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			    <title>Open Source | Technologie - Technology News Aggregator</title> 
				<link>http://w3bguru.com/news/open-source</link> 
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			<title>Got a badly-formatted PDF? Try Briss</title>
			<link>http://w3bguru.com/news/article/got-a-badlyformatted-pdf-try-briss</link>
			<description><![CDATA[It’s not difficult to create PDFs these days. If your application doesn’t already have a “Save as PDF option”, then a virtual printer like Bullzip will generally get the job done.
These converted documents won’t always be formatted properly, though, and large or oddly-sized margins can be a real problem -- but that’s where the open-source Briss comes in. If you need to crop PDFs, perhaps to remove page numbers, maybe just to make the document easier to read on a small screen, then this small free program could an excellent solution.
Briss is a compact Java-based tool, and so there’s no installation required -- just unzip it, browse to and launch briss-0.9.exe. Click File &gt; Load File, choose the PDF you’d like to crop (pressing Cancel at the “Input” screen, this time) and you’re ready to begin.
The program will open your PDF and analyze it, before displaying the results in an appropriate structure. We tried this with a PDF book, for example, and it organised all the left pages into one group, all the right pages into another. Every page in each group was then overlaid on top of the other, so we could see the extent of our document. And a blue rectangle was displayed over each group.
To define the cropping area, all we then had to do was move and resize the two blue rectangles accordingly. Everything below the rectangle would be preserved, while everything else disappears -- it’s very quick and easy. If you’re unsure at any point then clicking Action &gt; Preview will show you what your current cropping arrangement has done, while clicking Action &gt; Crop PDF will save it for real. (Don’t worry, the original document is preserved, this only saves a copy.)
Useful though this is, it’s only part of what Briss can do. If you’ve scanned a book, say, you might find your PDF now has two book pages squeezed into one document page, which looks ugly and messes up your PDF page numbering. But use Briss and you can define regions within a document page, and split them back into separate pages, restoring the original structure and probably making the file much easier to read.
And there’s even simple command line support, allowing you to set up scripts which can process a folder of PDFs entirely automatically.
All of this is presented in a rather basic interface, which takes a little time to master. If you occasionally need this kind of PDF cropping or reorganising ability, though, it’s worth investing your time – once you’ve learned the basics, Briss becomes one of the quickest ways to crop a PDF that we’ve seen anywhere.
Photo Credit: Hitdelight/Shutterstock

 
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			<pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2013 03:07:35 EDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Platform clouds: the battle for developer hearts and minds</title>
			<link>http://w3bguru.com/news/article/platform-clouds-the-battle-for-developer-hearts-and-minds</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Open for business Analysis  It has been a decade since Microsoft announced its .NET framework and the Common Language Runtime - where C# and other languages do their frolicking on Windows systems. And thanks to the proliferation of open source programming languages and frameworks, which are the foundations of emerging platform clouds, this could very well be the last proprietary, closed source application framework that the world will see.…]]></description>
			<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2013 21:07:33 EDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Declare DRM freedom!</title>
			<link>http://w3bguru.com/news/article/declare-drm-freedom</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
Oct. 10, 2007 is the day I threw off the chains locking my music. I purged the last DRM-protected file from my personal catalog -- and not by stealing. I purchased every track, and getting them Digital Rights Management-free wasn&#039;t easy six years ago. The base collection started from CDs. The problem: Songs purchased from iTunes, starting in April 2003. Later, Apple offered facility to remove copyright restrictions. Meanwhile, I repurchased some tunes, or just did without them.
But chains remain. Every video purchased or rented for download is DRM-protected. Far worse are ebooks. There, the unsung hero -- your advocate and champion -- is JK Rowling. In late April 2012, she released the entire Harry Potter series as ebooks, DRM-free, baby. Rowling is more than a hugely successful writer; she stands up for readers, too.
