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  • Roberto Galoppini 4:34 pm on July 10, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

    Blognation Italy: Web 2.0, Mobile and Start-ups 

    Blognation Italy has just been launched, it is part of the blognation network, a network of bloggers reporting in English on Web 2.0 technology, mobile and enterprise start-ups.

    Amanda Lorenzani Amanda Lorenzani

    I already happened to video-interview the Italian Editor Amanda Lorenzani, a Rome/London based blogger, portal manager at Excite UK with a background in technology PR and communications. When at the vlog barcamp she kindly promised me to give some light on her last adventure, below her answers.

    What will blognation Italy be covering?

    News from web 2.0 and mobile start ups, product developments, events and the venture capital market. We’ll also be tracking the most dynamic innovators, entrepreneurs and bloggers. We’ll also be looking at the open source space and its impact on development and innovation. Italy has a wealth of talented individuals, creativity, skills and an increasing desire to grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem and blognation’s mission is to raise awareness of the activity happening in the country.

    How many countries will you be covering?

    The UK site launched last week in beta, which is being followed by Germany and Italy. Throughout the course of Q3 and 4 we’ll also be launching Ireland, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Japan, China, Australia, Brazil and South America.

    An ambitious scope! Why has blognation chosen to report in English only?

    Some top quality start ups are emerging from many countries, led by innovative entrepreneurs. There are also excellent local language blogs covering these developments. The English speaking world faces a challenge understanding what’s emerging from outside its sphere and blognation’s vision is to help bridge the communications gap.

    How do you see the start up ambient in Italy?

    Optimistically. There is huge growth potential and enthusiasm is certainly not lacking! CEOs I’ve spoken with so far have expressed cautious but definitely positive views on how the ecosystem will expand. Lack of support and an infrastructure not adapted to the needs of start ups is always cited as an issue. blognation wants to support growth in this area by providing a source of information to venture capitalists, angel investors, analysts, multinationals and entrepreneurs within Italy and also to a global audience.

    What can we expect to see coming up on blognation Italy?

    There are some great start ups emerging from Italy – Mobango, Zooppa, TheBlogTV, Segnalo, yoo+ to name but a few. It will be exciting reporting the development of these dynamic new companies. We’ll also be tracking news from the start up hubs like Netwo and First Generation Network and interviewing the innovators in the sector.

    Thank you Amanda, I wish you and blognation Italy the best of luck!

    PS: If your start-up is not listed among  blognation companies,  feel free to send details about your start-up directly to the editor (amanda.lorenzani blognation.com) or  filling the contact us form.

    About blognation.
    July 1st, 2007 saw the launch of blognation, a federation of blogs reporting daily updates on Web 2.0 technology, mobile and enterprise news from all over the world. Currently editors do cover some European regions (United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Denmark, Italy, Iceland, Netherlands) and other countries like Israel, Japan, China / Taiwan / Hong Kong, Australia, Brazil, South America. USA is not going to be covered, because there are already many outstanding blogs focusing on technology start-ups. Yesterday were announced two more blognation countries – Germany and Italy and despite they define themselves in “pre-beta” (trial & test mode) they are scheduled to rollout two or three countries each week throughout the summer.

     

  • Roberto Galoppini 1:30 pm on July 9, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

    Open Source Government: FCC rules could negatively affect the market 

    The Federal Communications Commission responding to a petition for clarification filed by Cisco, asking about the policy on the confidentiality of software controlling security in Software Defined Radios. The Freedom Software Law Center concluded that the rules do not restrict the activities of independent developers and distributors of FLOSS designed for use with SDR devices.

