Posted: 16 Jan 2013 01:00 AM PST

I am an artist and the sole maintainer of Dream Studio, a free and open source creative system. Though most of the software is maintained by others who maintain their own Ubuntu PPAs, which are included with Dream Studio by default (which is, itself, based on standard desktop Ubuntu), I create the default themes and overall look of Dream Studio, package the various multimedia categories, create the installer disc (and Dream Studio for Ubuntu), and write a couple of the programs and scripts included with the distribution.

I've been a professional musician for 12 years and recording music for 17. I've also been creating graphics like band logos, concert posters, T-shirt designs, and CD packages for 10 years, and making music videos for the last 5. I feel I have a pretty good idea of what artists want in a creative studio, and because I believe in open source, I want to share the tools I use personally with the whole world, as so much software has been shared with me.

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Collaborating for a cure: Cancer, medical records, and an open philosophy

Posted: 15 Jan 2013 11:00 PM PST

Salvatore Iaconesi has brain cancer. And he's doing something about it that most don't: taking it into his own hands. And the hands of hundreds of others, as they all work together to cure his disease (and offer hope to others).

The project is called The Cure, and at it's apex as many as 200 people—doctors, surgeons, traditional practitioners, shamans, artists, designers, hackers, software engineers, ex-patients—were working simultaneously (and voluntarily) to contact people, arrange appointments, send out documentation and ask for opinions, and then collect all of the resulting information and classify it. They used pre-exisiting software tools and even produced and assembled some themselves.

Today, Salvatore uses all of this critical information to form a personal strategy, which he says is showing positive results. In this interview find out how open source software and concepts power this fantastic exploration into self-managed therapy.

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Android Developer Story: Smule

Posted: 15 Jan 2013 11:22 AM PST

Check out our latest Android developer story, this one from Smule, creators of AutoRap, Magic Piano, and Songify.

In this short video, the Smule team talks about their experiences launching on Android, the explosive global growth they've seen on Google Play, and some of the techniques they use to market and monetize their products effectively across the world.