keeping the community informed...

For a community, any community online or out there in the real world for that matter, to succeed there has to be give and take. My late father, rest in peace, would describe this as “the mutual scratching of backs to prevent a fatal itch from developing” and he was absolutely correct. DaniWeb relies upon reciprocity as much as any other community does, and there are many ways that we strive to achieve this. For a start there are the various ‘lounge’ forums where members can kick back and relax, and perhaps make a non-technical contribution to the conversation. The lounges provide a vehicle where members can get to know each other better outside of the strictly technical support forums, and are an ideal for those folk who read but don’t feel comfortable posting elsewhere to get involved.

Then there is the reputation system we have at DaniWeb. You may have noticed that some people have gold stars and green blobs next to their user names, and wondered about the significance of these? The gold stars are an indication of how prolific a poster the member is, with one being awarded for every 1000 posts published. Only the Queen of DaniWeb herself, Dani, has managed to attain 10 stars! You don’t have to be a prolific poster, just a valued one, in order to collect green blobs though. These are an indication of reputation, the more blobs the greater the reputation of that member. The great thing being that this is a truly reciprocal arrangement, because reputation points are awarded by you, the membership. If you have found a particular posting useful or interesting, you can hit the ‘add to <member> Reputation’ link which is right next to the date stamp at the top of the post itself. This enables you to give the person responsible some reputation points and leave a few words of encouragement. How many points depends on how long you have been a DaniWeb member yourself, how many posts you have made and so on. The idea being that the more ‘senior’ and ‘reputable’ a member you are then the more reputation points you will bring with you. The most important thing being to make sure you use it, and if you feel someone has helped you then please ‘scratch their backs’ and leave them some reputation for their trouble.

new staff writers join the DaniWeb editorial team

As part of our ongoing drive to improve the quality of DaniWeb content, we have hired three new staff writers to join the editorial team responsible for bringing you the best blogs around.

Robert Matrone writes the Tower of Babel blog and graduated from New College of Florida, with a degree in Literature in 2006.

Matthew Brannock bring us The Super User blog providing us with all the latest Linux and Open Source news.

And finally, from across the pond in England, comes Bill Andad bringing all the latest technology news in his Hot off the press blog.

the community goes from strength to strength

We all work hard behind the scenes to ensure that DaniWeb is the best support and technology enthusiast community online, but without you guys, our members, it would all be for nothing. Which is why we thought we would say a huge thank you to everyone who is part of the DaniWeb community for making 2007 such a great year so far. Not only have the number of posts per day gone through the roof compared to last year, but the number of new threads being created has doubled as well. On top of all that, more users are logging into DaniWeb every day than ever before and the number of new registrations has increased by more than 100 every day compared to 2006. So well done everyone, we just know that DaniWeb will go from strength to strength as the year continues. Thanks to you!

every month one member makes the DaniWeb hall of fame

This month we welcome Ancient Dragon to the ‘Member of the Month’ section, and award him his ‘Featured Poster’ badge as a result of his excellent contributions to the DaniWeb community, not least within the C and C++ forum. As a moderator of assorted Software Development and Site Management forums, the chances are you will have already bumped into him at some point.

Ancient Dragon is one of the older members of the DaniWeb community at 64 years young, “born a couple years before the start of the baby boomer generation” as he puts it himself. He is also one of the most prolific posters, with very nearly 4000 messages under his belt. As not only a hugely experienced and knowledgeable software engineer, but also one of the nicest guys you could hope to meet online, we thought you might like to get to know the Ancient Dragon a little better.

Why Ancient Dragon?

“I started using it about 10 years or so ago while playing the Dungeon & Dragons role playing games, which I still play occasionally. Some of the nastiest creatures in the game are dragons.”

Whereabouts does the Ancient Dragon have his roots?

“All over the western half of the USA. I was born and raised near Des Moines, Iowa, and as an adult lived in Missouri, Washington State, Arizona, California, Nebraska, and now Illinois. I have also lived for 3 years at RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk, England.”

What is your occupation?

“I am a recently retired senior software engineer.”

What is your main programming interest, what code excites you the most?

“Programming wireless Mobile 5 bar code scanners (software, not the hardware) and associated server programs that run on a PC. Why? Because it’s quite different from writing desktop applications.”

