Open Source Software Vs Proprietary Software? Tips For Technology Integration

Is open source the right option for your online training, teaching, or learning efforts? This articles compares the difference between open source and proprietary software. Open source software has become mainstream. Applications such as the Firefox Web browser and Linux operating system are available to aid in all areas of operation, including teaching and learning. Open source software has become a strong contender in online training and e-learning sectors. As technology continues to evolve, more open source offerings will continue to emerge in the area of e-learning, continuously changing the landscape of online teaching and learning both in academia and business fields.

Open source software has grown to include:

1. Learning management systems (LMS)
2. Learning content management systems (LCMS)
3. Course authoring tools
4. Tools to create media elements such as animations, audio, and video
5. Browsers and players to present content
6. Courseware libraries

1. Open source software is free to download therefore lower in cost.
2. Flexibility and customizability
3. Extensive active builder and user communities that forms a good technical support base.
4. Many open source applications

   Toyota recalls 412,000 cars in U.S.
   Toyota Corp. said Thursday that it is recalling 412,000 Avalons and Lexuses for steering problems, bringing the number of cars recalled around the world since October to nearly 9 million.
   
   
   Toyota - Automobile - auto - Toyota Avalon - Makes and Models
   Ex-Enron CEO Skilling seeks release on bail after Supreme Court ruling
   Former Enron executive Jeffrey Skilling is seeking to be released from prison on bail while an appeals court reconsiders convictions questioned by the Supreme Court.
   
   
   Supreme Court of the United States - Supreme Court - Enron - Jeffrey Skilling - Law
   Post Tech Cecilia Kang
   Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.) said Wednesday that the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission should drop his push to re-regulate broadband lines.
   
   
   United States - Government - Cecilia Kang - Facebook - Washington Post
   White House proposal would ease FBI access to records of Internet activity
   The Obama administration is seeking to make it easier for the FBI to compel companies to turn over records of an individual's Internet activity without a court order if agents deem the information relevant to a terrorism or intelligence investigation.
   
   
   
   White House - United States - President - Government - Executive Branch
   Majority of spilled oil in Gulf of Mexico unaccounted for in government data
   Was Tony Hayward right, after all? Back in May, BP's chief executive told a British newspaper that "the Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean," and the vast amounts of oil and chemical dispersants dumped into it were small by comparison. After he said that, BP's well leaked for two more months. Hayw...
   
   
   Gulf of Mexico - Energy - Business - Oil and Gas - Operating Companies
   A crossroads for the U.S. economy
   The U.S. economy is out of the ditch. But is there enough gas left in the engine to reach highway speed?
   
   
   Economic - Asia - Politics - Barack Obama - United States
   digest
   The Obama administration is revising the latest report on its troubled mortgage-relief program, and the changes are likely to show a greater number of borrowers facing foreclosure after having their loans modified.
   
   
   Education - Methods and Theories - Learning Theories - Digestion - Volkswagen
   Geithner may borrow from financial agencies to staff new consumer bureau
   Employees at seven federal agencies will soon receive notice that they could have a new employer this time next year: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
   
   
   
   United States - Home - Consumer Information - Advocacy and Protection - Business
   Dominion reports increase in net income; a 'New Realism' at Fannie Mae
   Energy provider Dominion Resources said Wednesday that a sale of its assets and higher electric demand helped its net income more than triple in the second quarter.
   
   
   Fannie Mae - Business - Programming - NET - Component Frameworks
   Featured Advertiser
   
   Small businesses emerge as big campaign issue for Democrats and Republicans
   As President Obama and his adversaries look for winning themes in the run-up to the November congressional election, both sides are noisily clamoring to prove their support for a critical constituency: America's small-business owners.
   
