During Obama’s campaign, he led a charge for the expansion of open source technology. There have been some mentions of it from some officials, but nothing substantial. However, over in the UK there looks to be a huge push for open source technology. Here’s the surprise, from the Tom Watson , the minister for digital engagement.

I love Watson’s common sense explanation of the open source initiative, “when it delivers best value for money”

There are other reasons mentioned for going open source, beyond the obvious financial savings an open source infrastructure could bring. First, open source isn’t bound by proprietary software, or hardware. It’s fully customizable, and can be made to fit the tech needs of the government instead of the other way around.

It seems to me that all of this is pretty common sense. Open source should definitely be the wave of the future for governments, in terms of software and networking. There’s no telling how many billions of dollars are spent by our government trying to keep up with advances in computing technology. With open source, so much money could be saved. Along with letting experts inside the government customize, and code the software to better fit the infrastructure.

Hopefully, we’ll learn a lesson from the UK, if the plan goes through.

[via: BBC]

As great as the internet is (porn and Youtube), it isn’t without its problems. As the world becomes more connected, security continues to hassle the wonderfully open nature of the world wide web. Experts are always working hard to beef up security of the internet, but it always seems the criminals are a step ahead.

So, if we’re always behind on security, what could be a potential solution to the problem? According to Stanford researchers, an ‘internet reboot’ could be the answer. In fact they are working on what is called, The Stanford Clean Slate project.

Nick McKeown, a Stanford engineer talks about the initiative behind the project, “Unless we’re willing to rethink today’s Internet… we’re just waiting for a series of public catastrophes”

According to the researchers, the idea of internet security continues to worsen instead of getting better. More types of malware are thrown onto the internet everyday. And it’s a struggle just to keep head above water.

With a complete restart, the internet could be made safe again. Of course, it’s easier said than done, and many questions have to be answered when going forward with such a project.

First, with a new internet, how could security be more improved than what it is now? Would anonymity take a back seat to safety? How would content adapt to new coding, or could sites just instantly show up on the new internet?

Stanford hopes to answer these questions and more as they continue their well funded project. By the end of the summer, the new system will be available across eight campuses worldwide. Here’s hoping it turns out well, and hopefully ‘Internet 2.0′ will be our savior.

[via: NYTimes]

If you’ve ever conducted a meeting, or conference over a webcam then you know some of the problems that can arise. If you’re trying to run a meeting, and Ted has distracting pictures up behind him it can get in the way of business. The WebAround is a device that looks to solve that problem, with a very simple design.

If you want to check out more, you can visit WebAround’s website. The WebAround will cost you $29.99, and comes in an assortment of colors (grey, blue, and green).

There are some stories that fall directly in your lap, and leave a smile on your face. Kind of sounded wrong. Anyway, this sad/funny but true story comes out of Colorado Springs.

I’m guessing it was like any other evening for two dudes working at 7-Eleven. Arguing about who actress they’d rather get with, Megan Fox, or Jessica Alba. Then an event would occur that could perhaps scar these two gentlemen for quite some time.

A white male, in his 20’s, wearing a black mask, black jacket, and blue jeans entered the premises. Anyone with a mask is generally a red flag when you work at a convenient store. If they pull out a Klingon blade then you can start to panic.

The two guys working at the convenient store, instantly recognized the Klingon weapon as what is called a “Batleth”. All the masked Klingon warrior wanted was cash out of the register.

This Is The Weapon The Assailant Used To Rob A 7-Eleven

Funny, I always assumed Klingons were about the thrill of battle, and taking the fight to your opponent. Not snatching money out of a register, and probably making off with a bag of Corn Nuts. Sad indeed.

[via: TheDenverChannel]

Over the weekend I found myself bored, as I refuse to go outside during winter. This, generally leads to me playing a lot of video games, and watching quite a bit of sports. I’ve still got a couple of weeks before many retail games come out that I’m thinking about buying, so I started to search around for a cheap alternative until said release.

I ran into a game called Perfect World International. It’s a MMORPG that originally released in China but due to its popularity has become a cult hit around the world. After playing it until level 6, I really saw nothing special with the game. To be fair though, you can’t accurately judge an MMO until you get deeper into a game. However, during my time playing I really didn’t see anything that leapt out to me as being amazing.

So, why therefore are so many people playing it? All because of that ever glorious word, ‘free’. Yes, I’ll give Perfect World credit, in that it’s a game worth playing if you don’t have to pay for it. In fact, I’d say it’s probably the highest quality free game I’ve ever played.

Of course, no MMO can be played without sustaining some kind of profit. Perfect World makes its cash from a system called ‘micro-transactions’. This is a system where players can pay cash for in-game money, or items. Nearly every ‘free’ MMO has this system with varying levels of success. Perfect World seems to be doing just fine, as they keep increasing the number of countries where the game is available.

While the micro-transaction system can work in a financial sense, I think it greatly throws off the balance of the in-game world. Of course, you’ll have the dedicated gamers who don’t care how much they have to spend aslong as they can get some killer loot. Then you’ll have people who just want to play, and earn what they get through actually playing the game.

If you have someone who is dedicated to the game, and plays it a lot but doesn’t necessarily have the money to invest frequently, then he is penalized. But if someone plays for quite a bit but has some money to throw around then being able to advance and obtain some great items will have an easier go of things.

It appears that BioWare, developer of Star Wars: The Old Republic might be looking into the micro-transaction system. I really hope not, as it really just messes things up in the game world. Plus, giving players an extra advantage because of something they do outside of the game kind of ruins the immersiveness.

What are your thoughts on micro-transactions? Do you prefer the system, or do you not mind paying a monthly fee to play a MMO?