While the tech media lemmings continue to push a plethora of praise the the decidedly totalitarian Fruit Phone, consumers are voting with their dollars elsewhere. Open source makes for tremendous efficiency in the implementation an build process enabling a variety of choices versus a monoculture. This has created so much momentum behind Andriod, that it’s mobile OS dominance  has become something akin to Microsoft’s practical monopoly on the desktop.

Google’s Android platform has gone from activating 100,000 units a day in May, to 200,000 daily units as of today, according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt.

Schmidt was speaking to journalists (pictured above) at the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe, CA, and the technology blog TechCrunch managed to get some video of the chat (see below).

The activation growth shows impressive progress for Google’s mobile OS in the span of just a few months. Schmidt pointed to recent quarterly shipment numbers that showed Android phones outselling the iPhone in the last quarter as proof and said that he confirmed the number with Google’s own internal figures. (Mobile Beat)

While Android is open source, there are some big caveats that come with its dominance. It will be the top target for exploits. We still haven’t developed an effective way of policing them on the desktop, and many mobile users tend to be even less tech savvy than desktop users. Then there’s the fact that while the platform is open, implementation is crippled by carriers.That limits users choices on how they use their handsets and  allows carriers to continue to nickel and dime them for simple services that could be replaced by simple apps. Lastly, the Andriod project, while open is overseen by Google. Many of us will argue that this “do no evil” company is anything but. Searchzilla continues to unapologetically cook its search results to favor a political agenda along with pay for placement. Worse yet, Google’s CEO has repeatedly stated that we have no right to privacy online. It’s virtually certain that some of this attitude will be baked into Andriod if it’s not already present.

There is a silver lining. Open source projects tend to spawn forks and branches when the overseers overstep. Andriod and its inevitable variants are likely to dominate mobile for some time to come. This will put Apple back in the boutique business for mobile. In other words, if smart phones were shirts, we won’t all be forced to wear turtlenecks. It will also most likely make Google’s Chrome OS irrelevant.

Conclusion: look for the cloud in your pocket, soon,and cheap. It also means you’ll have many more choices than you have now.

While Google and Yahoo’s maps are free, mostly accurate and even have API’s that extend their use, they still have limitations. Data collected by outsiders will never rival that from a person familiar with the area.That combined with hostile terms of service and “trust us” while we collect your data policies makes a very good case for  a crowdsourced, open source global map system. openstreetmap.org is just such a project. While it currently covers Europe, US users are beginning to add data.

A street-level map of the world might sound audacious, but OpenStreetMap has exploded in popularity—after starting with a few friends, more than 250,000 have now contributed mapping data to the project. Soon, the map achieved amazing accuracy, especially in Europe where it originated.

Take a look at Germany, for instance, where open mapping has become a craze. The Zoologischer Garten Berlin (the Berlin Zoo) exists in Google Maps, of course, but it has little detail (though it does have satellite maps, which OpenStreetMap lacks). Dedicated locals have used OpenStreetMap’s tools to do Google one better by mapping all of the zoo’s animals; if you want to plot your visit to the lair of the “Groβer Panda,” you can. Even restroom locations are helpfully plotted. (Ars Technica)

It’s been a little over 10 months since we mentioned open text purveyor Flat World Knowledge. Since then, with a very limited, but growing offering, the company’s user base has exploded going from 0 to 40,000 in a single year. The concept is simple: Texts are free, and printed copies can be purchased as is or in instructor modified  form at very low cost.

Not only a new business model for textbooks, I believe it is yet another illustration of how creative commons can fuel learing and economic opportunity.