   
   Small business - United States - Democratic - Politics - Republican
   FBI and military investigating source of leaked Afghan war documents
   The FBI and the Justice Department are working with the military to investigate the source of the leak of tens of thousands of classified military documents on the Afghan war to WikiLeaks.org, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
   
   
   Federal Bureau of Investigation - Wikileaks - Afghanistan - History - United States armed forces
   On midterm campaign trail, Obama mixes populist appeal with wooing of big donors
   President Obama's message to voters this election year is simple and full of populist zeal: Democrats are on the side of the little guy, not the Wall Street brokers, celebrities and chief executives.
   
   
   
   Barack Obama - United States - President - Government - Elections
   Unusual bunch of foes to postal rate increase unites as Affordable Mail Alliance
   By the time the U.S. Postal Service announced plans to raise rates earlier this month, an unusual alliance of customers was in place to oppose it.
   
   
   Mail - United States - Recreation - United States Postal Service - Stamps
   Obama calls for GOP to rally behind small-business loans
   President Obama said Wednesday that Republicans should join Democrats in passing legislation to help provide loans to small businesses.
   
   
   Small business - Business - Barack Obama - United States - President
   Obama calls for GOP to rally behind small-business loans
   
   
   
   Small business - Business - Barack Obama - United States - President
   Featured Advertiser
   
   Strict immigration rules may threaten Japan's future
   TOKYO -- Her new country needs her, her new employer adores her, and Joyce Anne Paulino, who landed here 14 months ago knowing not a word of the language, can now say in Japanese that she'd like very much to stay. But Paulino, 31, a nurse from the Philippines, worries about the odds. To stay in J...
   
   
   
   Law - United States - Immigration - Services - Lawyers and Law Firms
   Criminal probe of oil spill to focus on 3 firms and their ties to regulators
   A team of federal investigators known as the "BP squad" is assembling in New Orleans to conduct a wide-ranging criminal probe that will focus on at least three companies and examine whether their cozy relations with federal regulators contributed to the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, accordi...
   
   
   Oil spill - Environment - United States - Energy - United States Department of Justice
   The ruling and the bill
   The Supreme Court's Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling:
   
   
   Legal Information - Law - Sex Offenses - Crime - Child Pornography
   Census data reveal broad differences among states in rates of uninsured
   New census data released Tuesday confirm a huge spread in the rate of uninsured from state to state and the big difference in impact that can be expected as a result of the health-care overhaul recently passed by Congress.
   
   
   Census - Government - United States - Department of Commerce - Executive Branch
   GE to pay $23.4M to settle SEC complaint in foreign-bribes case
   General Electric agreed Tuesday to pay $23.4 million to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission complaint that GE bribed Iraqi government officials to win contracts to supply medical and water purification equipment under the U.N. Oil for Food program.
   
   
   
   General Electric - Business - Oil-for-Food Programme - U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission - Allegedly Unethical Firms
   Bill on political ad disclosures falls a little short in Senate
   Senate Republicans on Tuesday blocked legislation requiring fuller disclosure of the money behind political advertising, derailing a major White House initiative and virtually ensuring an onslaught of attack ads during this year's midterm election season.
   
   
   Democratic Caucus of the United States Senate - United States - Democratic - Senate - Government
   SEIU and Unite Here end 18-month feud
   Two of the country's largest unions have resolved a vicious feud that roiled organized labor for 18 months, costing it hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, undermining each other's organizing efforts, and distracting it from opportunities presented by Democratic control of Congress and...
   
   
   Workers United - United States - Work - Labor Movement - Labor
   BP to cut U.S. tax bill by $10 billion because of losses in gulf spill
   BP said Tuesday that it plans to cut its U.S. tax bill by $9.9 billion, or about half the amount pledged to aid victims of the disaster, by deducting costs related to the oil spill.
   
   
   BP - Tax - United States - Oil spill - Gulf of Mexico
   Chevy Volt will cost $41,000
   The forthcoming electric car the Chevrolet Volt will cost $41,000, General Motors announced Tuesday, leaving consumers to decide whether its environmental appeal is worth a price far above those of similarly sized conventional autos.
   
