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Michael Proper

Michael Proper

During the past 20 years, Michael has helped start and grow numerous successful companies in the IT sector. Prior to founding ClearCenter (an IT Delivery Platform) & ClearFoundation (an IT Operating System) he started DirectPointe (an IT services company, now owned by HP & C7). He also helped launch and establish Calculated Research & Technology, way back in 1995 :). Michael is a creator and knows how to produce results by rounding-up great teams and helping them to focus on simple yet measurable, transparent goals. In addition, Michael has successfully acquired & integrated many great IT companies including iTOK, Center7 (Helpdesk & NOC), STI, System Works, S3 & Witsbits.

22
Dec

2016 - The Year The Penguin Jumped Over The Chasm

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

b2ap3_thumbnail_2016---The-Year-The-Penguin-Jumped-Over-The-Chasm-.png

As open source software continues to mature and gets adopted by more and more major corporations, it is becoming clear that both the SMB and Enterprise software game has changed and the innovation adoption curve chasm has been crossed.

Last month Microsoft announced that it is joining the Linux Foundation as a high-paying Platinum member and Microsoft was not alone in 2016 many other major corporations such as Wallmart, Samsung, Uber, Spotify, Apollo, Teradata, adopted open source technologies and open standards in a serious way in addition to those who have been dedicated to open source for some time now such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and Red Hat.

Great to seeing folks understand that open source software is a positive-sum game, where the more contributors there are to the common good, the better there is for everyone. This idea is the opposite of a zero-sum game, where if someone benefits or wins, then another person must suffer, or lose and that value is derived from innovation and adding values, not just in creating a software application which continues to get sold over and over without continued innovation, integration and some type of additional service or support element.

PREDICTION: 2017 will start the mark of the Early Majority* and a new type of Information Technology Service Provider will emerge, know as the new Hybrid Service Provider who will leverage more and more open source technologies to drive down their costs and increase the value of their services and support... think based upon pitches that are simple, secure & affordable which leveraging open source software and open standards.

*See chart for details.

M~

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29
Oct

New ClearOS Build System Is Live

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Ready to get building? For most of 2015 key ClearCenter and ClearFoundation team-members have been jointly working hard on the new ClearOS Build System, which is patterned after many elements of the Fedora and Red Hat's Koji build system, with a fun twist. Intelligently allowing both Free and Paid / Open and Closed application developers to confidently work together on one ClearOS Build System. The ClearFoundation will be inviting and allowing external developers to develop on this new ClearOS Build System. Once developers have proven to be trusted, proficient at creating and supporting ClearOS Community Apps, ClearCenter intends to continue to help developers monetize both Free and Paid Apps for ClearOS using both GitHub and BitBucket repositories. 

Below is how the new ClearOS Build System Workflow works:

b2ap3_thumbnail_ClearOS-7-Build-System.png

If you have a desire to learn how to develop, submit or build new ClearOS Marketplace Apps here is a ClearOS Build System - Getting Started Guide on how to get started or feel free to get started by filling-out this ClearOS Community Volunteer Form and reviewing the following helpful links: 

ClearOS Development Environment - Building an RPM - An Overview

ClearOS Development Environment - Building An RPM - The Basics

ClearOS Development Environment - Submitting Paid & Free Apps  

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14
May

ClearCenter Acquires Witsbits

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

b2ap3_thumbnail_Witsbits-Logo-1.jpg 

ClearCenter today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Witsbits Inc., a venture backed startup based in San Francisco, built on KVM, started in 2011 and funded by Bootstrap Labs, Redhawk Invest and Chalmers Innovation Seed Fund.

The Witsbits patent pending virtual infrastructure makes bare-metal servers 100% cloud managed and virtualization-ready. Customers simply boot their servers after downloading a unique file. That’s it, no configuration or installation process. Servers are then cloud managed, automatically upgraded, and virtualization-ready, saving significant time, headaches and money.

Witsbits currently supports Operating Systems such as CentOS, Debian, pfSense, Ubuntu®, Microsoft® Windows Server®, Fedora®, TurnKey Linux, MineOS, Linux Mint and soon will tightly integrate with both Red Hat® and ClearOS®.

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17
Oct

Get Ready - A New ClearOS Website Is Coming Soon!

Posted by on in ClearFoundation
Are you ready for new home? That's right the ClearOS Community will soon have a new URL to call home. Watch for a sign-up sheet to join in the testing fun coming later this month. Expect new intelligent forums, combined products, certifications, badges, a fresh point system with rewards, integrated tools, and a sneak peak at the new ClearOS 7 Alpha II

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01
Apr

Get Inspired & Informed @ Interop 2014

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Enjoy learning with key ClearFoundation and ClearCenter Team members at Interop Las Vegas 2014. Message David Loper or Michael Proper to see where the fun is. 

