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Dec 19, 2016 

Projects of the Week, December 19, 2016

Here are the featured projects for the week, which appear on the front page of SourceForge.net:

iDempiere
iDempiere = OSGi + ADempiere iDempiere Business Suite ERP/CRM/SCM done the community way. Focus is on the Community that includes Subject Matter Specialists, Implementors and End-Users. iDempiere is based on original Compiere/Adempiere plus a new architecture to use state-of-the-art technologies like OSGi, Buckminster, zk.
[ Download iDempiere ]


Linux Diagnostic Tools
Project’s goal is to create better tools for diagnosing Linux systems. Diagnostics include first failure data capture, error log analysis, preventative testing, and system inventory gathering.
[ Download Linux Diagnostic Tools ]


ScpToolkit
ScpToolkit is a free Windows Driver and XInput Wrapper for Sony DualShock 3/4 Controllers. Installation is fairly simple and straightforward, but does require a few things: Microsoft Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 x86 or amd64, Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5, Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package, Microsoft Visual C++ 2013 Runtime, DirectX Runtime, Xbox 360 Controller driver (already integrated in Windows 8.x or greater), at least one supported Sony DualShock 3/4 controller and Administrator rights during driver setup.
[ Download ScpToolkit ]


Docutils: Documentation Utilities
Utilities for general- and special-purpose documentation. Includes reStructuredText, the easy to read, easy to use, what-you-see-is-what-you-get plaintext markup language.
[ Download Docutils: Documentation Utilities ]


net-snmp
Net-SNMP provides tools and libraries relating to the Simple Network Management Protocol including: An extensible agent, an SNMP library, tools to request or set information from SNMP agents, tools to generate and handle SNMP traps, etc.
[ Download net-snmp ]


PSeInt
PSeInt is a pseudo-code interpreter for Spanish-speaking programming students. Its main purpose is to be a tool for learning and understanding the basic concepts about programming and applying them with an easy understanding spanish pseudocode.
[ Download PSeInt ]


Maxima — GPL CAS based on DOE-MACSYMA
Maxima is a computer algebra system comparable to commercial systems like Mathematica and Maple. It emphasizes symbolic mathematical computation: algebra, trigonometry, calculus, and much more. For example, Maxima solves x^2-r*x-s^2-r*s=0 giving the symbolic results [x=r+s, x=-s]. Maxima can calculate with exact integers and fractions, native floating-point and high-precision big floats. Maxima has user-friendly front-ends, an on-line manual, plotting commands, and numerical libraries. Users can write programs in its native programming language, and many have contributed useful packages in a variety of areas over the decades. Maxima is GPL-licensed and largely written in Common Lisp. Executables can be downloaded for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android; source code is also available. An active community maintains and extends the system. Maxima is widely used: annual direct downloads exceed 300,000. Many other users receive it through secondary distribution.
[ Download Maxima — GPL CAS based on DOE-MACSYMA ]


JasperReports Library
JasperReports Library, the world’s most popular open source business intelligence and reporting engine and JasperReports Server, the most popular open source interactive report server built-on JasperReports Library
[ Download JasperReports Library ]


Nagios Core
Nagios network monitoring software is a powerful, enterprise-class host, server, application, and network monitoring tools. Designed to be fast, flexible, and rock-solid stable. Nagios runs on *NIX hosts and can monitor Windows, Linux/Unix/BSD, Netware, and network devices.
[ Download Nagios Core ]

Dec 16, 2016 

6 Tips to Motivate Your Project Development Team

Without developers, there can be no open source development. This fact, plain and simple is why it is so important to have good developers on your team.

But it’s not enough to just have skilled developers. You need to have motivated ones as well. Motivation is what brings out the best work in people. Sure, most developers are motivated enough when they start contributing to projects, but this eagerness can wear off in the long run. To keep project development going strong, it helps to always keep your team motivated.

So how can you motivate your team?

Offer Opportunities for Growth

Most open source developers aren’t very concerned with monetary compensation (from the project), but they do value new information and skills gained. New learnings and experiences serve as a form of compensation for the time and energy that they invest in the project. If they do not achieve any significant growth working on a project, they can become discouraged and discontinue.

Make sure team members are always poised for growth and improvement by providing learning opportunities like workshops, trainings and conferences. These not only benefit the team members but also the project itself when the learnings are applied here.

Give Them a Voice in the Project

When people feel that their opinions and ideas matter in a project, they become more motivated to work on it. So make sure you listen to your team members and consider their input when planning changes or improvements.

