Open Source Breakfast

  I really didn't know how to title this one. Maybe it should've been "Street Names named after Open Source Projects". Maybe this is unconscious clickbait thing. Anyways, as some of you may know, I am the Chairperson of the Geographic Naming Committee in our Ward (23) at Thembisile Municipality. Actually we don't only do street names, we name other places too. A friend reminded me that with great power comes great responsibility. What has this have to do with Open Source? A friend (Eric Mabena) suggested we name some of the streets after Open Source Projects in order to raise awareness on Open Source Software. We have reached out to the community but not all of it, we still need to do some more selling to this idea but the Committee is on board. We must also look into legality around using trademarked names, Firefox and Red Hat for example. Some of the Street Names suggestions that came out from different people we spoke to that we liked and shortlisted are: 1. Li...

In today's digital age, it is hard to imagine a world without servers. Servers are an integral part of the technology ecosystem and are responsible for storing data, running applications and facilitating communication between devices. What many people may not realize is that most servers use open source software. Open source refers to software that is free to use, modify and distribute. It allows users access to the underlying code which they can then customize as per their needs. The benefits of using open source software in server environments are numerous: Cost-effectiveness: One of the primary advantages of open-source solutions like Linux operating systems or Apache web server is its cost-effective nature. Without any upfront costs associated with licensing fees or vendor lock-in requirements, organizations can easily implement these solutions on top-quality hardware at relatively minimal expense compared to proprietary alternatives. Flexibility: Since anyone has access to the...

 ATMs, or Automated Teller Machines, have become an integral part of our daily lives. They allow us to withdraw cash and perform various banking transactions with ease. However, what many people do not know is that these machines rely heavily on open source software. Open source software refers to programs whose code is publicly accessible and can be modified by anyone. This means that programmers from all over the world can contribute their knowledge and expertise towards improving the software for everyone's benefit. One example of such a program used in ATMs is Linux, an operating system based on Unix which provides a stable platform for running critical applications like those found in ATM networks. Linux has been widely adopted throughout the financial industry due to its reliability and security features. Another crucial open-source component commonly found in ATMs is OpenSSL – encryption libraries responsible for securing communications between devices within ATM networks. T...

  Ian Murdock is a name that might not be familiar to many people today, but his contribution to the world of open source software has had a lasting impact. He was an American entrepreneur and computer programmer known for founding the Debian project in 1993, which eventually became one of the most widely used Linux-based operating systems. Murdock's vision for Debian was simple - he wanted to create an operating system that would be free and accessible to everyone. Debian started as a small community-driven project with just a handful of volunteers contributing code and ideas. However, it quickly gained popularity among developers who were looking for alternatives to proprietary software. One of Ian Murdock’s key contributions with Debian was developing APT (Advanced Package Tool), which revolutionized package management on Linux distributions by allowing users to easily install packages from online repositories and automatically manage dependencies between programs. Today, more t...