If you can’t wait for the official release of OpenOffice 3.0, you can download the beta which is now available for download. This via DownloadSquad:

So what’s new under the hood? Here are some of the highlights:

• OpenOffice.org 3.0 is the first version to run on Mac OS X (there are also Linux and Windows versions)
• OpenOffice.org Start Center gives you a one stop shop for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, databases, or templates
• Support for collaborative spreadsheet editing
• Improved Writer notes features
• View multiple Writer pages while editing a document
• Improved crop features in Draw and Impress
• Support for ODF and MS Office 2007 formats

Sounds worth trying out … now if I could just find some time to test it out!! If you get to play with it, feel free to let us know how it works.

Guillaume Lebleu has written a tool to help decide whether or not to open source your software.

By elaborating on the simple notion of “why giveaway something you can charge for”, I developed the chart below to help me discuss the decision with my colleagues. The idea is to not view open source as an all or nothing strategy, but rather as a marketing technique to segment your market and maximize revenue, except that in the open source case, the revenue is mostly intangible.

Not Your Average Geeks has a post reviewing 9 open source e-commerce applications.

• OsCommerce
• Zencart
• VirtueMart
• Magento
• Cubecart
• X-Cart
• LiteCommerce
• Shopify

Read all about them.

Thank you Chrissy for posting your paper! I wish more students would post stuff like this.

Many library and information professionals feel that open source software aligns with public library values and First Amendment rights. Tammi Moe, a librarian working for the open source consulting firm Re:Evolve, explains, “The Open Source community shares common goals with the library community… Both work to maintain free access to information” (2004, 291). Freedom of expression and the right to seek information represent core values of the library profession (American Library Association). According to Moe, “Open Source is driven by the desire to create superior computing technologies,” rather than for profit (2004, 291). Libraries also strive to provide excellent resources to meet customers’ informational needs, not for profit but for the benefit of the community.

Read the entire paper here.

Insoshi, built on Ruby with Rails, is a neat sounding new addition to both the open source and social networking worlds.

Insoshi is a product and a project. The product aims to be the best open-source social networking platform. The project is to make the product!

Since Insoshi is open source, you can download the code from our GitHub repository and make your own social network. Then stay in touch by joining the Insoshi developer site—which is powered by Insoshi!

Features include:

• Activity feeds
• Profiles with photos and comment walls
• Connections/friending
• Discussion forums
• Blogs with comments
• Messaging, including read/replied/trashed
• Search for profiles, forums, and messages
• Admin panel with site preferences

This is well worth keeping an eye on. Thanks to TechCrunch for pointing it out.

About 70,000 students and their 7,000 teachers in the Geneva school district will gradually be moving to Open Source.

The decision to move to Open Source was taken by the Geneva Public School District (Département de l’Instruction Publique Genevois (DIP) in March 2006, says Manuel Grandjean, project leader for the Geneva district’s Open Source migration. “The district wants Open Source software to become the default.”

Very cool - this is what I love to see. Learn more here.

I just received an announcement that Relais International will be moving all or part of their software to an open source model.

Relais International has been working with libraries to develop systems to assist in providing a full range of interlibrary loan and document delivery services, for almost 10 years.

More on this will be presented at the Seventh Annual Northwest Interlibrary Loan and Resource Sharing Conference from September 18-19, 2008 at Portland Community College’s Sylvania Campus in Portland, Oregon.

For now you can read the press release announcing this big decision!

I do a lot of talks about open source software in libraries. I have a set list of open source products that I think librarians would be interested in (not necessarily library specific). I’m wondering what products you all like using. Some biggies on my list are:

• Ubuntu
• Firefox
• Pidgin

What else should I add?

Check out this list on the PALINET Leadership Network (PLN).

There’s not much there yet, but it’s a growing list - worth keeping an eye on.

Via O’Reilly Radar:

For the 4th year running, Google and O’Reilly will present a set of Open Source Awards at OSCON 2008. The awards recognize individual contributors who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, creativity, and collaboration in the development of Open Source Software. Past recipients for 2005-2007 include Doc Searls, Jeff Waugh, Gerv Markham, Julian Seward, David Heinemeier Hansson, Karl Fogel, David Recordon, and Paul Vixie.

The nomination process is open to the entire open source community, closing May 15th, 2008. Send your nominations to osawards AT oreilly DOT com. Nominations should include the name of the recipient, any associated project/org, suggested title for the award (”Best Hacker”, “Best Community Builder”, etc.), and a description of why you are nominating the individual. Google and O’Reilly employees cannot be nominated.

Let’s get some library products recognized!!