The advice given to media companies wanting to protect their intellectual property is that you must control the content all the way to the output. Open general purpose computers are the enemy. Microsoft failed with it's first cut called "Trusted Computing", but since that time we have seen our computing devices such as iPhones increasingly controlled centrally. Cory Doctorow talks about the approaching war on general purpose computation.

"To see one of NZ's two main parties finally recognise the immense value free and open source software contributes to our economy - and make it a core part of their election platform - is a very encouraging step".

So says Dave Lane, President of the NZ Open Source Society (NZOSS), in response to Labour's released ICT policy. In that policy Labour makes it clear that open source software will be at the heart of Government ICT.

Koha, the open source library management system project, originally conceived and developed by Horowhenua Library Trust and Katipo Communications, is fighting a decision by IPONZ to allow a trademark from PTFS for the Koha name. Since the original development a substantial international community has evolved around the software.

Many members of the NZOSS community are software developers, both professional and hobbyist. Over the past several years, we have watched with increasing horror the absurdity of software patents unfolding in the United States. To many of us, it seems like watching a slow, painful, obscenely costly (but probably non-fatal) train wreck.

A milestone has been passed in the Open Source control software for 3D printers, allowing an NZ$800 RepRap to produce higher resolution output than an NZ$25,000 commercial 3D printer using the same basic printing technology. The RepRap is also printing faster than the proprietary offering and uses cheaper, multi-sourced consumables.

Details and images here http://blog.reprap.org/2011/09/tipping-point-of-print-quality-open.html

Wellington open source software firm and NZOSS sponsor Catalyst IT has won a significant Chinese software contract. The South China Morning Post will use Catalyst's Open Source expertise to develop their news website and supporting systems for more than 100,000 subscribers.

Full coverage here:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/5645891/Catalyst-IT-wins-South-China-…

It would be fair to say that here at the NZOSS we agree that copyright is a vital legal instrument to ensure that people get credit for their creative endeavours (and can't claim credit for that of others). It is key to free and open source software and free and open culture:

Software Freedom Day approaches this weekend. In most parts of the country, and indeed most parts of the world, Open Source software will be actively distributed by SFD volunteers to the general public. There are exhibitions, presentations, installfests, and places you can just turn up for a natter and a coffee.

5 August 2011

New Zealand Open Source Society held its 2011 Annual General Meeting on Thursday, 5 August 2011. The meeting took place using a mix of technologies, including IRC and audioconferencing, to ensure that members throughout the country could participate in the meeting. Outgoing President Rachel Hamilton-Williams reported on the Society’s achievements and activities in the last year.