IT Conversations recently posted an interview with Flat World’s Eric Frank and Jon Williams. You can hear them discuss open source textbooks on our handy player below:

 

 IT Conversations [58:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Yawn? Surely you jest. Oh I know that multihead conferencing has been around. Most of it corporate using dedicated circuits and equipment. Or public services like WebEx. But what makes VuRoom is that is does not require a lot of specific gear. If your PC can run the latest version of Skype it can run VuRoom.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–ViVu, Inc. (www.vivu.tv), an emerging leader in creating innovative and easy-to-use solutions for live video participation, today released VuRoom – a ViVu-powered plug-in for Skype, the popular software that enables the world’s conversations. VuRoom is built on the Skype platform to provide customers with instant multi-user video conferencing – an exciting new breakthrough previously unavailable to Skype users. Along with its presentation and desktop sharing functionalities, VuRoom is designed to help remote business users collaborate in real-time, while also saving valuable time and money.

“Having experienced the technology, I believe that ViVu is well positioned to deliver on the video collaboration needs of SMB and enterprise customers. In particular, I see strong potential for ViVu’s new Skype plug-in.”

“Our recent research studies predict a big year for global growth in the web conferencing market,” said Krithi Rao, an analyst in the Information & Communication Technologies Practice at Frost & Sullivan. “Now more than ever, enterprises are looking for cost-effective communication and collaboration solutions to help them succeed.”

Demo here.

Now why the tither Dog? The price. The problem with most of the other services is they run $30-40/month. That can run into some serious coin on a 10 person team every month. This is running $10/seat. A fourth the price. At that price point if using the software for the entire team replaced but one airline ticket a month it paid for itself and then some.

The fact that it is on Skype provides for a very ubiquitous platform. One could add external input sources as needed into the video conversations with little cost or set up charges. The real question is does it last in its current biz plan form. Skype with there latest release now provide P2P video on the three major OS platforms. That is probably 60% of all the Skype usage out there. Couple that with some geek will pull this off as a freebie somewhere as well. Time will tell.

But while it lasts VuRoom lowers the bar on multihead video.

Linky.

A New Zealand high school running entirely on open source software has slashed its server requirements by a factor of almost 50, despite a government deal mandating the use of Microsoft software in all schools.

Albany Senior High School in the northern suburbs of Auckland has been running an entirely open source infrastructure since it opened in 2009. The 230-pupil school was set up to follow open learning principles, offering large “learning commons” areas where multiple classes interact rather than conventional classrooms and setting aside one day each week for pupils to work on self-driven research projects.

Albany SHS’ unorthodox approach is also reflected in its IT infrastructure. Deputy principal Mark Osborne was determined to use open source software throughout the school, even though planning for that process began less than two months before the school opened.

Totally open. Further in the article, it is revealed that a student can bring in other foreign platforms like a Mac and use them on the network as well. A good thing for the school? Sounds like it. Little early to tell. The school only started in 2009. Give it a year or so and lets hope there is a follow up article.

Linky.

The  Open Source movement has revolutionized software. Consider this: If you use the internet, most of its enabling technology is Open Source. Even if you use Windows or a Mac, the massive library of Open Source applications and utilities available free for the download are enabling society to become more productive.  Open Source hardware designs are shifting emphasis from building proprietary fiefdoms to building better products based on an open platform.  Open Source also enables economic growth by creating opportunities for training, support and customization. Open Source education is providing truly equal access to higher learning for the first time in recorded history.

So why not Open Source Science? So much science today is funded by agenda driven political interests and patent lawyer driven industry. These “patrons of research” rarely serve the public interest. With the collaboration of the many available to all for the taking, the many elusive goals of science could become reality.

The Open Source Science Project, which is developing a research-based, openly accessible scientific curriculum, addresses this issue by allowing scientists to document their process of discovery all along the way.

“Our project was designed so that researchers willing to conduct open research would be protected from this form of theft by their ability to maintain an openly available paper trail from the time they submit their project proposal until the time they publish their final report,” Priyan Weerappuli, executive director of The Open Source Science Project, told Linux Insider. “It’s worth noting that while the risk of intellectual theft is real, the ability for researchers to work off of one another is an invaluable tool for furthering any given field of study. We seek to ensure is that researchers are properly credited for any such property they produce.”

