MooPig Tech Coroner :: "Good-bye Microsoft, Hello Open Source Software"

Start-up Business Costs, eh?
Mashed articles by Pat Darnell  |  Mar 9, 2014  |  Bryan TX

[Picture LINK] The freedom we endorse means that everything we create shall be free to be used for any purpose, free to be studied how it works, and free to change it, free to the redistribute copies and copies of your modified versions to others. GNU

Use this article as an introduction to Open Source. It was written in 2010. But if you think about it, if the LINKS it publishes are still around today, 2014, then you might have a good indicator that these do really work.

Does Open Source mean Free? Nothing in the world is FREE... so ? What's the  real cost? All we can figure at this level of discovery is that Google Summer of Code acts as developer for many Open Source projects.

" ... Clayton Christensen, the author of The Innovators Dilemma, coined the term “disruptive innovation” to explain the “process by which a product or service takes root initially in simple applications at the bottom of a market and then relentlessly moves up market, eventually displacing established competitors (January 13, 2014. By Jeff Vance. LINK) ...”

50 Open Source Replacements for Really Expensive Software - Datamation: "The "Great Recession" has businesses and consumers alike looking for ways to cut costs. That includes looking for cheaper alternatives to expensive software. In most cases, open source applications offer much lower prices, even if you need to purchase paid support. With that in mind, we've put together a list of open source alternatives to software that tends to cost a lot (August 17, 2010. By Cynthia Harvey. LINK) ..."
'via Blog this'

If you are trying to go into business today Open Source could help you through the first three years ... the default years of development when you show very little profits, if you know what you are doing. Other topics that interest me:

• IT Salary Guide
• Bring Your Own Device, BOYD
• Cloud Computing in 2014: Three Key Trends
• Are You Ready to Become an Internet of Things Hero?

Downloading online Open Source can be risky. What you get when you download might be tagged with a virus or two. New softwares can mess with your databases, or your operating system, and might alter your start up. We don't know the answer to any of that. It would take a great deal of research to figure which Open Source delivers with fewest complications.

Others comment:
" ... One of the key issues with proprietary software, including free software is the lack of ability to integrate with a database. We have been using a free version of ChartGantt Ultimate which had delivered fantastic integration capabilities (Gantt Chart. March 27 2013.)..."

"...Open source is a huge success. The benefit it has achieved is that the paid software is now being developed with utmost sincerity as they always have a threat that ppl may switch to free open source alternatives. The only problem with opensource software is that ppl try to implement only cooler stuff within it and don't pay any attention to detail for user-friendliness. If opensource pays attention to user-friendliness there may be much cooler stuff happening (Gotya. September 09 2010)..."

"... First, it's nearly impossible to find prices for the very most expensive software you can buy. Many enterprise software vendors don't release their prices because they negotiate separately with each customer or because their licensing schemes are so complicated that they could never explain them adequately in less than 5,000 words.

" ... In addition, custom applications can be extremely expensive, but are also difficult to price. Because we wanted to list prices in this article, we limited ourselves to "off-the-shelf" products with relatively easy-to-find suggested retail prices (ibid. Harvey.)..."

Since 2005, "... Google Summer of Code is a global program that offers post-secondary student developers ages 18 and older stipends to write code for various open source software projects... Through Google Summer of Code, accepted student applicants are paired with a mentor or mentors from the participating projects, thus gaining exposure to real-world software development scenarios and the opportunity for employment in areas related to their academic pursuits..."
"... In turn, the participating projects are able to more easily identify and bring in new developers. Best of all, more source code is created and released for the use and benefit of all. (LINK)..."

CONCLUSION
What is the real cost of Open Source for the start-up? At this point the real cost is time: time it takes to learn a new software. Learning curves for new businesses will dictate their ability to compete. If a business, or the individual, has used a licensed software in the past, he/she/it will find a similar open source software to use. If the business start-up is highly proprietary, it may require costly licensed custom software anyway.

I have a son who has successfully used Ubuntu for the last eight years in his business.


