andylockran’s blog

Using the Long Tail

Posted by Andy under BECTA, Control, Digital Freedom, Hypothesising, Linux, Marketing, Microsoft, Personal, Personal, Political, SBLUG Planet, Software, Tech Geek, Ubuntu

Clay Shirky provides a fascinating insight into how a collaborative approach utilises more skills, and empowers more people than the old institutional model. Rather than coming from an Open Source background, he uses the example of Flickr to convey his point (and then takes a stab at Ballmer). It’s an interesting presentation, and shows how you can make the most of the information/data available in a field.

However, there’s an angle to his talk which isn’t covered in this short presentation; which I imagine is due to time constraints. That’s the opportunity for cross-discipline collaboration, and what that means for us.

One of the more interesting points made by Clay, is that he poses the current ‘$1 million question’ - Are Bloggers Journalists? - and then turns it on its head.

Journalists, and journalism came about to fulfil a societal need. How to communicate with the majority of the population. Gutenburgs’s printing press was a percursor to European journalism, and for the last 400 years or so, journalism has been an integral part of mass communication.

However, we now have a little something called the internet - which, as Gutenburg’s printing press did all those years ago, revolutionise access to information. The infrastructure required to become a ‘messenger to the people’ is in place for people to with it as they wish - create facebook pages, youtube videos, or wordpress blogs. Once the infrastructure becomes freely accessible, the applications of it become massively varied.

In Clay’s talk, he mentions a ratio. 80% of people do 20% of the work, and vice versa, using a lovely graph of the long tail:

Though a graph illustrating a different set of data, the concept can be re-applied to Open Source Project contribution. The Green area applies to the ‘core’ developers, who may even be employed by the project. The Orange applied to the people directly involved with the project, and perhaps some power users, and the Red section applied to everyone else.

The wonderful thing about the Red section, is that you get lots and lots of people contributing very little. However, it’s these people who can really add value to a project.  With so many projects now existing across different distributions, each system becomes pretty unique.  Where bugfixes and irrationailities can be spotted and reported on by end-users running their unique system - the value added is huge.

There’s also a question of expertise.  The guys in the Red Section are the programming experts, who are commiting code.  Those in the Orange Section are the users/implementers of the code - so will typically have a clear understanding of the direction of the project and the needs that the project needs to fulfil. Whereas in the Red Section are people who use the package, but often alongside other packages of greater interest/relevance to their line of work.  It’s this cross-discipline collaboration that is unprecedencted.

Getting average non-geeky end users to use Open Projects is a massive challenge, but one that is going to bring massive benefits to Open Source Software.  Some people talk of the digital tipping point from a technical standpoint - “Woo, when we get this critical mass we’ll overtake Microsoft within the next 5 years.”  To be honest that doesn’t bother me. Judge MS as you wish, but that’s not why I’m here.  I’m here because the potential contribution that end users can make to Global Knowledge, through Open Projects.

It’s going to be possible for a biological scientist and and engineer to be reviewing the same problem for different purposes.  It’s unlikely that these two disciplines would ever communicate were it not be for this open project, and it’s also possible that only with the combined knowledge and expertise of these two disciplines, the problem can be solved.

This is what excites me most about free software, and to think we’re only just at the beginning.

OLPC - Is advocacy a profitable business model?

Posted by Andy under Africa, BBC, BECTA, Conspiracy Theory, Debian, Digital Freedom, Freedom, Linux, Marketing, Microsoft, Personal, Political, Projects, Python, SBLUG Planet, Software, Tech Geek, Ubuntu

Having just read Rory Cellan-Jones article on the BBC News Website about the OLPC choosing to use the Windows XP operating system, I felt it sensible to put forward the reasons why I think it may/may not be a bad thing, and who’s going to benefit from the deal.

Education versus Training

Unfortunately, I think the UK IT Education System passed under this bridge so far up river, that it would require getting out of the river, and a hard trek upstream to ever get back to fixing the problem.  Since 1997 (the year I started secondary school, and the year the Labour government came into power), there has been a worrying trend toward using the education system as a training system.  I enjoyed my first couple of years IT lessons - we played with things like Logo - and used some very simple database software (key-plus?) to understand the power of databases.  We also used MS Excel to enter data into spreadsheets, and learn some basic formulae - as well as being told how to write the same formulae on the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software I had at home.

The difference that occurred in Year 9 (when RM ‘upgraded’ the IT suite at school) - was that we were now using MS Office.  Sure, we’d had Word and Excel on the PCs before, and I guess the financial costs of upgrading to Office rather than having the two separately are minimal, especially once you take into account the “educational discount” that schools are entitled to from Microsoft.