What are your interests outside of IT?

“I do volunteer work for Meals On Wheels for senior citizens, and Special Olympics for disabled people.”

What brought you to DaniWeb originally?

“I honestly don't remember anymore.”

Ok, so what has made you stay here then?

“I enjoy helping the younger crowd as much as I can. When I was a newbie at C programming I recall spending thousands of hours trying to figure out simple problems by myself. I hope I can help prevent others from having to do the same.”

What is the best thing about DaniWeb?

“The best? Open discussions in the software development boards with little or no flaming.”

And something thing you would change if it were in your power?

“One thing I would change? That tiny edit box!”

You are one of the most prolific users on DaniWeb with fast approaching 4000 posts, what motivates you?

“Nothing much better to do with my free time so I thought I might as well act as a free, volunteer tutor.”

How long do you spend, on average, on DaniWeb every day?

“At least a couple hours a day. And now that I'm retired I will probably be spending even more time.”

Which is great news for everyone at DaniWeb, because the more Ancient Dragon there is around the place then all the better a place it will be as a result…

are you in the DaniWeb Link Directory yet?

In case you have not noticed it, one of the great free features of DaniWeb is our Link Directory which not only provides those listed with a free backlink, but is also a completely searchable directory of IT related websites and services for our members to use. Remember, all our directory pages are high ranking and well trafficked because every page throughout DaniWeb links to a related directory category and the directory is searchable from anywhere on DaniWeb. Every site in the directory has its own individual, high ranking, informational page which generates real traffic. All links are static, SEO optimized links and there are never more than fifteen links on any single page. Links are sorted based on the amount of traffic they deliver to DaniWeb via their reciprocal links. There is always an equal opportunity to be listed first. The top sites in each category are individually featured on DaniWeb front pages related to their category. So whether you have a technology related website you would like to add to the directory, or just want to find a site that is linked to DaniWeb, why not give it a try?

by mattb0611

As Red Hat's modifications to the Linux kernel to improve real-time scheduling near completion, their director of emerging technologies, Tim Burke, has been pushing for its use in the business world. At a recent Wall Street conference, Burke made his case for real-time Linux's abilities to fulfill investors' needs for instantaneous trades. This is a prime example of the beauty of open source and the GPL, and the growing fallacy of closed-source.

The GPL, a license most closely linked to the open source movement, governs much of the code found in any Linux distribution. It is built around the premise of four freedoms for users: to run the program as one wishes, to study and change the source code as he deems necessary, to help one's neighbor by distributing copies as he wishes, and finally to distribute modified code as he wishes. Though nothing is said of any obligation to release modified code, its redistribution is the core of Linux's ability to evolve and grow.

The participation of companies such as Red Hat in the open source movement are, while not necessarily crucial to its survival, major boons to Linux's ability to quickly respond to changing needs. Though kernel modifications such as the option of real-time scheduling are certainly not unattainable without the help of corporations, they would not come as easily or on a timely basis otherwise. According to Burke, the addition of real-time scheduling involved modifying some 1.2 million lines of code—quite an undertaking for any developer.

Even though Red Hat has invested many hours and lots of money into this project, they continue to follow their mission statement: to keep all of their source code open and available for all to view and modify. Because of this, everyone will be able to use and improve Red Hat's new real-time scheduler, even as they sell their new technology to groups such as those governing Wall Street.

It is instances such as these where the ideals of open source really shine. If companies can simultaneously profit from open source (as Red Hat has) and make major contributions to the Linux community, it seems that closed source software will have some major challenges ahead. The oft-asked question is, companies such as Red Hat could be making far more money by keeping their code proprietary. Why do they release it?

Proprietary code, of course, is not an option for a company such as Red Hat, which built its software around GPL-governed code. As a result, their source must remain open. But what is motivating companies such as Microsoft, ATI, and others from releasing the source to software they developed in-house? The ability to have security holes filled quickly and efficiently? The warm fuzzy feeling from upholding the GPL's ideals? To a corporation, ideals do not matter (as they do not result in nearly as much profit), so the answer is: there is no motivation. However, as open source continues to grow, the promise of low-cost software will motivate consumers to close down closed source.