   
   
   ChevroletVolt - General Motors - Chevrolet - ChevyVolt - Recreation
   BP names Dudley as CEO, announces $17 billion loss
   BP gave investors a glimpse of its future Tuesday, one that will feature a new American chief executive, slimmed-down operations, and $32.2 billion or more in payments to clean up and compensate people affected by the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
   
   
   BP - United States - Tony Hayward - Gulf of Mexico - TNK-BP
   Basel Committee reaches agreement on bank rules
   A panel of world financial officials has reached "broad agreement" on new rules to govern the global banking system but has postponed some key elements for as long as seven years while the impact is studied, the Switzerland-based group said Monday.
   
   
   Business - Financial Services - Banking Services - Banks and Institutions - Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
   Featured Advertiser
   
   Among House Democrats in Rust Belt, a sense of abandonment over energy bill
   When Democratic Rep. John Boccieri went home to Ohio early this year to talk with voters in his Canton-based district, he figured he would have to do battle with at least some constituents over his support for health-care reform. And the economic stimulus. And the auto company bailouts.
   
   
   Energy - United States - Rust Belt - Democratic - Technology
   Setting limits
   Some suggested measures to control systemic risk by limiting credit and asset bubbles:
   
   
   
   Politics - Term Limits - Campaigns and Elections - Election Reform - Games
   E.U. opens two antitrust probes on IBM
   The European Union opened two antitrust probes of IBM on Monday, accusing the U.S. technology giant of abusing its dominant position in the mainframe computer market. One investigation stems from complaints by IBM competitors T3 and Turbo Hercules, who say that IBM "shuts out providers of emulation...
   
   
   IBM - European Union - Operating system - Microsoft - European Commission
   Kerry's lonely push on climate change
   He fell just short of winning the White House in 2004. Four years later, he was rumored to be a leading contender to be secretary of state, until President-elect Barack Obama stunned everyone by tapping his former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton.
   
   
   Climate change - Environment - John Kerry - Activism - Organizations
   D.C. area housing market relatively insulated from downturn, report finds
   While the nation's housing market struggles amid a sudden downdraft that has once again battered sales, the Washington region appears relatively insulated and poised for a turnaround.
   
   
   Real estate economics - Business - Residential - Real Estate - Housing
   SEC now freer to hike whistleblower awards
   With powerful senators watching closely, federal investigators search high and low for evidence of insider trading in shares of Microsoft. One of Wall Street's best-known hedge fund managers is targeted, but the feds can't find proof. Years pass, and they close the case without filing charges.
   
   
   
   Business - Arts - Literature - Whistleblower - Internal Revenue Service
   Corrections
   -- Chris Cillizza's Monday Fix column in the July 26 A-section, about political candidates who use their personal wealth in attempts to get elected, incorrectly cited Terry McAuliffe as an example. The column said that McAuliffe spent millions in his unsuccessful 2009 bid for the Democratic...
   
   
   Corrections - Law Enforcement - Law - State Agencies - United States
   European Union imposes new economic sanctions against Iran
   PARIS -- Falling into step with the United States, European nations significantly broadened economic sanctions against Iran on Monday in what was described as an effort to force Tehran to resume serious negotiations on its disputed nuclear program.
   
   
   European Union - Government - Iran - Multilateral - U.S. sanctions against Iran
   GE finds itself on wrong side of Obama's defense agenda
   For more than a year, General Electric has been notable among U.S. corporations for enjoying generally friendly relations with the White House. The company was broadly supportive of President Obama's stimulus efforts, and its chairman, Jeffrey Immelt, sits on a White House economic advisory board.
   
   
   General Electric - United States - Barack Obama - President - History
   Disputed chemical bisphenol-A found in paper receipts
   As lawmakers and health experts wrestle over whether a controversial chemical, bisphenol-A, should be banned from food and beverage containers, a new analysis by an environmental group suggests Americans are being exposed to BPA through another, surprising route: paper receipts.
   
