My Favorite Techie

Archive for the ‘Open Source’ Category

One of the technologies that I have been watching is VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol. This service basically allows phone calls to be made inexpensively over the Internet. We’ve seen all kinds of service providers pop up over the last few years that have very low rates such as Vonage and VoIPo. But one would still continue to wonder why we would continue to need home phone service even via the Internet when many of us are mobile. The interesting thing is that many of these services have the ability to be mated to an app on our smartphones that would allow us to receive calls using the Internet connection on our smartphone devices.

One of the advantages of using a VoIP service on our mobile devices is that we would NOT be using precious minutes to call land lines. Those phone calls would be part of the flat fee for the VoIP service. The unfortunate thing is that data consumption on our phones would skyrocket. This technology becomes a great benefit for businesses of all sizes. We now have the ability to take our office phone with us worldwide rather than having to play games with transferring calls to and from cell lines to office lines.

If one is a geek, there is an Open Source IP PBX solution called Asterisk by Digium that offers a full-featured IP PBX for FREE. The most popular distribution of that package is Trixbox CE. One can set it up for a two person office or for an office of 100 or more. All that is needed is a relatively still usable computer Pentium III or better, a few IP phone devices or softphone software, and VoIP service with at least one phone number. (The software will also work without external service.) The software runs on a Linux kernel and will self-install for the most part. There is better configuration when done via command prompt.

Down the road, I definitely see VoIP becoming the major player in our daily voice communications as mobile Internet access gets faster and faster. In fact, I begin to wonder if cell service as we know it know will migrate over just as business voice service has begun switching.

Everyone knows Microsoft Windows and Macintosh, but only a select few know about Linux. Linux is an alternative PC operating system that is available via Open Source and is based on the Unix operating system developed decades ago. Linux does share something with Macintosh that Microsoft has not yet accomplished. Linux, like the Macintosh use a similar “kernel” or core operating module that is independent of the visual system that we use to accomplish work. Since that core is separate, security and stability are very secure from outside attacks.

The Internet has been Unix and Linux based for years. In fact, the Internet got its roots from these two relatives. All Internet technologies that we know of today for the most part all are rooted in Linux. Unfortunately, Linux has not really made its way to the desktop for the general user. (Geeks are running it though and loving it.)

Linux can give Windows and Mac a run for their money as Linux has programs that are compatible with both platforms. Some of the most common programs found on Linux machines are Open Office, GIMP, and Firefox. Open Office is a FREE office productivity suite whose files are compatible with Microsoft Office and Corel’s WordPerfect Office Suite. Firefox is the most popular alternative web broswer available free of charge on the web.

If you’re interested in test driving Linux for yourself, below are a list of popular Linux distributions.

• Ubuntu (The Most Popular and Free)
• Debian
• RedHat
• Xandros

Installing Linux is simple for the most part. Follow the screens and you’ll be OK. Ubuntu desktop can also be run directly from the CD without installing it on a computer, but it will run slower.

The only real difference between desktop Linux and server Linux is the configuration of the OS and the software packages running on it. They are both of the same core.

Everyone knows what a laptop computer is, but some have yet to meet it’s close relative, the Tablet. The tablet is a deviation of the notebook computer that has the functionality of being an electronic notepad. Although they are similar in looks, tablets have characteristics that are particular to them. For example, a tablet has the following features that a traditional laptop does not have:

• Digital Pen (stylus)
• Rotating screen
• Specialized handwriting software
• Smaller screen size (standard piece of paper size)

So what can a tablet do that a regular laptop cannot due? There are many things where a tablet outdoes its close relative, the laptop. Here are some things one can accomplish easily on a tablet that would be unthinkable on a desktop or laptop.

• Have you tried to draw a diagram or sketch on a standard laptop?
• Have you entered information by typing one handed on a standard laptop?
• Have you flipped through pages of typed or handwritten notes looking for that key term?

Then you already know why a tablet is better than a laptop. But the list of advantages is even longer, so lets take a look at each specifically:

• Ability to take notes by hand, but using digital ink instead. And, if you want, the software will change your handwriting into typed text.
  
• Takes up less room and fewer hands are needed.
• The software on a tablet can help organize notes better than a traditional notebook. The tablet (using OneNote) can locate information that has been entered previously. Everything entered is considered a separate piece so it can be reordered, reorganized, color even coded.
• The tablet is a great tool for showing photo slide shows as portrait shots can be shown in true proportion when viewed in tablet mode.
• The tablet is a great choice for anyone who needs to draw anything–whether it be diagrams, shapes, formulas, a map or a family tree.
• It is a valuable tool for filling in electronic forms utilizing handwriting to text conversion utilities.

As great as the tablet is for things that handwriting is great for, there are very few known programs that work with the tablet. Most of the programs that are optimized for the tablet have been developed by Microsoft or its partners. Microsoft Office, OneNote, and Grafigo by Corel are some of the major programs available for tablet. Graphics programs that artists traditionally have used external styli for also work well with the tablet.

Outside of these special traits, the tablet functions exactly like any other laptop computer. So, if you need to be able to do things in the list above, check out the tablet for yourself as an alternative to a traditional laptop. If not, the tablet will most likely not be any more help to you.

Open Source software, what is that? Open source software is software that is developed and distributed for free on the Internet or available on CD for a small denomination. Open Source software is available for web and individual computer installations. For example, the software that runs this blog is open source. For the common person, there is some sort of open source alternative to fill the need at hand whether it be office productivity or graphics. Why pay hundreds of dollars for software that you will only use to compose simple documents.

There are many titles available that rival known software packages. One package in particular is Open Office, developed by Sun Microsystems. It offers many of the same features as other office packages like Microsoft Office and is compatible meaning that a document written in Open Office can be opened in Microsoft Word and visa versa. For most people, the features available in Open Office will suffice.

One of the biggest Open Source projects that has taken off in the last few years is the Firefox web browser. It is developed my the Mozilla organization. It is available for a number of computer platforms including, Windows, MAC and Linux. One of the greatest features of it is the ability to customize it with free add-ons available through the Mozilla web site.

Also from Mozilla, is the free email program, Thuderbird. It has the same features as Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express, but has one advantage; it is less susceptible to virus attacks. There is even an option to import your current contacts from Outlook to Thunderbird.

There is even a free computer operating system available in the open source arena. It is called Ubuntu. It is actually a flavor of the Linux operating system. In fact, compared to Windows and Mac, it is much more reliable and stable as it has its roots in an even older format called Unix which dates back to the 1960s. There are several versions available of Ubuntu as well. One version in particular is designed for use in schools, called Edubuntu. Ubuntu incorporates many of the open source programs that discussed here such as Firefox, Gimp (similar to Adobe Photoshop), and Open Office as a turn-key solution.

The best part of all open source software is the ability to distribute the software. With open source software you are encourages to tell your friends and even make copies of it and give it out. There is such a thing as getting something worthwhile for FREE.