7 Things You Should Know About… Open Source Projects in Education

Halfway through the semester, Dr. Margaret Broadwater was excited by the progress her students were making in her course Open Source Software Development. Working with open source software projects and development communities gave her students hands-on experience with software development practices, technology frameworks, data structures, and product development. Students also completed installation exercises for open source projects from both developers’ and users’ perspectives, followed by finding and patching bugs in the software. Broadwater knew that her students were learning more than just how to work their way around code. In talking with students she emphasized that open source code was the heart of applications that had become ubiquitous in business and education, including Chrome and Firefox, and was the driver for software like the Apache web server, Fedora Linux, and OpenSSL. Moreover, open source had gained purchase in use by companies, organizations, and government agencies and was thus something they would need to know once they entered the workplace as software devel- opers and engineers. Broadwater knew that by working on open source projects in depth, her students were also learning about the ethos of building code in a community of developers—and, indeed, were becoming part of that community.

A Quick Review Of PCLinuxOS

Sometimes while I review distros I come across some cool distros that many persons don’t know about. PCLinuxOS is one of them. A user-friendly, stable and quite cool in features and app selection are the things that made me love this distro.

Android/Linux Devices: Fire OS/Fire HD, Chromebook Pixel, Pixel 2 XL

• New Amazon Fire HD 10 adds full HD display, hands-free Alexa

  Amazon has made concessions to hit that price point, of course—mostly via the limitations of Fire OS—but let's start with the good stuff. The 10.1-inch, 1920×1200 pixel IPS screen is colourful, bright, and has excellent viewing angles. It's laminated to the glass, too, making it clear and easy to read. The shiny rear surface of the old Fire 10 has been given the shove, replaced with a hard-wearing, textured plastic that provides plenty of grip, without feeling cheap (or, at least more premium than the price tag suggests).

• Meet the really cheap Google Home Mini and really expensive Chromebook Pixel 3

  Android fansite Droid Life is on fire today with a big series of leaks of Google's upcoming hardware launches. After showing off pictures and pricing for the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL, the site has details on the new "Google Home Mini," a second smartphone-powered Daydream VR headset, and a new flagship Chromebook Pixel. First up is the new "Google Home Mini," a smaller version of the Google Home, which will retail for just $50. The colors here are "Chalk" (white/grey), "Charcoal" (black), and "Coral" (red). Like the Amazon Echo Dot, the Google Home Mini skips the thumping speaker setup for a smaller, cheaper form factor meant more for commands and Q&A sessions rather than for music.

• The Pixel 2 XL price jumps $80, now starts at $849

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