The latest release of OpenCAN introduces a user's request for runtime support for switching between CAN 2.0b extended and standard, as well as several bug fixes. Autonomous message polling now completely empties the receive queue every time a device is polled. A bug in the Windows PCAN plugin was fixed that caused the device to continuously send a single message, and a confusing compiler warning when using the MingW compiler on Windows was fixed.

Currently, no issues are known to exist in the OpenCAN API core and plugins. Issues may remain in Testbench, but no major issues are known to exist.

You can download the latest version of OpenCAN from the OpenCAN website.

In an effort to bring OpenCAN to production-ready status several critical bugs have been fixed along with minor improvements to the documentation and Testbench. The OpenCAN core was left unchanged, but the most critical bug was a crash in Testbench if no device plugins are loaded. Two bugs were also fixed in the PCAN plugin for Windows. The first, not correctly setting the baud rate, and the second, not correctly reporting the status of the connection to the device. Testbench was improved by increasing the drawing speed of the receive message windows.

Currently, no issues are known to exist in the OpenCAN API core and plugins. Issues may remain in Testbench, but no major issues are known to exist.

You can download the latest version of OpenCAN from the OpenCAN website.

OpenCAN has received a much-needed update, version 0.5. Both the API and Testbench have received major updates. Support for multiple devices has been improved by making it easier to request a specific device as well as making plugin and device information more clear. Support for changing the baud rate and displaying message timestamps was added to Testbench. Nearly the entire UI for Testbench was cleaned and polished. The documentation was also updated to include more information on compiling, installing and using OpenCAN.

String processing efficiency has been increased by using Qt's fast concat. So, OpenCAN requires at least Qt 4.6 and is written and tested using Qt 4.7.

You can download the latest version of OpenCAN from the OpenCAN website.

OpenCAN 0.4 is another major release with changes to the API and Testbench. There was one addition to the API, support for providing and accessing device and plugin information such as descriptions, version, manufacturer, etc. The addition is aimed mainly at providing more information to user interfaces using OpenCAN.

The Testbench application received a major update. The user interface was given an overhaul so that multiple send and receive windows can be opened at one time, which alone makes sending different messages much easier. Now you can also set up multiple receive windows for watching different devices and messages by specifying a filter based on the message id and data for each window, or simply show all received messages. These updates make Testbench a much more useful tool for CAN networking with or without OpenCAN.

You can download the latest version of OpenCAN from the OpenCAN website.

OpenCAN 0.3 was released today. This release is considered a more major release than the last as there are additions to the API to support user-friendly descriptions of devices. Previously, the only way for a user to differentiate between devices was the system's device name or via additional code written for each application. So this update improves usability and maintenance.

To gain a small increase in performance I analyzed the use of the data structures in OpenCAN and converted some from QVectors to QLists. I also cleaned up the QMake project files for Win32/64 so that compiling is less of a hassle. Documentation for the API changes was added along with a few other changes.

You can download the latest version of OpenCAN from the OpenCAN website.

I released OpenCAN version 0.2 today which removes a delay in the startup of the OpenCAN driver for PEAK PCAN Linux devices. The OpenCAN driver included a short delay after starting the devices to prevent the driver from crashing and hanging the controlling application. However, the issue was only present in version 6.19 of the driver and version 6.20 fixes the issue, adding a short delay back in.  So I removed the no-longer necessary delay to increase the responsiveness when starting devices using the OpenCAN driver. None of the other OpenCAN drivers included an extra delay. I also made a few minor changes to the documentation.

You can download the latest version of OpenCAN from the OpenCAN website.

I've written many pieces of software in the past that utilize Controller Area Network (CAN) communication. Some software was written for Windows and some software was written for Linux. Plus each CANbus device requires different code and libraries to control the device and several applications required support for multiple devices. So I began using the Qt library from Trolltech (Nokia) to simplify development by creating a shared codebase for Windows and Linux. Over time I've rolled that code into a simple API so that I can easily add support for CAN communication to software. Later I added dynamically-loaded plug-ins to support new CANbus devices without modifying the software. 

Today I released the software as the OpenCAN platform. OpenCAN is open source software licensed under the LGPL. So you can support GPL and proprietary CAN device drivers and use OpenCAN in free and proprietary software. You don't have to look far to find software using OpenCAN. CreateX is one piece of software that implements CAN communication using OpenCAN. 

For more information and to download the code visit the OpenCAN website.

