“Linux enabled Google to build dirt-cheap servers; Java and Perl and Ruby have become the lingua franca for building Web 2.0 applications; and the free Web-server software Apache powers nearly half of all Web sites in the world. Open source software gave birth to the Internet age, making everyone—even those who donated their labor—better off.”

Can open source hardware do the same thing?

This article from Wired Magazine explores these issues and more.

From ReadWriteWeb comes this interesting article from Alex Iskold

“Here’s a simple scenario. A startup produces an innovative idea and works with a patent lawyer to file a patent. This takes a considerable amount of time (a few months at least) and a substantial amount of money ($25K+). But the startup does it anyway and after the patent is filed, people feel comforted that their idea is safe.
Right? Of course not! Not even close. Any patent filed today will take 4-6 years to approve. In the current era where a week is a long time and a year is an eternity, the time to process a patent is unbearably long. Because of this gap, filing a patent appears useless. While you can threaten based on a pending patent, people are unlikely to take it seriously.”

Google Webmaster Central Blog is a great resource on all things SEO (search engine optimisation). This article outlines the basics -

“When your site renders poorly or is difficult to use on many browsers you risk losing your visitors’ interest, and, if you’re running a monetized site, perhaps their business. Here’s a quick list to make sure you’re covering the basics:

Wordcamp Australia is going to be held in Sydney on the 29th and 30th of November. You can get the event location information and book tickets here – Eventbrite

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