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An estimated 5-minute read

FOSS news – September 2015

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by sflc_admin    |    October 5, 2015

Mishi Choudhary on FOSS and the sharing economy
Mishi Choudhary says that Free and open source software (FOSS) is a technical and political movement that will make it possible that every brain on earth will have a chance to be educated and not just those who can afford expensive hardware and pay for software licences, but every child in the street.Link to the article: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Solve-problems/articleshow/48850845.cms

Revised patent norms for software could impact tech start-ups
According to revised guidelines issued by the Indian Patent Office on 21 August, software that demonstrates a technical application or improves hardware may also be patented, vastly widening the scope of patents.  Influential organizations such as iSpirt, a software product makers’ think tank, and the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), a non-profit foundation that represents many of the world’s leading free software developers, are opposing the changes. They say software is based on mathematics, and algorithms and computer programmes may not be patented as they are expressions of abstract ideas and that since software is anyway protected under copyright law, it need not necessarily be patented Link to the article: http://www.livemint.com/Companies/BNrmzctLR7rNqSvE9HC7zL/Revised-patent-norms-for-software-could-impact-tech-startup.html

Open source software could help India save Rs 8,254 crore in education alone
Use of free and open source software could help India save more than Rs 8,300 crore in government expenses on education and police only, says a new study, vindicating the Centre’s move to promote such software as part of its Digital India initiative. Schools and other institutions could save an estimated Rs 8,254 crore by adopting free and open source software (FOSS) while police departments could save about Rs 51.20 crore, said a study led by Rahul De, Hewlett-Packard Chair Professor at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
Link to the article : http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-09-24/news/66854716_1_open-source-software-proprietary-software-such-software

VSCO Keys Photo Editing Shortcut Software Is Now Totally Free and Open Source
VSCO Keys is a simple, but rather powerful piece of software dedicated to reducing time spent editing photos by creating keyboard shortcuts.Now, Keys has shown up on Github as a totally open source and completely free download. Since it’s open source software, it takes a little bit of work to get it implemented and you’ll have to poke around a bit in the code. But, there are several instructional resources online, and once you figure it out, it’s fairly straight forward. Link to the article :  http://www.popphoto.com/vsco-keys-photo-editing-shortcut-software-is-now-totally-free-and-open-source

Why the most famous open source software in the world remains unrivaled.
Linux: For most people it’s just a pretty word to say. But for programmers its still a remarkably relevant operating system given that the Linux kernel, the part of the OS managing input/output requests, arrived on September 17, 1991. It was a big deal, the dawn of the open source age for the OS world. Exactly 24 years later, approximately 1.52 percent of all computer desktop users around the world use Linux as their operating system.  Linux was only adopted by a few thousand users, but everyone who began using it was or became a computer programmer. The kernel is unquestionably peerless and its legacy cannot be understated. For one, it’s worth emphasizing again that Linux was a free, open source software when it was released. It was capable of running on practically any personal computer. When Linus Torvalds released the Linux kernel to the public, developers from around the world quickly adopted it and began customizing it in ways he had never considered. Today, the kernel has contributions from as many as 12,000 programmers worldwide. Link to the article : https://www.inverse.com/article/6257-the-legacy-of-linux-24-years-later

InvizBox Go Offers Open Source Online Privacy And Security
Team InvizBox have unveiled a new pocket sized device which has been created to provide an open source solution to online privacy and security.  The small InvizBox box is capable of offering users a broad range of privacy options, allowing secure connectivity to the Internet from both desktop and mobile devices. As well as providing a portable battery pack that can help you recharge your smartphone and tablets when required. Watch the video below to learn more about the InvizBox online security hardware and its functions. Link to the article : http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/invizbox-go-offers-open-source-online-privacy-and-security-16-09-2015/
Open source is way forward: Red Hat
Users can modify software that comes for free Open source software will be the future of IT systems, says global open-source software services leader Red Hat. Over the past couple of years, the myths relating to reliability and security of open source software have been busted given the success of humongous projects including the UID, senior official of the company said. With open source, software comes for free. The source code is made available to users and they can modify and/or distribute it in anyway they want. Millions of open-source software developers across the world work on such software and keep updating them on an ongoing basis . Companies such as Red Hat offer technology support to open source users, whereby they implement the systems and fix issues as and when they occur. Link to the article : http://www.mydigitalfc.com/companies/open-source-way-forward-red-hat-796

How Open Source Is Changing Enterprises
There was once a time when IT vendors shunned the idea of open source. Why wouldn’t they? The idea of sharing their very own programming innovations with others was viewed as detrimental to any competitive business. But nearly 20 years on, open source is now in vogue and has been embraced by some of the biggest IT vendors and their clients.  Open source allow vendors to develop different software and platforms that are compatible with each other. This provides assurance for enterprises that are throwing a chunk of money into software from one vendor. They can rest easy that even if that vendor’s business goes tits up the offering can still be supported by another. Link to the article : http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/09/how-open-source-is-changing-enterprises/

Tech giants band together for open source video codec
Seven technology companies have partnered to create royalty-free and open source compression/decompression software for video, which will deliver high-quality streaming video optimised for the web. Open source umbrella organisation Mozilla, best known for the Firefox web browser, will contribute the Daala video compressor technology to the Alliance for Open Media project, which will merge with Cisco’s Thor and Google’s VP10 codecs. Link to the article :  http://www.itnews.com.au/news/tech-giants-band-together-for-open-source-video-codec-408761?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=iTnews

 

Original author: sflc_admin

©Republished under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Licence
SFLC.IN is a donor supported legal services organisation that  brings together lawyers, policy analysts, technologists, and students to protect freedom in the digital world. SFLC.IN promotes innovation and open access to knowledge by helping developers make great Free and Open Source Software, protect privacy and civil liberties for citizens in the digital world by educating and providing free legal advice and help policy makers make informed and just decisions with the use and adoption of technology. SFLC.IN is a society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, operating all over India.
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