HTML5 Ruin
You can take a stand also. May 3rd is &quot;International Day Against DRM&quot;. That&#039;s right, today. There is good reason now, as rights protection is headed to HTML5, and it&#039;s helluva controversy, too.
&quot;There is a proposal currently before the World Wide Web Consortium&#039;s HTML5 Working Group to build DRM into the next generation of core Web standards&quot;, Electronic Frontier Foundation&#039;s Peter Eckersley and Seth Schoen explain. &quot;The proposal is called Encrypted Media Extensions, or EME. Its adoption would be a calamitous development, and must be stopped&quot;.
GNU Project founder Richard Stallman calls DRM &quot;Digital Restrictions Management&quot;. In a post on the GNU website, he asserts:
Allowing a few businesses to organize a scheme to deny our freedoms for their profit is a failure of government, but so far most of the world&#039;s governments, led by the U.S., have acted as paid accomplices rather than policemen for these schemes. The copyright industry has promulgated its peculiar ideas of right and wrong so vigorously that some readers may find it hard to entertain the idea that individual freedom can trump their profits.
Price-Fixers
He&#039;s spot on. Publishers demand onerous digital rights mechanisms that defy fair use-laws that prevent people from sharing content they purchase for personal use. Take ebooks, for example. If I buy hardcover or paperback, I can share with family, or even friends. But not ebooks. DRM restricts usage to a single user account. If my daughter at college wants to read the same book, she must buy another copy.
Isn&#039;t that a form of price fixing, a practice that U.S. antitrust law prohibits, since DRM compels even members of the same household to buy more than one copy of a title when using separate accounts on different devices. Buyers can read Kindle books on any device running Amazon&#039;s software, for example, but rights restrictions limit or prevent sharing the titles with, say, family members on their separate accounts.
In a competitive market, particularly a growth one, competition should loosen rights. That&#039;s what happened with digital music, where DRM ruled early on but today is all but gone. Consumers benefit from the ability to share music within a household. Ebook publishers generally grant no such rights. Same applies to Hollywood-produced movies and TV shows.
U.S. antitrust and trade laws are supposed to protect consumers from harm. What&#039;s not harmful or anti-competitive about onerous DRM? If rights restrictions come to HTML5, music freedom could give way to chains. Again.
Stop EME
The Free Software Foundation&#039;s &quot;Defective by Design&quot; campaign asserts:
EME would be an irreversible step backward for freedom on the Web. It would endorse and enable business models that unethically restrict users, and it would make subjugation to particular media companies a precondition for full Web citizenship. Just as Flash and Silverlight are finally dying off, we should not replace them with the media giants&#039; latest control fantasy. 
Furthermore, EME contradicts the W3C&#039;s core values. It would hamper interoperability by encouraging the proliferation of DRM plugins. It would fly in the face of the W3C&#039;s principle of keeping the Web royalty-free -- this is simply a back door for media companies to require proprietary player software. It is willful ignorance to pretend otherwise just because the proposal does not mention particular technologies or DRM schemes by name.
I agree. If you do, too, sign FSF&#039;s petition &quot;We don&#039;t want the Hollyweb&quot;, opposing EME.
Photo Credit: Nomad_Soul/Shutterstock

 
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			<pubDate>Mon, 06 May 2013 21:07:33 EDT</pubDate>
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			<title>Crowdsourcing the cloud to find cures for rare and “orphaned” diseases</title>
			<link>http://w3bguru.com/news/article/crowdsourcing-the-cloud-to-find-cures-for-rare-and-“orphaned”-diseases</link>
			<description><![CDATA[

      
	
			
							Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
				
	  
  
 For over a decade, the University of California, Berkeley has used a virtual supercomputer built from borrowed processing time on over a million &quot;volunteer&quot; PCs across the Internet to process radio signals collected in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. That supercomputer, called SETI@Home, has inspired a nonprofit to find treatments for diseases that pharmaceutical companies have ignored—diseases such as malaria, sleeping sickness, and Hodgkin&#039;s lymphoma—using the same platform to harness the power of the unused compute cycles on your PC (or tablet or smartphone).