_______________________Reference
http://www.datamation.com/article.php/3898906
http://www.datamation.com/careers/it-salary-guide-2014-1.html
http://www.datamation.com/commentary/does-byod-keep-it-admins-awake-at-night.html
http://www.datamation.com/applications/are-you-ready-to-become-an-internet-of-things-hero.html
http://www.datamation.com/cloud-computing/cloud-computing-in-2014-three-key-trends.html
http://brlcad.org/
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/3895081/The-75-Funnest-Open-Source-Downloads.htm%22
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/3860721/65-Open-Source-Downloads-That-Could-Change-Your-Life.htm
http://www.ganttproject.biz/
https://developers.google.com/open-source/
http://www.google-melange.com/gsoc/homepage/google/gsoc2014
http://www.amazon.com/Innovators-Dilemma-Revolutionary-Change-Business/dp/0062060244/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389650324&sr=1-1&keywords=the+innovator%27s+dilemma
https://www.apertus.org/opensource
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html

MooPig's Star Linger Power Department :: "Stardust" PART ONE

How long a Star Lingers up there is Paramount
by Pat Darnell  |  Jan 20, 2013  |  Bryan TX

What prompts this discussion is a billion dollar business. On the Red Carpet of stardom is a map of the birth, life, and, death, of stars.

Cue 'Stardust.' MooPig Star Linger Power Department has begun a new measuring tact that will give a number to a star's linger power ... stick-around-it-ness. It seems like a good idea at the outset, but we are not finding any substance to the concept. Except that some stars are paid up to $42k to wear certain clothes, and accessories: bags, jewelry and shoes, all happening during negotiations before an event like the Oscars.

Quick Poll   ... Are leggings acceptable to wear in public?

• Yes! They're just tight pants.
• No! They are too tight. Save for exercise and travel only.

There is a new software, app or such, that puts a tag on the items in the photo of your favorite star that is lingering in the ring of stardom. You simply find your star d' jour, and click on clothing items and accessories to find who designed and manufactured each of them. We're talking intimacy.

[Picture LINK]

The point being, whether the public wants it or not, certain persons become stars, and live a life of selling themselves. As stars live longer, well you guessed it, the longer star linger power each has. Examples alive today are: Wayne Newton, Joe Theismann or Terry Bradshaw, Helen Mirren, who are lingering at high levels.

How then do we spot a young star, a protostar, who will be with us for a long time. That is our mission in assigning a number to each newborn star to provide a derivative to Stock Brokers for investment futures, so they can hedge on them.

With some ease we can be assured that football stars will last a long time, RGIII, or Te'O. Young vegan health minded singers/songwriters should linger, and then there is false stars. Sarah Palin is a study in the false star category, but she is lingering, you have to admit.

In case you think otherwise, MooPig is nauseated by this bit of pseudo-science. It means that Justin Bieber, if he stays clear of fatty foods, misogynists, polyandrists, polygamists, escapologists, and pastors, ... will most likely be around for the next ninety years. I pity my children who must endure what all that implies.

Keith Richards might be the anti-thesis of this parody, but he sure enough has lingered ... we know you are thinking right now of stars who are suspiciously lingering out there.

If you are earnest in spotting who is the next rising protostars who will begin on the linger timeline, just tune in to cable TV Disney Channel. Watch a day's worth of "Austin and Ally", "Shake it Up!", "Wizards of Waverly Place", "Jessie", "Good Luck Charlie", and "ANT Farm" or "Dog with a blog." You will see first hand star linger power in its infancy, birthing out young starlets, with producers throwing money at them.

Our most lasting lingerers have come from the Disney Cartel.

ROUND 2: Who is your favorite male Disney child star of all-time?

• Cole and Dylan Sprouse
• Jonas Brothers
• Justin Timberlake
• Mitchel Musso
• Zac Efron

MooPig Star Linger Power Department would like to apply this model to our quest in measuring this burgeoning business:

" ... Stars are born in nebulae. Huge clouds of dust and gas collapse under gravitational forces, forming protostars. These young stars undergo further collapse, forming main sequence stars.

Stars expand as they grow old. As the core runs out of hydrogen and then helium, the core contracts and the outer layers expand, cool, and become less bright. This is a red giant or a red super giant (depending on the initial mass of the star). It will eventually collapse and explode. Its fate is determined by the original mass of the star; it will become either a black dwarf, neutron star, or black hole.