This meant that everything we did was MS based.  The simple database has gone, we were using MS Access.  In essence, IT lessons involved being trained in how to use basic productivity tools for our future office careers; which, in my opinion, is not something that the Education System should pay for.  I’d prefer to see people have an understanding of the difference between the ‘web’ and ‘email’;  the difference between what a Spreadsheet can accomplish in comparison with a Database; and hopefully a way for people to be taught on looking after their data, online and offline.
Advocacy as a Business Model

I recently watched a lecture given by Nicolas Negroponte in 1984.  In it he discussed his ideas for the future of Computer Interfaces.  It was an interesting talk, as he spoke about experiments he was doing in some African Countries on UI design.  However, he also noted that he’d done a dry-run of these experiments in New York previous to heading out to the African Continent.

In the school in New York, there was a child of around 14.  He didn’t know how to read and was seen as needing Special Needs treatment.  However, he was simply left to fend for himself in the IT rooms.  One of the days, a local council worker came to visit the school, and happened to notice this child in the library, so asked him what he was doing.  He showed him what he’d created on the screen using the ‘LOGO’ program.  The council visitor was suitably impressed, and asked him if he could do a little variation on his work.  Rather than simply say ‘no - I don’t know how,’ the child reached for the manual, worked out how to do it - and did it - clearly pleasing the visitor.

The visitor then went to the Principle’s Office (his reason for attending the school in the first place) and happened to mention the child.  The principle was certain that the visitor was the victim of some kind of ’set-up,’ therefore took the visitor down himself to see the child demo his abilities.  Lo and behold the child was able to do a further variation on his work by looking through the manual.

When asked why the child could read the manual, yet could not read the books provided to him in class, his answer was akin to the following: “What the teachers give me in class is boring, and I don’t get anything out of it.  However, when I’m on the computer and working, I can see the results of my efforts straight away and get rewarded for them.”

OLPC - Sugar UI

The Sugar UI for the OLPC project, for me, was a symbol of the ‘LOGO’ program for this child.  Someone that the teachers has written off as a massive underachiever had been able to produce ingenuity and learning independently - given the resources to do it.  Encouragement wasn’t necessary, as the learning process is something organic to the human mind.

The Sugar UI isn’t about being Free and Open Source (thus cheap) - it’s about so much more than that.  However, it’s also not the be-all and end-all of the OLPC project.  There are thousands of Open Source applications that can run on top of Windows XP that the OLPC users will be able to access.  It will also open up their opportunities for developing for FLOSS software on Windows Desktops - and thus be able to access the Windows Market in developed countries.

Why did OLPC do the deal?

For those of you that have been following OLPC, you’ll know that the ‘Intel Classmate’ has played some underhand tactics in order to get their processor on the OLPC - and then pulled out once they’d hijacked the relationships that OLPC had with important African leaders.  There’s so much corruption in Africa, that XP was probably an (unofficial/off the record) requirement.  Sometimes you’ve got to get in bed with the bad guys to help the small guys.

Where does this leave OLPC in the future?

OLPC ‘Ltd.’ will always be the pioneers to the concept of OLPC.  The aim is a noble one, yet in what is essentially a commercial market - pure advocacy fell to the power of multi-national marketing.  However, it has opened up a new market in the developed countries too - of Ultra Mobile Personal Computers - many of which run Free / Open Source Software.  This can only be a good thing in the long run, with more and more people using FLOSS and seeing the benefits.  Coupled with the coming-of-age of Ubuntu, and the fantastic marketing effort that’s coming with that, Nicolas Negroponte can be confident that where his company may have compromised - his idea is still being pushed by those supporting him.

OOXML - Problems for the masses

Posted by Andy under Apple, BCS, BECTA, Control, Digital Freedom, Freedom, Gentoo, Gnome, Ingots, Linux, Marketing, Microsoft, NHS, Personal, Political, Projects, SBLUG Planet, Software, Stupid, Sun, Tech Geek, Ubuntu

It’s ironic really.  Tomorrow the ISO council are likely to vote OOXML to be fast-tracked to a standard.  There’s been good coverage on Groklaw and by Zeth Green.  One of the problems with technical decisions like this is that they really don’t get the average person in the street interested.  It’s only when problems occur that they realise there’s an issue - and they expect their IT guy/friend/consultant to be able to fix it for them.

Well, today I had a call from my mate - saying that he’d sent a company his CV, but they’d written back to request that he send it from Microsoft Word.  He did.  He was using Office 2007.  I smelt the problem right away.

