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It’s no exaggeration to say that open source operating systems rule the world of mobile devices. Android is still an open source project, after all. But, due to the bundle of proprietary software that comes along with Android on consumer devices, many people don’t consider it an open source operating system.
Explore a recommended list of Moodle alternatives for your business in 2019. Compare alternatives to Moodle side by side and find out what other people in your industry are using. Let GetApp help you determine if the competition offer better features or value for money. Paradiso LMS is one of the best alternatives to Moodle. The advantages of Moodle seem almost too good – it’s open source, free to download and packed full of features.However many don’t understand that Moodle isn’t a finished product, but more of a platform which needs to be installed, configured and customized, and for this reason it is worth considering one of the alternatives to Moodle.
So what are the alternatives to Android? iOS? Maybe, but I am primarily interested in open source alternatives to Android. I am going to list not one, not two, but seven alternative, Linux-based mobile OSes.
Top Open Source alternatives to Android
Let’s see what open source mobile operating systems are available. Just to mention, the list is not in any hierarchical or chronological order.
1. Tizen
Tizen is an open source, Linux based mobile operating system. It is often dubbed an official Linux mobile OS, as the project is supported by the Linux Foundation.
Apart from the Linux Foundation, the Tizen project is supported by tech giants Samsung and Intel. Initially slotted for late 2013 release, it was only in January 2015 that the first Tizen phone, the Samsung Z, was released in the South Asian market. Unfortunately, the Samsung Z failed to get much attention in a competitive Indian market.
Despite being based on Linux, Tizen OS has been marred by security issues. Quite frankly, I don’t see a bright future for Tizen OS. It is just a matter of time before the plug is pulled from this project.
2. Plasma聽Mobile
A few years back, KDE announced its own open source mobile OS, Plasma Mobile. Plasma Mobile is the mobile version of the desktop Plasma user interface, and aims to provide convergence for KDE users.
The OS is in the development phase and can be tested on a few devices, like LG Nexus 5.
3. postmarketOS
PostmarketOS (pmOS for short) is a touch-optimized, pre-configured Alpine Linux with its own packages, which can be installed on smartphones.
The idea is to enable a 10-year life cycle for smartphones. You probably already know that, after a few years, Android and iOS stop providing updates for older smartphones. At the same time, you can run Linux on older computers easily. PostmarketOS wants to achieve the same on the mobile platform, by tweaking Linux into a touch-optimized platform.
Don’t get too excited. PostmarketOS is in very early phases of development, and it is most likely that you won’t be able to use it like a regular smartphone yet.
4. PureOS/Librem
Ubuntu’s convergence efforts did not materialize, but this has not deterred others from their convergence dreams.
Convergence, in simple terms, is having the same operating system running on desktops, tablets, and smartphones. Ubuntu tried it and abandoned the project. Windows also failed at it.
The security and privacy focused company Purism has its own PureOS Linux distribution. They are also working on a Linux-based, secure smartphone called Librem5. Purism claims that PureOS is convergent, and Librem smartphones will run it. Apart from PureOS, it can run GNOME and KDE, with Debian, Ubuntu, SUSE, Fedora. and even Arch Linux.
The motto of the Librem is to be a “phone that focuses on security by design and privacy protection by default. Running Free/Libre and Open Source software and a GNU+Linux Operating System designed to create an open development utopia, rather than the walled gardens from all other phone providers”.
It’s more of a Linux-based smartphone rather than a Linux-based smartphone OS, but I believe that the convergent PureOS should be able to run on other devices with some tweaks.
Interested in it? Check out Librem 5 specifications and availability.
5. Ubuntu Touch by UBports
The king of desktop Linux world, Ubuntu decided to expand its territory with its open source mobile operating system, Ubuntu Touch. Keeping convergence in mind, Canonical (the parent company of Ubuntu) ambitiously launched a $32 million crowdfunding campaign to build the first Ubuntu Phone, Edge. Though it failed to get the desired amount, it still set a new record, with over $12 million pledged to the campaign.
After the failed crowdfunding campaign, Canonical teamed up with some device manufacturers to launch Ubuntu Phone. Spanish manufacturer BQ became the makers of the first device running Ubuntu Touch in February, 2015. It was soon followed by Chinese manufacturer Meizu. Those first few devices were aimed at developers, which is the reason I advised people not to buy the BQ Ubuntu Phone at the time.
Two years and a few Ubuntu-based phones later, Canonical finally decided to call it quits on their mobile OS. However, UBports is still trying to keep Ubuntu Touch alive.
With UBports’ efforts, Ubuntu Touch recently saw OTA 9 update. There are a handful of devices that are supported by Ubuntu Touch. You can see the list here.
