Open Source Comes of Age

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June 7, 2017

As of today (June 1, 2017), we’ve been talking about open source for exactly 19 years, 3 months and 23 days. The start date was February 8, 1998, when Eric S. Raymond distributed an open letter by email with the subject line Goodbye, “free software”; hello, “open source”. What followed was a deliberate (though barely coordinated) effort by many geeks (including yours truly and this magazine) to make open source a thing.

It worked. In books alone, the result looked like what’s shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Google Books Ngram Viewer: Open Source

Lack of Experience May Plague IoT Security Startups

By

SDx Central

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June 7, 2017

The Internet of Things (IoT) brings with it myriad opportunities and benefits across a range of industries — manufacturing, retail, telco, healthcare, to name a few. Eighty-five percent of businesses plan to implement IoT by 2019, according to an HPE Aruba study.

But with this technology, and the 20 billion to 50 billion connected IoT devices expected by 2020, comes massive security challenges. “Get them wrong and it could be the end of the business…really,” wrote John Moor, IoT Security Foundation managing director, in a white paper.

“What’s going on right now is enterprises are extending the existing security infrastructure or security components they have already invested in to address early IoT issues,” said IDC analyst Robert Westervelt who co-authored a new forecast that said the worldwide market for IoT security product will grow from $11.2 billion in 2017 to $21.2 billion by 2021. “Some of the issues, depending on the industry and use case, are surely embedded system security. And so that’s why we think those two segments — device and sensor, and network and edge — are going to have the most growth over the next five years.”

10 Best Website Builders for Linux

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June 7, 2017

Website builders are usually a dime-a-dozen on the Internet, but Linux users still have a hard time figuring out which web builder is going to meet their requirements. They want a program that has all the latest features to quickly and easily help them create a website. If you have no idea where to start looking, we can help you out. Just take a look at the list below:

1. Komodo Edit

If you’re on the lookout for a great XML editor that is compatible with the Linux platform, Komodo Edit is the right choice for you. What makes this program even better if the fact that it’s completely free. You get plenty of amazing features with the Komodo Edit for hassle-free CSS and HTML development. Moreover, you can avail extensions that allow you to incorporate some nifty features like languages or special characters. While this is far from the best HTML editor you will find in the market, it is still a great deal for developers who build in XML, considering the nominal pricing. However, this website builder can easily handle basic HTML editing tasks.

2. Bluefish

A web editor compatible with Linux OS, Bluefish was always a good program thanks to the numerous features it offered users. But after the new version of the program – 2.0 – it truly became one of the best among other free website builders, thanks to the addition of several new capabilities. Aside from native executables for Mac and Windows, you get code-sensitive spell check, auto-save, snippets, project management, and auto complete in various languages like PHP, HTML, CSS etc. While Bluefish is more of a code editor than a web editor, it still provides plenty of flexibility to developers who wish to explore options other than HTML.

3. KompoZer

One thing you need to know about KompoZer is that it’s based off the popular Nvu editor, and is touted as an “unofficial bug-fix release”. The creators were fed up of Nvu’s poor support and dragging release schedules, and so they attempted to replicate Nvu – albeit a less buggy version. This WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) editor might have a long and complicated development history, but nobody can deny that it is extremely powerful. It allows developers to access improved management style sheets, along with a window known as “HTML tags”. Despite being an advanced software pacjage, KompoZer is quite lightweight and can effectively help you create static pages. You no longer have to worry about your HTML layouts. The only point of concern is that no new release of this web builder has come out since 2007.

4. Quanta Plus

This is a unique web development environment formed on the basis of KDE. So, you shouldn’t be surprised to find this program offering all the functionality and support of KDE, including FTP features and website management. You can easily use Quanta Plus for various tasks, including editing PHP, XML, HTML and other text-based web docs. There are many developers who prefer Quanta Plus over other commercial web editors found in the market, especially those who use PHP as the main programming language. While this is not exactly WYSIWYG, it offers plenty of useful tools like shortcuts, and the split-pane mode allows you to easily view a continuous preview of the page you are currently coding.