Creative Commons-type licensing is another option for scientists, publications, and institutions that want to allow open access to data, methods and discoveries, while at the same time give some measure of protection to those who produce this information. Science Commons, a project of Creative Commons, for instance, provides licensing for scientific content; over a thousand scholarly journals worldwide are making use of Science Commons’ licenses. It is also involved in patent licensing for companies such as Nike (NYSE: NKE), Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO).

“What we do at Creative Commons in the sciences is try to intervene and change the fundamentals,” John Wilbanks, vice president of Science Commons, told LinuxInsider. “More access to information and tools means more people can take a shot at science. More freedom to operate means it’s easier to be an entrepreneur. It’s all about democratizing access to the information and tools enough to allow that distributed innovation to occur.” (Linux News)

Everyone — scientists, the general public, and even taxpayers — stands to benefit from a new scientific model, argued Wilbanks, who prefers the term “distributed science” to “open source science” to describe this process.

My apologies to Ed Berridge its not our practice to just lift articles bodily from a publisher. But this is just too sweet not to —

LINUX VENDOR Red Hat hit a milestone yesterday when its share price rose above Microsoft’s.

True, Microsoft has a hell of a lot more shares out there in the marketplace and its own share price has not been that healthy over the past year, but this is being seen by analysts as a great day for the free software outfit.

Since 2001 Red Hat has experienced more than 600 per cent growth, while during the same period Microsoft has experienced negative growth in its share price.

Actually 2001 was a darn good time to invest in Red Hat. In those days its stock was worth a piddling $3 per share. Now Red Hat stock is priced at over $28 per share.

Analysts say that while Red Hat’s share price has been higher than today what is important is that actually it is worth the figure.

Red Hat’s profits come from server support subscriptions and it is a stable maker of earnings.

The only thing that could go wrong for Red Hat is if other Linux suppliers come along and offer lower subscription fees.

However to balance that, Red Hat is making a killing with virtualisation and its Java application server business in Jboss.

According to CIO Today, Red Hat could make out like a bandit on the craze for Cloud computing. µ

Ed, if you or your publisher have heartburn, please just send us a note. We will take this down. But this is just too sweet not to savor. Go Red Hat!

Linky.

Ever wanted to be a movie mogul? See your name up there in the credits. Wield power. Manage the casting couch. Well you can, well except for the last part —

Get your credit!

If you purchase and pay the DVD by september 15th latest, you can get your name mentioned on the official movie credit scroll! To make sure the crediting works fine, we will remind everyone via email a month before the movie goes to premiere.

As you can notice on the campaign “money meter”, we target at a pre-sale of 2000 this time. Very ambitious, but the targets for this project are ambitious too. Order now!

General donations are welcome too, check the Sponsor Prospectus for offerings, or use the Donate button there.

Thanks for the support!

The Durian Team

Yep its an Open Source project. Only this time it is going for Open Funding too. So all it takes is for you to preorder Durian by September 15th and your name will be added to the list of credits as a ‘producer’ I guess. Ego? Hey you bet. But where else can the average schmo like me get a crack at this? My point exactly.

Linky.

It’s all about open source. Wikipedia is an open source true believer and the first with real muscle to get behind open standards in online video. Are Flash and Silverlight in trouble? No way. Never the less an open platform being deployed on a portal as significant as Wikipedia is bound to keep them from becoming too closed.

For those that are of a geeky sort and want to play with the code that is the base for the Palm it is now available. –

To comply with the GPL, Palm has released the source code packages for its Linux-based WebOS used by the new Palm Pre, which has been on sale in the US since the beginning of June. The company has also set up its own open source site.

For its WebOS, Palm uses version 2.6.24 of the Linux kernel with nearly 1,000 patches, most of which relate either to the Pre’s ARM processor architecture or to platform-specific drivers. Some Palm developed new drivers are also included in the source code, such as a driver for the acceleration sensor in the Pre.

The Pre is already in the stores and seems to have developed a decent following. With but a few exceptions (eg no X11) any linux developer would feel right at home with the Pre.

Linky.