The core technology used by SETI@Home, called the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC), has already been applied to a number of scientific endeavors beyond searching for extraterrestrials, including computational chemistry efforts on the IBM-sponsored World Community Grid to find cures for diseases such as AIDS (with the Scripps Research Institute&#039;s FightAIDS@Home project) and malaria. But the new effort, a non-profit called Quantum Cures, is bringing commercial software originally developed for Microsoft&#039;s Windows Azure cloud to the BOINC platform and isdriving it with a hybrid of open-source and commercial management software.
The computational technology behind Quantum Cures is a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) modeling system first developed by computational chemistry researchers at Duke University. Called Inverse Design, the software—commercially developed by TerraDiscoveries in partnership with Duke University and Microsoft—uses an engineering approach with the same name to search for potential drugs that will interact with proteins related to a disease.
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			<pubDate>Sat, 09 Mar 2013 03:16:46 EST</pubDate>
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			<title>Google, MPEG LA kiss and make up in WebM patent spat</title>
			<link>http://w3bguru.com/news/article/google-mpeg-la-kiss-and-make-up-in-webm-patent-spat</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Open source VP8 codec now officially legit Google and the MPEG LA licensing body have announced that they have reached a licensing agreement for patents related to the Chocolate Factory&#039;s WebM streaming media technology, clearing the cloud of potential litigation that has loomed over the format for more than two years.… ]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:07:58 EST</pubDate>
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			<title>Google, MPEG LA agree to royalty-free terms for VP8 video codec</title>
			<link>http://w3bguru.com/news/article/google-mpeg-la-agree-to-royaltyfree-terms-for-vp8-video-codec</link>
			<description><![CDATA[ Google and MPEG LA have announced that they have come to an agreement over Google&#039;s VP8 video codec. 11 patent holders have agreed that any patented techniques used by VP8 can be used without payment of a royalty, forever.
In 2010, Google bought On2, a company that developed video compression algorithms. Shortly after the purchase, Google offered On2&#039;s VP8 algorithm on a perpetually royalty-free basis, so that it could be readily used in open source projects.
MPEG LA sells licenses to various patented technologies. Video compression algorithms such as the widely used H.264 are usually covered by multiple patents held by multiple companies. MPEG LA works with these patent holders to pool them together and provide simple license agreements that cover the range of patents so that the algorithms can be licensed without having to negotiate with each company individually.
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			<pubDate>Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:07:58 EST</pubDate>
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			<title>LibreOffice 4.0.1 supports Impress Remote for Android</title>
			<link>http://w3bguru.com/news/article/libreoffice-401-supports-impress-remote-for-android</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
The Document Foundation has released LibreOffice 4.0.1, a primarily maintenance release for its open-source office suite. Comprising word processor, spreadsheet, database, presentations, drawing and maths tools, LibreOffice 4.0.1 has one notable update, cross-platform support for its LibreOffice Impress Remote app for Android.
LibreOffice Impress Remote allows users to control Impress presentations over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi using their Android phone or tablet. Only Linux builds of LibreOffice 4.0 supported the app, but as of version 4.0.1, Windows and Mac LibreOffice users can also control presentations using the Android app.
The simplest way to use an Android phone with LibreOffice is to pair it with the target computer using Bluetooth, allowing both to be used in remote scenarios without relying on other network connections. Users can, however, connect through Wi-Fi by specifying the target computer’s IP address.
The app allows users to start the currently loaded slideshow, then control it via the volume buttons or touch-screen controls. Users can move between slides one at a time, with accompanying notes for each slide displayed on the mobile for reference. Users can also insert blank screens, plus view all slides as thumbnails for jumping quickly to different parts of the slideshow.
TDF warns that the app is still a little buggy, particularly on Windows and Mac platforms, but we found that on the whole it worked well when paired with our Mac Mini running LibreOffice 4.0.1.