5. ocPortal

Many web developers have often considered creating a portal page, but they have been deterred by the fact that it’s hard to find a proper, free solution to operate a portal site that is not scaled down in terms of functionality. The majority of portal software out there is expensive, and any free scripts you see are either trial versions or demos. OcPortal, however, is an exception to the norm. You can easily install this open source portal on your web server and discover the different features it has in store for developers. Not only is this program extremely customizable, but it also comes jam-packed with everything you require. So, you no longer have to rely on third-party add-ons. The documentation that comes with ocPortal is extremely in-depth and the community is also highly supportive. The developers are also very forthcoming and offer support whenever you require it.

6. Aptana Studio

There are numerous web builders available for the Linux platform, but very few come close to replicating the unique properties available in Aptana Studio. The program has become well-known for its interesting approach to web page development. Rather than focusing on the HTML aspect, this web builder turns its attention towards JavaScript as well as other elements that enable a developer to build Rich Internet Applications. The most interesting feature of Aptana Studio is definitely the outline view, making it easier for a user to visualize the DOM. So, JavaScript and CSS development become much simpler and uncomplicated. Also, any developer who wishes to create web apps should find use for Aptana Studio.

7. Scribes

This is an open source text editor meant for Linux-based OS. Designed for the purpose of streamlining a developer’s workflow, Scribes automates any repetitive or common operations through hotkey support, enabling paragraph management, indentation, word/paragraph selection, line, letter cases, option to toggle. The best part is that Scribes supports over 70 different programming languages, including PHP, Java XML, and HTML. Other important features include support for remote editing, via SFTP, FTP, Samba, automatic word correction, document switcher, completion and pairing, skinable interface and automatic indentation.

8. Screem

Screem is a web builder which supports the Linux operating system. This program combines all the different features that make up a great web editor, including capabilities like layout for HTML structure, FTP access etc. Screem also offers a great interface that excels at helping users with PHP. But Screem is not like other web editors; what makes this program so unique is the fact that contrary to the norm, Screen does not come with any sort of WYSIWYG interface. Instead of that you will find the raw HTML (source) available in the main window.

9. Amaya

Any professional web developer or programmer should make Amaya the first choice when it comes to choosing a web builder. But Amaya is an application developed mainly from W3C, which is the consortium for the regular network. In fact, the program is mainly based on compliance web standards, like the SVG format. Though the file size for this package is small, the content is a lot heavier once you extract it. You have the freedom to add third-party plugins, like the W3C site, in order to support PHP and JavaScript. Amaya is an amazing program and offers numerous graphic options in order to develop the template or write better CSS.

10. Pinegrow Web Editor

If your intention is to build websites faster, then you’re in luck – Pinegrow Web Editor makes it all possible, and the program excels at helping you create responsive websites quickly thanks to features like CSS styling, multi-page editing, and smart components for AngularJS and Bootstrap. The abovementioned web builders can all help a web developer working on the Linux platform to create the website of their dreams. They have powerful features and compatible capabilities that make them worth a shot!

Open Source and the Artificial Intelligence Frontier

By

Sam Dean

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June 6, 2017

The open source arena continues to rapidly converge with the field of artificial intelligence (AI). Not only are technology industry titans contributing meaningful tools to the community, but international players and billionaires are making contributions. Meanwhile, some of our smartest people are also laser-focused on keeping AI development open and safe.

Interest from China in AI has been ramping up quickly, and Chinese social media and gaming titan Tencent Holdings has just announced that it is opening an AI research center in Seattle, to be headed up by former Microsoft scientist Yu Dong. Reuters cites Tencent, which owns the WeChat messaging app, as Asia’s most valuable company with a market capitalization of almost $300 billion. The center’s leader, Yu Dong, was a speech recognition expert at Microsoft.

According to MIT Technology Review: “This may be the year in which China starts looking like a major player in the field of AI. The country’s tech industry is shifting away from copying Western companies, and it has identified AI and machine learning as the next big areas of innovation.”

Meanwhile, Elon Musk has stepped in with the formation of OpenAI, an organization that is focusing on anticipating the challenges that AI will present in the coming years, and keeping AI technology development open. It is a nonprofit organization with the dual mission of ensuring that AI stays safe, and its benefits are as broadly and equitably distributed as possible. Microsoft recently partnered with OpenAI to work on open tools and “democratize AI,” according to the company. You can follow the OpenAI Twitter feed to see just how rapidly the organization’s tools are being integrated with everything from open robotics tools to anti-spam filters.