CONCLUSION
There is a problem here. Each of the people who concern themselves with their celebrity is vying for attention. There are not enough thirty-second segments in one day to put up with this onslaught of vanity. We the observer, the tactician, the MooPigster, are the poor bastards who will suffer bombardment of stuff of stars, lingering ever longer ... gulp.

Will this bullshit never cease? Not likely.

And remember what Paul says:

paul Posted at 9:14 PM on December 12, 2012
" ... If you don’t wear panties it’s your responseibilty to make sure you don’ flash your gash. ... "

[ ... ]

Coming up PART TWO :: "We look in on aging BINGO callers from the Star Power Linger List" [the LIST]

What Would She Wear: S/S 13
The S/S 13 runways were packed with standout looks and it's only a matter of time before our favorite celebs stake their claim. Accordingly, we've tapped into our crystal ball to predict who's going to wear what, from a vividly printed Marni coat (Solange!) to a slinky cutout Michael Kors gown (Rooney!). Click through our slideshow and let us know if you agree with our fashion clairvoyance!

________________________Reference
http://ryanseacrest.com/2013/01/15/round-2-favorite-male-disney-star/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/06/rihanna-selena-gomez-leggings_n_2082474.html
https://mrbarlow.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/star-life-cycle/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/stars/lifecycle/
http://www.whowhatwear.com/website/home.php
http://www.whowhatwear.com/website/celebrities-trendsetters/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/11/celebrities-wearing-glasses-photos_n_1952699.html
http://www.whowhatwear.com/website/slideshow-story/what-would-she-wear/
http://www.jessicasimpson.com/
http://hollywoodlife.com/pics/celebrity-wardrobe-malfunction-photos-2011-hollywood-nip-slip-spanx/#ref=/2012/12/11/anne-hathaway-upskirt-photo-wear-underwear/pos=
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096256/

It's Information that Generates New Ideas and Drives Decisions for SMB... Small to Mid-size Businesses... and XEROX

"According to IDC Research Firm, offices around the world will produce 4.5 trillion pages of hard copy information by 2007." Introduction to Smarter Document Management
1 “The Role of Documents in Effective Business Processes,” Angele Boyd, IDC, October 2004.

Every organization – small start ups, growing mid-size and global corporations — has made an investment in Information Technology. From 1997 to 2003, U.S. companies spent $2.5 trillion on IT, according to the research firm IDC. IDC research house goes further to state that by 2007, offices around the world will produce 4.5 trillion pages of hard copy information.

The emphasis for businesses as they try to reduce costs and improve productivity is not to eliminate paper, but to streamline how the information embedded in the paper documents is handled.

Many organizations are looking beyond adding technology in order to improve the bottom line; they are looking to the people and processes actively shaping their workplace. They are interested in growing smarter, not bigger.

With the shift in focus, new questions are raised; how can they tailor and manage the technology to best meet their needs, and how can they later alter their processes to best use the technology? When it comes to investing in IT, there is a marked shift from the “T” to the “I” — from the technology to the information. It’s information that generates new ideas and drives decisions (Boyd; 2004).

The Big “I” and Document Challenge

Documents are one of the most critical elements of working life, the key connectors between IT infrastructure, people, and critical business processes. A recent report from IDC characterizes the growing importance of documents as “driven by regulatory compliance, the need to communicate with customers, suppliers and employees across multiple media, and the role of documents in effective business process solutions and related investments”(Boyd; 2004).

The costs that lie in the production, distribution and use of documents are a hidden, overlooked and generally misunderstood aspect of business cost and productivity. In all cases, the documents carry content that constitutes the backbone of work processes. However, that content is still mostly unstructured and hidden within the verbal expressions of text. It is up to individual users to figure out where to take it, what to do with it, how to process it and take an action on it (Boyd; 2004).

Copyright © 2005 Xerox Corporation. Xerox®, Smarter Document Management smb and DocuShare® are trademarks of Xerox Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Microsoft® is a trademark of Microsoft, Inc.