   
   
   Business - Pulp and Paper - Materials - Paper - Bisphenol A
   At Blagojevich trial, 'dirty schemes' in detail
   CHICAGO -- As governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich was a bully who rigged state business to build his campaign treasury and line his pockets, a federal prosecutor said Monday, urging jurors to find Blagojevich guilty of two dozen corruption charges.
   
   
   Rod Blagojevich - Barack Obama - United States - United States Senate - Federal Bureau of Investigation
   'Systemic risk' theory gains in stature as way to prevent the next bubble
   Americans might be counting on the day when home and retirement-fund values start to rise again, but anyone expecting to benefit from a future boom in prices should take note: Economic policymakers around the world are looking for ways to make sure that doesn't happen, or at least not with such i...
   
   
   Buzzword - Music and Audio - Multimedia - Buzz - Business
   'Tony Hayward is about to get his life back'
   Tony Hayward is about to get his life back. According to multiple news reports, the embattled CEO is expected to step down after the board discusses and approves his exit in a meeting today. One of the biggest questions many will be asking: What took them so long?
   
   
   Tony Hayward - BP - United States - Organizations - Gulf of Mexico
   Featured Advertiser
   
   BP set to name Robert Dudley, an American, as chief executive
   For a London-based petroleum company that relies largely on oil produced in the United States and Russia, Robert Dudley might be just the ticket.
   
   
   
   United States - Business - Chief executive officer - Tony Hayward - BP
   Wikileaks takes new approach in latest release of documents
   Wikileaks' decision to transfer tens of thousands of raw classified field reports on the Afghan war to the New York Times and two European news organizations reflects the growing strength and sophistication of the small nonprofit Web site, founded three years ago to fight what it considers excess...
   
   
   Wikileaks - United States - Julian Assange - War in Afghanistan - Classified information
   Nonprofit health insurers holding large surpluses, consumer group reports
   Nonprofit health insurers may be setting aside unnecessarily large surpluses even as some of them continue to raise premiums, according to an analysis by a consumer rights group.
   
   
   Insurance - Consumer organization - Home - Health - Consumer Information
   INSIDER TRANSACTIONS
   -- Thomson Financial
   
   
   Sports - Teams - United States - Security - Stock
   Bankruptcy court filings
   These firms recently filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's local clerk of court offices.
   
   
   
   Bankruptcy - United States - Law - Services - Lawyers and Law Firms
   Insider Transactions: Appointments
   CSC of Falls Church named Debbie Granberry vice president of business development for its North American public sector civil and health services group; Kristine A. Burnell vice president of business development for its North American public sector applied technology group; and Kenneth W. Deutsch...
   
   
   Windows - Stock - Chief executive officer - United States - Press release
   Facetime: Business workshops in and around Washington
   MONDAY Business Etiquette and People Skills for Job Searching and Career Advancement. Learn the power of modern manners in your job hunt and career progress. 9:45 to 11:30 a.m., 1718 P St. NW, Suite T2, Washington. Sponsor: 40Plus of Greater Washington. Contact: 202-387-1582 or info@40Plus-DC.org ....
   
   
   United States - Apple - IPhone - Wi-Fi - Education
   Chief executive of BP expected to step down
   As the first reports of the Gulf of Mexico oil-rig explosion trickled in to BP's London headquarters in April, BP chief executive Tony Hayward wondered whether to fly immediately to the United States.
   
   
   United States - Business - Chief executive officer - Tony Hayward - BP
   China invests heavily in Brazil, elsewhere in pursuit of political heft
   PORTO DO ACU, BRAZIL -- Here along the golden sands that grace the Atlantic coastline 175 miles north of Rio de Janeiro, China is forging a new economic reality.
   
   
   
   Brazil - South America - Travel and Tourism - Government - Travel Services
   Residents of Bell, Calif., protest officials' high salaries
   Hundreds of angry residents of Bell, Calif., marched to the homes and businesses of city officials of the modest blue-collar Los Angeles suburb Sunday in a protest sparked by the sky-high salaries of three recently departed administrators.
   