Musk isn’t the only billionaire to be pointing to the promise of AI. In a recent series of tweets aimed at college graduates, Bill Gates said “it’s what I would do if starting out today.”

Tech Giants Continue to Deliver Free, Open Tools

At leading companies in the technology sector, AI is a huge priority, and many of these companies are open sourcing important tools. Both Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai have been vocal about their contributions of open source artificial intelligence and machine learning tools.

In a Google Founders’ Letter to stockholders, Pichai said, “[Artificial Intelligence] can help us in everything from accomplishing our daily tasks and travels to eventually tackling even bigger challenges like climate change and cancer diagnosis.”

“The biggest thing that we’re focused on with artificial intelligence is building computer services that have better perception than people,” said Zuckerberg, on a conference call. “I think it’s possible to get to that point in the next five to 10 years.”

Just this month, Facebook discussed new, open technology that could revolutionize machine translation, resulting in translations that are far more accurate than what is available now. In addition, Facebook has open sourced its central machine learning system designed for artificial intelligence tasks at large scale. It’s a proven platform in use at Facebook. And, at the company’s recent F8 developer conference, Facebook also open sourced a new framework for deep learning and AI called Caffe2.

Google has open sourced a software framework called TensorFlow that it has spent years developing to support its AI software and other predictive and analytics programs. You can find out more about TensorFlow at its site, and it is the engine behind several Google tools you may already use, including Google Photos and the speech recognition found in the Google app.

Meanwhile, Yahoo has released its key artificial intelligence software under an open source license. Its CaffeOnSpark tool is based on deep learning, a branch of artificial intelligence particularly useful in helping machines recognize human speech, or the contents of a photo or video. And, IBM has announced that its proprietary machine learning program known as SystemML is freely available to share and modify through the Apache Software Foundation.

The Raspberry Pi community is waking up to the promise of AI as well. Some Raspberry Pi owners are building their own AI-driven voice assistants, and Google has open sourced an AI-driven “Voice Kit” for Pi devices.

Previously, I covered H2O.ai, formerly known as Oxdata, which has carved out a unique niche in the machine learning and artificial intelligence arena because its primary tools are free and open source. You can get the main H2O platform and Sparkling Water, a package that works with Apache Spark, by simply downloading them.

These tools operate under the Apache 2.0 license, one of the most flexible open source licenses available, and you can even run them on clusters powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and others for just a few hundred dollars. Never before has this kind of data sifting power been so affordable and easy to deploy.

H2O.ai’s Vinod Iyengar oversees product strategy at the company. In an interview, he said: “In the last five years the cost of storage has come down dramatically, as has the cost of memory,” he said. “Additionally, anyone can leverage an advanced computing cluster on, say, Amazon Web services, for a few hundred dollars. All of this means that organizations or individuals can take a whole lot of data and produce powerful predictions and insights from the large data sets without facing huge costs.”

To learn more about the convergence of open source with machine learning and artificial intelligence, watch a video featuring David Meyer, Chairman of the Board at OpenDaylight, a Collaborative Project at The Linux Foundation.

Are you interested in how organizations are bootstrapping their own open source programs internally? You can learn more in the Fundamentals of Professional Open Source Management training course from The Linux Foundation. Download a sample chapter now!

The State of DevOps Report Released

By

SD Times

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June 6, 2017

Automation is an important technique used by high-performing IT organizations. Yet medium-performing groups do more manual work than low-performing groups, according to the 6th annual State of DevOps Report released today at the DevOps Enterprise Summit in London.

The middle performers were doing less automation of processes for change management, testing, deployment and change approval, explained Alanna Brown, senior product marketing manager at Puppet, which presented the report along with DORA (DevOps Research and Assessment). “These groups have already begun automation, and are seeing benefits,” she said. “But that reveals technical debt that they didn’t realize before they started, which is a normal phase of the [DevOps] journey. It’s a J curve; the initial performance is high, but then it gets worse before it gets better again.”

