UK announces open source plans

Westminster may not be ready to go open source just yet, but the announcement of open government is one step closer to an open government, writes Hexus.

Unveiled by the National Archives and developed by HM Stationery Office - which administers the Crown Copyright - the new Open Government Licence aims to enable greater access to a range of public sector information.

The licence - which is broadly similar to, and interoperable with, existing schemes like creative commons - lays out the basic guidelines for how data can be used. As a result, it should be much easier for entrepreneurs and developers to make use of the available data, says Hexus.

Encyclopaedia of Life (EOL) is a project that attempts to open source the documentation of the natural sciences, and make it freely available to the public on the Internet, states PSFK.

A partnership between scientists and the general public, the goal of EOL is to catalogue information about every living thing on earth, and make that information freely available to every human being.

EOL is committed to making the information as open access as possible, so everything included is under a creative commons licence with credit to the sources. Already, over 30 000 images and videos have been uploaded thanks to participants from the general public. Eventually the EOL will have 1.8 million pages - one for every known species on the planet - which anyone can access.

Canonical is preparing to augment its Ubuntu One cloud synchronisation service with a music streaming feature that will enable users to stream songs to their mobile phone from their Ubuntu One cloud storage account, reports ARS Technica.

During the initial stages of beta testing, the streaming feature is said to offer compatibility with the MP3 file format and Android-based devices. Canonical plans to extend support to the iPhone and possibly other products at a later date.

The Ubuntu One service was originally released last year with cloud file storage capabilities and support for synchronising the user's e-mail address book and notes.