OStatic

The dust has settled and all of the Google Summer of Code 2009 (GSoC) students are getting back into the swing of school and jobs, but the experience they gained from participating in the project will last a lifetime. It's a great opportunity for aspiring developers to pair up with a mentor in the community to help them learn the ropes and understand what FOSS development is all about.

All told, when the three-month long project ended, more than 85% of the students passed their final evaluations. I caught up with one of this year's student participants, Johan Hilding, to learn what his experience was like and what he thinks about this popular program offered by Google.

Smartphone owners love their push email and easy syncing options. Let's face it, without those handy features, handheld mobile devices are little more than really clunky cell phones. Now Open-Xchange customers can use the newly released OXtender for Business Mobility to receive push email and sync their calendars and contacts right over the air on an iPhone, BlackBerry, myTouch and most other smartphones on the market today.

Open-Xchange is a popular alternative to Microsoft Exchange that also syncs and supports Macs and Apple Mobile devices. It's used to manage email, tasks, calendars, documents, contacts, and even social networking communication.

Instead of hauling around boxes of candy bars or gift wrap the next time your school or non-profit group needs to raise money, why not offer a CD of open source software in exchange for a donation? That's the idea behind the Open Source Software Charity Fundraiser CD Project. It's the brainchild of the team at Australian-based software vendor Cybersource, and it could give organizations a new way to approach donors who are tired of traditional fundraising methods.

If you use iTunes to manage your music, then you know it's handy but has a few significant limitations. Fortunately, the open source community has come to the rescue with some great little apps designed to make using and working with iTunes a little easier and less frustrating.

Firefly Media Server - Here's a great little tool for sharing MP3s across your network with any computer running Linux, Windows, or Mac OS X. It has support for dynamic or static playlists and a Web-based administration dashboard for easy access from anywhere. In addition to working with iTunes, Firefly Media Server also integrates with the Roku Soundbridge to play music right through your stereo system.

One of the secrets to keeping people lingering on your Web site is to give them something to do when they visit, and interactive books are a great option. Some retail outlets use pageflip engines to display the latest weekly ads and educational sites often use them as a more approachable way to deliver content than scrolling through endless Web pages.

If you want to add an interactive book to your Web site, then check out the free open source Flash Application, MegaZine 3.

Of course, you know regular computer system backups are important and it's always a good idea to store your most critical data offsite for added security. If you're a Linux user, finding a service that's compatible with your operating system isn't easy, but they do exist. Here are five online backup and storage services for personal or business use that work great with Linux.

JungleDisk - This powerful paid service provides support for both Amazon S3 and Rackspace Cloud Files storage. It completely encrypts all data and will automatically restart all background operations following a system crash or shutdown. JungleDisk archives old and deleted files for later retrieval, and relies on multiple data centers to keep your files safe. The Desktop Edition for Linux requires Linux x86, works with KDE or GNOME desktops, and includes a command-line only version for power users.

Safari Books Online is holding a competition for anyone who wants to show off their mad coding skills, so if you think you're up to the task check out the Coder Challenge. If you can convince the judges that you're the best developer out there, you'll take home a 3-month subscription to Safari Books Online and score an invitation to a special event hosted by O'Reilly Media founder Tim O'Reilly.

As local and state operational budgets dwindle, many government agencies are turning to open source software to help manage workflow both internally and with other departments. As part of a Collaboration Initiative, The New York State Department of Labor launched LaborForge, a public repository designed specifically for sharing labor-related source code and design documents.

That might not sound like a particularly big deal at first, but when you consider many of the projects in the repository concern systems that affect things like call center operations and unemployment benefits, suddenly LaborForge looks like an idea that ought to be expanded to all 50 states.

We've been following the beta releases of Mozilla's e-mail application Thunderbird 3 pretty closely over the last few months. It's a terrific free, cross-platform, open source alternative to the native e-mail apps that come bundled with Windows and Mac OS X. Thunderbird 3 also integrates nicely with Gmail, making it a great option for people who want to stick with their Web-based email but want the additional features of a desktop email app.

Mozilla released Thunderbird 3 Beta 4 this week, and it sports more than 200 changes over the past beta release, including new search tools, tabbed email messages, and better IMAP folder synchronization. I've been playing around with the new beta version for a couple of days now and I like what I've seen so far.

When it comes to fonts, Helvetica or Arial is good enough for some people. Creative types and Web designers, however, love the nuances and subtle differences in a wide variety of digital typefaces.

There are plenty of Web sites to download fonts that are low- or no-cost, but finding free and open source fonts is a little more difficult. Here are five resources to check out the next time you need something with just the perfect slope or serif.