Userland
- TechRepublic provides a how-to on installing the Helpy help desk solution, which offers features including ticket management, live chat, and a self-serve knowledgebase, using Docker. Like many open source applications, it’s available as a cloud service as well as for on-prem installation.
- Over at ZDNet, they published instructions on installing OpenProject, a leading open source alternative in the project and task management domain. Our Jan. 20 edition included how to set up a calendar on OpenProject once the solution is available.
- In this list of best learning management systems (LMS) by Nasdaq, the open source Moodle project grabbed the choice for best user friendliness. The article highlighted Moodle’s modularity and its wealth of supporting features, such as discussion forums and resource sharing.
- HowToForge posted instructions on installing the Concrete5 CMS on a Debian server. While Concrete5 is less well-known that WordPress or Drupal, this PHP-based system that boasts features like inline editing and robust permissions control.
- In sadder news via The Register, Canonical (publisher of the Ubuntu distribution) announced that all official versions of the OS will stop supporting Flatpak by default. Flatpak has become a favorite standard for distribution-agnostic software packaging. Canonical offers its own alternative, Snap, which supports server applications and provides more intelligent compression on the files that comprise an application.
- PC Magazine reviewed the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), arguably the most venerable of FOSS graphics apps. The GIMP got a “Good” rating based on the inescapable comparisons to Adobe’s Photoshop, though it pointed out (rightly so) a somewhat dated interface.
Server Closet
- Red Hat launched a program to make subscriptions to hybrid cloud products available to partners at no cost, per Computer Weekly. Partners can select the subscriptions they need for either on-premises or cloud access, allowing them to more economically develop their own offerings using Red Hat tech.
Board Room
- In this post from Silicon Republic Dr. Colin Keogh, who founded open source project the Open Ventilator, provides a balanced view of using both open source software and hardware. While the enthusiasm of contributors to open source can be a source of tremendous value, he also points to the sometimes chaotic nature of community-driven initiatives.
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