Thursday, December 29, 2005

Online Mathematics Textbooks

Online texts: "The writing of textbooks and making them freely available on the web is an idea whose time has arrived. Most college mathematics textbooks attempt to be all things to all people and, as a result, are much too big and expensive. This perhaps made some sense when these books were rather expensive to produce and distribute--but this time has passed.

Here follow links to the online mathematics texts of which I am aware. I urge everyone to let me know of others in order that I may add them to this list."

Monday, December 26, 2005

iRex : Our solutions

iRex : Our solutions: "iRex Technologies redefines electronic paper applications by providing a total solution for companies who would like their members (subscribers, students, workers) to be able to read the latest updated content from electronic paper, independent of location."

Sunday, December 25, 2005

LXer: The Open Standards Monopoly Challenging Innovation in Redmond

LXer: The Open Standards Monopoly Challenging Innovation in Redmond: "For instance, where ODF implements W3C XForms, MSXML uses a WinForms - InfoPath derivative. Where ODF implements W3C SVG, MSXML is geared to the up and coming proprietary 'sparkle'. Where ODF uses standard HTML, MSXML embraces the bastardized MSHTML. The list goes on and on, with one point becoming increasingly clear: Microsoft continues to embrace and extend open standards with proprietary enhancements designed to break both compatibility and interoperability with everything outside their OS Stack."

US libraries back Massachusetts ODF plan - Computer Business Review

US libraries back Massachusetts ODF plan - Computer Business Review: "The letter was signed by the American Library Association, the American Association of Law Libraries, the Association of Research Libraries, the Medical Library Association, and the Special Libraries Association, which together represent over 139,000 libraries in the US."

::PeaceJournalism.com - The Peace Media Research Center's e-magazine::

::PeaceJournalism.com - The Peace Media Research Center's e-magazine::: "We were trying to teach the English language to Nepalis so they could use computers but we decided it�s much easier to teach computers Nepali,� says MPP�s Outreach Officer, Kedar Sharma. NepaLinux allows users to copy or redistribute the product and since the source code is open, developers can freely customise and may further develop the available products."

Friday, December 16, 2005

Google: Search or Destroy? Moyra McAllister Roger Clarke Chris Creswell Sarah Waladan Michael Handler Matthew Rimmer - openDemocracy

Google: Search or Destroy? Moyra McAllister Roger Clarke Chris Creswell Sarah Waladan Michael Handler Matthew Rimmer - openDemocracy: "Moyra McAllister: “Librarians as a profession are committed to the principles of equitable access to information”"

Monopolists at the Academic Gates. Moore's Lore:

Monopolists at the Academic Gates. Moore's Lore:

BBC NEWS | Technology | What is it with Wikipedia?

BBC NEWS | Technology | What is it with Wikipedia?: "An educated audience is the only realistic way to ensure that we are not duped, tricked, fleeced or offended by the media we consume, and learning that online information sources may not be as accurate as they pretend to be is an important part of that education.

I use the Wikipedia a lot. It is a good starting point for serious research, but I would never accept something that I read there without checking."

Thursday, December 15, 2005

TYPING TUTOR

TYPING TUTOR

Firefox Scholar (aka SmartFox) - ToolCenter

Firefox Scholar (aka SmartFox) - ToolCenter

Firefox Scholar. I am looking forward to see this.

Wikipedia:Errors in the Encyclop�dia Britannica that have been corrected in Wikipedia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wikipedia:Errors in the Encyclop�dia Britannica that have been corrected in Wikipedia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Internet encyclopaedias go head to head : Nature

Internet encyclopaedias go head to head : Nature: "Jimmy Wales' Wikipedia comes close to Britannica in terms of the accuracy of its science entries, a Nature investigation finds."

Guardian Unlimited Business | Business latest | Wellcome boost for open access

Guardian Unlimited Business | Business latest | Wellcome boost for open access: "Three major publishers of scientific research, including Oxford University Press, will today announce a deal with The Wellcome Trust, the world's second largest charitable funder of medical research after Bill Gates, that will see thousands of research papers available free to everyone over the internet."

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Chinese walls

Chinese walls: " “And I was very disappointed to learn that Microsoft has agreed to block Chinese blog entries that use words like “democracy“, “freedom“, “human rights“ and “demonstration.”

It seems like Microsoft is not alone in “bad company“. Google has agreed to exclude publications that the Chinese government finds objectionable. And Yahoo has even gone further. They collaborated with the Chinese government and gave up the name of a writer who sent an e-mail that commented on a party decision. Based on this information, the man received a ten-year prison sentence.”"

InfoWorld Nederland

InfoWorld Nederland: "Google's Blogger gets blocked again in China"

IBM Promotes Red Hat and Novell

IBM Promotes Red Hat and Novell: "Handy recalled IBM's pledge in 2001 to invest $1 billion into Linux. The third quarter of 2005 was the first quarter of $1 billion in revenue from Linux-related activities for IBM.

'We're now getting our investment back on a quarterly basis,' Handy said."

Monday, December 12, 2005

MercuryNews.com | 12/12/2005 | Wikipedia needs safeguards that work

MercuryNews.com | 12/12/2005 | Wikipedia needs safeguards that work: "Unlike Newmark, I have a suggestion: Wales should issue a royal decree moving Wikipedia to a ``gatekeeper'' model, borrowed from successful open-source software projects such as the Linux operating system and the Firefox browser."

