Open Source

The Open Source Initiative began with the publication of Eric Raymond's paper The Cathedral and the Bazaar in 1997. To really gain an understanding of the Internet and associated information technologies it is a must read.It is an offshoot of the free software movement that advocates open source software as an alternative label for free software, primarily on pragmatic rather than philosophical grounds.


Even before that Richard Stallman wrote the GNU manifesto. GNU is a recursive acronym for GNU's Not Unix. It's a little play on words that symbolizes the playful/clever attitude of early hackers. Most everyone involved with computers today is familiar with the word Linux. The proper name is actually gnu linux. Linus Torvalds came up with a working model before Stallman, and used his gnu project as a springboard. These days Stallman is more occupied with politics than programming, but at least he started a great thing. As we all know, Linux has been spreading like wild fire since it's inception in 1991. A classic example of the bazaar method of software production. At the last survey Linux made up 60% of the worlds servers. All of Google's 1,000,000 servers run Linux. That goes for amazon.com and ebay as well. Maybe they know something?


The first piece of software on my list is both Free and Open Source . Ubuntu (pronounced oo-BOONtoo,  is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu ("humanity towards others").[6]

Ubuntu is designed primarily for desktop use, although netbook and server editions exist as well.[7] Web statistics suggest that Ubuntu's share of Linux desktop usage is about 50%,[8][9] and indicate upward-trending usage as a web server.[10] Ubuntu holds an estimated global usage of more than 12 million users,[11] and it is considered byDistroWatch to be the most popular distribution of Linux.[12] (The second-most popular distribution, Linux Mint, is itself a derivative of Ubuntu.)

Ubuntu is sponsored by the UK-based company Canonical Ltd., owned by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. Canonical generates revenue by selling technical support and services tied to Ubuntu, while the operating system itself is entirely free of charge. A new version of Ubuntu is released every six months and I keep my netbook upgraded constantly.

To ask how many computers in the world run Linux is difficult to answer. Linux can be installed on a wide variety of computer hardware, ranging from mobile phones, tablet computers and video game consoles, to mainframes and supercomputers. Linux is a leading server operating system, and runs the 10 fastest supercomputers in the world.Many of the software titles listed below are included with a standard installation of ubuntu.


OpenOffice.org 3 is the leading open-source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. It is available in many languages and works on all common computers. It stores all your data in an international open standard format and can also read and write files from other common office software packages. It can be downloaded and used completely free of charge for any purpose.


GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed piece of software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It works on many operating systems, in many languages. (more...)


Audacity® is free, open source software for recording and editing sounds. I use it to make custom ring tones for my cell phone. It is available for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and other operating systems. Learn more about Audacity... Also check our Wiki and Forum for more information.


Firefox browser is created by Mozilla, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote openness, innovation and opportunity on the Web.


Google Chrome

The web is what you make of it! The web has moved from viewing to doing. Google Chrome is a fast, simple browser that lets you make the most of the modern web

VLC - VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVD, Audio CD, VCD, and various streaming protocols.

Rhythmbox is an integrated music management application, originally inspired by Apple's iTunes. It is free software, designed to work well under the GNOME Desktop, and based on the powerful GStreamer media framework.

K3b was created to be a feature-rich and easy to handle CD burning application. It consists of basicly three parts:

  1. The projects:
    Projects are created from the file menu and then filled with data to burn.
  2. The Tools:
    The tools menu offers different tools like CD copy or DVD formatting.
  3. Context sensitive media actions:
    When clicking on the Icon representing a CD/DVD drive K3b will present it's contents and allow some further action. This is for example the way to rip audio CDs.

Android is a software stack for mobile devices that includes an operating system, middleware and key applications.Andoid RobotGoogle Inc. purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc., in 2005. Android's mobile operating system is based on the Linux kernel. Google and other members of the Open Handset Alliance collaborated on Android's development and release. The Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is tasked with the maintenance and further development of Android. Android was listed as the best-selling smartphone platform world-wide in Q4 2010 by Canalys. Android has a large community of developers writing applications ("apps") that extend the functionality of the devices. There are currently more than 250,000 apps available for Android. Android Market is the online app store run by Google, though apps can also be downloaded from third-party sites. Developers write primarily in the Java programming language, controlling the device via Google-developed Java libraries. The unveiling of the Android distribution on 5 November 2007 was announced with the founding of the Open Handset Alliance, a consortium of 80 hardware, software, and telecom companies devoted to advancing open standards for mobile devices. Google released most of the Android code under the Apache License, a free software and open source license. The Android open-source software stack consists of Java applications running on a Java-based, object-oriented application framework on top of Java core libraries running on a Dalvik virtual machine featuring JIT compilation. Libraries written in C include the surface manager, OpenCore media framework, SQLite relational database management system, OpenGL ES 2.0 3D graphics API, WebKit layout engine, SGL graphics engine, SSL, and Bionic libc.

Back to top

Services

  • Setup a new computer/printer
    One of my favorite tasks is setting up a new computer and or printer. The first thing I usually do once it is all put together is remove all the trial software and what I call crapware. Then I update everything. Depending on how long a computer has been sitting on the store shelf the operating system could need a lot of updating. I'm an Open Source software advocate, so when I point out all the free software available most people are more than willing to ditch their proprietary software for a free alternative.
  • Software help - In English
    If you've ever called tech support with a simple question and waited on hold for an hour before someone on the other side of the globe picks up the line you'll appreciate this service. They may or may not speak good English, they may or may not be able to explain/solve your problem. I've been doing this for over 20 years and I pride myself on my patience and my ability to explain something in simple English. Einstein once said: "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough. I'll sit down with you and you will understand it! I teach old dogs new tricks.
  • Develope/Publish your Website
    I made my first Website in '93 when Netscape first came on the scene. I used a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) web editor. It didn't take me long to learn that WYSIWYG html editors had more weakness's than strong points. I started learning html, java script, and later Flash and CSS. Today I only manage a few websites, but I'm constantly adding new tools to my repertoire. I confess to being a hard core google-holic, and if I don't know how to do what you ask, my friend google does. I enjoy working with clients and let them contribute in the making of their web, as much, or as little as they wish.
  • Computer Tune ups
    Over time a computer can become slow and increasingly unreliable. Malware, virus's, registry errors, etc. can contribute. Don't be suckered into buying the latest magic bullet piece of software to speed up your computer. It won't work and you'll waste your money. Ill sit down with you and your computer, explain the available options, and get your computer running as good as it will run. No magic software can do that!
  • Transfer files and settings
    You've just bought a new computer, but you have years of documents, pictures, and custom settings on your old computer. Don't worry! I can move all your data and settings to your new computer. I can even make it look a lot like your old computer, if that's your wish. That's what I do!
  • Answer all your tech questions
    I'm a learning animal and a die hard google-holic! I've been in love with technology for 20+ years. If I don't know the answer to your question, I know how to find it. There's an old saying: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day - teach him to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." If you wish, I'll teach you to fish. If you just want answers - I have them!

Contact Information

5838 Floyd Ct.
Weed, CA 96094
Phone: 1(530) 925-4813 (cell)
Skype: 1(530) 554-1746
E-mail:

Follow Me