OStatic

With costs for academic mathematics software approaching $1,000 for a single license, it doesn't take a numbers whiz to realize that a free, open source option is probably a better alternative. Sage is an entire mathematics system licensed under the GPL and available as a free download for Windows (running VMWare), Mac OS X, and Linux.

Sage covers everything from basic algebra all the way up to complex math processes like graph theory and exact linear algebra. It's designed for both research and studying, and is also plenty robust for classroom settings. In fact, the Web site has several resources for teaching with Sage, complete with lesson plans and worksheets.

Red Hat commissioned a study released today that takes a fascinating look at which countries use the most open source software. The usual suspects -- the U.S., UK, and China -- made the top of the list and Africa brings a decent show of support to the table, no doubt due, in part, to the efforts of the One Laptop Per Child program. The interactive Open Source Environment Map Red Hat created to display the results is a terrific visual representation of where FOSS is found, and where the community needs to step up its efforts toward the goal of worldwide FOSS adoption.

Matt Asay at CNET directs readers to Glyn Moody's take on the Gartner Group's findings that 85% of enterprises are using open source software.

The Gartner numbers seem positive, and encouraging -- especially in light of the acknowledgement that the remaining 15% are planning to move toward more open source software in the near future. Then Gartner drops the bad news -- cases that Moody says don't end badly (they are usually remedied with a polite phone call) or even happen terribly frequently (12 or so cases a year) -- that 69% of companies have no formal method of evaluating and cataloging their open source applications, leaving them at risk of intellectual property liabilities.

The season is nigh where many cultures across the globe observe some type of holiday that aims, in part, to reunite friends and family. If someone in the family is interested in genealogy, these gatherings are usually a prime opportunity to pull out any research, and coax some almost forgotten stories out of relatives.

Genealogists are always researching. Having had a tour of duty as a local history librarian, I've seen my share of dedicated, well-organized researchers. Most file away their information in spreadsheets or lightweight database programs. A few used programs specific to genealogical work, but I found they were few and far between, thanks to the high cost of applications that didn't necessarily offer more than a well organized spreadsheet.

I often wish I'd had the opportunity to show them GRAMPS, the open, cross platform, genealogical research software.

Last month, the open source community was buzzing over a report released by the Linux Foundation that placed the value of the Linux ecosystem at around $25 billion. Now that the dust has settled somewhat, we caught up with Amanda McPherson, the foundation's VP of marketing & developer programs, to get her thoughts on the study, what the results mean for the community, and what the take-away message ought to be.

Red Hat, along with the City University of New York and Intel, announced yesterday that they are creating the New York City Open Source Solutions Lab. This lab, which will be headquartered at CUNY's Institute for Software Design and Development in Manhattan, is aimed at helping local and state government agencies in New York take advantage of open-source solutions. The lab will provide governments with the ability to develop and test a variety of open-source technologies running on Intel chips.