   
   Bell - City council - Los Angeles - United States - Counties
   Geithner presses case for renewing middle-class tax breaks
   Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner took the lead Sunday in continuing the Obama administration's push for extending middle-class tax cuts while allowing similar cuts for the nation's wealthiest individuals to expire in January.
   
   
   United States - Tax - Taxation - Accounting - United States Secretary of the Treasury
   GOP lawmakers optimistic about 'no' votes
   In February, when unpredictable Sen. Jim Bunning single-handedly stalled extensions of unemployment benefits for several days, his Republican colleagues quickly abandoned him, worried that the GOP would be cast as the party against helping people who are out of work.
   
   
   United States - Politics - Republican - Parties - Opposing Views
   Featured Advertiser
   
   The Fix: For rich candidates who invest in themselves, no reliable returns
   Even as the public's disdain for politics and politicians rises to historic levels, a new crop of millionaires -- and billionaires -- is spending freely from their fortunes in hopes of winning elected office.
   
   
   
   United States - The Fix - Politics - Business - Government
   Florida communities get creative to lure back tourists scared by oil spill
   PANAMA CITY BEACH, FLA. -- Ten minutes is usually all it takes for Susan Estler to find an inviting beach scene, snap it with her iPhone camera, and blast it to roadside digital billboards from Baltimore to Atlanta.
   
   
   Environment - Energy - Oil spill - Petroleum in the Environment - Spill Containment and Remediation
   Biography of Steven A. Museles, CapitalSource co-chief executive
   Steven A. Museles Position: Co-chief executive and board member of CapitalSource, a Chevy Chase-based commercial lender that provides financial products to middle-market businesses.
   
   
   Business - CapitalSource - United States - California - Entrepreneur
   Interview with Steven A. Museles, CapitalSource co-chief executive
   My law school days were an exciting time on Wall Street. There were hostile takeovers, exciting mergers and acquisition transactions and leveraged buyouts. Corporate and securities law was an attractive area to focus on, so I stuck with it.
   
   
   United States - Business - CapitalSource - Employment - Southern California
   Deportation of illegal immigrants increases under Obama administration
   In a bid to remake the enforcement of federal immigration laws, the Obama administration is deporting record numbers of illegal immigrants and auditing hundreds of businesses that blithely hire undocumented workers.
   
   
   
   United States - Immigration - Law - Anti-Immigration - Services
   Source: Tony Hayward expected to step down from BP
   Tony Hayward's departure from his job as BP's chief executive will be at the center of the agenda when the company's board of directors meets Monday night, according to a source close to the company.
   
   
   Tony Hayward - BP - United States - Oil spill - Gulf of Mexico
   As federal panel probes oil spill, picture emerges of a series of iffy decisions
   KENNER, LA. -- If there is no smoking gun in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, it is because there is smoke coming from so many places.
   
   
   Oil spill - Environment - Energy - Petroleum in the Environment - Spill Containment and Remediation
   Democrats are betting that ending tax cuts for the rich will play in their favor
   President Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress are setting the stage for a high-stakes battle over taxes in the final weeks before the November congressional elections, betting that their plan to eliminate tax breaks for the wealthy will resonate with voters who have lost houses and jobs to w...
   
   
   Tax cut - United States - Tax - Republican - Politics
   Colorado official works to regulate, legitimize medical marijuana industry
   DENVER -- When Matt Cook was coaxed out of early retirement to become Colorado's chief revenue enforcer three years ago, he assumed his time would be spent overseeing the casinos, liquor stores and car dealerships he had been keeping an eye on for much of his career.
   
   
   
   Medical cannabis - Colorado - United States - Health - Cannabis
   After bailouts, new autoworkers make half as much as veterans in same plant
   DETROIT -- Among workers building the Jeep Grand Cherokee here, there are few obvious distinctions. Clutching lunch sacks and mini-coolers, they trudge together through the turnstiles at the plant's main gate each day to tinker with the same vehicles, along the same assembly line, performing the...
   
