Back in April we reported on the release of Napster.fm by Ryan Lester, a service which used YouTube to serve up streaming music right in the users’ web browser. Ryan released his software under the GPLv3 on GitHub, and thanks in no small part to the notoriety of the Napster name, the service rapidly gained popularity. In these last [...]
Reimagining Play: Interview with PlayMG’s Taylor Cavanah
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Evolution Of Security: Interview With Pwnie Express CEO Dave Porcello
We recently got the opportunity to spend some hands on time with the Pwnie Express Pwn Plug, the product that has had everyone talking since February’s RSA Conference. We came away from the experience with the strong sense that devices like this are the future of security, for the good guys and the bad. For not much more [...]
TRS-80 Model 100: Interview With John R. Hogerhuis
Last month, on something of a whim, I wrote up an introduction and guide to working with the TRS-80 Model 100, one of the first ever “notebook” computers, released in 1983. The Model 100 was something that had always interested me, and I thought I would share some of my experiences with getting software installed [...]
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