Opening Up Hollywood

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If there is one thing that Open Source has proven is that a large group of organized and coordinated people can make incredible things happen. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore whether just because took on the big guns in the software world, could we do the same with the movie world?

Of course, we are the very start of the conversation! Do you think we could make a fully Open Source movie? Do you think we have the tools to do this? Do we have the creative and organizational abilities to do this? If this is possible, why hasn’t it happened? Share your thoughts in the shot comments below…

33 comments so far: add your views!

Damn You, Printer

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Printers are shit. There is no denying this. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore why printing technology is so riddled with problems and how Google wants to change it all with cloud aware printers.

Of course, we are the very start of the conversation! What do you think? Are we giving printers too much of a hard time? Is printing changing? Do you think the cloud approach to printing makes sense? Do we even need printers?

69 comments so far: add your views!

Later, Data

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These days we live in an age where we never, ever, delete anything. Email, photos, blog comments, music, documents…it all follows around, much of it living on the Internet, and moving from one service to another is an incredible pain. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore whether we need to re-seat the balance and develop a culture in which we delete things we don’t need anymore, and whether this is even possible or not.

Of course, we are the very start of the discussion! What do you think? Can you see a world in which we get rid of data we don’t need? Do you like to have data lying around? Is it really that much of a problem to move between services? Would you be suspicious of someone who deletes data? Share your thoughts in the shot comments below…

30 comments so far: add your views!

The Lobbyist’s Recipe

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Not a day goes by when we are not asked to make your voice heard about this terrible law and that terrible restriction of freedom. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge talk about the common approach digital rights and other lobbyists groups use to raise awareness of an issue an whether it actually works when contrasted to how the opposition approach these issues. Is it time to change the approach?

Of course, we are the very start of the discussion! What do you think? Do you think digital rights and other lobbyist groups are effective? Do you think their contributions are effective? Do you think we need to propose positive legislation or always be on the retaliatory and defensive about oppressive legislation and laws? Share your comments in the shot comments below…

65 comments so far: add your views!

Web vs. Desktop

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Traditionally, from an application perspective, people have been divided between the web and the desktop. Some believe the web is easier to develop and deploy for and the desktop is sooooo 1998, and some believe the desktop offers a far richer and more integrated experience and that the web is just a fad perpetrated by square-orange-sunglasses wearing poseurs. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore whether we need this divide and whether Open Source can’t bring both together in perfect harmony.

Of course, we are the very start of the conversation! What do you think? Are you a web or desktop person, both or neither? Do yoiu think that we can merge together more effectively? Do you think there needs to be divide, or that one even exists? Do you think that Open Source can solve these problems? Share your thoughts in the shot comments below…

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Marketing Or Madness?

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Many members of the Open Source community have asserted that for us to experience mainstream success we need to see our popular Open Source projects and products advertised in mass media such as television, radio, and newspapers. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore whether this is genuinely an important need in breaking through to the huge success or whether it is simply a colossal waste of money.

We are the very start of the conversation, and we are keen to hear what you think! Do you think we need to advertise? Do you think the incredible costs are justified? Do you think it is reasonable spend donations on this kind of marketing? Share your thoughts in the shot comments below…

50 comments so far: add your views!

The Costs Of Caffeine

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In the Open Source and geek culture there has always a celebration about taking oodles of caffeine and hacking into the early hours, boasting to your comrades that you drank more coke, hacked longer and are more hardware. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge explore whether our fascination with caffeine is such a good idea and whether there is an undercurrent of caffeine affecting our moods and the health of our bodies and our communities.

Of course, we are the very start of the conversation! What do you think? Is caffeine a good thing for communities? Does it get us more code? Do you think the health risks are really that bad? Are there health benefits or is it nonsense? Are the risks of caffeine something we need more awareness on in our communities? Share your thoughts and experiences in the shot comments below…

41 comments so far: add your views!

The War Of The Editors

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The war between the vi and emacs text editors has ranged on for years, taking many lives as the warring parties have fought over features, stability and fictional definitions of the respective acronyms. Jono Bacon and Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge take an in-depth, investigative look at the issue and explore whether the war is still important or not…

Remember we are just the start of the conversation! What do you think? Does it really matter whether vi or emacs is better? Is the tension between vi and emacs users bad for Open Source? Does the debate even matter now with graphical text editors such as GEdit in the race? Share your thoughts in the shot comments below…

59 comments so far: add your views!

The Apple Games Console?

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With Apple having had so much success in the consumer market with the iPod, Mac, iPhone and iTunes, and with the new iPad freshly announced, it is not out of the realm of possibility that Apple are going to release a games console. Jono Bacon is convinced they will and with his partner in crime, Stuart ‘Aq’ Langridge, the duo discuss whether it is viable that Apple could release a console and whether they would be successful.

Remember, we are just the start of the discussion, and we are looking to you good folks to join us! What do you think? Do you think it is viable that Apple are going to release a games console? If so, what kind of product do you envisage it as? Do you think they would be able to compete with Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo? Share your thoughts in the shot comments below…

40 comments so far: add your views!

Shot Of Jaq Bingo Win! Produce a Shot Of Jaq Video Game Level/Map

David Dolphin has claimed the produce a Shot Of Jaq video game/map challenge in our Shot Of Jaq Publicity Bingo and he has done a rocking job with it. His map was developed for Worms and involves Linux, Ubuntu, Microsoft, KDE, GNOME and the EFF fighting against each other!

Not only did he do the work, which you can download on the scratchpad page, but he also made a video of his work:

Can’t see the video? Watch it here!

Fantastic work, David!

Inspired? Do you want to show off your kudos to the Shot Of Jaq community and succeed in achieving one of the Shot Of Jaq Publicity Bingo Stunts? Well, go to the Publicity Bingo Grid, pick something, rock it and let us know!

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