   
   United States - Canadian Auto Workers - Government - Assembly line - General Motors
   How crisis PR hasn't kept up with the turbulent times
   The sun never rises for BP. Or so it seems. After it had finally stanched the flow of oil in the Gulf of Mexico last week, this week brought news that the "cap" it placed on the gushing wellhead might be producing "seepage" elsewhere on the sea floor. From triumph to tribulation, over the course ...
   
   
   United Airlines - Los Angeles - Denver International Airport - Federal Aviation Administration - Washington Dulles International Airport
   Recession deals a double blow to those both disabled and unemployed
   If he had his wish, Alex Maltby would be working with autistic children as a classroom aide, the best job he ever had. Instead, he is at his mother's kitchen table in Silver Spring pondering job possibilities -- 33 years old and visually impaired, looking for a way to make a living.
   
   
   Disability - Business - Unemployment - Federal Reserve System - Sports
   Featured Advertiser
   
   Pelosi calls for liberal activists to help keep Democrats in majority
   LAS VEGAS -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stepped into a convention of liberal activists here Saturday with a blunt appeal: The gates to a progressive agenda have opened under Democratic control, she said, and they will close if Republicans seize power in the fall midterm elections.
   
   
   
   Democratic - United States - Politics - Nancy Pelosi - Parties
   Warren Brown reviews the 2011 Ford Mustang 5.0 GT
   CORNWALL, N.Y. The hardest part was northbound on the New York State Thruway, especially near the Sloatsburg Service Area, where state troopers are especially active. I dropped the Mustang's six-speed manual transmission into fourth gear and prayed the car wouldn't stray past the posted 65-mph li...
   
   
   Ford - Mustang - Makes and Models - Recreation - Autos
   Businesses relying more on pre-employment testing
   Your next boss might want to know more than your last one about your personality, thought processes, motivations, work style, values and aptitude for the job. Or perhaps she just needs to screen out three-quarters of the applicants quickly. Either way, pre-employment testing is gaining as a tool ...
   
   
   Tests - Programming - Business - Commercial Services - Security
   How to Deal/Lily Garcia: For more work, more pay?
   Lily Garcia has advised companies on employment law and human resources for more than 10 years. This is adapted from a recent online discussion.
   
   
   British Indian Ocean Territory - Asia - Jerry Garcia - Diego Garcia - Amir Bar-Lev
   Former homeowners ponder when to re-enter real estate market
   N ew york -- In hindsight, Scott Feldman's decision to sell his first home in late 2006 could have been a case study in a textbook called "How to Time the Real Estate Market."
   
   
   
   Real estate - United States - Business - Services - Property Law and Real Estate
   Digging into finance's pay dirt: The risky business of payday loans and more
   Sometime this spring, Democrats stopped calling Sen. Chris Dodd's bill "financial reform" and started calling it "Wall Street reform." Most of the headlines and news releases on the sweeping legislation focused on the well-heeled, white-collar, upper crust of finance -- investment banks,...
   
   
   Loan - Payday loan - Business - Financial Services - Payday Advance Services
   Bond giant Pimco taking another shot at equities, driven by belief in 'new normal'
   Bill Gross, who runs the world's biggest mutual fund, takes a seat in a conference room and makes a confession. Overlooking the ocean at the headquarters of Pacific Investment Management Co., Gross describes missteps that doomed his bond firm's earlier experiment with equities.
   
   
   Pimco - Bond - Business - Investing - Stocks and Bonds
   Race isn't the problem -- economic inequality is
   Instead of focusing on the politics behind the firing and subsequent redemption of Agriculture Department employee Shirley Sherrod, we should consider what she was trying to tell us when she addressed the NAACP.
   
   
   Economic - Social Sciences - Consumption and Wealth - Inequality - Math
   Where Pimco stands
   97% of Pimco's fixed-income rivals have fared worse than its signature fund has in the past decade.
   
