Trent’s Blog

Well from time to time I like to mix it up here on the blog. Today I would like to discuss an eco friendly topic since we all want to go green these days. Everyone from time to time have plastic drink bottles lying around. Instead of throwing them away there are plenty of everyday uses for them. I’ve rounded up 28 of my favorite uses:

1. Soup Container - We all have left over soup but never have a way to reseal it and carry it with us in a spill proof container.(For chunky soups consider a “wide mouth” bottle)
2. Change Jar - This isn’t exactly original, but you can always throw your spare change into a bottle.
3. Telephone - Yes, when the wife is in the kitchen this is the perfect way to request a another drink
4. Nail Jar - Clean up the shop by storing all your nails and screws into these tough containers
5. Fish Bowl - Times are tough, don’t go buy a new fish bowl when there are plenty of bottles that will work equally as well(not to mention different color fish tanks)

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In the first post of this two part series I gave a few examples of how open source helps business. Just to balance things out, lets examine a few ways Open Source software hurts the business model:

1. Open Source hurt competitive companies who follow a more traditional business model; Create a product, Sell the product. Companies/groups developing Open Source software don’t charge for their product, but charge for support.
2. If the producer of the software doesn’t support the product, the end may have to use another company for support.
3. Many software companies who use to offer moderate products are being overtaken by open source, causing them to open source their products or else discontinue the product. I hope your business doesn’t have one of those products!
4. The bandwagon fans pull more and more users from proprietary products even when the proprietary product may be more stable and secure. Everyone has been a bandwagon fan at some point and tried one of these projects.
5. Many companies wont allow their proprietary products to play nicely with Open Source products. Maybe this is for security or maybe just that they’ve worked out deals with other proprietary companies. For instance it wasn’t all that long ago when a lot of software would only support Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle. This is becoming less of the case, but the business may get stuck in this sutuation. Granite, this is rarely the case these days, but it still happens.

I realize some of these points are assuming the “business” is the producer, and some consider the business a consumer of a product. Open source can hurt in both directions. It’s all one big circle. All in all it was tougher to come up with real legitimate reasons Open Source hurts the business model other than it offers its product for free. But anyone know of any other set backs?

Open Source has been a major player in the evolution of software for years. Had it not been for projects like Linux and PHP (among many others) computing would still be back in the early 90’s. Luckily this phenomenon has revolutionized the way we go about business. To counter this argument I will be doing another post on how Open Source hurts businesses and the economy. Lets get started. Here are 5 ways Open Source has has helped the business world:

1. Software has evolved at a rapid pace due to community involvement. Contributors from all backgrounds can participate in the development and making it possible for businesses to do things not possible only a few years ago.
2. Open Source Software is generally free. Most companies only need to pay for support, making it more affordable for the smaller companies to be just as technologically advanced as fortune 500 companies
3. Vibrant communities are great for support. You, in many cases, are more likely to find help online since there are so many contributors. This free support fits well into next years budget.
4. With some software like web browsers and operating systems there is a wealth of plugins and ad ons that allow you to customize your software to your need. This isn’t limited to Open Source, but compare Firefox to IE.
5. If it doesn’t work the way you want it to, change it. Open Source means the source code is openly available. If you need a little extra functionality it doesn’t cost you a thing to change it yourself, something that will cost you and arm and a leg with proprietary closed source software.

I will be following up with the cons, so don’t get ahead of your self. There are plenty of reasons for not using Open Source. But Hey, why not, its free?

The new Opera is here with developer tools more cleanly integrated and a new look. Now Developer tools comes up within the window much like firebug! The standard tools that come with Opera are impressing me more and more each release. (I know I know its a Windows screenshot..)

I’ve always been rather fond of Opera Web Browser, but due to being dependent on firefox and firebug I’ve not been able to make a full switch. Times are changing. With the new Opera 9.5 Developer Tools (Dragonfly are supplied as well, and boy are they nice. With many of the same features I rely on in firebug(like mouse over elements, view CSS and see which styles are overwritten) I may be able to make the switch. I definitely recommend giving it a try!

A little off topic I know, but you never know if anyone is looking to relocate. My brother-in-law and I currently own two lots in Bucksville Oaks in beautiful Conway, SC. Bucksville Oaks is a brand new housing community located about 15 minutes from the vacation hot spot Myrtle Beach South Carolina. The community is planned to have 90 some houses when completed and already has the community pool in, pool house, street lights, trash pickup, and a walkway down to the river, yes thats right, the Waccamaw River.

Both lots are corner lots and are about .24 acres. The community is for single family homes at least 1600 sq. ft. with two car garages. If anyone is interested in purchasing one or both lots please leave a message below or Contact Me and I will email or call you back at the email address or number you provide.  Price negotiable.