Provide the Tools and Technology They Need

Free lunches and other such treats may be good for team rapport, but they won’t necessarily motivate developers to write great code. With the latest technology and tools however, developers will be more eager to work on new releases and other developments.

Recognize Their Accomplishments

Sometimes all it takes to motivate someone is to have their accomplishments recognized. Make sure that you recognize your team’s achievements publicly, so everyone can know about it.

Give Them “Space”

No one likes being watched like a hawk while they work. Give your team the space they need to work freely, and also don’t take up too much of their time on meetings. While it may be good to communicate often, it’s counterproductive if it will only take up time that can otherwise be used for actual work.

View Them as Community Members First

They may be working for you or under you, but your team members are first and foremost community members. They are more than just their contributions, so make sure you value them as such. Be considerate of their personal needs and priorities, and treat them with kindness and respect. Remember that it is partly because of their efforts and assistance that your project has come as far as it has.

Dec 12, 2016 

Projects of the Week, December 12, 2016

Here are the featured projects for the week, which appear on the front page of SourceForge.net:

gretl
gretl is a cross-platform software package for econometric analysis, written in the C programming language.
[ Download gretl ]


optikey OptiKey
OptiKey is an assistive on-screen keyboard designed to bring keyboard control, mouse control and speech to people with motor and speech limitations. Completely open source and compatible with low cost eye-tracking devices, it is a great alternative to often expensive and complicated AAC (alternative and augmentative communication) products. It can also be used as an alternative to a physical keyboard or mouse.

OptiKey runs on Windows and works right out of the box once an eye-tracking device is installed. Without an eye-tracking device however it can still be used with a mouse or webcam.
[ Download OptiKey ]


digiCamControl
digiCamControl is an free and open source software. This allows you to save time by transferring images directly from your camera to your computer as you take each shot and allow to control camera shooting parameters.
[ Download digiCamControl ]


Warzone 2100
You command the forces of “The Project” in a battle to rebuild the world after mankind has almost been destroyed by nuclear missiles. The game offers a full campaign with optional (but strongly recommended!), videos, battle against four factions, multi-player and single-player skirmish modes, and an extensive tech tree and a full unit designer. Multi-player is also cross-platform, battle your friends with any OS, Windows, Linux or Mac, it all works seamlessly! We also offer 100% portable Windows builds, take the game and install it anywhere! Our source repo is now at https://github.com/Warzone2100/warzone2100 If you are using linux, and want a .deb, then please get the latest version available from http://www.playdeb.net/app/Warzone2100 (They are not affliated with us, but they do have the latest builds!) Warzone 2100 works on both 32 & 64 bit Windows Vista or higher, 32 or 64 bit Linux, 32 or 64 bit Macs.
[ Download Warzone 2100 ]


Cream (for Vim)
Cream is a free, easy-to-use configuration of the famous Vim text editor for Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux, and FreeBSD. It uses common menus, standard keyboard shortcuts, and has extensive editing functions for the beginner and expert alike. UPDATE: Development has slowed recently due to the author’s full time endeavor to begin an architectural practice (http://SteveHallArchitecture.com). But the project still continues to build gVim installers and add minor features and bug fixes in the Cream source code.
[ Download Cream (for Vim) ]


Avogadro
Avogadro is an advanced molecular editor designed for cross-platform use in computational chemistry, molecular modeling, bioinformatics, materials science and related areas. It offers a flexible rendering framework and a powerful plugin architecture.
[ Download Avogadro ]


pspp4windows
PSPP is a program for statistical analysis of sampled data. It is a free replacement for the proprietary program SPSS. PSPP has both text-based and graphical user interfaces. Project page: http://www.gnu.org/software/pspp/ See changelog: http://git.savannah.gnu.org/gitweb/?p=pspp.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/master For support: https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/pspp-users/ or e-mail: pspp-users@gnu.org For bugs: https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-gnu-pspp/ or email: bug-gnu-pspp@gnu.org For known issues: https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=pspp
[ Download pspp4windows ]


uGet – Download Manager
uGet, the Best Download Manager for Linux. uGet is an Open Source download manager application for GNU/Linux developed with GTK+, which also comes packaged as a portable Windows app. uGet uses very few resources while at the same time packs an unparalleled powerful feature set. These features include a Queue, Pause/Resume, Multi-Connection (with adaptive segment management), Mirrors (multi-source), Multi-Protocol, Advanced Categorization, Clipboard Monitor, Batch Downloads, Individualized Category Default Settings, Speed Limiting, Total Active Downloads Control, and so much more! For the full Features list go to http://ugetdm.com/features – Quick Links – Blog: http://ugetdm.com/blog Support Forum: http://ugetdm.com/forum Tutorials: http://ugetdm.com/tutorials RSS Feeds: http://ugetdm.com/rss Gallery: http://ugetdm.com/gallery Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): http://ugetdm.com/faqs
[ Download uGet – Download Manager ]