   
   
   Business - Pimco - Mutual fund - Investment management - Hong Kong
   No need to shun all European stocks
   It's a mess across the pond. The problems facing Europe and the euro cannot be papered over with the rescue package of nearly $1 trillion the European Union cobbled together for Greece, Spain and Portugal. Not only are the "Club Med countries" spending too much, they are not competitive in world...
   
   
   European Union - Government - Multilateral - Business - Investing
   Liz Ann Sonders, Schwab's chief investment strategist, sees a choppy ride up
   Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, has earned a reputation for spot-on analysis of the stock market and the economy as well as having a knack for connecting with individual investors.
   
   
   Charles Schwab Corporation - Liz Ann Sonders - Wall Street - Business - Stock market
   Federal records show steady stream of oil spills in gulf since 1964
   The oil and gas industry's offshore safety and environmental record in the Gulf of Mexico has become a key point of debate over future drilling, but that record has been far worse than is commonly portrayed by many industry leaders and lawmakers.
   
   
   Oil spill - Energy - Environment - Petroleum in the Environment - Business
   Ford posts another profit as sales climb; net income rises for McDonald's
   EARNINGS Ford posted a strong second-quarter profit Friday, its fifth straight quarterly profit, but trimmed its U.S. sales forecast and predicted weaker results in the second half as the economy slowly recovers.
   
   
   
   McDonald - Business - United States - Middle East - Thomson Reuters
   Featured Advertiser
   
   McLean's Sunrise Senior Living settles with SEC over investigation of finances
   Sunrise Senior Living said Friday that it has agreed to settle with the Securities and Exchange Commission over an investigation into the McLean company's financial reporting from 2003 to 2005.
   
   
   Sunrise Senior Living - Business - Real estate - United States - Seniors
   NACA brings free mortgage help to D.C.
   More than 160 distressed homeowners lined up in downtown Washington before dawn Friday in hopes of obtaining better mortgage terms, with help from housing advocacy group Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America.
   
   
   United States - Mortgage - Business - Financial Services - JPMorgan Chase
   Probe links 20 defense workers to online child pornography
   Federal investigators have identified about 20 Pentagon employees and contractors who allegedly bought and downloaded online child pornography and in some cases used their government-issued computers to view the illegal material.
   
   
   Child pornography - Crime - Sex Offenses - Legal Information - Pornography
   Staffer John Walsh named acting comptroller of currency, replacing John Dugan
   Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner on Friday named a top staffer at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to be acting director of the agency when John C. Dugan leaves office next month.
   
   
   
   John C. Dugan - Office of the Comptroller of the Currency - United States - John Dugan - Presidency of Barack Obama
   Facebook's test: Building on ad revenue
   Facebook may be growing like gangbusters, but the question clouding the storybook rise of Silicon Valley's latest phenomenon is whether it can figure out how to make money at the same pace.
   
   
   Facebook - Social network - Business - Online Communities - Rockyou
   Cellphone industry group CTIA sues San Francisco over radiation ordinance
   First, the cellphone industry told San Francisco it wouldn't host its annual trade show there again. Now, it's suing.
   
   
   San Francisco - CTIA - United States - California - San Francisco Bay Area
   FDA reports problems at Johnson & Johnson plant in Pennsylvania
   Federal officials who inspected a Johnson & Johnson manufacturing plant that makes Mylanta, Pepcid and other popular heartburn medicines unearthed quality control problems, chaotic recordkeeping and complaints by consumers that medicines were either ineffective or contained pills from different...
   
   
   Johnson & Johnson - United States - Tylenol - Pennsylvania - Food and Drug Administration
   Stress tests of Europe's finances finds most major banks in good health
   LONDON -- A broad probe into the health of Europe's financial sector found virtually every major bank in the region fit to withstand severe economic shocks and declared only a handful of smaller institutions at risk.
   
   
   
   European Union - Mental Health - Health - Stress - Business
   Federal budget deficit to exceed $1.4 trillion in 2010 and 2011
   The federal budget deficit, which hit a record $1.4 trillion last year, will exceed that figure this year and again in 2011, the White House predicted Friday, providing fresh ammunition to Republicans who are hammering President Obama for all the red ink as they campaign to regain control of Cong...
   