    Cisco and its too big but favorite chew-rope!Cisco and its too big but favorite chew-rope by Kenny and Steve

    FCC position about the open source concept doesn’t harm me really, neither I am worried by the (false) assumption about open source insecurity, due to the inherently public nature of source code. It is just the obsolete “security by obscurity” statement (read also Jeff Kaplan “FCC: Open Source Idiots” on the subject).
    But as the SDR Forum, I am concerned about the following issues:

    In particular, the SDR Forum is concerned that the policy may discourage standardization of security methods that would be in the public interest. For example, an SDR Forum member might decide to withhold its security approach from the Forum’s membership because doing so might reveal aspects of the approach that “could be defeated or otherwise circumvented.”

    Common based peer-production can really foster industry collaboration in order to develop the best security practices, and the new policy could prevent this to happen.

    The policy may also discourage new business models that would improve the quality of SDR security and lower its costs. Seemingly implicit in the Commission’s order is that the radio manufacturer and security mechanism developer are vertically integrated – i.e., one company provides both functions. However, for the most effective techniques to be implemented across SDR and cognitive radio markets, they need to be shared across multiple manufacturers.

    Hence firms need to share many aspects of their security techniques, the businesses requires so, otherwise the Commission won’t take advantage of the benefits of a competitive marketplace.

    Technological clubs are not an easy game to play, making them not compliant with FCC rules would greatly help large integrated firms just like… Cisco, I am afraid.

    Technorati Tags: Open Source Government, FCC, Cisco, technological club

     

  • Roberto Galoppini 8:22 am on July 8, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

    Open Source Government: SoftwareTech news 

    David Wheeler kindly suggested me to read the last number of the DoD Software Tech news – a periodic published by the Data & Analysis Center for Software – entitled “Open Source – The future is Open” (registration required), and it really worths reading.

    David WheelerDavid Wheeler by swhisher

    Before talking about why FAR, the Federal Acquisition Regulation, demands agencies to look at open source software when procuring software, I wish to report Gen. Charles Croom priority list for how DISA – the Defense Information Systems Agency – will acquire technologies and capabilities in the future. Defined by the acronym “ABC”, as explained below:

    The “A” on that list stands for adopt. The general maintains that his agency will do what it can to take advantage of past investments by adopting both what is in the marketplace and what is in the U.S. Defense Department inventory. This approach is at the heart of providing network connectivity to the warfighter.

    The “B” is for buy. If the agency cannot adopt something already on the shelf, then it will go to the marketplace and buy what is needed. While this lacks the economic savings of using what is at hand, it nonetheless takes advantage of the efficiency in commercial developments.

    If neither A nor B can help DISA carry out its mission, then the agency will employ its “C”—create. Only if all other avenues fail to produce the needed goods or services will the agency generate its own customized solution.

    In terms of the “A,” DOD is a large-scale adopter of Open Source as results from what observed Brigadier General Nick Justice, the Deputy Program Officer for the Army’s Program Executive Office, Command, Control and Communications Tactical:

    Open source software is part of the integrated network fabric which connects and enables our command and control system to work effectively, as people’s lives depend on it. When we rolled into Baghdad, we did it using open source.

    With respect to the “B,” Chuck Reichers, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition and Management, said:

    We want to pay for unique intellectual property when it’s best of breed, but not succumb to code and vendor-specific lock-in situations. Acquisition of proprietary solutions needs to be a conscience choice, not an assumption.

    Last but not least the “C,” with the living example of the Navy’s SHARE (Software, Hardware Asset Reuse Enterprise) repository. James Shannon, program manager for future combat systems open architecture, observed:

    But the fact that today we are putting systems that were solely owned or thought to be solely owned by other companies and the fact we have shared them with other companies, I will tell you OA (open architecture) has arrived. We are definitely working to change our Navy business model and we are seeing industry change their business models as a result.

    I am among them thinking that Open Source software shouldn’t be mandatory, but at the same extent I firmly believe that Open Source has to have an official seat at every Public Administration table.

