Computer system administrators around the world are groaning again as six new security problems have been found in the OpenSSL security library. OpenSSL is a security tool that provides facilities to other…
Human rights monitoring can now be done by anyone.
Allyson Neville-Morgan
In November 2013, the New Yorker published a profile of Eliot Higgins – or Brown Moses as he is known to almost 17,000 Twitter followers. An unemployed finance and admin worker at the time, Higgins was…
Microsoft has been at the forefront of allegations regarding the NSA.
rhonogle
Universities and researchers all over the world have a problem with Microsoft. It’s not just that the company forces expensive and dated software on customers. Using products like Microsoft’s email service…
Does Heartbleed expose flaws in the way some security-critical software is developed?
Flickr/Kaleenxian
The Heartbleed bug that’s potentially exposed the personal and financial data of millions of people stored online has also exposed a hole in the way some security software is developed and used. The bug…
As the sun sets on Microsoft’s support for Windows XP this may be a great time to think about trying out a Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) operating system for your still-working PC. This is especially…
The evolution of 3D printing has moved quickly and it is now poised to alter every aspect of our lives and health. Thousands of Europeans are enjoying 3D-printed metal orthopaedic implants to support or…
Civil servants everywhere heave a sigh of relief.
psd
The UK government has revealed that it is considering ditching Microsoft software for open source alternatives. Cabinet minister Frances Maude has said he wants to see a range of software being adopted…
Researchers burned by copyright ‘take-downs’ do have other options.
marfis75
The publishing giant Elsevier owns much of the world’s academic knowledge, in the form of article copyright. In the past few weeks it has stepped up enforcement of its property rights, issuing “take-down…
Matthew Todd was honoured for his work on the Open Source Malaria project.
ASAP Awards
Dr Matthew Todd – leader of the Open Source Malaria consortium in Sydney, senior lecturer at the University of Sydney and Conversation author – was awarded one of three Accelerating Science Awards in Washington…
A new study shows there are benefits to researchers sharing their data.
opensourceway
“Publish or perish” is a well-known maxim within academia. It is introduced to researchers early in their careers, often by a PhD supervisor, keen for his or her students to start building a career. While…
The open education movement seems as though it’s here to stay – but why would anyone give away their work for free?
Open book image from www.shutterstock.com
The New York Times dubbed 2012 the year of the MOOC. And for many, the seemingly unstoppable rise of Massive Open Online Courses – courses which are offered for free by prestigious universities – is where…
There’s still hope for open sharing of content on the web.
Sue Waters
Google announced today it will close its Google Reader service. Citing a declining number of users owing to the downturn in popularity of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, Google Reader - which offers…
Copyright law could make the job of creating Massive Open Online Courses more difficult.
Legal image from www.shutterstock.com
Another university has jumped on the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) bandwagon this month, with the Australian National University joining up with Harvard venture edX. In ANU’s case, it will enable Nobel…
Is open best? Or closed? It depends how you look at it.
Jer Kunz
You’ll have read on this site, and perhaps others, about the push towards “open access” for journal articles. But what is open access, and how does it fit into the wider “open movement”? The topic has…
Art historians have welcomed the National Portrait Gallery’s move to make images available for academic use.
AAP
Britain’s National Portrait Gallery has opened up its image database to allow free downloads for non-commercial and academic uses, in a move welcomed by art historians. “This is very welcome, and increasingly…
Collaboration leads to higher quality, lower costs and greater flexibility.
loop_oh
IDEAS AND OWNERSHIP: The concept of protecting ideas and innovation by legal means dates back to antiquity. But many of our existing laws are under strain, their suitability and ultimate purpose called…
Honorary (Senior Fellow) School of Culture and Communication University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne