NTEN and NOSI are co-sponsoring a series of webinars all year this year. There will be one webinar a month, covering topics from how to get support for FOSS, highlights of specific FOSS projects like Joomla and CiviCRM, how to migrate to FOSS platforms, etc.

The full series description is on the NTEN site .

As the webinars happen, we will be posting the presentations here (in Open Document Format, and PDF). (Click on the article heading to see the attached files.) Recordings of the webinars (and the presentations in Powerpoint format) are available on the NTEN site. Find links that were in the presentations here.

Join us on Tuesday May 20, 11:00PT/2:00ET

There are, of course, many, many different open source projects that are in varied stages of development, some are quite mature, others not. These include operating systems, databases, web servers, and applications of a wide sort. Some software, especially on the server, such as Apache, MySQL, and others, are not only mature, they are ubiquitous, almost standard. Other software, such as desktop applications, lag behind in adoption, but are ready for you to use in your organization, right now. This webinar will cover the whole range of software, including server software, CMS, database applications, and desktop software. We will focus on what is really ready for use, now, both in terms of maturity of development for all applications, and ease of use, for end-user applications.

Register on the NTEN site.

NOSI and NTEN are presenting the second in our series of webinars on Open Source software, on OpenOffice.org.

Although Microsoft Office seems to be the de facto standard for office suites, OpenOffice.org is a free and open source office suite with the same (and in some ways more) functionality as most of MS Office, will read and write MS Office file formats, and has a native file format that is an open standard, which protects data integrity and access forever. Learn about how you can use OpenOffice.org today in your organization.

Hear about the features of OpenOffice.org, how it can be useful in your organization, the community and support behind OpenOffice.org and even learn some about the weaknesses of OpenOffice.org.

Go to the NTEN site for registration.

This is a call for participation in NOSI's varied activities at the next NTC in DC in April. If you're coming to NTC, here's what we're up to:

1) Two NOSI-organized sessions:

Choosing Open Source, connecting with project communities

Choosing open source tools to solve nonprofit technology problems can be a daunting task. There can be different options, and choosing an open source project can seem not as straightforward as choosing a regular software vendor. Open source tools, for the most part, are driven by a community of developers, technologists, and users who work together to make the project better. Some open source software projects have more vibrant communities than others. This session will help you find and choose open source tools, and connect with project communities for support, and get involved in making open source projects better.

Case Studies in Open Source Software use in the nonprofit sector

Come and hear case studies of using open source software. We'll have some individuals from nonprofits and from technology providers talk about their experiences using open source software. You'll hear about why they chose the software project they did, how they implemented it, what ptifalls they might have run into, and what the final results were.

2) A NOSI Organized geek-out:

Title: Bring your Laptop, Penguin or Not

Description: Bring your laptop for a collective installfest and troubleshooting session. Have Linux already, and haven't gotten that wireless card to work yet? Can't seem to change the resolution on your screen? Having trouble using Flash? Or, if your laptop currently has that will be unnamed proprietary operating system on it, come get a Penguin! We'll help you install a flavor of Linux and show you the ropes. If you have a really old laptop, bring that, too and you can install one of the lightweight, bare bones Linux distros, instead of lumbering along with a crufty copy of Windows 98. We'll have several flavors of Ubuntu Linux handy, if you want to try something else out, do bring it with you. If you're a Linux newbie, or an expert, or somewhere in between, this is the chance to get help, give help, chat about, and get your hands dirty with Linux.

We've also proposed a couple of Affinity Group meetings - we'll let you know more about that when we know.

First off, if you're going to be at NTC, please put these sessions in your conference calendar. Second, if you are a Linux geek, and are going to NTC, please email me (michelle at nosi dot net) and let me know - I'd love to get some additional Linux expertise at the geek out. And, also, if you think that you've got a particularly compelling case study or experience with open source communities, send me an email as well. I'll also been soliciting some participants individually.

Also, don't forget about Penguin Day! NOSI is co-organizing Penguin Day, which is the Saturday following NTC (April 7th)

Thanks all, and I look forward to seeing NOSI folks at NTC!