The 10s, 30s and 40s on Flickr

I'm pretty much a history nut but I don't think you need to be to enjoy the new US Library of Congress Photo Collections on Flickr. The collections is called the Commons and, right now, it contains two sets of pictures. 1615 color photos from the 1930s and 1940s around the US and its territories and 1500 black and white photos from newsworthy events in the 1910s.

These are some incredibly amazing photos. I didn't know photos like this existed back then.

There are photos from all over the country but some of the most intriguing are pictures of the people. Most are in unposed positions. Really absorbing. I can sit for hours and browse through these.

The best part of these are that they are being released freely for use by anyone.


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Open Source BI Wiki

I was recently pointed to a new wiki for Open Source Business Intelligence (OSBI) tools, the OSBIWiki. This is a new wiki and right now it doesn't have a lot of content but I'm hoping it will grow. I would like to see a wiki like this that covers all of the BI tools, proprietary or not. Right now, this wiki has some very basic info for Mondrian, JPivot, BIRT and JasperSoft. I'm hoping it will catch on and be updated frequently. If you are into Open Source BI, check it out. LewisC

osbi business intelligence open source wiki

Should Oracle Worry About Open Source Databases?

This is a blog entry at my blog on ITToolbox.com. Does Oracle have anything worry about from open source databases like PostgreSQL or MySQL? Charles Babcock, at InformationWeeks' Open Source Blog posts Why Oracle Should worry . In that entry he talks about FTD and how they recently switched from Oracle to EnterpriseDB for a reporting application and, according to Jason Weiss, FTD Software Architect, "EnterpriseDB enabled us to run our Oracle application at one-sixth the price of Oracle, freeing budget for other important initiatives. EnterpriseDB's fantastic technical support is also a refreshing change from what Oracle usually delivers." He even said, "Oracle should be terrified." That is bad. In one fell swoop, Oracle lost a client, to a competing database, who went very public about his dissatisfaction with both Oracle's licensing costs and it's support. In Oracle's defense, I have dealt with Oracle support for many years and have had pretty good results. I can think of only a single instance where I was completely unhappy with the results. In most cases, things were resolved quickly. No support organization gets it right every time. I personally think Oracle support does a pretty good job. Having said that, I have not liked Oracle's licensing for a long time. I think it is too confusing and too expensive. This is not just an Oracle issue. I think all of the major database players are too expensive and and most enterprise licensing schemes are too complex. If I could change anything about Oracle, it would be licensing. I think stories like FTD will become more common over time as EnterpriseDB, PostgreSQL and MySQL become more mainstream. Oracle does need to look at their licensing and make changes. Oracle does NOT need to worry on this score. If they adjust prices, modify the process and continue innovating, they will stay the number one database. Oracle has something else to be worried about and I think it is a much more significant threat. Recently, Tomax switched from Oracle to EnterpriseDB. Tomax is the leading provider of real-time merchandising and store execution applications and services. "EnterpriseDB allows us to bring the benefits of open source to all our customers, large and small, without sacrificing the quality or performance of our retail management solution," said Eric Olafson, chief executive officer, Tomax. "We are also extremely pleased with the outstanding technical support provided by EnterpriseDB. Thousands of smaller, retailer-owned food distributors and grocers now have an affordable way to realize the same labor cost savings and competitive advantage enjoyed by their larger rivals." You can finished reading this blog at Should Oracle Worry About Open Source Databases?

Datamation Posts 100 Open Source Downloads

The list is not meant to cover everything. According to the article, it is not meant to be a top 100. Just a list of very usable, open source software. I use quite a bit of the software on the list. Check it out: 100 Open Source Downloads Some of my favorites on the list are:

• Audacity - I give this an A+
• Easy Tag - Another good one
• PostgreSQL
• SharpDevelop - FREE IDE for .Net
• Hibernate - Java Framework
• TightVNC

It's an article well worth the time to browse through, especially if you don't normally keep up with sourceforge or freshmeat. LewisC