Technology As Innovator

ERP is free?

At first, I could believe that a highly complex software like that of ERP can be open or free.

However, it is a truth. Some communities are really committed to engage to this sophistication.

Now here it is: ERP comes open-source!

ERP is really free?

I like the way Adempiere depicts the complexion of costs:

“Information Is Free - U have to Know
People Are Not - U have to Pay
Contributors Are Priceless - U have to Be”

Open-source ERP, like any other open-source project, is not totally intended for larger enterprises seeking highly stable software and business partnership.

Open-source ERP makes it possible for SMEs to go in for Enterprise Resource Planning at a more affordable price. This is a wise step of initiators in that this kind of collaboration would benefit both parties.

• Users get the software for free, and pay a relatively reasonable amount for supports and customization
• Some R&D departments from these ‘purchasers’ even involve in developing the software, thus enlarging the community to people inside businesses
• Some companies such as Compiere offer free packages and products with fee. This gives their customers more options

Personally I don’t think the “sense of open-source” including flexibility, community-knowledge, freedom and such is the most significant factor for enterprises to go for these products. They’re simply looking for a product that works with a more affordable price. Instead of doing separate accounting, financial management, CRM, SCM, HRM etc., they have the option to start doing ERP at an earlier stage.

It’s all about Open-source

People in Open-source community have their manifesto. Communities have gone from developing open Operating Systems to open File-Sharing, from Office to Browsers. There is no reason why they can’t be doing ERP now.

Entrepreneurship & OSS

ERP has “enterprise” in it. Correct! ERP OSS is not software for individuals, but for Organizations. Enterprises. And Enterprises do business.

An ERP, though require a tremendous technology commitment, is far less geeky than any other OSS ever developed. It’s business, which so unfortunately a number of geeks take a distance from afar.

Because ERP is developed to solve the problem of and boost business, ERP OSS requires entrepreneurship and business minds! That’s where the leading heads and consultants are called.

Development Prospects

People talk ERP. People use ERP. People do ERP. Everywhere is ERP.

Some sell ERP. Some give ERP for free.

It’s obvious, Open-source ERP is in a terribly good jumpstart to develop. If they can overcome some difficulties such as commitment, simplification of complexity and harmonization of business and technology, the future is bright for them.

And for SMEs too.

Some Open-source and Free Enterprise Resource Planning Vendors

Compiere http://www.compiere.com

Adempiere http://adempiere.red1.org

JFire https://www.jfire.org

Opentaps http://www.opentaps.org

OpenBlueLab http://www.openbluelab.org

OFBiz http://ofbiz.apache.org

SQL-Ledger http://www.sql-ledger.org

WebERP http://www.weberp.org

GNU Enterprise http://www.gnuenterprise.org

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Tai Tran's Lab: Technology As Innovator

Problems of the blogosphere

Anonymity on the web

Anonymity on the web makes people believe that they don’t have to be responsible for what they write. Therefore, many behave on the web in ways that they would not otherwise. Some sp.am, some attack other people, some abuse technology for their own goods while degrading other’s efforts.

Comment sp.am

sp.ams in comments is another method of sending irrelevant, unwanted commercial messages to blogs.

Some sp.amme.rs use comment sp.am as a way to increase their websites’ PageRank by including URL to their website.

sp.am is often done by automated software.

Splog

sp.am blogs, sometimes referred to by the neologism splogs, are artificially created weblog sites which the author uses to promote affiliated websites or to increase the search engine rankings of associated sites. The purpose of a splog can be to increase the PageRank or backlink portfolio of affiliate websites, to artificially inflate paid ad impressions from visitors, and/or use the blog as a link outlet to get new sites indexed. sp.am blogs are usually a type of scraper site, where content is often either Inauthentic Text or merely stolen (see blog scraping) from other websites. These blogs usually contain a high number of links to sites associated with the splog creator which are often disreputable or otherwise useless websites.

Cyber bullying

Cyber bullying is a type of harassment via electronic messages. Cyber bullying may also include threats, sexual remarks, pejorative labels (i.e., hate speech). Cyber bullies may publish personal contact information for their victims at websites. They may attempt to assume the identity of a victim for the purpose of publishing material in their name that defames or ridicules them.

Cyber bullying via blogs

Recently, Kathy Sierra, a web designer, was threatened by a commenter at her blog Headrush.

Other forms that blog cyber-bullying can take are the creation of fake blogs in the name of a victim which purport to be by the victim but which ridicule him or her. Such sites may use vulgarity, por.nogr.aphy and other forms of inflammatory discourse in an attempt to shame the victim.

Troll

Trolls can be existing members of a community that often contribute no useful information to the thread, but instead make argumentative posts in an attempt to discredit another person, concentrating almost exclusively on facts irrelevant to the point of the conversation, with the intent of provoking a reaction from others. The key element under attack by a troll is known only to the troll.

A troll’s main goal is usually to arouse anger and frustration among the message board’s other participants, and will write whatever it takes to achieve this end. One popular trolling strategy is the practice of Winning by Losing. While the victim is trying to put forward solid and convincing facts to prove his position, the troll’s only goal is to infuriate its prey. The troll takes (what it knows to be) a badly flawed, wholly illogical argument, and then vigorously defends it while mocking and insulting its prey. The troll looks like a complete fool, but this is all part of the plan. The victim becomes noticeably angry by trying to repeatedly explain the flaws of the troll’s argument. Provoking this anger was the troll’s one and only goal from the very beginning.

A concern troll is a pseudonym created by a user whose point of view is opposed to the one his/her sockpuppet claims to hold. The concern troll posts in web forums devoted to its declared point of view (for example, Democrats or fans of the Prius), and attempts to sway the group’s actions or opinions while claiming to share their goals but with some “concerns”. The goal is to sow fear, uncertainty and doubt within the group.

Experienced participants in online forums know that the most effective way to discourage a troll is usually to ignore him or her, because responding encourages a true troll to continue disruptive posts — hence the often-seen warning “Please do not feed the troll”.

Illustration: Troll’s Brain and Memory

Dooce

To be “dooced” is to lose one’s job as a result of something one wrote on the internet.

This neologism is formed from the true story of Heather B. Armstrong’s website dooce.com in 2002.

Legal issues

Apart from being a web user, a member of communities, an author, you are also a citizen, and are bound to the law of your region and the Terms of Service of the blogging service you are using.

A behavior deemed acceptable in a community may violate the legal code of the place you’re residing. Be careful.

Tim O’Reilly calls for a Blogger’s Code of Conduct

Tim O’Reilly is calling for a Blogger’s Code of Conduct.

Tim O’Reilly Draft Blogger’s Code of Conduct

Tim hopes that it would come through self-regulation.

It is still under development. The latest version of his draft contains 6 points.

I believe that his attempt, while will not solve all problems of the blogosphere, will address the issues and raise the awareness of bloggers worldwide so that we can eradicate the bad seeds together.