Wednesday, August 24th, 2011
by Gary Keorkunian
Posted in Free Software, Security | 3 Comments »
Gary’s Note: The following article points out the risk of using some free software. I recommend that no user ever make use of tools that provide free coupons or other teasers that require you to install spyware such as the comScore program. You should also avoid any “free” software tool that automatically installs such spyware. I recommend only installing software from reliable and safe sources. The Free Software Catalog here at gara.com is a great place to find software that does not stealthily install spyware.
by Dan Levine and Jim Finkle | Reuters | Aug 23, 2011
Online data tracking service comScore Inc siphons confidential information including passwords, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers from unsuspecting users, according to a lawsuit filed on Tuesday.
The proposed class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of two plaintiffs who downloaded comScore software, also says comScore scans all files on users’ personal computers and modifies security settings, among other allegations. Read the rest of this post »
Previous Posts
Thursday, August 18th, 2011 by Gary Keorkunian
Posted in Free Software | No Comments »
Google has announced that it will no longer support its toolbar for Firefox, stating the features no standard in the browser are supplanting the need for the tool.
The Google Toolbar for Firefox has been removed from the Free Software Catalog.
Read more from Google here.
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Monday, April 18th, 2011 by Gary Keorkunian
Posted in Free Software | 1 Comment »
by Ryan Paul | Ars Technica | April 18, 2011
In a statement issued on Friday, Oracle announced that it intends to discontinue commercial development of the OpenOffice.org (OOo) office suite. The move comes several months after key members of the OOo community and a number of major corporate contributors forked OOo to create a vendor-neutral alternative. (more…)
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Thursday, March 31st, 2011 by Gary Keorkunian
Posted in Free Software | No Comments »
by Nic Williams | Mashable | March 31, 2011
Open source software (OSS) is recognized for the cost savings it delivers when compared with proprietary alternatives. As enterprises continue to adopt OSS, the open source communities, mostly made up of volunteers, have been calling on enterprises to make contributions and donations with the aim of fostering open source software innovation and growth. (more…)
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Tuesday, March 29th, 2011 by Gary Keorkunian
Posted in Web Presense | No Comments »
by Leyl Master Black, Mashable | American Express Forum | March 28, 2011
While Facebook marketing is on the rise among small businesses, many are still struggling to master the basics.
“Many people have difficulty with just the basic page set up,” says social media marketing consultant Nicole Krug. “For example, I still see people setting up their business as a profile page instead of a business page. I have other clients who jumped into Groups when they came out and have divided their fan base.” (more…)
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Saturday, March 26th, 2011 by Gary Keorkunian
Posted in Free Software | No Comments »
By Derek Baldwin | Gulf News | March 26, 2011
Dubai: Don’t believe everything you read about tech camps siding only with either proprietary software (PS) or open source software (OSS), says a Harvard Business School professor.
Dr Josh Lerner, co-author of a new book, Comingled Code, said on a growing scale, businesses, governments and educational institutions are mixing both forms of private and free public software to achieve their needs, nixing the notion that it’s one winner takes all in the software industry.
Lerner, who co-authored the book with Mark Schankerman, said: “Standard dichotomy between PS and OSS is exaggerated and misleading”, and that both forms are increasingly being used in an evolving co-existence to get the job done.
“While they are different, each has strengths and weaknesses, but it’s not like it’s oil and vinegar that they are diametrically opposed,” Lerner said.
“We did a survey across 15 countries of 2,000 software developers and 2,000 users comprising non-profit, governments and corporations. We found there was a very striking overlap on the user and producer side.”
After crunching the survey data, Lerner said one of the things which stood out was “co-mingling was taking place here.”
The big reason for the mixing, he said, is that quite often proprietary software that is heavily restricted by large corporate giants such as Microsoft cannot cover all user needs, who could then use free open source software to fill in the gaps.
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Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011 by Gary Keorkunian
Posted in Small Business Technology | 1 Comment »
by Serguei Sofinskit, Intermedia, Special to ZDNet, March 23, 2011
Commentary - When it comes to using technology to improve their profits, the first place small businesses should lookto is the success of social networks. This is not a recommendation to set up a Facebook page or Twitterfeed, although those actions can be valuable, instead, it’s a recommendation to take cues from how social networks operate. (more…)
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Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011 by Gary Keorkunian
Posted in Free Software | No Comments »
by John Sullivan, Free Software Foundation, March 22, 2011
BOSTON, Massachusetts, USA — Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011 — Free Software Foundation president Richard M. Stallman announced the winners of the FSF’s annual free software awards at a ceremony on Saturday, March 19th, held during the LibrePlanet 2011 conference at Bunker Hill Community College. (more…)
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Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011 by Gary Keorkunian
Posted in Web Presense | No Comments »
by Ivana Taylor, DIY Marketers, March 22, 2011
If your website still looks like an online brochure, then you are missing out on the most effective lead generation tool that you have. These seven website design tips will make it easy for your website visitors to become your ideal customers: (more…)
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Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011 by Gary Keorkunian
Posted in Free Software | No Comments »
by Mozilla
The Mozilla Blog
March 22, 2011
Mozilla, a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to making the Web better, is proud to release Mozilla Firefox 4, the newest version of the popular, free and open source Web browser. Firefox puts users in control of their Web experience, providing a streamlined user interface, fun new features, a boost in speed and support for modern Web technologies. (more…)
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