    Getting back to the FAR issue, considering that the FAR requires government agencies to conduct market research to determine if commercial items or non-developmental items are available, Wheeler wrote that:

    An agency that fails to consider OSS options is in direct violation of the FAR, because it would be failing to consider commercial items.
    Another reason that most extant OSS is commercial is because U.S. law says so. U.S. Code Title 17, section 101 defines “financial gain” as including “receipt, or expectation of receipt, of anything of value, including the receipt of other copyrighted works.” Most OSS projects are specifically established to encourage others to contribute improvements (which are copyrighted works), a form of financial gain and thus commercial.

    I keep citing David’s work because it is really important that people get acquainted with the idea that “Commercial is not the opposite of Free-Libre / Open Source Software“, hence the name of my blog: Commercial Open Source.

    The Software Tech News is published quarterly by the Data & Analysis Center for Software (DACS). The DACS is a DoD sponsored Information Analysis Center (IAC), administratively managed by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC). The DACS is technically managed by Air Force Research Laboratory, Rome, NY and operated by ITT, Advanced Engineering and Sciences Division.

    Technorati Tags: Open Source Government, Wheeler, SoftwareTech news, Commercial Open Source

     

    • Jim S 7:48 pm on July 11, 2007 Permalink

      Hi Roberto,

      I agree that the issue of software tech news you point to has some good material in it; and David is doing a great job getting people to understand in government that FOSS is a form of COTS that they can leverage under the FARS.

      I’m a bit disappointed though that in DoD circles the question continues to be “can I consume COTS FOSS projects?” and most of our discussion is still around that concept. It is taking a long time, but it is basically inevitable that this battle will be won.

      To me, the much more interesting thing is how we will do “C” with open source-like methods; either spanning the DoD boundary into commercial community, or inside a very large walled garden when necessary.

      SHARE is a great example but still hampered by the facts that 1) it relies on (to me) nearly worthless government purpose license rights as an IP model and 2) is gated way too narrowly (because it relies on GPLR, I believe the repository is only accessable if you are currently under contract).

      At the fringes, in projects like OpenEaagles (http://openeaagles.org/) and Delta3D (http://www.delta3d.org/), evidence is mounting that real value comes from spanning commercial and DoD communities with truly open systems to satisfy “C” projects more cheaply and with better quality.

      For those that can’t span into commercial communites (for security reasons or whatever) I imagine a world where Government General License (GGL – a not-yet-real license, closely modeled on GPLv2) is the standard contract clause rather than GPRS and that anyone with a CAC card can access most repositories and contribute to community.

    • Roberto Galoppini 11:24 pm on July 11, 2007 Permalink

      Thank you very much Jim,

      you really add some salt to the discussion. Did you read that a joint U.S. and Canadian organization that certifies encryption tools for use by federal government agencies has suspended its validation of OpenSSL cryptographic technology? A lot of work is still needed, and now that FOSS is progressively perceived as viable, proprietary vendors are lobbying hard against it. We are in the Middle Earth, nowadays.

      I don’t know much about SHARE, and despite the acronym sounds a lot about sharing, if I got it right it is pretty ‘closed’. I saw similar initiatives here asking contributors odd things, and I think that with patience it is possible to get things done properly, eventually.

      On the other hand, Public officers need a change of mentality, and that is far from obvious (hence the need for goodwill).

      Last but not leasr, while I am not welcoming initiatives like the European Union’s license, I believe you are right saying that a standardization in this respect might be helpful.

  • Roberto Galoppini 8:02 am on July 7, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

    Open Source Links: 07-07-2007 

    Is Red Hat doing its part to win the ‘open source’ war? – Ashley Vance says that If Tiemann wants to create a muscular division between the badgeware bastardizers and the open source faithful, we’ll need to see a much more focused effort from the top.

    How will open source do in a talent-short age? – Dana thinks open source will more than thrive in a talent-short world. Would SourceKibitzer be the ultimate resource to replace programmers? What about other languages and environments?

