Open Source

Favorite Open Source Applications

Have you ever gone looking for open source software titles? Did you ever wonder if there was a single place where all of those titles could be aggregated with descriptions, license information, links, use categories etc...? Well I have built a page where I would love to have as many open source apps listed as possible. I am asking your help in building a repository of apps that includes things like titles, license types, instructional uses, ratings and other informational items.

Time for a change!

Did you wonder if I was ever going to post again? Well it has been a while but I am now ready to get back on the wagon. For those that have read my blog in the past you have probably noticed a few changes to the site in the last couple of months. I have totally rebuilt my site on Drupal 6 and am now ready to get on with my new life. This post is mainly to bring folks up to date on what I am up to since I left my previous district last May and to describe where I hope that I am headed.

NSBA T+L 2009 Conference

I am sitting here at Denver International Airport using the Internet via bluetooth on my phone. I figured it would be as good a time as any to give an overview of the 2009 T+L conference. Last year we did a couple of workshops and one presentation as kind of a beta test to see if the folks at NSBA wanted to have an open source presence at their annual technology + Leadership conference. This year they gave us our own room and we did about a dozen presentations and two workshops. It was very well received!

Open Source Support Models

In my first post today, Why not OpenOffice, I asked the question; "Why would a company riff staff rather than look at open source solutions that could potentially save a few jobs?" Just over an hour after the post I received a comment from someone who very succinctly pointed out what they felt were the reasons managers would riff staff before considering a move to open source. I replied back to this comment in a very long-winded fashion and said I would tackle the subject of support in a different post. Well, here is that post.

Why not OpenOffice?

During the last few weeks I have had a number of conversations with various individuals regarding the use of open source applications in both schools and in the business place. Let's take OpenOffice as an example.

Organizing Your Website Content: Drupal Views

More and more schools are moving to content management systems (CMS) to more easily manage their websites. While many are going with propietary solutions like Schoolwires, my district decided to use Drupal.

Moodle Server Time Block

Do you ever wonder what the real time is on your Moodle server? Many people have downloaded the Analog Clock block for Moodle thinking that this will show the time on their Moodle server only to find out that it shows the local time on their personal computer.

VLC and the Presidential Inauguration

I meant to post this a long time ago but just didn't get around to it. So, as usual, it is way too late to think, but I have the time and the energy to get it done. I have been using VLC (Video Lan Client) for years now. It is a media player that can play just about anything on any platform. What most people don't know about VLC is that it is a great application for streaming video or audio in a variety of formats. Better yet, it can stream multiple streams using different protocols at the same time.

Audacity: Oh How I Love You! Let Me Count the Ways

Audacity is probably one of the most well known and most popular open source applications. I thought seriously about just not posting about it, but recently used it to do some fun things with capturing old vinyl records to my computer and thought I should at least put a plug in while I was thinking about it. Audacity is an audio editor and recorder that runs on the three major platforms, Windows, Macintosh and Linux. It is simple to use for basic things and can be as complex as you want it to be. In my most recent use of Audacity, I was digging through my many boxes of old vinyl LPs (records, or big black CDs as my children once called them) and found some old 78s from the early 1950s.

GnuCash

Hey, it has been a while since the last post, October 16, 2008 to be exact. Life dealt me with a couple of blows that put me down hard and I have been struggling to get back on my feet, literally. So, as I get up and start getting around better I thought it was time to get back on the blog and Twitter wagon. So, although it isn't directly related to education, this post is about an accounting package similar to Quicken or MS Money. It is called GnuCash and can be found at http://www.gnucash.org/.