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NASA Report Advocates Switch to Open Source

Posted by michael on from the don't-have-to-be-a-rocket-scientist dept.

vortimax writes "A new technical report from the NASA Ames Research Center advocates the adoption of Open Source Software internally by NASA for some projects. The paper also proposes modifications to NASA's "external software release" policies to allow OSS and proposes the use of the Mozilla Public License as the license of choice for NASA software."

21 of 263 comments (clear)

  1. NASA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Will it help their aim at Mars?

    1. Re:NASA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

      Yea, and what about open sores on Uranus?

  2. Asking for trouble.... by freeze128 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Just make sure that all of your coders are using the same measurment system.

  3. Would you fly with windows CE? by earthforce_1 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Given that the Thai finance minister had to be rescued from his BMW with sledgehammers after his WinCE powered iDrive computer crashed, methinks I would prefer to fly on open source software.

    --
    My rights don't need management.
    1. Re:Would you fly with windows CE? by Waffle+Iron · · Score: 3, Funny
      the 10-year old BMW 520i model that "suffered a simple electronic failure".

      That reminds me of the time I had circa 1991. I was out shopping for cars, and I thought I would have a look at the BMW 5 series. They had one in a color I liked, and I asked if I could look inside. This one had just come in, and its battery was dead. Turns out, the car had some kind of all-electronic door locks, and there was no mechanical way to unlock the car. The battery would have to be charged first; there was a plug under the bumper to do that in just this situation. Here we were at the BMW dealer, and they couldn't get inside their own car. Not good.

    2. Re:Would you fly with windows CE? by ssstraub · · Score: 2, Funny

      After reading the article, it makes me want a BMW even more!

      Doors won't open w/o power, windows are hard to break with a HAMMER... Sounds like I've found a car that won't be broken into like all of the cars around my house!

  4. My open source contribution to NASA by product+byproduct · · Score: 5, Funny

    double Feet2Meters(double feet)
    {
    return feet * 0.3048;
    }

    1. Re:My open source contribution to NASA by krog · · Score: 5, Funny

      Again, in Ada please.

      --
      Cretin - a powerful and flexible CD reencoder
    2. Re:My open source contribution to NASA by The+Dobber · · Score: 4, Funny


      Dear Applicant:

      Upon review, we have decided not to accept your application for employment with NASA

      Thank You ..

    3. Re:My open source contribution to NASA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
      Dear Employer,


      Upon review, I have decided not to accept your rejection. I will be reporting to work on Monday.

    4. Re:My open source contribution to NASA by zonix · · Score: 2, Funny
      Due to rounding errors, my object would spin and then shrink. Kinda .. amusing.

      I know I ain't getting any, but am I the only one who misread this part? :-)

      z
      --
      What would an EWOULDBLOCK block, if an EWOULDBLOCK could block would? -- me
  5. So... by American+AC+in+Paris · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...is it "GNASA" now?

    --

    Obliteracy: Words with explosions

    1. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Thats pronounced GNU/nasa

    2. Re:So... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      No, it'd be GNU/NASA if they used the GPL license. But they seem to prefer Mozilla's license, so it will be NAZILLA.

    3. Re:So... by mahdi13 · · Score: 4, Funny

      It would be gNASA if they were using the gnome/GTK libraries, and kNASA if it is the KDA/QT libraires

      Then as mentioned, Richard Stallman would make everyone call it GNU/NASA

      --
      "Some things have to be believed to be seen." - Ralph Hodgson
    4. Re:So... by rusty0101 · · Score: 4, Funny

      would the extraction of GNASA be GNASAs Not A Space Agency by any chance?

      --
      You never know...
  6. Re:In case of slashdotting by Azureflare · · Score: 2, Funny
    Government Worker #1: "Sir, it appears terrorists are attacking our servers. NASA just went down."

    Government Superior #1: "Were you able to trace it?"

    Government Worker #1: "No, it's coming from all over the place, sir! We can't stop it!"

    Government Superior #1: "Hmm... Perhaps... No, it can't be.. Not the dreaded SlashDotting..."

    *RED ALERT*

  7. We might be jumping the gun ... by McAddress · · Score: 3, Funny
    We might be jumping the gun here. Maybe someone said they are swiitching to X11 spacecraft and some geek presumed that that meant open source.

    just my personal theory.

  8. in other news... by Beatbyte · · Score: 5, Funny

    43 more moons were discovered orbiting Jupiter. All of which are now named Firebird.

    --
    Get paid to code OSS
  9. Re:International Collaboration by jafac · · Score: 3, Funny

    . . . because you sure as hell can't find decent pizza in either Cocoa Beach, Houston, OR Pasadena. . .

    --

    These are my friends, See how they glisten. See this one shine, how he smiles in the light.
  10. Everyone knows... by jmv · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...it's just a plan by NASA to get Microsoft to pay for a new Shuttle program.

    --
    Opus: the Swiss army knife of audio codec