 

 

 

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16
Apr

Download ClearOS via BitTorrent

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

The folks over at terasaur (by ibiblio) have provided a nice spot for grabbing ClearOS Community 6.4.0 via BitTorrent.  We are adding a couple of seed nodes right now, so feel free to torrent away!

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22
Feb

6.4 Core done. To be included in next beta.

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

The build of ClearOS Core 6.4 packages from upstream sources is completed and rolling out to the mirrors. All in all it took about 32 hours from the time the packages showed up to having them fully built. We are busy adding Core to the current ClearOS Community and Professional trees and should have some great new features and hardware support. 6.4 Core is useful for techies and hobbyists but we shall all be able to set our sights on the future release of ClearOS 6.4 Community and ClearOS 6.4 Professional.

Cant wait to get started with ClearOS? Then don't wait. 6.3 will upgrade to 6.4 when the time comes and the licensing is all the same. Stay tuned for more updates on the features of 6.4.

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10
Dec

ClearCenter Nominated a Finalist in the Best Hybrid Cloud Solution for the 2012 UP-START Cloud Awards

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Orem, Utah. December 2012 Recently ClearCenter, was notified by Susan Allen, UP-START 2012 that ClearCenter had qualified as a finalist in the “Best Hybrid Cloud Solution” category for the 2012 UP-Start Cloud Awards. The UP-START Cloud Awards recognize extraordinary achievements. These prestigious awards are the result of a huge vote from people at the heart of the cloud. The very best of the best for 2012 will be announced during the conference in San Francisco.

ClearCenter is honored to reach the award finals, given the calibre of the other finalists that included the likes of Alfresco, Hewlett Packard, Eucalyptus and Virtustream.  Michael Proper ClearCenter's CEO and ClearFoundation's Chairman stated that the nomination is a reflection of the value that ClearOS users have obtained from ClearCenter's Hybrid Service Provider Model and ClearCenter's Hybrid Appliances coupled with the hard work that the ClearFoundation Team & Community continually add value to our customers and partners.     

This is only the third time that these awards have been held and the voting process for them is conducted in two phases. The first phase collected votes from the public through an online voting form. This phase was completed on Nov 23, 2012 and thanks to those from the wider ClearCenter & ClearFoundation community for your many votes. The next voting phase is limited to only those people who attend the 2012 UP-Start Cloud Computing Annual Conference in San Francisco on December 12, 2012.  

Welcome to UP 2012

The Third Annual Global Cloud Computing Conference is an annual review of cloud computing developments and trends and the impact on the global economy and society

One of the biggest and oldest cloud events with world class lineup of speakers, providing solutions, that can be applied today and tomorrow. Conference covers following topics:

  • Enterprise Automation and DevOps.
  • Infrastructure and Operations.
  • Business Agility and Continuity.
  • Cloud Mobility.
  • Transition, Integration & Process Optimization.
  • Big Data, BI and Knowledge Management.
  • Standards, Governance & Security.
  • Cloud Adoption & Case Studies.

If you still haven’t made your mind up as to whether you might attend we have been able to get a  20% off discount for our supporters for the Expo Only ticket and here is the code http://up.eventbrite.com/?discount=VOTE. Upon check-in supporters will receive a ballot with a list of all finalists, which has to be filled and deposited to the ballot box to register your vote.

Come join the fun. http://up-con.com/vote

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01
Jun

Request for ClearOS Mirrors

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

With the release of ClearOS Core the ClearFoundation will need global mirrors (see the TBD section) to help with the distribution effort. We are looking for sites with 100GB available that have a 100Mbps connection, 1Gbps preferred. We hope to be pushing content during the coming month. Sign-up here to help. 

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27
Apr

Going Back To Our Red Hat Roots

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

ClearFoundation announces the development of an open source application repository to provide pre-built packages for ClearOS and other related Linux distributions. 

ClearOS Distribution Timeline

This application package repository will be used in conjunction with newer distribution models to provide enterprise grade application frameworks for businesses, education, research and homes. This repository will contain packages built from Red Hat Enterprise Linux sources. 

Initially the repository will contain over 2000 open source applications, modules and components. These can be used to build custom solutions based on ClearOS or other related Linux distributions. Packages will range from very foundational Linux code to productivity applications. ClearOS and other open source communities will benefit from the repository by having access to timely updates and quick turn around for sources. 

The ClearFoundation will be seeking developers, maintainers, testers, bandwidth contributors (hosting mirrors) and additional funds for additional build hardware. If you are any of the above and would like to join this important effort please fill out this form.

* Company names, brand names, trademarks and logos are the property of their respective owners.

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17
Sep

Cast Your Wishes - ClearOS Home

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Cast your wish for ClearOS Home edition and help focus the scope, features and road map priority. 

