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Saturday, May 18, 2013

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Should Software Created By The Federal Gov't Be Open Source Licensed... Or Public Domain?

Anil Dash recently alerted me to a White House petition to get "government-developed software" under an open source license for the sake of allowing others to build on it and approve it.

Top Three Reasons to Mandate Open Sourcing of Custom Federal Software:
Openness: Open Sourcing ensures basic fairness and transparency by making software and related artifacts available to the citizens who provided funding, consistent with the President’s 2009 declaration that “Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset.”
Economic Multiplier: Making Provides an economic stimulus by serving as the raw material that supports a competitive software development and services industry.
Supports the Federal “Shared First” Agenda: Maximizes value to the government by significantly increasing reuse and collaborative development between federal agencies and the private sector, consistent with the current Office of Management and Budget (OMB) “Shared First” initiative.

While I certainly share the sentiment expressed in those...

Developer Drops Game Price To $0 Citing Android Piracy

hypnosec writes with news of a curious way of fighting piracy. From the article: "Android based devices are being activated at the rate of million a day and users are downloading apps and games at a rate never seen before. Despite these promising stats, developers of Android based games and apps are not really keen on porting games and apps that have been successful on iOS to Android. Why? Rampant piracy on Android! Madfinger Games has joined the long list of developers who have recently turned their paid Android based game, Dead Trigger, to a free one. Originally priced at $0.99 on Play Store, the first person shooter game is now available for free . The iOS version of the game still costs $0.99 and hasn't been made free." Zero-cost, but certainly not Free Software; one has to wonder whether Open Source games with a "donation" build in the store...

When WSJ Flunks Internet History, Blogs Step In To Educate

We hear over and over again from traditional reporters how we need to "protect" newspapers and how, as newspapers fail, no one can step in and replace them -- especially not "new media" like blogs. In fact, we're told how newspapers are "trustworthy," but blogs are "amateurish" and prone to hyperbole and errors. It's a common story told over and over again -- especially by those supporting the idea of paywalls and the like. In fact, we wrote about yet another such example just recently . And yet... it seems that we just as frequently hear about newspapers making big mistakes, and blogs stepping in to correct them.
Today's example involves the supposedly venerable Wall Street Journal, who posted a column by former publisher L. Gordon Crovitz, trying to claim that the internet was really invented by private companies, without much government support . Except,...

UK Government Faces Lawsuit Over Surveillance Exports

judgecorp writes "The UK government has been threatened with legal action, over its failure to block exports of espionage technology to oppressive regimes. British firms have sold covert surveillance equipment to the former Egyptian regime, as well as to Iran and Syria in recent months, and pressure group Privacy International has sent a letter asking for a change of policy and an update of export restrictions — backed by a threat that it will take the government to court if there is no response."...

Microsoft Lays Out Money-Making Options For Windows Store Developers

tsamsoniw writes "With the release of Windows 8 just around the corner, Microsoft is eager to see its Windows Store well stocked with third-party, Metro-friendly apps. Hoping to get developers on board, the company has announced pricing structure, along with guidance and tools to help developers create trial versions of apps and set up lucrative in-app purchases."...

World Population Grows Beyond 7 Billion

First time accepted submitter assertation writes in with a LA Times feature about the booming world population and the strain it puts on the environment and governments. "After remaining stable for most of human history, the world's population has exploded over the last two centuries. The boom is not over: The biggest generation in history is just entering its childbearing years. The coming wave will reshape the planet, and the impact will be greatest in the poorest, most unstable countries."...

Terrorists And Pedophiles Get More Protection In UK Than Guy Who Hosted Links To TV Shows

For a while now, we've been following the ridiculous story of Richard O'Dwyer , the student in the UK who the US is trying to extradite to face criminal charges, all because he created a website where people linked to streaming TV shows (some legal, some not). At no time did he host illegal content. He just built the site. While the public has spoken out against the extradition, the Home Office, led by Home Secretary Theresa May, has so far held fast to sending O'Dwyer across the Atlantic.
Given all that, it's interesting to see this story, sent over by PressurCookrTheatr , highlighting the kinds of folks that Theresa May and the UK Home Office have refused to extradite over the last few years. It turns out it's a large and growing number, and even includes some terrorists. In those cases, however, May has...