Posts Tagged ‘Hobbyists’

The Benefits of Open Source Software

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

As unbelievable as it appears, there are hundreds of companies and foundations out there that actively create and distribute software for no cost. The reason for them opening up their software is varied, but the advantages to the customers is huge.

Back in the 1970’s, computer geeks and nerds would create software and distribute it to other hobbyists for free to try and improve it. Then along came a man called Bill Gates who saw a money making opportunity in building software for computers and designed Altair BASIC. Unfortunately for him, his product was also given away around and he ended up writing a pointed letter detailing why software should not be free (Google Bill Gates Open Letter).

Recently, the open source community has been winning a big slice in the software market, largely caused by developing nations who can’t afford the licensing fees of commercial software like Windows, MS Office, Dreamweaver and even Programming Languages.

There are open source versions of probably everything, from office applications to computer applications. The open source concept has even hit the food and drink market with open source recipes for wine and beer now available on the Internet. I am actually writing this short article on a piece of open source software called Open Office, a free alternative to MS Word, and it’s running on Ubuntu, an open source substitute to Windows or Mac OS X.

When it comes to the Internet, there is a lot of open source software around to power any kind of website. Web development companies such as Wordpress and Wikimedia Foundation release scripts free for anyone to use. What makes it particularly enticing is that open source customization can be undertaken by lots of companies around the world.

Utilizing open source software for your website sets up a fantastic base from which to start, for example Wordpress is suitable for virtually any kind of website, but with a bit of Wordpress customization you can have it meet your exact desires for a fraction of the cost of creating it from fom the start.

Before you purchase your next software, always look to discover if there is an open source option on the market. Particularly during these economic conditions, open source scripts may be one way you or your business can drive down its costs.

Protection For The Home

Prefabricated buildings in Essex are used for temporary classrooms and Essex storage

Friday, October 30th, 2009

People for centuries have been looking at ways to store their items safely. Fortresses have been constructed to secure people and their items from people that could take them away. Ensuring that the things in the secure rooms were free from wet was really important as nature had ways of seeping their way through to them. Developments over the years has meant that although we now often carry products across the globe we can ensure they remain secure by putting them in shipping containers that can defend what is in them from nature.

The robust build of shipping containers has meant that many people have seen them as fantastic resources with which to carry out everyday jobs that may have found it difficult with more conventional structures. People also use these prefabricated buildings to store their possessions in when they move house, so if they wanted to find storage Essex they would just look up “storage Essex” on the internet. One of these portable buildings for sale are really necessary to consider when you are talking about buying yourself more space to undertake a specific job or home a specific belonging. Most portable buildings for sale can be manufactured to suit exactly what you want, using the basic shell as a starting point. Shipping containers are made around the globe for many things.

You will frequently discover that schools use them for temporary classrooms, builders, hospitals, hobbyists buy these containers so that they can ensure they have a clean, dry space to teach, manage, work, or treat the thing they are working on or with. Container houses are being constructed out of these prefabricated structures as they are made to such exacting specifications. In comparison with the old secure stores, they now come with security windows, power supply, heating, lighting and any number of optional extras that you could need for your task.