Open Source Robotic Surgery

“We decided to follow an open-source model, because if all of these labs have a common research platform for doing robotic surgery, the whole field will be able to advance more quickly,” said Jacob Rosen, associate professor of computer engineering in the Baskin School of Engineering at UC Santa Cruz and principal investigator on the project.

Read More: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-open-source-robotic-surgery-platform-medical.html

The Wiiner is Android!!!!!

Microsoft might have sold hundreds of millions of Windows 7 licenses, and Apple might be managing to to persuade tens of millions of people to buy iOS-powered devices every quarter, but the real winner when it comes to operating systems in 2011 as been Android, Google’s mobile operating system. Based on the Linux kernel, Android is a wildly successful platform. By November of this year some 200 million Android powered devices were in use. If that sounds impressive, consider that this number is growing by some 550,000 daily (or 3.85 million a week, 16.5 million a month). To put this into context, last quarter Apple sold 17 million iPhones and 11 million iPads over the three month period.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hardware/2011-the-year-of-the-android-os/17021

 

OSS Workshop – USM Oct 19, 2011

http://u-tube.eng.usm.my/videos/902/bengkel-oss

The Linux Desktop: Rich with educational software

Linux for education is a great win, for all PC users. I have read about schools making the move to open source and Linux in the classroom, with countless success stories. I have been a GNU/Linux user for many years, and I admit that I have never really dug into the open source educational software that is available for the Linux desktop, until recently. I also read many articles written by Windows users about how Linux is dead on the desktop. Is it really? When I see articles that put down the Linux desktop, I am almost 100% assured that the author has not even tried to download a copy of GNU/Linux, installed some software and actually given it a test drive. For those that have actually used GNU/Linux enough to know what it is, you generally hear a completely different tone. Linux is definitely not taking over the market, but it is FAR from dead; there is a huge amount of software that comes with each and every GNU/Linux distribution that a lot of people are not even aware exists. To me, this makes the Linux desktop a very viable and economical solution for educational environments. It is also fine for business and personal use as well, but that is a harder nut to crack. As I have found for myself, it is definitely worth taking a look at what software is available; I guarantee you will be surprised.

READ MORE: http://www.zdnet.co.uk/blogs/the-open-source-revolution-10014902/the-linux-desktop-rich-with-educational-software-10024668/

C or C++

Disini saya nak share sedikit tentang Bahasa Pengaturcaraan C. Berikut adalah petikan dari artikel yang diperolehi di:http://how-to.linuxcareer.com/c-development-on-linux-comparison-between-c-and-other-programming-languages

Some of you may wonder: if C++ is so similar to C, but it’s more complex and offers more, why bother with C? This has been a topic discussed more than it should have been, and we will try to give an answer of our own. First of all, C is simpler. K&R has 266 pages, while “The C++ programming language” by the creator, Bjarne Stroustrup, has 1090. ‘Nuff said. Second, existing code. Regardless of hardware architecture, operating system or purpose, C is widespread and then some. From OS kernels to GUI libraries, C is there and has no intent to leave anywhere. That isn’t to say C++ isn’t used by many developers. We’re just saying that sooner or later you’ll find yourself having to work with C code or use a language influenced by it, so C knowledge is always good-looking on a CV. Third, if you want to learn C and C++, you’re better off starting with C, because of its’ aforementioned simplicity and because once you’ll have the basics, C++ will look easier to learn. Finally, it’s all about the right tool for the job. If you need fast code, the ability to go low-level and a simple language, go with C.

Create you own OS based on Linux

The LFS system will be built by using an already installed Linux distribution (such as Debian, Mandriva, Red Hat, or SUSE). This existing Linux system (the host) will be used as a starting point to provide necessary programs, including a compiler, linker, and shell, to build the new system. Select the “development” option during the distribution installation to be able to access these tools.

As an alternative to installing a separate distribution onto your machine, you may wish to use a LiveCD from a commercial distribution. Chapter 2 of this book describes how to create a new Linux native partition and file system. This is the place where the new LFS system will be compiled and installed. Chapter 3 explains which packages and patches need to be downloaded to build an LFS system and how to store them on the new file system. Chapter 4 discusses the setup of an appropriate working environment. Please read Chapter 4 carefully as it explains several important issues you need be aware of before beginning to work your way through Chapter 5 and beyond.