Open Source projects based on Android (free from Google)
Most of the above open source mobile operating systems you saw so far are under development and not available for a wide range of mobile hardware.
Don’t despair. There are a few projects that are based on Android but customized to remove Google services from it. These Android distributions are open source and you can customize them to your liking.
If you are looking for an open source alternative to mainstream Android, these projects could be a good choice.
6. LineageOS and Replicant (open source Android distributions)
Both LineageOS and Replicant are open source Android distributions. In other words, you can call them custom ROMs.
LineageOS was created after the much more successful Android distribution CyanogenMod was discontinued. LineageOS is a fork of CyanogenMod.
Though Replicant was founded back in 2010 by a couple of Free Software groups, it now uses the source code of LineageOS as the base. You can see the list of devices supported by Replicant here.
7. /e/ (previously known as eelo)
Previously known as eelo, /e/ is a non-profit project started by the developer of Mandrake Linux. It is an Android distribution, and the idea is to have an open source mobile operating system free from Google.
/e/ replaces Google services with its own services, with the promise to not track you or sell your data to advertisers like Google. /e/ will also utilize open source alternatives as much as possible.
/e/ is in active development and you can try to install it on a range of devices already. You can even buy refurbished devices preinstalled with /e/. That is one of the several ways of supporting the /e/ project.
Partial open source mobile OS
I think it’s worth mentioning a few projects that are not fully open source but they are challenging the duopoly of Android and iOS.
8. Kai OS (partially open source)
Kai OS is going to be the world’s third most popular mobile operating system. Chances are, you haven’t heard of it.
![Chamilo Chamilo](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125838452/896899509.png)
Not your fault really. KaiOS was only released in 2017, and yet it is powering a huge number of mobile phones in just under two years.
So, what’s the secret here? Unlike other mobile operating system, Kai OS doesn’t target the high-end, touch phones. Instead, it provides smartphone-like functionality to feature phones.
Feature phones, or basic phones, are inexpensive, and having smartphone-like functionality makes them an attractive and affordable device.
Kai OS is based on Linux, as it is a fork of a fork of now defunct Firefox OS (mentioned later). Kai OS is not completely open source. Only the Linux Kernel modifications are open sourced, rest is closed source.
You can gauge the potential of Kai OS from the fact that it runs on over 100 million devices and Google has invested $22 million in it.
![Source Source](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125838452/316114395.jpg)
9. Sailfish OS (partially open source)
When Nokia decided to ditch the MeeGo mobile OS project, few unsatisfied Nokia employees decided to keep MeeGo alive in the form of Sailfish OS. Their flagship product Jolla has met with moderate success, and has a dedicated fan following. MeeGo was supposed to be continued by Linux Foundation in the form of Tizen, but over the time Tizen evolved on its own and cannot be termed a MeeGo derivative anymore. The same is true for Sailfish OS, the core OS of which is based on the Mer project, which itself is based on the work from MeeGo.
While Sailfish OS created some buzz among early adopters thanks to the Jolla devices, the company seems to be struggling.
Sailfish OS is not entirely open source. However, you could consider it as an option when you are looking for a mobile OS other than Android and iOS.
Honorable Mention: Firefox OS [Discontinued]
Firefox OS was an open source project from Mozilla Firefox, the parent company of the famous open source web browser. It created quite some ripples with the announcement of Firefox O- based smartphones that cost only $25. The aim was to target emerging markets such as Brasil and India.
Unfortunately, the low price tag alone could not make Firefox OS the Raspberry Pi of mobile devices, and, like Tizen, Firefox OS did not have any success with its ZTE devices. Firefox now plans to shift its focus from low cost devices to user experience with Firefox OS.
What do you think?
When I first wrote this article a few years ago, I was hopeful for some of these alternative mobile OSes. However, the present situation is gloomy, and I don’t think any OS listed here is going to make a mark. It’s not like I don’t want them to be a success, I am just being honest here.
What do you think of these Android alternatives? Do you think these Linux based mobile OS will leave their mark or will they struggle for a decent market share like desktop Linux? Do share your views.
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Colleges and universities have long been proficient contributors to free and open source software projects, dating back to the early days of the Internet, so it should come as no surprise that they create open source software no meet their own operational needs. One of the biggest fields is online courseware–specialized content management systems for teachers and academic departments that facilitates Web-based course content, interaction with students, and grading and reporting. Also known as “course management systems” (CMS) or “learning management systems” (LMS), they are database-intensive, often support thousands of users at a time, and must interface with a wide gamut of third-party and legacy systems for record-keeping and billing, making them ripe for an open development model.
