OStatic

Mozilla released Firefox 3.5 today, roughly one month since it was pushed out as a Release Candidate. The major update delivers several new features and performance improvements that make this new version one you won't want to miss.

Firefox 3.5 is designed with new Web standards in mind and contains support for new Web technologies that will make it more interactive and speedier. Indeed, our own Sam Dean took the beta version out for a spin and was happy enough with the speed to use it as my primary browser and reach for an older Firefox version when I need extensions.

Although the next Linux.conf.au isn't until January, 2010, it's never too early to start planning. Conference organizers have put out a call for papers and miniconfs so if you've got an idea you want to share, now's the time to put together your proposals.

Past conferences have proven to be very popular with the FOSS community and draw speakers from all over the world, including Jon maddog Hall and Bdale Garbee. Linus Torvalds has even been known to make an appearance or two. Benjamin Mako Hill, is the first scheduled speaker slated to attend next year's event in Wellington, New Zealand.

As the release of Firefox 3.5 approaches (codenamed Shiretoko), Mozilla Japan has come up with a unique way to promote the version. They've teamed up with Japan's Shiretoko Nature Foundation and designed an interactive Web site named Discover Shiretoko that teaches visitors about the new browser version as well as the national park after which it was named.

Shiretoko and Firefox: A Story in Four Parts examines how Firefox and the Shiretoko World Natural Heritage Site have more in common that it may seem at first glance. Both, for instance, rely heavily on the power of the volunteer community.

Popular network protocol analyzer Wireshark released a major update recently that's chock full of new features. Wireshark 2.1.0 now has OpenStreetMap + GeoIP integration, a 64-bit Windows installer, improved support for Mac OS X, and more.

Under development since 1998, Wireshark has been lauded as one of the most important open source apps of all time for making network and application troubleshooting more accessible to computer users and administrators. Since many businesses and educational institutions rely on Wireshark to optimize and secure their networks, there is even a certification course aimed at IT staffers.

If you've got a great Web site and want to give visitors a nudge about which parts they shouldn't miss, have a look at Amberjack. It's a handy open source widget that acts as a tour guide for your site.

There's no need to spend hours creating screencasts or hassling with screenshots, just open the wizard and add the URLs of the pages you want highlighted. Amberjack generates HTML code you can drop right into your site.

Earlier this week I wrote about ways museums are turning to open source software as one way to deal with declining attendance and lack of funding to cover operational costs. Of course, there's more to running a nonprofit organization than managing collections or scheduling volunteers to run exhibits.

Web-based open source constituent management solution Orange Leap (CMS) helps nonprofits maintain and manage relationships with the patrons, sponsors, and community members whose donations help keep their doors open.

Non-profit research group Institute for the Future has partnered with Boing Boing and Sun Microsystems to create an online community of young inventors who want to work with open source technology. To sweeten the interest in becoming a part of The Digital Open, community organizers are holding a contest for kids 17 and under to submit their own open source projects for a chance to win a laptop, Flip camera, or one of several other prizes.

In a guest post earlier this month, Aaron Fulkerson, co-founder and CEO of MindTouch, outlined why he believes that businesses do themselves a disservice by relying on existing social networking tools to boost productivity among employees and foster communication with customers. In reality, it only allows for one-dimensional superficial dialogue that serves very little purpose in the long run, and does nothing for overall workflow.

These days it's common for each team within a company to have its own blog, collaborate on inter-departmental projects via wiki, and plan meetings over email. In the meantime, files, databases, ERP, CRM, and other data are typically spread out all over the place. Companies communicate with customers through social networks, while employees communicate with each other via group chat. Each method works well on its own but [s]ocial software is not solving business problems, writes Fulkerson. In fact, these applications only serve to treat symptoms of the problems businesses face.

Last fall we heard the news that Russia mandated all schools in the nation must use free software. The transition was to be completed by the end of 2009 and the number of computers running free software in Russian schools was expected to top one million by 2010. Unfortunately, things haven't gone quite as planned.

Installation disks were recently shipped to school districts and contained four different GNU/Linux distributions so schools could choose the best distro for their particular hardware. A mistake was made by one of the companies responsible for assembling the software, rendering the disks completely unusable.

Some of the organizations hardest hit by the sagging U.S. economy are non-profits and industries that rely on donations and public support to stay afloat. Museums and cultural institutions are turning to open source software as one way to deal with declining attendance and lack of funding to cover operational costs.

We've already mentioned one Web-publishing platform that makes historical archives accessible, but there are several other open source projects that address the different needs of museums. They're certainly worth a look by anyone who needs to manage a large collection or create an exhibit.