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SanDisk hits up Rockbox for some firmware
You already know how we feel about SanDisk's new 4GB Sansa e260, but apparently SanDisk isn't averse to a little help on the firmware side of things. They've just pinged the Rockbox community for a port of the open source Rockbox firmware to the e200 series, which at least should give them some serious nerd cred in a time when most everyone else is locking down their hardware. Rockbox has been ported to plenty of music players over the years -- including quite similar iPod hardware to that of the Sansa -- and its codec support, gapless playback, equalizer and numerous plugins make it an often preferable option to standard firmware. So there a lots of opportunities, but so far there's no word on if or how SanDisk is going to aid Rockbox in this endeavor, or if they have any plans for the Rockbox firmware other than as a nerdy alternative to theirs.
Monolingual
One of our readers recently wrote in and asked us how he could slim down his install of OS X. One simple way is to get rid of all those languages that you don't use which are installed by default with OS X (if you hit 'Customize' while installing OS X you can really cut down on the bloat by only installing the languages and print drivers that you will use).Monolingual is a freeware app that deletes all those other pesky languages from your Mac (just be careful not to delete the language you use because the only way to get them back is to reinstall OS X).I just ran it on my Macbook and it freed up 2.4 gigs of space, though it did take about 30 minutes to run.Update: Be careful to only remove the extraneous languages from your Mac using this program (as I did). Uncheck all the 'Architecture' options, otherwise you'll break Rosetta and blame me (and no one wants that).
Clarification: Apple has not closed the Intel-based Darwin kernel
OSNews is reporting that Ernest Prabhakar, Apple's Open Source and Open Standards product manager, has stated in the Fed-Talk mailing that Apple has not actually closed Mac OS X's Darwin kernel for the Intel version of the OS; they simply haven't released it yet. Speculation about Apple closing the kernel arose from the fact that other non-kernel Darwin sources actually have been released, and the previous PowerPC-based kernel is still available as open source as well.Ernest wanted to make sure that tech media didn't confuse 'speculation' with 'fact'. A good lesson we all could benefit from.
MySQL and OS X, a happy couple
The Apple Developer Connection has just posted a nice article about MySQL (the famed open source database) and OS X, calling it an 'ideal development combination.' The article reveals that some of the developers at MySQL AB (that's the commercial company that makes MySQL) program in XCode, for a number of reasons. It also talks a little bit about the process of turning MySQL into a Universal Binary (it went well).
Adium to be a Google Summer of Code project
Adium, the open source multi-network chat client with more features than I thought existed, has recently announced that they are going to be a mentoring project in this year's Google Summer of Code. For those unfamiliar: it's a program that brings students together to collaborate on and learn about open source programming. Each summer Google accepts and offers many different projects that students may apply to work on, as you can see from their extensive list.Adium's list of available projects is quite lengthy as well, which should be good news for fans and users of the app. I have honestly never paid that much attention to the Google Summer of Code events before, but I do know that they have improved or given birth to a lot of great OSS in the past. Good luck to Adium and company![via Daring Fireball]
Seashore, open source image editor
The Gimp isn't the only open source image editor in town. Seashore may be quite basic in its functionality, but it's pleasant to use and the source code is freely available. Seashore employs many of the tools you're familiar with, like the lasso, marquee tool, smudge, erase, position, paint and more. Plus, there are several brushes and textures to choose from. Export options include JPEG, JPEG 2000, PNG, TIFF and XCF (Gimp). Seashore also supports layers and alpha channel editing.Seashore is free, universal and requires Mac OS 10.3 or later.[Via FreeMacWare]
OS X-native GIMP coming
StyleMac has discovered that GIMP is making its way to OS X native goodness, as Mikael Hallendal, involved with the project, posted on his blog. For those not familiar with GIMP: it's basically an open source version of Photoshop. No, it isn't an exact, feature-for-feature alternative, but it's one of the best available analogies I can think of.As far as I've found, there's no ETA on when you'll have one less reason to run X11, but this will certainly be a welcome addition to OS X's graphic edition options.
Chandler 0.6: The Experimentally Useable Calendar
iCalendar gives me a bit of a headache each time I go look at it, so it's nice to know that a small team of dedicated open source developers, including Andy Hertzfeld, are developing a Calendar and personal organizer application called Chandler. I've downloaded the 0.6 version, and it looks like the developers definitely have put the right foot forward with this one. If you're a python programmer, they're looking for help. If you want to help with debugging as an end user, they'll take your help too!The user interface is quite pleasant, even if still in the rudimentary phase of development. Calendaring functions include layered data, integration with chat and email, and much more. Check out the Chandler team'sphilosophy and while you're at it, an interview of Andy Hertzfeld at NerdTV (Episode 1 of NerdTV at the bottom of the page).[via Boing Boing]
Jay is liveblogging NYBSDCon
Fellow TUAW-blogger, Jay Savage is attending and liveblogging NYBSDCon over at the Open Source Weblog today. Since much of the underpinnings in OS X are BSD based, and with the plethora of open source software available for OS X, you might want to head on over there and give it all a read.
Planamesa Software offers OS X version of OpenOffice
Planamesa Software has released a Mac OS X-native version of the OpenOffice.org office suite, under the name of NeoOffice/J 1.1. This Mac-native version features a Spotlight plugin, a double-click installer, drag & drop support and more. As a fully open project released under the GNU General Public License, updates are frequent and free for the taking. NeoOffice requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later.My brother-in-law has been running OpenOffice for years now, and swears he's had minimal compatability issues, with both his Mac and Windows using contacts. If the idea of a free, open source alternative to Microsoft's Office appeals to you, check out NeoOffice.
