Free/libre and open source software (FLOSS)

Playing games with computer education: ArabDev’s Menia initiatives
Playing games with computer education: ArabDev’s Menia initiatives 27 July 2006 FN for APCNews

Gaming is very popular with the children and youth. So what better way is there to introduce computing and free and open source software (FOSS) to kids, than through fun didactic software?

Summary page of Drupal's main features
Summary page of Drupal's main features 04 June 2006 FN for APCNews

Some of Drupal’s features include multi-user editing, an advocacy component, flexibility and configurability, multi-lingual support, a strong and dedicated developer community, as well as a vibrant community of users.

From theorising about the media to coalition building around free software
From theorising about the media to coalition building around free software 19 May 2006 FN

The Foundation for Media Alternatives was one of the groups that pushed to have a community-focussed track at the latest Linux World Philippines. The programme listed themes like free and open source software in government, health and education. The FMA then helped create an open coalition. More recently, this APC member has also backed up a bid to set up a regional node of the International Op...

The software challenge? How to popularise Indic solutions with users
The software challenge? How to popularise Indic solutions with users 18 May 2006 FN

Indian language computing solutions in free/libre and open source software is "doing fine" but needs better documenting and packaging. It also needs to find sufficient numbers of users. There is a lot of potential for regional, cross-country cooperation in this field in South Asia, a region in urgent need of solutions to its computing challenges. This interview with Sarai.net, the Delhi-based n...

A computer for Africa, will it work?
A computer for Africa, will it work? 24 March 2006 FN

A computer that’s encased in wood to resist tropical temperatures and consumes thirty times less electricity than the standard PC? The “Solo” a unique computer that fights rural Africa’s heat, dust and unreliable power supply is being tested in Nigeria and will be ready for commercial production shortly. APCNews interviews Ochuko Onoberhie, a technician from APC member the Fantsuam Foun...

APC members see FOSS as route to building skills, sharing knowledge
APC members see FOSS as route to building skills, sharing knowledge 27 February 2006 APCNews

APC member-organisations, who responded to a survey, see free/libre and open source software (FOSS) as an opportunity to learn new skills and share knowledge. They also see non-proprietary software as an "important form of co-operation" or being capable of "reducing desktop costs".

FOSS breaks many walls... but not among the genders?
FOSS breaks many walls... but not among the genders? 26 February 2006 Yuwei Lin

FOSS, or free/libre and open source software, has dramatically changed the way software is produced, distributed, supported and used. It has a visible impact on enabling a richer social inclusion. But how has it allowed the gender problem existing in the software industry to be replicated in the world of FOSS? Amsterdam-based Taiwanese researcher Yuwei Lin lists seven reasons why women stay off...

Share your experiences of shifting to FOSS, says Shuttleworth
Share your experiences of shifting to FOSS, says Shuttleworth 22 February 2006 Cheekay Cinco

As part of his Asian tour to promote free/libre and open source software (FOSS), the techie-millionaire founder of the Ubuntu Linux Foundation Mark Shuttleworth spent a day in Manila on February 2 to meet with different sectors of the ICT industry in the country.

Khmer software initiative: an APC member takes language solutions to 13 million
Khmer software initiative: an APC member takes language solutions to 13 million 30 January 2006 Javier Sola

"2005 has been a good year for KhmerOS, and, we hope, for Cambodia’s technological future," says APC member Open Forum Cambodia, writing out of the southeast Asian kingdom of 13 million. Here’s an update of their project to create a Khmer-language solution in computing.

Africa Source II makes befriending FOSS a real treat
Africa Source II makes befriending FOSS a real treat 23 January 2006 Elizabeth Araujo

Women’sNet’s training co-ordinator Elizabeth "Liz" Araujo writes that the recent Africa Source 2 event was set "against a beautiful Lake Victoria island backdrop, replete with sandy beaches, and fishing boats", and turned out to be a "smashing success". Held from January 8-15, 2006, the skills-packed practical workshop was aimed at introducing and exploring free/libre and open sour...

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