As a proponent of open source programming, I recommend that users install the Firefox browser as the first step in the migration to software choice and freedom.  Besides the obvious reasons of speed and compatiblity with current web standards, I also promote Firefox because of the following reasons:

Our 3rd episode discussion points were varied indeed!  We shared our opinion on whether the take down notice that Mark recieved was indeed valid, and why was this Orwellian approach was taken, instead of going to the source of the website in Russia.

Ok the latest episode of OTE is out. Darlene and I cover a whole bunch on topical issues from a take-down notice the company I work for received, Microsofts kernel contribution and then a brief discussion on FOSS content management systems (CMS). A proper discussion on FOSS CMS options requires a whole podcast on its own and we plan to cover it in more detail in a later episode.

I must apologise for my poor dialogue in this one, I say "you know" way to often. I was distracted by a deadline that I was busy trying to make. I promise to be better next time!

Today I had the task of looking on the Dell & HP sites for desktops or workstations that would support Ubuntu and multi-station software. 

The checklist was not long,  I wanted to find a machine which had Ubuntu pre-installed so I knew that there were Linux drivers to support the hardware inside.  As well I wanted to have at least 2  PCI-E slots and 2 PCI slots on the machine in order to support additional video cards.

Previously, Mark and I recorded a podcast on Linux migration strategies.  I find that assisting people or organizations through the change to open source or Linux is a key factor in the success of long term adoption.

Well finally the rabid attacks on Internet access by the failing entertainment industry have reached South African shores. This morning one of our divisions, Cyber Connect which sells broadband access, was served with a "take down" notice.

We have released the second episode of Open Tech Exchange. Show notes can be found here. The episode can be downloaded here

Well Microsoft is at it again. Trying to play footsie with the open source community on the one hand, with its announcement that it contributed code to the Linux Kernel (although the value of this is questionable , see below), and trying to enforce patents on the other.

I believe we are experiencing an exciting time for the adoption of Open Source Software around the globe.  First and foremost, the challenging economic situation in which the world finds itself has caused many organizations to re-think their current IT strategy.  As well, many governments have mandated the use of FOSS in their departments, but were slow to actually implement a migration strategy. 

Well we, Darlene and I, have finally launched our own podcast. Although we always had the idea, at the back of our minds, to launch our own podcast at  some unspecified time in the future, we were quite happy to contribute to Hacker Public Radio for a while longer; however the lack of control over the release of our shows and our desire to launch our own podcast made us kick up a gear and get our show on the road. We are grateful to Hacker Public Radio for allowing us to contribute to their podcast and we aim to continue to contribute content in future.