 

 

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21
Jul

ClearOS Enterprise 5.2 Has Been Released!

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Thank you to our great development team at ClearFoundation and the many contributions and suggestions from the ClearFoundation community. With each release we improve the over-all feature base and performance of ClearOS, the leading open source linux server, network and gateway solution for small business and distributed environments. The primary ClearOS 5.2 changes include:

At ClearFoundation, we are always improving the open source environment for SMB and distributed IT environments with dedicated linux server features such as open source firewall and open source VPN packages.  We listen and deliver!  

As usual, please consult the Release Notes for specific upgrade information regarding your ClearOS version.

Have fun and thank you!
The ClearFoundation Team & Community

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01
Jun

Genie In A Clear Bottle - Make A Wish

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Have you ever had a wish come true?  Now you can! ClearFoundation is proud to introduce the ClearFoundation Community Wish List.  We created an innovative way to ensure that individual community members can influence the direction and development of ClearOS.  With the ClearFoundation Wish List, every community member can make their wishes come true by using their wishes to vote for specific features, ideas and functionality for ClearOS.  This gives ClearOS developers and the ClearFoundation Team direct input from the people that use ClearOS!  Like the idea? Log in and give it a try!

See you on the Wish List!  - Michael Proper

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27
Apr

Shad Lords Joins The ClearFoundation Team

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Shad Lords has joined the ClearFoundation Team as a core ClearOS developer. With Shad's background with SME Server, Shad brings a wealth of experience in Linux development. Key members of the SME Server Foundation - Charlie Brady, Shad Lords and Greg Zartman - have been on the ClearFoundation Committee for some time. There is obvious synergy between SME and ClearOS since both are Red Hat derivations.

"ClearOS is really exciting. The ClearFoundation Team is a solid group with a clear development path. It will be fun to contribute new ideas and develop new features for the ClearOS roadmap." Shad Lords added, "I believe ClearOS will lead the open source market with new, powerful innovations for small business and distributed IT."

Shad - Welcome to the Team!

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05
Feb

ClearFoundation Issues Patch For Security Issue With Samba

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

ClearFoundation has issued a patch to Samba for ClearOS.  Samba provides much of the file service and Windows networking components for ClearOS. Earlier today the Samba team issued a statement indicating that all versions of Samba should have a key configuration parameter updated.  The security risk is not high because the file access requires both a secure connection (LAN or VPN, not the Internet) and valid username/password into Samba section of the ClearOS system.  Data on the system is still protected with standard system file permissions.

This patch will take effect on all ClearOS servers which are receiving software updates at their next update cycle.

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02
Feb

ClearCenter Unveils Global Network of Cloud-Based Services via ClearSDN

Posted by on in ClearFoundation
ClearSDN is live!  

 

Headline:  ClearSDN global data centers connect to ClearOS installations to monitor and update software, content, resources and services

 

We are proud to announce that the ClearSDN service is live and in full service.  Each ClearOS installation can be registered to receive software updates as well as valuable content updates and monitoring services.  One of our most popular services is content filter updates to keep your Internet traffic content safe and clean!  

 

Here is a link to the press release:
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09
Dec

ClearFoundation Named Finalist in 2010 SC Magazine Awards for Best Security Software Development Solution

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Salt Lake City, Utah, December 8, 2009 – ClearFoundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the proliferation of ClearOS, a leading open source network, gateway and server operating system, has been named a finalist in the Best Security Software Development Solution category in the 2010 SC Awards for outstanding achievement in information technology (IT) security. ClearOS was named as a premiere solution in the Reader Trust Award competition, which honors best-in-class security products and services.

 

ClearOS was selected from more than 600 entries submitted in more than 31 technology categories. All finalists will be reviewed and winners will be chosen by the Reader Trust Voting Panel – comprised of security and technology experts from large, medium and small enterprises from all major vertical markets – representing the wide distribution of SC Magazine readers.

 

“ClearOS is among today’s most respected security products as chosen by our panel,” said SC Magazine Editor-in-Chief Illena Armstrong. “Security is a key challenge for IT organizations and businesses worldwide and our readers recognize that organizations like ClearFoundation are helping them meet their security challenges.”

 

As the industry’s preeminent awards program, the annual SC Awards has recognized security’s key contributors and outstanding products for more than a decade. The SC Awards are designed to honor the professionals, companies and products that help fend off the myriad security threats confronted in today's corporate world. Individuals, brands and solutions recognized in the program address not only the security challenges prominent today, but also the emerging threat “ClearFoundation is pleased to be recognized by SC Magazine as a leading provider of security solutions,” said Michael Proper, ClearFoundation.He continued, “ClearOS, combined with ClearSDN cloud-based services from ClearCenter, forms a unique IT offering that can be tailored to the needs of small and distributed IT environments. With installations in over 80 countries in 20 languages, we are quickly growing to be the pre-eminent solution for network, gateway and server functionality with the reliable security of cloud-based services.

