In my last post I mentioned Free Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS). Many people don’t know what FLOSS is, but it’s really quite simple. FLOSS is software that anybody can see and that they are free to change to suit their needs. FLOSS is programs that that don’t cost an arm and a leg and a first born son. Examples are Linux, OpenOffice.org, GIMP, Apache Web Server, MySQL, and many more.

May I request your input? This article is part of our research in the EU project FLOSSMETRICS, where we are preparing a guide for helping small and medium-sized enterprises on the adoption of free/libre/open source software (FLOSS).

Medium businesses (100 to 999 employees) in Japan are showing latent potential to drive usage of open source software, particularly on the server database scene, according to a survey conducted by AMI-Partners.

If you’re running a small business and you’re in the market for server, you might want to consider SME Server, a Linux distribution customised specifically for the small and medium sized business environment.

A lot of discussion goes into how to talk about FLOSS - free libre open-source software (for starters how about not using strange acronyms that sound like something you keep with your toothbrush). A recent Earthweb article discusses this topic, pointing out some of the mistakes that are made.

I read with interest today when Linux Weekly News linked to Greg DeKoenigsberg's response to Mark Guzdial's ACM Blog post, The Impact of Open Source on Computing Education. I must sadly admit that I was not terribly surprised to read such a post from an ACM-affiliated academic that speaks so negatively of FLOSS's contribution to Computer Science education.

Open source software is a viable option for small and medium-sized (SME) businesses because of its flexibility and scalability. This is according to Synaq MD, Yossi Hasson.

Open-Xchange Inc., today announced full-featured collaboration software designed to make it easy for small- and medium-sized businesses to take advantage of the cost benefits of open source without requiring prior Linux know-how. The product, Open-Xchange Express Edition, provides organizations with an alternative to expensive proprietary collaboration software.

In April I attended a meeting of FLOSS lawyers in Amsterdam. One of the things I got to talk about there was some directions for FLOSS related policy - which turns out to be unusually relevant because the Australian Government is conducting a review into innovation in Australia.