In the article The best free open source software for Windows, InfoWorld's Randall C. Kennedy details a list of 10 very useful open source software applications for Microsoft Windows. Of course, the first application mentioned is Mozilla's Firefox, the free web browser that is revolutionizing the Internet. However, as Kennedy points out, there are many more powerful open source applications for Windows just waiting for you to use. Many of these applications fill needs left by Windows and offer a free alternative to equivalent commercial software, and you may notice that I've mentioned some of these applications before.

There's millions of different software applications, but there are only a few applications that nearly everyone needs. A good word processor is something that everyone needs at some point, and the OpenOffice suite offers a competitive alternative to Microsoft Word, as well as the other Microsoft Office product offerings. Image editors come in handy quite often. Paint.net is an easy-to-use image editor, with less power than Photoshop but more simplicity. MediaPlayer Classic is a very powerful and easy to install and use media player. It actually doesn't require any installation at all, and handles more media formats than Windows Media Player and iTunes.

Open source projects offer many powerful, less-common software such as hard drive encryption for securely storing your files. TrueCrypt is one of these applications, providing a superior alternative to the commercial Microsoft BitLocker. VirtualBox is another powerful application, providing an open source alternative to VMware. VirtualBox is perfect for anyone who doesn't need the advanced features of VMware.

You can never be short on Windows utilities, and open source projects offer tons of Windows utilities. If you need to transfer files using FTP servers, then FileZilla is the application for you. I haven't found a better alternative, free or commercial. PDFCreator is a great alternative to the expensive Adobe Acrobat, though it doesn't contain quite all of the same features. Finally, 7-Zip is a superior file compression tool, unmatched by the likes of WinZip and PKZIP.

Kennedy also mentions ClamWin as an open source anti-virus solution, but it doesn't offer the features necessary to truly provide automatic virus protection. However, I agree that the remaining 9 open source applications are definitely worth downloading.  There's nothing stopping you, so have at it!

There are many ways that Open Source software can improve a business. Businesses can deliver enhanced products and services at very little or no additional cost by incorporating Open Source software. They can reduce operating costs by using Open Source software for administrative tasks such as OpenOffice instead of Microsoft Office, or in the back-office by using MySQL instead of Oracle. Businesses can embrace the future of voice communications, VOIP, and do things with Asterisk, an Open Source software implementation of a PBX, that would cost thousands to do using commercial hardware and software. These are just a few of the many examples of how Open Source software can improve a business.

So how can Open Source software improve your business? You can start by using the faster, more compliant, and more secure web browser Mozilla Firefox instead of the easily corrupted Microsoft Internet Explorer. Web pages will look and work better, your computer will experience less attacks, and you'll see more easily identifiable issues when they happen. But the benefits don't stop there. Since Firefox is compliant with web standards, your company's intranet will take significantly less time to develop and maintain, as well as be far less of a headache for the developers. Firefox also provides a whole host of features and plugins for enhancing the web experience above and beyond Internet Explorer.

Lowering your costs, and getting more for you dollar, is one of the ways to improve your business. Microsoft Windows is a very costly operating system. For example, the latest Mac OS upgrade costs $30. Microsoft couldn't sustain Windows if they offered upgrades for $30. Instead it's a good bet that it'll cost you more than $100 to upgrade one Windows machine. Then, you have to purchase anti-virus software and the subscriptions to keep it up to date, deal with crashes and slow response, worry about which emails and links you can click on, and don't forget about support costs. Linux is an Open Source operating system without all of these problems, and it's free!

Linux is offered for free through many different distributions. Linux distributions are complete systems that include the Linux OS along with thousands of applications. Fedora is one example of a popular Linux distribution. Since Linux is an operating system just like Windows and Mac, you can do everything using Linux that you can with Windows and Mac. However, you don't have to pay for Linux like you have to for the commercial operating systems. You don't have to deal with the virus and crash issues that you do with Windows, and you don't have to be locked into any platform or vendor with Linux.

Linux offers many different choices from how your desktop looks and works to how you listen to music, far more than what's offered by Windows and Mac combined. That's the power of Open Source. With Linux you can take back your computer, make it work for you instead of the other way around. I have personally been using Linux for my desktop for over 10 years. I get a personalized computing environment that allows me to get much more done in less time than with anything else. Many computer suppliers like Dell and HP offer computers with Linux installed, avoiding the "Microsoft tax" right from the start. So the next time you need to purchase or upgrade a computer look to Linux to reduce your costs and get more out of your computers.

