sources

The Ubuntu Touch operating system is being ported to more than 20 types of smartphones and tablets.

The developer preview of the Linux-based OS was released for the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 smartphones and Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 tablets last week.

And developers are working to port the OS to a far greater range of devices, including the Asus Transformer series, HTC One handsets, the LG Optimus 4x HD, the Motorola Xoom, the Samsung Galaxy Note and S series, and Sony Xperia phones. They're also working on ports for the Nexus S and Nexus One devices.

The … Read more

The Computer History Museum has made the source code for Photoshop 1.0.1 into an exhibit that lets the public, or at least programmers, appreciate the inner workings of the historic software.

The museum published the software yesterday, following up on its earlier release of the source code underlying Apple's original MacPaint.

Source code is what humans write -- in Photoshop 1.0's case the brothers Thomas and John Knoll. The initial Photoshop is written in written 128,000 lines of code, a combination of the high-level Pascal programming language and low-level assembly-language instructions. When converted to … Read more

How would you like to download a free and legal version of Photoshop?

Yep, free and legal. Better yet, it's an original -- as in the original version (1.0.1) that was released in 1990.

Via a special arrangement with Adobe Systems, the Computer History Museum announced in a blog post today that it has made available for download the entire 128,000 lines of source code for the first version of Photoshop: … Read more

"Star Wars" fans don't like taking "no" for an answer. The White House may have denied a petition to build a Death Star, but that hasn't stopped Dark Side wannabes from taking matters into their own hands. There's now a Kickstarter project gathering funds to build an open-source Death Star.

The project has a modest initial goal of just $30 million. That will fund initial plans and the massive amount of chicken wire needed to protect the reactor exhaust ports. The first stretch goal is where things get more serious. If the project raises $850,000,000,000,000,000, then work will begin on the actual construction. OK, that's a mighty big "if," but a geek can dream, right?… Read more

Ouya, the Android-based Kickstarter phenom that raised over $8.5 million from the community, will be available at a wide range of retailers in June.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal in an interview published today, Ouya CEO Julie Uhrman said that the console will be made available at retail in June. At that time, a host of retailers, including GameStop, Best Buy, and Target, will be selling the hardware. Amazon will also be carrying the device. Until then, gamers will be able to place preorders starting today.

Ouya took Kickstarter by storm last year when it excited gamers at the prospect of bringing open-source Android gaming to the television. Since then, gamers have been wondering when the console will finally get into their homes.… Read more

A small Spanish startup called GeeksPhone has started selling phones that let developers get a taste of Mozilla's new Firefox OS.

GeeksPhone announced two 3G phones for the browser-based operating system, the lower-end Keon and higher-end Peak. The phones, while geared for programmers rather than mainstream customers, make Mozilla's open-source mobile OS a lot more real, since programmers will be able to develop apps as well as to debug and advance the underlying operating system.

Firefox OS is Mozilla's ambitious attempt to build an operating system that brings more openness to the walled gardens of Apple's … Read more

It's a little late for Christmas presents, but if you throw a little time-machine action into the mix, this might be the perfect gift for the hacker kid in your life: Circuit Playground plushies.

The plushies are the newest product from Adafruit Industries, a leader in the open-source hardware world and the maker of a wide range of products for hackers young and old. Led by Entrepreneur magazine's entrepreneur of the year Limor Fried, Adafruit has a long history of promoting the do-it-yourself movement, and giving those who play and work in it the tools they need. … Read more

Google's Map Maker goes local by amplifying its service with information on neighborhood hot spots, cafes, gyms, and more. The Web giant announced today that it's doing this with a new Map Maker feature called Activity Stream.

Google Map Maker is a crowd-sourced mapping Web app that lets users create and customize maps on Google by adding locations and details on roads, businesses, landmarks, and other spots. It launched in 2008 and is available in most countries throughout the world. It's an important addition to Google's mapping services because it makes maps far more detailed.

In … Read more

Hewlett-Packard has increased its investment in the Linux Foundation.

The organization, which aims at increasing adoption of Linux across the world, announced today that HP has decided to upgrade its Linux Foundation membership from Gold to Platinum. By doing so, HP will now hold a seat on the Linux Foundation's board of directors. The company will also play a role in the Linux Foundation's initiatives, work groups, labs, and events.

HP has been making open-source supporters happy with WebOS, a formerly closed platform that it turned open source. HP didn't say exactly why it decided to up … Read more