Why Open Source?

We take advantage of open source for several reasons. First, open source enables us to develop competitive products and services without high operating costs or licensing fees found with traditionally licensed products. Second, we employ skilled programmers who can maintain and extend open source platforms to do whatever is needed for the task at hand. Third, we have learned to understand the power of an online community movement . Open source developers are motivated intrinsically, and we have found their work rivaling that of their commercial counterparts. Finally, we just love to build on open source because we have the freedom it offers, and we enjoy contributing to the success of others.

Open Source Platforms and Frameworks

We study and build on many platforms to have an understanding of the different ideas and capabilities each platform embodies. In this pursuit, we utilize and maintain active watch over many open source project to be able to consult and implement them in the tasks at hand. Here is what we are talking about.

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  Ubuntu

  A distribution of Linux, Ubuntu is our OS of choice for our local development servers. It provides ease of use that Linux has typically not been known for, while delivering the flexibility and customization that our projects may need.

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  LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)

  This technology stack has proven to be a serious platform for solid and scalable development. It encompasses the interaction, storage, security and delivery of the variety of front end implementations available to our clients.

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  Open Office

  OpenOffice is an open source alternative to Microsoft's Office. A few of our staff are happier working with OpenOffice than with Microsoft's Office. While this may not directly affect our process or products, it demonstrates our staff's fondness for open source and how it is the shape of things to come.

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  Drupal

  The content management systems(CMS) we turn to for site with more complex information and user interactions such as specialized social networks, or commercial shopping carts thousands of items deep. While there are many CMS's that we have the capability to use, Drupal has won us over.

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  Wordpress

  At the core, Wordpress, is simple and elegant. When a site needs a news or a blog, wordpress has proven time and time again that it can be easily integrated without limitations on branding.

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  MediaWiki

  MediaWiki is a the same software that Wikipedia was built on. "Wiki's" are a good way to make infromation available to your audience. We use it in house to keep up on our documentation.