The Plan for Code - An open.NASA

Today (Jan 4th 2012) NASA are launching code.nasa.gov, the latest member of the open NASA web family.

Through their website, they will continue, unify, and expand NASA’s open source activities.

The site is intended to serve to reveal existing projects, provide a forum for discussing projects and processes, and guide internal and external groups in open development, release, and contribution.

In their initial release, they are focusing on providing a home for the current state of open source at the Agency.

This includes guidance on how to engage the open source process, points of contact, and a directory of existing projects.

By elucidating the process, they hope to lower the barriers to building open technology in partnership with their public.

PHASE Two

Phase two will concentrate on providing a robust forum for ongoing discussion of open source concepts, policies, and projects at the Agency.

PHASE Three
In their third phase, they hope to turn to the tools and mechanisms development projects generally need to be successful, such as distributed version control, issue tracking, continuous integration, documentation, communication, and planning/management.

During this phase, they hope to create and host a tool, service, and process chain to further lower the burden to going open.

The GOAL

Ultimately, their goal is to create a highly visible community hub that will imbue open concepts into the formulation stages of new hardware and software projects, and help existing projects transition to open modes of development and operation.


They are going to need your help to get there! Please use the “Share your Ideas” icon (bottom right on their blog) to comment on their blog post, or email them at opengov@nasa.gov to let them know how code can help you, where you would like to see the site go, and how best they can fulfill their purpose.

NASA believes that tomorrow’s space and science systems will be built in the open, and that code.nasa.gov will play a big part in getting us there. Will your code someday escape our solar system or land on an alien planet? NASA's working to make it happen, and with your help, it will.

Visit the open.NASA at The Plan for Code - open.NASA

Bobi, The proboscis Monkey / Le Nasique - Kalaweit

Bobi, Le nasique
Geüpload door kalaweitprogram

Bobi arrived at the Kalaweit Rescue centre with 2 severly damaged legs. Unable to walk, he could only drag himself along the ground to hunt for scraps of food.

Now he is fully recovered and spends his time in the tree tops where he belongs. Soon he can be released back into the wild.

Another great success story for a dedicated team of animal rescuers, working under extreme pressures of poverty and threats to their safety. Can you offer them some help?

Twitter Hit by Denial of Service Attack

On an otherwise normal and happy Thursday morning, Twitter became the most recent high profile site to be the target of a denial of service attack.

Attacks such as this are malicious efforts orchestrated to disrupt and make unavailable services such as online banks, credit card payment gateways, and the service provided to customers.

Twitter. A denial of service for intended customers or users. Twitter say 'We are defending against this attack now and will continue to update our status blog as we continue to defend and later investigate.'

China Human Rights Violations: Electric Shock Treatment for Internet Users is Banned

Internet Webmasters and Bloggers have written about being tied down and given electric shocks for 30 minutes at a time at one notorious hospital

China has finally banned the use of shock therapy to treat, what they describe as, ' Internet addiction', after its use at one hospital sparked nationwide controversy.

Widespread Protests
The hospital drew widespread protests and media coverage in recent months after Internet users, claiming to have received shock treatment, wrote in their blogs and forums about being tied down and subjected to electric shocks for 30 minutes at a time.

Chinese Health Ministry
A statement on the Chinese health ministry's Web site said the practice had no medical foundation and forbid its clinical use. The order banned the practice nationwide but specifically mentioned the notorious hospital in eastern Shandong province.

Shandong Hospital
Calls to the notorious Shandong hospital went unanswered Wednesday morning, but a hospital spokeswoman last week said "sensationalised" media reports had already led it to a cesation of the shock treatment. The shocks were meant to cause subjects to associate a negative result with Internet use, according to the hospital. Subjects were forced to admit to faults in their behaviour and thinking, while receiving the electric shocks.

Government Funded
Government-funded treatment centers for Internet addiction have sprouted up around China in recent years, though the health ministry has not officially labeled it a diagnosable condition. Many children are coerced and tricked by parents into going to the centres, which often deliver a mix of military boot camp treat ment and shock therapy sessions.

World of Warcraft
Staff at the 'treatment centres' blame hugely popular online games like World of Warcraft for getting most Chinese teens hooked on the Web.

Many Chinese medical experts still believe that electric shock treatment for Internet addiction and other 'behavioural issues' does not harm children, but others disavow it, said Tao Ran, during a recent interview. He is the founder of a Beijing 'treatment centre' for Web-addicted teens. Experts meeting at the health ministry last month signed a document recommending its ban, he said.

Internet users celebrated the move

"This news should truly make people happy," one user wrote in a forum run by local search engine Baidu. "After all, this kind of thing is inhuman cruelty."