He was using OOXML, and they weren’t.  At this juncture, one has two options.

a) Try and get the organisation you’re sending the document to to download the “OOXML Compatibility Pack.”   Your chances of success are small.

b) Save the file in a different format.  RECOMMENDED!

Here’s how:  See the list at the bottom of the page for recommended (and not-recommended) defaults.

To change default file save options in Office Excel 2007

1. Double-click Microsoft Office Excel 2007, double-click Excel Options, and click Save.
2. In the right pane, right-click Save Excel files as, and select Properties.
3. In Save files in this format, select Enabled.
4. In the drop-down box, select a default file save format.
5. Click Apply to save the settings.

To change default file save options in Office PowerPoint 2007

1. Double-click Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, double-click PowerPoint Options, and click Save.
2. In the right pane, right-click Save files in this format, and select Properties.
3. In Save files in this format, select Enabled.
4. In the drop-down box, select a default file save format.
5. Click Apply to save the settings.

To change default file save options in Office Word 2007

1. Double-click Microsoft Office Word 2007, double-click Word Options, and click Save.
2. In the right pane, right-click Save files in this format, and select Properties.
3. In Save files in this format, select Enabled.
4. In the drop-down box, select a default file save format.
5. Click Apply to save the settings.

The possible value for the default file save format include:

For Excel:

• Office Excel 2007 workbook (.xlsx), (NO)
• Office Excel 2007 macro-enabled workbook (.xlsm), (NO)
• Office Excel 2007 binary workbook (.xlsb), (NO)
• Web page (.htm, .html),
• Excel 97-2003 workbook (.xls), (YES)
• Excel 5.0/95 workbook (.xls)

For PowerPoint:

• Office PowerPoint 2007 presentation (.pptx), (NO)
• Office PowerPoint 2007 macro-enabled presentation (.pptm), (NO)
• PowerPoint 97-2003 presentation (.ppt) (YES)

For Word:

• Office Word 2007 document (.docx), (NO)
• Office Word 2007 macro-enabled document (.docm), (NO)
• Office Word 2007 macro-free template (.dotx), (NO)
• Office Word 2007 macro-enabled template (.dotm), (NO)
• Single file Web page (.mht), (NO)
• Web page (.htm, .html),
• Filtered Web page (.htm, .html),
• Rich text format (.rtf), (YES)
• Plain text (.txt),
• Word 97-2003 document (.doc), (YES)
• Word 97-2003 template (.dot),
• Flat XML document (.xml),
• Word 6.0/95 document (.doc),
• Word 6.0/95 Chinese (simplified) document (.doc),
• Word 6.0/95 Chinese (traditional) document (.doc),
• Word 6.0/95 Japanese document (.doc),
• Word 6.0/95 Korean document (.doc),
• Word 97-2002 and Word 6.0/95 rich text format (RTF) (.doc),
• Word 5.1 for Macintosh (.mcw),
• Word 5.0 for Macintosh (.mcw),
• Word 2.x for Windows (.doc),
• Works 4.0 for Windows (.wps),
• WordPerfect 5.x for Windows (.doc),
• WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS (.doc)

Of course, if you want to make sure you don’t come across this problem in the future - choose an open and free format - and ask your friends/colleagues/clients to do so too.  There’s already a documented format standard in *.odf.

Download your cross-platform Free Office Suite (completely legally) from OpenOffice.org 

The Ingots

Posted by Andy under BECTA, Digital Freedom, Freedom, Ingots, Linux, Marketing, Microsoft, Personal, Projects, Software, Ubuntu, University

Want to do an ECDL but don’t run MS Office? There is an alternative.

The INGOTS

QCA accredited in the UK, and coming to countries all over the world - the InterNational Grades in Office Technology is a platform-agnostic approach to computer education.

It’s projects like this which will help the widespread adoption of non-MS products in both Education and Public Sector institutions. Please take a look and consider mentioning the benefits to your friends/relatives/neighbours/milkman/strangers.

Great Work.

BECTA - “Let’s get interoperable”

Posted by Andy under BECTA, Linux, Marketing, Microsoft, Political, Software, Tech Geek

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/11/becta_vista/

Finally some good news for the open source world coming out of BECTA. Congratulations to all those involved behind the scenes who are promoting the open source offerings.

However, the biggest announcement in that article, for me at least, isn’t the denouncement of Vista and Office, but the positive noises coming for document interoperability. ODF should to all intents and purposes be the next global document format (it alread has ISO status). OOXML is not a vendor-neutral or open format, thus should be excluded as an option. It’s good to see BECTA supporting that for educational purposes.