Maria Winslow

AJAX Performance, Measured The latest buzzword in web design is AJAX, or Asynchronous Javascript and XML.  New sites like http://flickr.com manage to provide the interactivity of a desktop-based application in a web page, while using only the javascript that's been in web browser... (more)

Open Source Java Application Servers Activity around open source projects related to Java is building.  You probably already know about JBoss, an open source Java application server, but there are other options as well. Geronimo, an open source Java application server under the A... (more)

Maria Winslow's Practical Open Source Blog There is a lot of open source activity currently surrounding Java, from JBoss and Geronimo (open source app servers) to MyFaces (an open source web application framework - think Struts but better) to Spring (an open source application ... (more)

In September, core developers of Mambo, the popular open source content management system, announced a fork of the project, called Joomla!, with virtually all active participants following the fork. I caught up with Andrew Eddie, lead developer of the new Joomla!, to find out mo... (more)

Maria Winslow's LinuxWorld Blog: Big Step Forward For Open Source in Government The National Center for Open Source Policy and Research (NCOSPR) was recently announced, and represents a big step forward in open source advocacy in government. The non-profit's mission is to "recrui... (more)

My philosophy about adopting Open Source software is to give realistic advice for IT directors faced with the prospect of sorting out this new wave of technologies and business models. It can certainly be a daunting task. It's one thing for a home enthusiast to try out the latest... (more)

After all the buzz about SugarCRM at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo this year in Boston, we caught up with the company's co-founder and VP of Open Source, Clint Oram, to find out more about his hot new project. How did you get started with SugarCRM? The three of us who co-foun... (more)

Web site content management can be difficult, and commercial products can be expensive. Luckily, a few open source projects are highly recommended for the job. In fact, eWeek has claimed that Bricolage was one of the best content management systems it has ever seen, even among co... (more)

The Open Source Software Institute is an advocacy group with a mission to promote Open Source software in government. We caught up with executive director John Weathersby to tell us more. LWM: There are several advocacy groups for Open Source - how is your mission different? Jo... (more)

Justin Smith thinks in practical terms. As CTO of Guilford County Government in North Carolina, budgetary concerns were the driving force in his considering Open Source technologies. Smith saved an estimated $27,000 a year by replacing two servers on the edge of his network, and ... (more)

It became apparent to me recently at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo that our choice of words matters. I was standing at the Mozilla booth when two guys came up and peered over my shoulder. "They're selling the T-shirts here, too," one said with disappointment in his voice, "L... (more)

The NAIS (NASA Acquisition Internet Service) organization provides procurement Web applications for the entire agency through a suite of 14 applications. Tools relating to efficient procurement, such as posting solicitations and looking up past performance data for contracts, are... (more)

When Rackspace Managed Hosting started in 1998 to lease Internet colocated servers to customers, they went with Linux almost everywhere in an effort to keep costs down. In fact, heavy use of Linux was standard in the low-margin managed hosting sector. According to IT manager Eric... (more)

Mindbridge, the makers of IntraSmart, a software suite for intranet applications, always purchased PC clones for desktop machines. The cost of the hardware came to about $250 each, without the operating system. Testa suddenly realized that they spent twice as much on the desktop ... (more)

Jim Willis, director of e-Government Services for the Rhode Island Office of the Secretary of State, was a consultant for the state when he implemented an online database using open source tools. The ability to use open source technologies was a condition of his hiring, and the s... (more)

When the North Carolina Cooperative Extension needed to overhaul the computer system for 1,200 users in multiple remote locations, systems programmer administrator Janyne Kizer found that Linux on thin clients was the best solution. The North Carolina Cooperative Extension is a ... (more)

Some organizations will find that they are able to make wide use of open source software, while others will find only limited suitable migration candidates. Some of the discrepancy will be due to differences across industries. Industries that tend to make conservative technology ... (more)

There has been some controversy recently over a Microsoft-commissioned TCO (total cost of ownership) study claiming that the long-term cost of Windows is lower than that of Linux. It's time to clear up the confusion. TCO PrimerLet's start with the basics of TCO. When we talk abou... (more)

The Associated Press (AP), the world's oldest and largest news agency, offers a service that allows news providers to integrate AP online content directly into their Web sites. The service, AP Hosted News, is used by approximately 600 affiliate newspapers and broadcasters. The se... (more)

When people hear that open source software is often free and overall cheaper than proprietary solutions, they're intrigued. But how much cheaper is another question. What other costs are involved? This article examines the budgetary impact of migrating corporate desktops to open ... (more)