As for LibreOffice 4.0.1 itself, over 100 bugs have been fixed with this release, including a significant number that caused crashes. Elsewhere there’s a fix for text rotation in shapes when exporting presentations in PPT (PowerPoint) format, plus users should now be able to format comment text and import MSDraw files without worrying that certain shape properties won’t be handled incorrectly.
Other editing fixes should ensure that conditional formatting isn’t destroyed when copying and pasting spreadsheet cells, while autofit text should no longer break superscript or subscript text in Impress. Version 4.0 was released last month, boasting a revamped API and host of new features.
LibreOffice 4.0.1 is a free, open-source download for Windows, Mac and Linux. LibreOffice Impress Remote is a free companion app for Android mobiles running Android 2.3.3 or later.

 
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			<pubDate>Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:07:58 EST</pubDate>
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			<title>What Google Play&#039;s first birthday means to you</title>
			<link>http://w3bguru.com/news/article/what-google-plays-first-birthday-means-to-you</link>
			<description><![CDATA[
One year ago, March 6, 2012, Google renamed Android Market, and nothing is the same sense. The rebranded Google Play pushed forward a transition started in November 2011, with the broad expansion of content beyond apps. The name change also represented something bigger, shift in emphasis away from broader Android to the search giant&#039;s siloed services and brands. Google sought to imitate Apple while tackling wild Amazon. 
On Play&#039;s first birthday, Google Android -- not the skinned software Amazon, HTC, LG, Samsung and others ship -- is a 98-pound weakling gone super steroids. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company sells apps, ebooks, gift cards, magazines, music, movies, TV shows and devices through the online store. There were no devices available a year ago, but now accessories, Chromebooks, smartphones and tablets. Three different computers are available, including the new and Google-branded Chromebook Pixel. Also: Two different Nexus 4 smartphones and Nexus 10 tablets and three Nexus 7 slates -- four if counting 32GB HSPA+ models twice, with different cellular SIMs.
I can&#039;t overstate what Play means to Google, and possibly to you. The store anchors a broader strategy to build out an end-to-end hardware, software and services platform rivaling Apple&#039;s and keeping runaway successes like Amazon and Samsung from gaining too much influence over the entire Android ecosystem. Google is 1 and 0 -- win against the retailer, but not the electronics manufacturer. 
Looked at differently, Play, the devices and all that curated content is about selling a Google lifestyle. The &quot;Market&quot; was all about an Android lifestyle. The rebranding and everything that followed dramatically shifted the digital lifestyle focus to Google.
Android runs Aground
A year ago, Android was lost at sea, with several captains&#039; mates at the wheel struggling to steer in different directions. Amazon looked to fracture the Android tablet market with its highly-customized OS and compelling curated experience matching Apple&#039;s and, in some respects, exceeding it. 
Meanwhile, Samsung sold so many Android phones, influence grew organically fast. Neither company offered then, as now, the newest Android version on most devices -- and none without some changes. Heck, Amazon ships its own web browser on Kindle tablets. I warned 11 months ago: &quot;Google has lost control of Android&quot;.
Around the same time, Forrester Research predicted that proprietary Android versions, like Amazon&#039;s, would surpass the Google Android ecosystem by 2015. Such circumstance would likely fracture the open-source platform into multiple fatally fragmented Android ecosystems. Beyond development, Google wasn&#039;t really follower or leader, but surely destined for the rocks with the likes of Amazon steering the ship to self-interest rather than destination entire ecosystem.
Play represents leadership, taking charge -- one of several coordinated actions that put Google at the helm of good ship Android. Even if some partners leave the vessel for their own destinations, a core Android ecosystem will steam ahead. The OS technically still is open source, but the major benefits are Google&#039;s and put the company at the forefront of the new computing era, rather than sinking with the old one.
Meet Appooglesoft
Look at the change! Google sits on atop a platform that looks like an Apple-Microsoft hybrid. The fruit-logo company develops everything important for its core ecosystem, selling a curated and integrated hardware-software-services stack. Sure there are third-party apps and physical goods, like cases and peripherals. But Apple controls the core. 