 

Winners of this year’s SC Awards will be announced at a gala dinner and award ceremony to be held in San Francisco on Tuesday, March 2, 2010. The event is an evening filled with excitement and offers an invaluable opportunity to network with the top corporate IT professionals in attendance. To attend the SC Awards, please register at http://www.scmagazineus.com/sc-magazine-awards-2010/section/1053/

 

About SC Magazine

SC Magazine provides IT security professionals with in-depth and unbiased information through timely news, comprehensive analysis, cutting-edge features, contributions from thought-leaders and the best, most extensive collection of product reviews in the business. By offering a consolidated view of IT security through independent product tests and well-researched editorial content that provides the contextual backdrop for how these IT security tools will address larger demands put on businesses today, SC Magazine enables IT security pros to make the right security decisions for their companies. Besides the monthly print magazine and daily website, the brand’s portfolio includes the SC Awards,SC Directory, SC Magazine Newswire and the annual SC World Congress conference and expo.

 

Become a fan of SC Magazine on Facebook and follow us on Twitter

 

About ClearFoundation

ClearFoundation is an Incorporated Society dedicated to the vision that every small organization and distributed IT environment on the globe deserves proper security, filtration, and management tools. Internet access is the great equalizer in economics, but each network requires security and management. ClearFoundation is dedicated to providing essential IT tools to everyone that needs them. More information is available at www.clearfoundation.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

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29
Oct

Open Source Gets DOD’s Long-Awaited Blessing

Posted by on in ClearFoundation
Open Source projects complete (and often exceed) commercial software.  If the United States Department of Defense (US DOD) can put open source on equal footing with commercial software, the entire market is shifting to a new paradigm of software development.  The writing on the wall?  "All software will soon be open source.  The software market needs to shift its business model from license to services." Check out this directive from the US DOD CIO:
 
ClearFoundation is dedicated to fostering the development of open source solutions to manage the gateway server layer.  ClearOS is a fully open source point and click network management solution.  ClearOS also offers direct access to ClearSDN which delivers services such as: Antivirus firewall, VPN client, dyndns, webfilter, ipsec, offsite backup and spam blocker.
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01
Oct

ClearOS 5.1 Beta (Cont.)

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

Have you ever found yourself waking up (without a crazy alarm clock) with a pit in your stomach, because you didn't do what you committed to do the prior day?  That's how I felt this morning.  The open source world is not the same as the world I have lived in for the past 16 years and I'm learning lessons fast!


I set a hard date of Sept. 30, 2009 for the release of ClearOS 5.1 Beta.  Unfortunately setting that date encroached upon the process Peter Baldwin and many others in the community have been using to release code for the last 10 years. The process has been, "DING, DING, DING, the code is done and on the table, come and get it!" not, "Dinner will be ready at 7:35pm."


Historically, I have been accustomed to walking down to a dev team, asking them to create requirements around a feature, and the next thing I know it has been spec'ed, and a delivery date has been set. Then I move on to the next topic, taking a mental note that we'll soon be getting a peek at a new feature - the anticipation is like opening a gift.

---- PAUSE ----
The sun just came up, off to take a photo of the first snow be back in 10 minutes.

All of this said, First: Peter, I will commit to not call you late at night during development and ask for your blessing on a press release with a solid date in it.  Second: I will learn more about open source release cycles and gain a better understanding of how code gets developed in the open source world.

 --- OBSERVATION --- This is a great real world experience that furthers some of the comments received from both Linus Torvalds and Mark Shuttleworth at LinuxCon last week (great learning experience).

I am glad to see Peter Baldwin is dedicated to great software, not just dates.  Thank you for your patience everyone! 

Sincerely - Michael Proper

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12
Sep

What is The ClearFoundation?

Posted by on in ClearFoundation

ClearFoundation is an Incorporated Society dedicated to the vision that every small organization and distributed IT environment on the globe deserves proper security, filtration, and management tools.  Internet access is the great equalizer in economics, but each network requires security and management.  ClearFoundation is dedicated to providing essential tools to everyone that might need it.  Below you'll find our basic purpose.  

The Purposes [Open Draft]

The purposes for which this Incorporated Society has been organized are as follows:

(a) Ensure that every small business and distributed IT environment on the globe can have proper security, filtration, and management tools;
 
(b) To defend Open Source software as publicly available and freely distributed: namely, ClearOS and its open source components;

(c) To promote the development, enhancement, and application of Open Source software within ClearOS;

(d) to ensure that people of any language and ability can use ClearOS for their own purpose.

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