    MySQL CEO MÃ¥rten Mickos: What Open Source Is Really All About – MySQL CEO explains the way they are preventing predatory behaviors: using the GPL, retaining maximum control over product roadmap and taking advantage of the “best code here” position (i.e. technical support is not copyable by others).

    Open Source ETL – Philip Howard, who previously wrote “the case for open source ETL“, says that Talend may have entered the open source ETL market late, but it looks that it will soon be a market leader.

    Stallman Shoots Free Software Movement in Foot. Again – What is wrong with subversion?

    Returns on open source VC investments – Savio Rodrigues quoting Matt Aslett who in turn was reporting Gianugo Rabellino makes a deep analysis to guess why VCs fundings to series ‘B’ and above are increasing while series ‘A’ seems to be drying up for OSS vendors.

     

  • Roberto Galoppini 6:51 pm on July 6, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

    Internet Governance Forum: workshop proposals online for viewing&merging 

    The Internet Governance Workshop proposals submitted within the 30 June deadline have now been posted for viewing. Save the following dates:

    • Deadline for submitting proposal (abstracts + initial list of organizers ): 30 June.
      .
    • Completion of co-organizer and panellist arrangements and merge activities: July.
      .
    • Notification of selection – 31 July 2007.

    During July proponents of similar workshops will be encouraged to join forces and collaborate where it is feasible. Organizers of workshops are, therefore, expected to work with others who submit proposals on the same theme. A willingness to merge proposals is a requirement.
    The Government of Brazil will host in Rio de Janeiro on 12 – 15 November 2007 the second Internet Governance Forum meeting. The IGF website – run by the IGF Secretariat – supports the United Nations Secretary-General in carrying out the mandate from the World Summit on the Information Society with regard to convening a new forum for multi-stakeholder policy dialogue – namely the Internet Governance Forum.

    Technorati Tags: Internet Governance Forum, Open Consultation

     

  • Roberto Galoppini 12:22 am on July 6, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

    Open Source Marketplace: SourceForge opens its Open (source) shop! 

    SourceForge.net just launched their marketplace, a sort of Open (source) shop for which employment opportunities are not restricted to developers working by a particular company.

    From a customer perspective, SourceForge Marketplace could eventually represent a resource to find talented developers, as reported by their newsletter:

    Open it's a shopOpen it’s a shop by psd

    Now you can buy services at SourceForge.net

    Hire an Open Source Expert

    In addition to visiting SourceForge.net for the latest Open Source code, now you can use our site to hire qualified experts. At the SourceForge.net Marketplace, you can quickly and easily buy service from responsive, eager providers—at fair market prices!

    Visit the SourceForge.net Marketplace.

    Right now, you’ll find listings for technical support, custom development, training and more on applications such as:

    Check out how the Marketplace works and hire an Open Source expert ASAP.

    How many among the just-announced finalists of the second SourceForge Community Choice Awards are already supported by the Marketplace’s providers? Since Voting will continue through July 20, it will be interesting to sort it out on July 26 at OSCON.

    Full Disclosure: I am on SourceForge.net Marketplace advisory board, but I would write about it regardless, even if they would have given me money, or a lot of! 🙂

    Technorati Tags: Open Source Marketplace, Sourceforge

     

  • Roberto Galoppini 3:24 pm on July 5, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

    Open Source Government: good-will needed 

    Every Government is supposed to function for the benefit of its citizens, delivering services that help economic growth and enable social activities. Since IT is just a cost center, and considering the possible multiplying effects, many see Open Source as the natural choice.

    Good willGood will by mricon

    Looking at the North-American experiences, or European ones, I am wondering what did they miss, and how possibly the new ones could eventually be really successful.

    Matt calls for leadership, I think that first we need politicians with good-will, willing to put their intellectual potential to work for the overall desires of the general public.

    What do you think?

    Technorati Tags: Open Source Government

     

  • Roberto Galoppini 10:03 am on July 5, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

    Open Source Links: 05-07-2007 

    Another reason I love open source software – : A story about the open source transparent development process.