Heptio Comes Out of Stealth Mode with a Kubernetes Configuration Tool, ksonnet

By

The New Stack

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June 6, 2017

Deploying the Kubernetes container orchestration is about to get a lot easier, according to Craig McLuckie, the founding member of the Kubernetes open source project. McLuckie, who started the project at Google along with Joe Beda, co-founded Heptio six months ago with Beda to make Kubernetes more accessible. The company popped out of stealth mode at the GlueCon develop conference last month with its launch of the ksonnet Kubernetes configuration tool.

ksonnet was designed to help automate the modeling and management of complex Kubernetes deployments “in a way that is easy to share and reuse,” said Daniel Lopez, CEO and co-founder, Bitnami, which was part of the team collaborating on ksonnet, along with Box, Microsoft, and container software provider Deis (which Microsoft is acquiring).

Android: NXP i.MX6 Buffer Modifier Support

By

Mark Filion

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June 6, 2017

GPUs like those of Intel and Vivante support storing the contents of graphical buffers in different formats. Support for describing these formats using modifiers has now been added to Android and Mesa, enabling tiling artifact free running of Android on the iMX6 platform.

Written by Robert Foss, Software Engineer at Collabora.

GPUs like those of Intel and Vivante support storing the contents of graphical buffers in different formats. Support for describing these formats using modifiers has now been added to Android and Mesa, enabling tiling artifact free running of Android on the iMX6 platform.

With modifier support added to Mesa and gbm_gralloc, it is now possible to boot Android on iMX6 platforms using no proprietary blobs at all. This makes iMX6 one of the very few embedded SOCs that needs no blobs at all to run.

Not only is that a great win for Open Source in general, but it also makes the iMX6 more attractive as a platform. A further positive point is that this lays the groundwork for the iMX8 platform, and supporting it will come much easier.

What are modifiers used for?

Modifiers are used to represent different properties of buffers. These properties can cover a range of different information about a buffer, for example compression and tiling.

For the case of the iMX6 and the Vivante GPU which it is equipped with, the modifiers are related to tiling. The reason being that buffers can be tiled in different ways (Tiled, Super Tiled, etc.) or not at all (Linear). Before sending buffers out to a display, they need to have the associated tiling information made available, so that the actual image that is being sent out is not tiled.

This of course raises the question “Why use tiling at all?”, to which the short answer is power efficiency, which is very desirable in the embedded as well as the mobile space.

Continue reading on Collabora’s blog.

3 Off-the-Shelf Linux Computers Compared

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OpenSource.com

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June 6, 2017

While the options for Linux computers from commercial vendors are still needles in the proverbial haystack of OEM Windows equipment out there, there are more and more options available to a consumer who wants a good, solid device that’s ready-to-use with no messing around.

Still, there are more Linux OEM computers than I could look at for one article—and the options tend to be different in Europe than they are in the United States, with providers like Entroware that don’t ship to the latter at all.

In this article, I look at offerings from three of the most well-known Linux OEMs on the western side of the pond: ZaReason, System76, and Dell.

DevOps Practitioners Open Up about Enterprise Adoption Challenges

By

ComputerWeekly

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June 6, 2017

While the list of enterprise companies that have managed to adopt DevOps successfully continues to grow, many remain convinced that the benefits of continuous delivery are impossible for large and more complex organisations.

“The prevailing notion is that DevOps is for startups and the Googles, Amazons and Facebooks of this world, and not for large, complex companies that have been around for decades or even centuries – but that is really not the case,” said Gene Kim, co-author of The DevOps Handbook.

Kim pointed to the high number of enterprises operating in highly regulated environments that have successfully managed to embrace DevOps, including public sector organisations and financial services firms.

Not Open, Not Closed: The Future of Hybrid Licenses

By

Linux.com Editorial Staff

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June 6, 2017

Not many remember it, because the technology industry tends to focus on its future at the expense of its past, but in the beginning software was free. In both senses of the word free; it was available at no cost, and the source typically came without restrictions. One of the earliest user groups SHARE, founded in 1955, maintained a library, in fact, of users’ patches, fixes and additions to the source code of the IBM mainframe like a proto-GitHub. The modifications SHARE maintained were extensive enough, in fact, that in 1959 SHARE released its own operating system – what we would today refer to as a distribution, the SHARE Operating System (SOS) – for IBM 709 hardware.

IBM made available the software at no cost and in source code form because for the company at that time, the software was not the product, the hardware was. It wasn’t until June 1969 that IBM announced, possibly in response to an anti-trust suit filed by the United State Justice Department in January of that year, that it would “unbundle” its software and hardware.