI ROM Comply With FOSS Licenses
A thorn in the side of many free software loving Android users, the Chinese MIUI ROM has long been accused of riding on the success of Android without fully complying with the free and open source licenses which it’s based on. MIUI’s developer, Xiaomi, has managed to cultivate a considerable fanbase for their ROM, adding [...]
How Lightworks Falsely Rides Open Source Publicity Train
2 years ago, Lightworks made a promise to the open source community. A promise that has made them darlings of the open source spotlight. A promise that the have yet to fulfill. One blogger takes serious issue with this lack of fullfilment, and rightly so. Blogger Nekohayo offers in depth insight into the failed promises of [...]