This article discusses the pros and cons of open source software, such as Linux. It asserts that despite the technical difficulties of installing and maintaining this type of software, ultimately it is helpful in terms of knowledge acquisition and as a beneficial investment librarians can make in themselves, their libraries, and their patrons.…

The last time this author wrote about open source (OS) software was in last September's 2004 issue of Computers in Libraries, which was devoted to making the most of what you have and do-it-yourself solutions. After the column appeared, she received an e-mail from David Dorman of Index Data, who believed that she had done OS products a disservice…

Summer 1995 saw the release, with considerable media attention, of draft versions of Sun Microsystems' Java computer programming language and the HotJava browser. Java has been heralded as the latest "killer" technology in the Internet explosion. Sun Microsystems and numerous companies including Microsoft, IBM, and Netscape have agreed…

This 2004 Association of Small Computer Users in Education (ASCUE) conference proceedings presented the theme "Leading Strategic & Cultural Change through Technology." The conference introduced its ASCUE Officers and Directors, and provides abstracts of the pre-conference workshops. The full-text conference papers in this document…