    Is Microsoft OOXML the best deal open source can get? – Dana puts it simple, may be even too much: customers and public administrations are not the same, like office-automation suites and file format are different beasts.

    The Impact of Open Source Software (OSS) on Education – Topics on OSS on Education, open educational resources (OER), open courseware (OCW) and governance on Terra Incognita blog.
    Open Source Economics and why visibility is good for you – Comments about Gupta’s article at Read/Write Web: Open Source Economics Driving Web 2.0 Innovation

    Driving the Flex decision – Mc Allister at Adobe expands further the reasons to open Flex given by Phil Cost, the Director of Product Management for Flex and ColdFusion.

    The Real Meaning of GNU GPLv3 -  Glyn Moody observes that the drafting of version 3 has been opened out in an exemplary fashion, unfortunately this has a cost: the GPL Loophole it is going to stay.

     

  • Roberto Galoppini 9:37 pm on July 4, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

    Open Source Links: 04-07-2007 

    Survey: Windows loses ground with developers – developers targeting Windows for their applications declined 12 percent from a year ago, from 74 percent to just 64.8 percent. The targeting of Linux by developers increased by 34 percent to 11.8 percent. It had been 8.8 a year ago, according to the survey. Linux targeting is expected to reach 16 percent over the next year.

    Open source investment up 33% in Q2 – Matthew Aslett keeps us updated: The biggest deal of the quarter was done by real-time Linux specialist Concurrent ($14m), open source ESB vendor MuleSource raised $12.5m.
    Rocard se recupera de una embolia cerebral en India – Michel Rocard has suffered an embolism in the brain during its trip to India, best wishes for fast recovery!

    What’s the Matter With Standards in China? – Jeff Kaplan reports that an official from a Chinese standards organization maintained that a standard is not “open” if it has any IPR in its specification. In his opinion China’s influence over the direction and content of the standards debate will surely increase, he might be right.

    Microsoft wins Massachusetts file format reprieve – Microsoft’s efforts paid,  Massachusetts included Open XML in a new draft of the state’s technical reference model. I keep thinking that whoever wins the file format war, users are going to loose.

    Six questions to national standardisation bodies – Georg Greeve, FSFE President, is working hard on (office) open standards. I suggest him to explain the six questions.
    Guide to Open Data Licensing – Rufus Pollock wrote a Guide to Open Data Licensing, a guide to licensing data aimed particularly at those who want to make their data open.

     

  • Roberto Galoppini 12:07 am on July 4, 2007 Permalink | Reply  

    Open Source Marketplace: SourceForge Advisory Board welcomes me! 

    Recently Ross Turk, SourceForge Community Manager, visited me in Rome to find out more about how SourceForge.net could better serve Italian open source communities, developers and users, and we talked a lot about SF Marketplace.Hence, I received the following invite:

    Hey Roberto!

    We’re looking for a select group to advise us on the SourceForge.net Marketplace. Because you are a reputable, knowledgeable member of the open source community and we trust and value your opinion, we’d be honored to have your guidance in the first crucial phase of this initiative. Therefore, we would like to invite you to join the SourceForge.net Advisory Board.

    Exclusive invitationThe road less traveled by Dolinski

    I am really honored to join the SourceForge.net Advisory Board, and I am pretty excited to participate the SF marketplace start-up process. As far as I understand the board will continue to meet regularly on line, in order to be updated and also to give feedbacks.

    Once again, we’ve hand-picked you because we think you can give us invaluable guidance on an initiative that we believe has the potential to push open source further into the mainstream. We are dedicated to making this the best it can be for the benefit of anyone interested in buying or selling open source services.

    Ross, early adopters will be CIOs able to try new approaches, may be taking the road less traveled, and I will do my best to help you to reach them!

    Technorati Tags: SourceForge, RossTurk, RobertoGaloppini

     

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