DELHI _ Computer experts from as far away as Turkey are gathering at the State University College of Technology at Delhi Thursday and Friday to explore the wonders of open-source software.
Open source is a development method for software that allows users to contribute and adapt the programs, presenters said, and the potential of open source is better quality, higher reliability and lower cost.
The conference will bring together higher-education technology leaders in a discussion about open-source tools, how these tools fulfill the needs of a campus and how these applications are supported internally.
"This conference is an opportunity to discuss the philosophy behind open-source software while demonstrating the technology," said Patrick Masson, SUNY Delhi chief information officer. "Many of education's most important commercial providers such as Dell, HP and IBM have evolved over the past 10 years to include open-source software as part of their core business. Considering this expanding market, we need to ask how campuses will respond."
Masson said more than 100 people representing 60 or more institutions, from large research facilities to small private companies, will be at the conference.
"It shows that Delhi is a college that is talking about things that are part of the national dialogue," Masson said. "Events like this allow the users to network and share knowledge."
Masson said there are open-source software applications that many people use on a regular basis, including Open Office, an online office suite, and Firefox, a Web browser.
Organizers of the Delhi conference said they aim to engage as many participants as possible by allowing them to attend either in person or virtually through DimDim, an open-source Web service that allows communication in real time.
"The idea behind the conference is to introduce software currently in use and talk about issues like security and quality assurance," Masson said.
Institutions to be represented include Yale University, Penn State, Duke University, Tufts University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and nearly 20 SUNY campuses.
Bob Sutor, vice president, Open Source and Linux, IBM Software Group, IBM Corp., will serve as the conference's keynote speaker.
Gary Schwartz, of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, will introduce Bedework, the open-source calendaring system for higher education.
Keith Bailey, director of the e-Learning Institute at Penn State University, will demonstrate a set of open modules that Penn State has spent the past four years developing to improve the design and delivery process of online courses.
Jonathan Markow, executive director of Jasig, will introduce a free and open-source enterprise help-desk application. Jasig is "a consortium of educational institutions and commercial affiliates sponsoring open-source software projects for higher education," according to its website.
Presenting on the implementation and integration of Moodle, a free and open source e-learning software platform, will be Kathy Fernandes, California State University director of academic technologies; Keith Landa, SUNY Purchase College director of instructional technology; Ellen Marie Murphy, Sage College director of technology integration; Clark Shah-Nelson, SUNY Delhi coordinator of online learning; and Alex Pickett, SUNY Learning Network assistant director.
Cost for the conference is $50 plus housing for on-campus attendees.
For information, visit http://delhitools.net/2-3-98/. To register, contact SUNY Delhi's Business and Community Services Office at 746-4545.
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