hyperion-project
Hyperion is an open source ambient light implementation controlled primarily by an Raspberry Pi. The main features of Hyperion are: 1. Low CPU load. For a led string of 50 leds the CPU usage will typically be below 2% on a non-overclocked Pi. 2. Json interface which allows easy integration into scripts. 3. A command line utility allows easy testing and configuration of the color transforms (Transformation settings are not preserved over a restart at the moment…). 4. Priority channels are not coupled to a specific led data provider which means that a provider can post led data and leave without the need to maintain a connection to Hyperion. This is ideal for a remote application (like our Android app). 5. HyperCon. A tool which helps generate a Hyperion configuration file. The tool will also remember your settings from the previous run. 6 Android remote control to set a static color. 7.Kodi-checker which checks the playing and screensaver status of Kodi
[ Download hyperion-project ]

Dec 9, 2016 

Don’t Let Your Project Suffer Because of Founder’s Mentality

If you want to build an open source project, you can’t let your ego stand in the way. You can’t rewrite everybody’s patches, you can’t second-guess everybody, and you have to give people equal control. ~Rasmus Lerdorf

There’s a certain mentality that can creep up and slowly destroy open source project development. It’s dangerous in a way that nobody really notices it’s there or that it is destructive, except at the very last moments. It’s the founder’s mentality.

Yes, sometimes the very reason a project can wither away is because of the founder. You might ask, “But how is this possible? Aren’t the founders of a project the people who want the project to succeed the most?” While this is true, the founder’s mentality can surface without the founder’s knowledge, and can grow out of his dedication to keep the project alive.

How the Founder’s Mentality can be a Bad Thing

Generally the creator of the project is the person who has the most drive and dedication to develop the project, and this is a good thing. However, it can turn bad once it hinders project development. But how does it do so?

  • The founder takes all the responsibilities upon himself. As the project founder you may feel quite attached to your project, and you may also feel the need to always be “hands-on” with every aspect. It’s hard to shake this practice off as most projects start that way: with the founder doing everything on his own. Even after some project growth, a founder may feel he must be there to implement every idea, answer every question, promote the project, fix every bug– but the fact of the matter is, he can’t. Chances are, he won’t be able to complete any one task thus hindering project development; and he’ll only end up stressed and overworked.
  • The founder makes all the decisions. Making the big project decisions are no doubt the responsibility of a project founder, but making all the decisions certainly isn’t. Some decisions can be handled by managers or other seasoned team members. Not all decisions have to go through the founder especially of an already established project. Such a practice can only stunt the growth of a project.

How to Grow Out of the Founder’s Mentality

  • Focus on what you’re good at. You may be good at several different areas of project development but let’s face it, you really can’t be doing them all. Learn to let go of some of these responsibilities and focus on the areas where your specific skills are most useful.
  • Delegate. It’s tough to hand over important aspects of project development to others, but if your project is to achieve continuous growth, you will have to do this. The key to doing this correctly is to make sure that you delegate tasks to the most competent and experienced members of your team, set proper expectations and make sure that the right processes are in place for them.
  • Trust your team. Delegation is just the beginning. You have to learn to let go of some of the reins and trust that your teammates are going to make the best decisions and actions. This trust starts by finding good, talented individuals; recognizing and nurturing their talents; and finally, developing a culture of trust and support.

Remember, just because you’re the project founder doesn’t mean that you have to do everything yourself. Help your project grow by growing as a founder yourself, away from the grips of the founder’s mentality.

Dec 5, 2016 

December 2016, “Staff Pick” Project of the Month – Tcl

For our December “Staff Pick” Project of the Month, we selected Tcl, an interpreted language and very portable interpreter for that language.

Tcl is a very powerful yet easy-to-learn dynamic programming language that’s been widely used since its creation in 1988. It is highly embeddable and extensible, cross-platform and suitable for a very wide range of uses. These include web and desktop applications, networking, administration, testing and many more.

Open source and business-friendly, Tcl is a mature yet continuously evolving language. It is highly-rated among the projects featured on SourceForge, and has been nominated as “Community Choice” Project of the Month in previous months.

Learn more about Tcl by visiting their website.

 

[ Download Tcl ]

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