   
   Deficit - United States - Economic - Government - National Budget
   Pay czar Ken Feinberg calls executive compensation 'ill-advised' but not illegal
   The government's pay czar scolded 17 banks for handing out $1.6 billion in excess executive pay while benefiting from taxpayer bailout funds at the height of the financial crisis. But he will not force banks to return any of the money.
   
   
   Kenneth Feinberg - Business - Executive compensation - Financial Services - United States
   Massey Energy's Blankenship: No shame, but plenty of blame
   Corporate America, like Massey Energy's CEO, has lost its sense of responsibility.
   
   
   Massey Energy - Technology - Energy - Education - Oceania
   Featured Advertiser
   
   Scores line up for loan help in D.C.
   More than 160 homeowners lined up in downtown Washington before dawn Friday in hopes of obtaining better terms on their home loans with help from the housing advocacy group Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America.
   
   
   
   Loan - Financial Services - Business - Mortgage - Processing
   U.S. housing slump continues, but D.C. area is doing better
   The housing bust isn't over, but the worst is past, according to economists participating in a U.S. Chamber of Commerce panel this week.
   
   
   Housing - Real estate - Business and Economy - Affordable and Low Income Housing - Property
   Report: Firms that got bailout funds gave $1.6B in excessive compensation
   More than a dozen companies that received federal bailout money handed out $1.6 billion in excess executive compensation at the height of the financial crisis, according to a report to be released Friday by the government's "pay czar."
   
   
   Business - Investing - Mutual fund - Funds - Law
   Administration proposal aims to tighten oversight of for-profit colleges
   Education Secretary Arne Duncan proposed Thursday that for-profit colleges be required to show through certain new measures that their graduates are not saddled with too much debt, an initiative he said was meant to protect students from "a few bad actors" in the industry.
   
   
   Education - Colleges and Universities - United States - Directories - For-profit school
   Retailers hold Black Friday-style summer sales for Christmas shoppers
   Looks as though Santa's summer vacation is getting cut short.
   
   
   
   Black Friday - Business - Christmas - Holidays - Consumer Goods and Services
   Local Digest
   Capital One of McLean posted a second-quarter profit Thursday as it set aside less money to cover bad loans. For the three months ending June 30, Capital One earned $608 million ($1.33 a share). That compared with a loss of $277 million (66 cents), a year earlier, when the bank repaid the government...
   
   
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   run on multiple platforms including Windows and Linux.

5. Adherence to established standards, which is a high priority for open source software development.
6. Ability to use and link to other open source software

The main difference between commercial support for proprietary software and commercial support for open source software is that the proprietary software is obligatory and the open source software is optional. If you opt out of paying for support for proprietary software, you lose the right to use it in most cases. The costs incidentally tend to be quite high for proprietary software.

Perceived advantages of proprietary software include:

1) Reliable, professional support and training available;
2) Packaged, comprehensive, modular formats; and
3) Regularly and easily updated.

The downside however is that it is:

1) Costly, and
2) has closed standards that hinder further development.

Open sources software has the advantage of:

1) Low cost and no license fees;
2) Open standards that facilitate integration with other systems; and
3) it is easily customizable.

The down side is:

1) Lack of professional support;
2) Evolving developer communities;
3) Lack of release co-ordination; and
4) Erratic updates. However, with such a large development and user-base, many discussion forums and help sites are available for users.

So what is the right solution for you and your organization? Generally, for smaller organizations and projects, Open source solutions seem to suffice. The difference in cost more than makes up for the perceived disadvantages mentioned above. Larger organizations seem to require more robust, high-quality product with high levels of service and support. They want responsibility, reliable assistance, and support from their suppliers.

With rapid developments in technology, chances are you can find tools to meet your training needs in either the open source or commercial sector. But open source provides unique advantages which include filling the low-cost high-control niche that are difficult, if not impossible, to achieve through commercial, proprietary avenues.