Microsoft, by contrast, sells and licenses software, while more recently expanding to services and dabbling in hardware. The two models are almost mirror images. Apple makes most money from stuff it sells directly. Microsoft primarily profits from products other people sell. If there is no OEM-made hardware, Microsoft software sells to no one. 
Google gives away Android for free, but benefits indirectly from attached products and services on devices third parties sell. There, the licensing model resembles Microsoft&#039;s. But now with Play and all those devices, Google also has established, in less than 12 months, something that looks lots like Apple end-to-end, too. In many ways, Google has created an ecosystem and supporting platform that is the best of what both Apple and Microsoft offer. Google Play is a critical component to making the strategy work.
You must understand, and many of you will disagree, people don&#039;t buy products. They buy brands. Such as Amazon, Apple or Samsung -- Kindle Fire, iPhone or Galaxy S III. Android by itself, with lots of would-be captains wrestling the rudder, is not strong enough brand, particularly if Google wants to be a player in the so-called post-PC -- or what I call the cloud-connected or contextual cloud computing -- era. Google Play is critical to that end, and by no means the most important. But the store is the most visible piece, as that&#039;s where people go to buy the stuff supporting the Google lifestyle -- what Google doesn&#039;t give away with Android.
A year later, people who want stock Android can purchase a Nexus device directly from Google at Play -- one that feels like buying something from Apple. Hardware, software and services integration is tight. Digital content is available in all major categories and there is deep social sharing built in, whether Google+ or support for other services. Google and its sub-brands are front, center and behind -- all around. Play is an integral part of promoting the Google lifestyle, something more tenuous in March 2012 than it is today.
Photo Credit: Elena Schweitzer/Shutterstock

 
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			<pubDate>Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:07:58 EST</pubDate>
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			<title>Former MySQL CEO Mårten Mickos Talks About Managing Remote Workers (Video)</title>
			<link>http://w3bguru.com/news/article/former-mysql-ceo-marten-mickos-talks-about-managing-remote-workers-video</link>
			<description><![CDATA[Millions of pixels have been used to talk about Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer&#039;s decision to ban telecommuting and her reasons for doing it. Today&#039;s interviewee, Mårten Mickos, built MySQL AB into a billion-dollar company with 70% of its workers, all over the world, telecommuting instead of working in offices. Now he&#039;s CEO of another young open source company, Eucalyptus, and is following a similar hiring pattern. Mårten says (toward the end of the video/transcript) that he believes people working out of their homes is entirely natural; that this is how things were done for thousands of years before the industrial revolution.    Read more of this story at Slashdot.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Thu, 07 Mar 2013 20:07:58 EST</pubDate>
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			<title>Which Cloud System Is the Most Open?</title>
			<link>http://w3bguru.com/news/article/which-cloud-system-is-the-most-open</link>
			<description><![CDATA[1sockchuck writes &quot;In a landscape with dueling open clouds, which is the most open? Cloud software specialist Eucalyptus sees pushing boundaries of openness as an opportunity. &#039;We&#039;re extending our open model into professional services,&#039; said CEO Marten Mickos. &#039;Anyone can look at the source code, training material, documents that go around the code, everything. We realize that our competitors will look at it, but we&#039;re happy to offer it to the world in order to better the product.&#039; The open cloud arena is becoming more competitive with the growth of OpenStack, CloudStack and OpenNebula, &#039;There are a number of reasons we are making this shift, but the most important one is culture,&#039; Eucalyptus said in a blog post. &#039;If we truly are an open source company, does it make sense for us to develop closed-source intellectual property, tightly control access to that information, and use it primarily as a way to drive direct business unit revenue?&#039; What lies ahead in the Open Cloud Wars?&quot;    Read more of this story at Slashdot.]]></description>
			<pubDate>Tue, 12 Feb 2013 18:07:46 EST</pubDate>
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