Open Source Topic Center

Keep up to date on open source, including the latest news, reviews, opinions, tips, analysis and more

Berlin rejects open source plan, looks to open standards instead

The German city-state of Berlin won't migrate to open source software. Instead, its parliament decided in principle to choose workplace IT based on open standards.
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Java developer says he built, launched basic open source office suite in 30 days

A freelance Java developer claims it took him only 30 days to build and launch a basic open source office suite that runs on multiple OSes.

Mozilla's Firefox OS will also appear on high-end phones

The upcoming Firefox OS will appear on higher-end smartphones, and not just entry-level handsets, with Sony expected to release a premium device running the operating system, a Mozilla executive said.

Hadoop updates search with MapR, Cloudera releases

Users of the Hadoop data processing platform now have two more search engines to help them sort through their mountains of information.

Board maker's $45 PC tries to catch up with Raspberry Pi on price

Open-source board maker BeagleBoard.org has introduced a bare-bones PC starting at $45, bringing it closer to the popular Raspberry Pi, which offers basic models for $25 and $35.

Red Hat, Hortonworks prep OpenStack for Hadoop

Merging the worlds of big data and cloud computing, Red Hat, Hortonworks and Hadoop integrator Mirantis are jointly building a software program, called Savanna, that will make it easier to deploy Apache Hadoop on an OpenStack cloud service.

Red Hat releases community OpenStack distribution

Red Hat has launched a community version of its still-in-development OpenStack distribution, and it also released a preview of the enterprise edition of this distribution for those who sign up for an early adopter program.

Citrix bequeaths Xen to the Linux Foundation

In an effort to attract a more diverse set of contributors, enterprise software vendor Citrix has donated its open source Xen hypervisor to the Linux Foundation.

Red Hat JBoss Data Grid now spans data centers

Red Hat has revised its JBoss Data Grid software package, which now offers the ability to replicate copies of data across different data centers, and also comes with a number of other new features that can limit downtime.

Google pledges not to sue open-source users or developers over specified patents

Google will not sue any user, distributor or developer of open-source software on specified patents, unless first attacked, the company said on Thursday.

OX Text review: An in-browser word processor with big ambitions

OpenXchange's new word processor, OX Text, is the first in a set of Linux-based productivity apps. Can it compete with Google Docs and Office 365?

Free (with strings attached): Keeping track of open source code

Many IT organizations aren't applying good governance practices to open-source software. Experts say the software should be documented and tracked to ensure it always runs smoothly.

Sizing up open source: Not so simple

Choosing open-source software is more complicated than picking traditional software. Is your IT department prepared to contribute code fixes to the community?

Open your data to the world

Not having an API is becoming like not having a website, but the interface has got to be easy for outside developers to work with.

Choosing an open-source CMS, part 3: Why we use WordPress

In the third part of a three-part series, we look at two organizations that have chosen WordPress as their content management system.

Choosing an open-source CMS, part 2: Why we use Joomla

In the second part of a three-part series, we look at two companies that have chosen Joomla as their content management system.

10 free Drupal modules that make development easier

Working with Drupal is not for the timid -- but these 10 free modules could make things easier for developers and administrators.

10 Joomla extension modules for easier and better websites

A collection of 10 diverse Joomla extensions that can help you build and maintain your sites.

Six free databases with commercial-quality features

Free or open source databases run hundreds of millions of public-facing and private applications worldwide, but how effective is this technology and how do these products compare? For answers, we reviewed six popular free or open source database products: Microsoft SQL Server Express, PostgreSQL, Oracle's MySQL, MariaDB, Apache Derby and Firebird SQL.

How to use aliases in Linux shell commands

Are you doing too much typing in your daily Linux work? Find it difficult to remember complex commands? You'll want to use Linux aliases. Find out how they work and see some useful examples.