Stanford Boosts Scholarship On the Web - OhmyNews International

Stanford Boosts Scholarship On the Web - OhmyNews International: "
In the official blog it was reported by David Tebbutt that, 'Nervous laughter echoed around the room. But, in between the laughter, you could almost hear some deep thinking taking place. Engage with the New World or seek early retirement.'"

E-LIS - Designing a Semantic Web Path to e-Science

E-LIS - Designing a Semantic Web Path to e-Science: "This paper aims at designing a possible path of convergence between the Open Access and the Semantic Web communities. In section 1, it focuses on the problems that the current Web has to face to become a fully effective research means, with particular regard to the question of selection according to subjective quality criteria."

Open Source Software Will Permeate Enterprise Software, Says The 451 Group | Tekrati Research News

Open Source Software Will Permeate Enterprise Software, Says The 451 Group | Tekrati Research News: "The 451 Group believes that enterprise software vendors can no longer afford to ignore open source. In a special report, the IT industry analysts evaluate open source software as a powerful force of change with both upside and downside potential. As the lines between open and proprietary blur, licensing models will increasingly contain hybrid approaches to code ownership and permitted use. The end result: nearly every piece of enterprise software will eventually contain open source elements."

Sunday, December 11, 2005

EducationGuardian.co.uk | E-learning | Open access failings 'cost UK �1.5bn'

EducationGuardian.co.uk | E-learning | Open access failings 'cost UK �1.5bn': "Prof Harnad has dismissed the publishers' fears. 'Not only are these claims unsubstantiated, but all the evidence to date shows the reverse to be true: not only do journals thrive and co-exist alongside author self-archiving, but they can actually benefit from it - both in terms of more citations and more subscriptions,' he said."

Saturday, December 10, 2005

EducationGuardian.co.uk | Research | Royal Society attacked for 'negative' open access stance

EducationGuardian.co.uk | Research | Royal Society attacked for 'negative' open access stance: "'In seeking to delay or even to block the proposed RCUK policy, the Royal Society appears to be putting the concerns of existing publishers (including the society itself) ahead of the needs of science. The position statement ignores considerable evidence demonstrating the viability of open access, instead warning ominously of 'disastrous' consequences for science publishing. We believe that these concerns are mistaken.'"

EducationGuardian.co.uk | E-learning | Science academy defends open access policy

EducationGuardian.co.uk | E-learning | Science academy defends open access policy: "A spokesman added: 'The Royal Society is absolutely supportive of the principle of open access and is committed to the widest possible dissemination of research outputs. The society is itself a delayed open access publisher, providing free access after 12 months, and provides immediate access to researchers in developing countries and also to scientific papers that are of major public interest - for example the results of the farm scale evaluation of genetically modified crops."

Friday, December 09, 2005

Support the Commons | Creative Commons

Support the Commons | Creative Commons: "In order for us to build upon this success, we need your support. Our future depends on your investment so that unique and important projects like these can continue to grow:"

Please readers of this post. Contribute 25 dollar today. Best from Paul

Tuesday, December 06, 2005

Winneba Linux User Group, GHANA

http://www.onevillagefoundation.org/ovf/WILUG.html

Monday, December 05, 2005

� ODF subpar for the disabled? Not so fast says Google researcher. | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

� ODF subpar for the disabled? Not so fast says Google researcher. | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com

MercuryNews.com | 12/05/2005 | Gates heads to India, key front in competition with open source

MercuryNews.com | 12/05/2005 | Gates heads to India, key front in competition with open source: "India has 200,000 open-source software programmers, and ``companies are switching over to open source, layer by layer by layer,'' said Atul Chitnis, a software consultant in Bangalore, the country's technology hub.

Linux is also attracting researchers with high performance and stability, said Professor Gopi Garge of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

``People have opened their windows for Linux now,'' he said."

MercuryNews.com | 12/05/2005 | Gates heads to India, key front in competition with open source

MercuryNews.com | 12/05/2005 | Gates heads to India, key front in competition with open source: "India has 200,000 open-source software programmers, and ``companies are switching over to open source, layer by layer by layer,'' said Atul Chitnis, a software consultant in Bangalore, the country's technology hub.

Linux is also attracting researchers with high performance and stability, said Professor Gopi Garge of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

``People have opened their windows for Linux now,'' he said."

Friday, December 02, 2005

Instructional Videos from WVU ACM | The Fridge

Instructional Videos from WVU ACM | The Fridge: "Chris Del Checcolo and Ricky Hussmann from the West Virginia University Student Chapter of the ACM have put together an awesome set of instructional videos that feature Ubuntu.

* Ubuntu Linux / Windows Dual Boot Instructional Video
* Installing Software on Ubuntu Linux

Warning: Soundtrack contains gratuitous use of Survivor and Styx."

ZDNet India > Insight > software > So why not put Linux on your business desktops?

ZDNet India > Insight > software > So why not put Linux on your business desktops?: "Conclusion
Linux desktops are ready to step into the shoes of Windows, but IT managers have to make a decision for it to happen. Linux may be free, but Windows is already there when you buy the PC.

There is extra work involved in getting a Linux desktop up and shutting Windows down, but increasingly, it looks like the main factor keeping us in a Microsoft world is inertia."