Get the LFS book from this site: Warning.. only Linux user with Command Line Interface knowledge are able to understand this book!!!! http://www.linuxfromscratch.org/index.html

OSS/Free Software Awareness Workshop 2011 – USM

Aktiviti terdekat:

Penceramah 'Bengkel Sehari OSS Awareness 2011'
Anjuran Pusat Pengetahuan, Komunikasi & Teknologi (PPKT), USM
Date & Time : Wed, 19 October, 09:00 – 16:30
Venue: Makmal Multimedia, PPKT Kejuruteraan, USM Kampus Kejuruteraan

Sesi Pagi
8.30am - 10am : Ceramah tentang Konsep Free/Open Source Software
10.30am - 11.30am : Pengenalan Sistem GNU/Linux & 
Pengurusan pengguna (struktur fail dan penggunaan File Explorer)
12.00pm - 1.00pm : Pengenalan kepada Aplikasi

Sesi Petang
2.30pm - 3.30pm : Pengenalan kepada Aplikasi (sambungan)
4.00pm - 5pm : Pengenalan kepada kaedah carian dan pemasangan aplikasi

India Supreme Court moves to Ubuntu 10.04..

Supreme Court of India has directed all the courts across the nation to switch over to Ubuntu 10.04. The apex court has also given all the courts customised Ubuntu Linux DVD for installation.

Over 17,000 courts across the country were using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 for the last four years. The e-committee of the Supreme Court Of India has issued a circular for ‘Guidelines for Roll-out and Installation of Ubuntu Linux for Indian Judiciary’ for the purpose. The circular talks about the replication and installation of the Ubuntu Linux operating system.

http://efytimes.com/e1/70691/fullnews.htm

Free Software is not Free of Charge!

Both FOSS and proprietary software require some financial investment. But remember, proprietary software is not yours, even after you initially shell out a lot of money for it. When a Big Company says you need an update because they no longer support your version, the only choice you have is to update the software. However, updated versions inevitably have higher system requirements, which often equate to additional investments in hardware.

On the other hand, FOSS is yours. Sure, it has its own life-cycle and some older versions are no longer supported – but generally speaking, there are still versions of FOSS on the market that can work on x486 PCs. Since they’re (un)officially supported, they get fresh security updates and so on.

Do you have any x486 in your attic? How about a desire to put new soul in your ex-scrap? FOSS software is predominantly more efficient in resource usage, simply because it’s open. If someone sees a place that can be improved, it will happen. You don’t need to seek help from Big Company to make changes in the code.

Are you convinced? If you haven’t already, when will you start your migration to FOSS?

Read the detail…

http://linuxblog.darkduck.com/2011/10/why-free-software-really-isnt-and.html

Open Document Format

Assalamualaikum dan Salam Sejahtera kpd semua,

Semenjak menggunakan Free Software @ Open Source Software di dalam kerja seharian samada untuk kerja-kerja rasmi mahupan kerja-kerja peribadi. 2 tahun lepas saya telah membuat keputusan untuk menggunakan 100% Free Software dan menggunakan Ubuntu Ultimate Editon versi 2.7. Sudah tentu ada masalah yang terpaksa dihadapi. Ada 2 masalah-masalah yang dihadapi oleh pengguna-pengguna (bakal – pengguna) Free Software.

1. Masalah mencapai aplikasi laman web – Masalah ini mesti dihadapi kerana kebanyakan aplikasi yang dibangunkan hanya “COMPATIBLE” dengan Microsoft (MS) Internet Explorer (IE) sahaja.

2. Masalah apabila berkongsi fail dengan rakan-rakan sepejabat. Ini kerana kebanyakan pengguna mash menggunakan MS doc atau docx fail. Bagi saya yang menggunakan Open Office atau Libre Office sudah tentu menghadapi masalah dengan fail2 tersbut. Masalah yang dihadapi adalah format yang tidak tersusun ada juga imej fail yang tidak dipaparkan dengan baik.

Selagi maslah diatas tidak diatasi maka galakkan untuk pengguna beralih mengunakan Free Software akan terbantut… Oleh itu antara strategi pada masa akan datang adalah untuk memastikan/menggalakan institusi-institusi memastikan bahawa semua aplikasi laman web mestilah “compatible” dengan browser selain dari IE.

Itu yang pertama, yang kedua, pengguna perlu mula menggunakan fail dokumen yang mengikut piawaian “TERBUKA” (open standard) iaitu yang dinamakan Open Document Format (ODF). MS Office menyediakan fasiliti menyimpan fail dalam ODF dengan memastikan SP2 diinstall pada perisian MS. Cara ini boleh menggalakkan perkongsian fail dengan lebih berkesan antara pengguna Free Software dan orang2 yang “kaya” yang menggunakan proprietary software.