Diaspora, billed as an open alternative to Facebook, has announced that it will be open-sourced on September 15th.

Diaspora was started as a project by four NYU students, proposing to build an open-source, distributed alternative to Facebook. Diaspora raised over $200,000 on Kickstarter, especially impressive considering they had only set a goal of $10,000.

On September 15th, they will put out a developer release, open their source code repository, publish a roadmap, and shift to a more community-oriented development style. Two of the members of the original team are taking a leave from their studies at NYU to run the project.

There are already some open social media projects out there, most notably, statusnet, a micro-blogging server that provides functionality similar to Twitter, on which the popular site, identi.ca is based. However, while identi.ca has been embraced by the tech community, it has not yet seen widespread adoption. Diaspora may face the same hurdles in stealing market share from Facebook, which has over 500 million active users.

Related articles

• Diaspora Three Weeks Away From Unveiling Open-Source Facebook Alternative (techcrunch.com)
• Leo Laporte Learns the Value of Federation
• So You Want to Use Only One MicroBlogging Service
• So You Want to Take Control of Your Microblogging

Tested reports that, according to iSuppli Market Research, storage prices for Solid State Drives will fall below $1 per gigabyte by the end of this year. That would still be at least ten times the cost of a traditional hard disk drive. This might stimulate OEM sales, at least, and encourage manufacturers to start mainstreaming the technology.

The biggest advantage of a solid state drive, in our opinion, right now is as an operating system/program partition. We’ve added SSDs in most of our systems as OS drives, including our server. It allows us to spin down the traditional drives where we store our media. It, coupled with advances in boot technology on Linux, continues to speed up our boot experience.

Currently, a lot of our computers go down when not in use, and we’re trying to design more to do this. We’re down to only two systems running 24/7, and hoping to get that to one this year.

But, our own desires aside, if the price is competitive, we could see mainstream adoption of SSDs. They have no moving parts, are fast, which is a great advantage. They have longevity issues, but with some software wear-leveling techniques, and a three-year warranty(standard for HDDs as well), there shouldn’t be a barrier to using them. The technology continues to move forward and improve.

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• Falling Flash price could boost SSD uptake (v3.co.uk)
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Reports are that Google is exploring building a tablet of its own based on the Android OS. Google had been encouraging third-parties to build such items, but now they are exploring a model closer to the Nexus One, where they sell the device directly.

Details on the Neofonie WePad were released. It will run an Intel Atom N450 processor, with an 11.6″ 1366×768 touchscreen, and a running time of about 6 hours. It will support full HD playback. The 16GB version will cost 449 Euro(about $600). A 3G version with GPS and 32GB will be 569 Euro. It will be available this summer.

Supporting established standards and peripherals like USB and bluetooth are essential. These standards are there, why not use them? Then any device will work.

The truth is, we’d like to see the tablet combined with the netbook. Lenovo is set to release the IdeaPad U1 Hybrid, which is both tablet and netbook, is an example. The screen can be removed from the netbook assembly and turned into a slate running an embedded OS. But having two processors and a $1000 price tag is a bit much.

Many years ago, our editor spotted someone using a PDA with a Targus Stowaway Keyboard. After some deliberation, he rushed out and bought a Handspring Visor and its Stowaway Keyboard. In fact, several of the Gadget Wisdom team(long before it existed), did so. Not long after, Handspring ceased to exist, but that is another story. We picked the wrong horse to back there. But, the idea was sound. A portable device that could be used to do basic productivity events.

The Android phones we purchased have the same benefits for productivity as our old Handspring Visor…although built-in external keyboard support would be nice. The price for an iPad is $500. You can get a 10″ netbook for around $300.

The tablet/slate has yet to be proven successful. But a hybrid device that could serve multiple uses could be most useful. Someone just has to perfect it. We aren’t there yet.

In the meantime…anyone want to buy a Handspring Visor?

Recently, Gadget Wisdom moved to its new home, a new server that will hopefully be faster and more efficient, and give us the chance to add new features. As part of that, we’re revamping our offerings, trying to return to our roots. As part of that, we’re unveiling the following sections of our site, making it a bit easier to navigate and focus on what you are looking for.

• Android – Since many of contributors have acquired Android phones, we’re adding a section to write about the Android OS.
• Eco-Tech – Rededicating ourselves to our roots, which include our tag line of frugality, we’re hoping to bring back more stories on how to use new and more efficient technology to reduce waste and save money.
• Home Theater PC – Not only Home Theater PCs, but Home Theater tech you can pair with it, and integrate with it.
• Lifestyle – A long-standing part of Gadget Wisdom, Lifestyle covers tips, advice, and news on how you can live the sort of tech-savvy lifestyle.
• Linux – The Linux section replaces the older Open Source Lifestyle section. We’re going to offer more of a focus on Linux and what you can do with it.
• Mobile – Not just Cell Phones, but Mobile Technologies of all sort…Technology for People on the go.
• News – All of our news stories.
• Opinion – All opinion pieces.
• Product Reviews – Product Reviews and New Product Developments
• Security – Security News and How to Secure Your Data and Tech

All of these subjects have been here, in some form or another, but now we’re making it easier to sort through them. If anyone is interested in contributing an article to Gadget Wisdom, please Contact Us.