Another way that Open Source software can improve your business is through the use of the Apache Web Server. The Apache web server is the fastest, most popular, secure, and flexible web server available. The majority of websites on the Internet run on the Apache web server. Switching to Apache is a relatively simple change, and the benefits are well worth the switch. Even if you don't host your own website, as many small businesses don't, using a web host that uses Apache will be cheaper, more secure and offer more features to your web developers.

Company intranets provide a great way to share information with your employees and allow your employees to share information. It's secure because it can't be accessed through the Internet, and you can require that users log in. You can provide individualized information, specific to that person's duties. You can post company-wide information such as employee manuals, negating the costs of printing. All you need to start a company intranet is a computer and the free Apache Web Server.

You can use Open Source software to streamline your operations, offer higher quality services, and innovative products. The great thing about Open Source software is that anyone can modify it. There are literally millions of Open Source software projects. So you may find that a slight modification to an Open Source program will give you an edge over your competitors. Your modification can be made with very little cost compared to writing the complete program from scratch. You may also find that you can offer a new or enhanced product or service by simply combining existing Open Source software.

This opens the door to many more possibilities for your business. You don't have to think in terms of starting from scratch. Instead you can look for already existing software that you can use to innovate with a simple modification or combination. Innovations can be created in hours instead of months with Open Source software. Imagine the possibilities. This is why many businesses of all sizes around the world use, develop and support Open Source software.

Open Source software is different from commercial software, or software you'd buy at Best Buy, because it is software that provides access to its code. This allows anyone to modify and redistribute the software. So Open Source software is essentially free, though there are costs for things such as CDs, printed manuals, and support, if you need them. The great thing about Open Source software is the ability to modify and redistribute the software, allowing anyone to customize the software, use the software as a foundation to build new software, or simply use the software for free.

You can be confident in the security and stability of most Open Source software. Since the code for Open Source software is open for all to see and contribute, there are many individuals, organizations, and corporations working on many different Open Source software projects. This means thousands of eyes are pouring over the code to verify its quality, and if you have any doubts you can look at the code yourself or have someone look for you. However, since some Open Source projects are more popular than others, if the software doesn't meet your standards or needs you are free to modify it so that it does.

There are many Open Source projects providing software above and beyond what you can find commercially. One great example is the Apache Web Server. No other web server is used more than Apache, by far. Nearly every website on the Internet is run on Apache. The speed, power, flexibility, stability and security of the server is unmatched by any other general purpose web server. The Apache web server has been the foundation of the web since nearly its inception, and since it's Open Source it will continue to do so for decades or more.

Mozilla Firefox provides another example of a software product that is superior in many ways to its commercial competitor. Microsoft Internet Explorer originally beat out Netscape Navigator as the most used web browser because Microsoft bundled it with Windows and gave it away for free. Yet Internet Explorer had problems. It was critically insecure, displayed websites incorrectly, and locked users into proprietary and substandard technologies such as ActiveX. Firefox gained in popularity simply because it excelled where Internet Explorer failed. Not because it was bundled with every new computer or required to run certain software. In the years since Firefox's release Microsoft has tried to undo its past, but still fails. Firefox's success is built on its ability to provide innovative, stable and secure software through the Open Source methodology.

For software to be considered Open Source the software must be distributed with an appropriate license that gives any user the rights to modify and redistribute the software. There is an organization that approves software licenses as Open Source, called the Open Source Initiative. Software licenses that adhere to the Open Source Definition are approved. There are many different Open Source licenses, each with slightly different rules. Examples of such licenses are the popular GNU General Public License (GPL), the Mozilla Public License (MPL), the Apache License, and the BSD License.

We all benefit from the use and improvement of Open Source software. Open Source software will never go away. It can't, since someone can always pick up where the last person left off. So it will only improve with time. The better it gets, the more people will use it. With more people using the software there are more people to improve the software, as well as find and fix issues. Anyone can use the software, thus we all benefit when one more person starts using an Open Source product or a developer contributes code to an Open Source project.

So if Open Source software is so good and free, why does any other software (i.e. custom, commercial) exist? Open Source software is good at many things, but not everything. There's a "cycle" to Open Source software. Generally, software that requires some financial investment in research, or to be built upon commercial software, starts off as commercial software. But as the underlying software become commodities and Open Source software foundations become available, Open Source equivalents can be created, and the commercial solution becomes a commodity. Basically, innovative software starts off difficult to create and replicate, but as software technology progresses, the innovation becomes easier to replicate. Even still, niche software can't be easily developed as Open Source since there just aren't enough users. There will always be a need and desire for commercial, Open Source, and custom software.

Read more on how Open Source software can improve your business.