20091222 Examples of Popular Free Software Projects That Receive Little Attention
8 Free, Offbeat Open-source Social Tools
Identi.ca is the best-known open-source alternative to Twitter. The microblogging platform is used by lots of people in the open source community, and is a good choice for the business or organization that wants to customize an internal microblogging strategy. Laconica is also worth looking into.
http://gigaom.com/2009/12/21/8-free-offbeat-open-source-social-tools/ Diversity in Free Software: South Asians as an example
Take a look at the Debian developer map again. You'll see that Debian is certainly not an Americans-only project, or even an English- speakers-only project. South America has a respectable dotting of developers, and Western- to Central-Europe are packed. I have strong feelings about Free Software. It emerges from an ethos of personal empowerment, and with open source it has become a dominant force in computing. Yet there are plenty of sharp people -- at least women and South Asians -- who, somehow, become culturally excluded from participating.
http://www.asheesh.org/note/debian/indians.html
Recent
StatusNet (Of Identi.ca Fame) Raises $875,000 To Become The WordPress Of Microblogging
Montreal-based StatusNet, the company behind the open-source microblogging service identi.ca, is closing an $875,000 seed round today. Investors include Montreal Startup, iNovia Capital, Fotolia co-founder Oleg Tscheltzoff, and Xavier Niel. The startup, which changed its name a few weeks ago from Control Yourself, raised a previous seed round of $150,000 from Montreal Startup in January, 2009.
