Nov 05
The Google phone will not be hardware, but in fact an open source mobile Linux OS. It is built on the open Linux Kernel. It will be a complete set of software for mobile devices along with a (Software Developer Kit) SDK that will be released November 12.
What is amazing is now we could see a boom in handset functionality and features that would have never been possible before. In fact, it brings the technology to the developers and removes the control from the big carriers and phone manufacturers. I don’t believe that any company other then Google could have pulled it off.
“Android breaks down the barriers to building new and innovative applications. For example, a developer can combine information from the web with data on an individual’s mobile phone — such as the user’s contacts, calendar, or geographic location — to provide a more relevant user experience. “
Jun 27
The Howard County Library in Columbia, Maryland has successfully deployed Groovix on 284 customer computers. Groovix provides a Public Access computing software that turns any computer into a secure public workstation. The Groovix desktop environment is based on Ubuntu Linux.
“In order to exceed customer expectations and expand access to library collections and services and contain hard costs for software licenses and computer hardware, Howard County Library uses a wide-range of open source solutions on its customer and staff computers.”
The Howard County Library is committed to Open Source software whenever feasible. What are the reasons for using Open Source? Should not surprise anyone.
- Ease of Use
- Compatibility
- Stability
- Cost Effectiveness
Because of their success, I have a feeling they may become the beacon light, guiding other libraries across the country on the same route.