Proprietary Competition
Although many educational institutions use hand-rolled courseware systems, proprietary courseware products are widespread and command high prices. The dominant market leader is Blackboard, which in recent years has bought out several of its competitors: first rival WebCT, and most recently ANGEL Learning, an acquisition reported to have attracted attention from anti-trust investigators.
In 2006, Blackboard was granted a US patent for “technology used for Internet-based education support systems and methods” and sued competitor Desire2Learn, sparking protests from the education community over prior art–including from the Sakai Foundation, which works on open source courseware projects. The Software Freedom Law Center successfully requested a re-examination of the patent, and in April 2009, the US Patent and Trademark Office rejected all 57 claims in the patent, but Blackboard has continued to pursue legal action against Desire2Learn in US and (more recently) Canadian court. Regardless of the progress of that case, Blackboard did pledge in 2007 that it would not sue free and open source projects for infringement of the patent in question or of any other pending patent.
Proponents of open source courseware cite the usual advantages over proprietary systems: lower total cost of ownership, easier and faster customization, and guaranteed bugfixing and feature enhancement ability. More specific advantages unique to CMSes are that open source courseware packages tend to include additional functionality such as blogs, student journals, and wikis, offer more flexibility in the way course modules are edited and arranged, and are simpler to customize using standard Web tools and programming languages.
The Open Source Alternatives
The most widely-known free courseware system is Moodle, which has the highest market share of any CMS (open or closed) after Blackboard. Moodle was created at Curtin University in Australia, and is developed by a tight-knit team still led by the original creator.
Moodle is designed around a “social constructionist pedagogy” education philosophy, emphasizing interaction between students and between teacher and student. Consequently, although it can easily handle traditional classroom tasks like assignments and quizzes, it also incorporates a wide range of built-in communication-oriented tools, such as wikis and discussion forums. Moodle is implemented in PHP and can use any SQL database as a backend; although it was originally (and continues to be) developed on Linux, and operating system that supports PHP and a database server can be used to host a Moodle Web site.
After Moodle, the most famous free courseware project is the Sakai Collaboration and Learning Environment (CLE). The Sakai CLE is developed by the Sakai Project, a long-running collaboration between several prominent universities: the University of Michigan, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Indiana University, and Polytechnic University of Valencia. Each institution had been developing its own courseware system; the Sakai CLE is the result of the combining of their individual code and efforts.
Sakai CLE implements modern courseware features, from course materials to grading to online collaboration, but is also actively maintained as a research collaboration platform in addition to its role in the classroom. Sakai CLE is written in Java, and designed to run on the Apache Tomcat servlet container. It is tested against the MySQL and Oracle databases, although other database options are reported to work as well.
The Moodle and Sakai projects each maintain lists of their active installations. Sakai’s includes the founding institutions of the Sakai Project as well as several other prominent universities in the US and abroad. Moodle’s includes well over 50,000 installations across the globe.
More More More
Although Moodle and Sakai CLE dominate the open source courseware market in terms on number of installations, they are by no means the only players. A wide range of other options exist, many focusing in on a smaller suite of features or targeting a specific market or learning style. A short list of active projects includes ATutor, Bodington, Claroline, Docebo, Dokeos, eFront, ILIAS, Interact, LAMS, .LRN, Metacoon, OLAT, and VClass.
Not all of these courseware systems are designed to serve a large university hosting hundreds of simultaneous classes with paying students. Primary and secondary schools are increasingly using open source courseware to manage course content, businesses are deploying learning management systems to use for employee training, and general purpose Web communities are using courseware for tutorials and other informal education uses.
For many institutions, selecting a courseware system requires picking a package that complies to the Sharable Content Object Reference Model or SCORM, a standard for courseware storage and data exchange originally developed by the US Department of Defense for selecting its training systems. The current version of the standard is SCORM 2004, which was established in 2004 but has received periodic updates in the years since.
Many open source courseware projects are SCORM-compliant, and their development is assisted by the non-profit International Federation for Learning, Education, and Training Systems Interoperability (LETSI). LETSI is participating in the creation of the next revision of SCORM.
Open Courses Resources
The development of open source courseware over the past decade has contributed indirectly to another trend in higher education, making course content available online free-of-charge. MIT was one of the first prominent institutions to provide free course content online via its MIT OpenCourseWare program, which hosts class materials for more than three dozen departments, including syllabi, lecture notes, assignments, and exams.
Many other institutions have followed suit in recent years, including Yale, Notre Dame, and Stanford. Although several of these universities are involved in developing open source courseware systems such as Sakai CLE, it is important to recognize the distinction between the two types of effort. Although open course content is made available over the web, initiatives such as these are generally collections of static resources, not interactive courses, and most are not deployed using courseware packages used for teaching live classes.
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