If you’re seeking for software experts to assist you with a project, you’ve definitely heard the phrase “team extension.” However, what exactly does it mean? What distinguishes it from services like devoted teams that are identical to it?
The process of creating software is not simple, and most projects necessitate the hiring of fresh developers on many occasions. When looking for expertise and abilities, business owners can benefit from services like IT staffing, staff augmentation, specialized teams, or team extension. Nevertheless, it might be challenging to tell them apart.
Outsourcing IT
IT services outsourcing is one of the popular forms of outsourcing today. It has to do with outsourcing technologically connected services and assets for all or a portion of an information technology business function.
Due to its interaction with technology on some level, every organization, whether it is a dedicated start-up or a vast corporation, has IT demands.
Optimal Techniques for Outsourcing
For newcomers, outsourcing might be particularly challenging. However, understanding the industry’s most recent advancements, trends, and statistics as well as the best practices for outsourcing will help you navigate its complexities.
Establish Early Outsourcing Objectives
Make a list of your objectives before dealing with an outsourcing provider. What drives your outsourcing decisions? What do you expect the outsourced project to accomplish?
You can establish your outsourcing goals using the following questions. Additionally, your outsourcing partner needs to comprehend your objectives. Therefore, giving them a clear list of goals will enable you both to be on the same page.
Decide on the Best Outsourcing Engagement Model
Your outsourcing goals, the services you wish to outsource, and your budget should all be taken into account when choosing an outsourcing model. Always keep in mind that each outsourcing model offers a particular service. In 2021, India was regarded as the most alluring location for offshore business services.
Pick the Best Outsourcing Service Provider for Your Needs
When choosing the best provider of outsourcing services, you must be cautious. Creating a checklist of what you need and want from an outsourcing partner will help you identify the best one.
When picking an outsourcing partner, you should consider things like firm reputation, worldwide presence, technical knowledge, systems and processes, recruitment, and HR assistance.
Start with Small Teams of One to Two People.
Starting with a team of one to two team members may be in your best interest if this is your first time working with a third-party service provider. Finding reliable information on the provider’s ability is the aim. If the outcomes meet your expectations, you can progressively expand and entrust your outsourcing partner with increasingly significant or large-scale projects.
Create a Transparent Communication Process
Lack of communication is one of the reasons outsourcing initiatives fail. The development of the project, particular priorities, and other pertinent problems should therefore be discussed openly and frequently with your provider.
Tips for Outsourcing Like a Pro
Be specific in your assignment descriptions and your objectives
When outsourcing, you must first clearly define and express what you are looking for. What are the duties and objectives you hope to accomplish during the allotted time? In order for potential candidates to provide you with an accurate proposal and estimate, you must clarify your criteria.
Indicate Time Requirements in Detail
It’s crucial to specify the deadline and the requirements for the timetable upfront in order to save both your time and that of the other party. As the project timetable has a significant impact on business costs, doing this will also shield you from potential losses.
Employ the Service Provider Just as You Would an Office Worker
You are employing help to produce more effective and superior results, therefore you should assess every proposal as though it were from a prospective employee for your business. Don’t overlook the crucial experience just because they’re working remotely; instead, look at their prior performance through the feedback.
Don’t Be Duped by Bargains
Never pick a service provider based purely on pricing, as this does not guarantee quality. Instead of choosing someone based on their low hourly rate, it is preferable to follow every criterion to get good outcomes and have the most necessary productive output.
Conclusion
Although outsourcing might be a terrific method to save time and money, it’s crucial to know if it is the best course of action for your company. If so, what must be taken into account before outsourcing?
The post Best Outsourcing Guide appeared first on LinuxAndUbuntu.
/// 26 Jan 2023, 9:00 pm ////// LINUXTODAY ///
Check out this simple guide on how to share a folder between host and guest virtual machines in the GNOME Boxes application.
The post How to Share Folders Between Host and Guest in GNOME Boxes appeared first on Linux Today.
/// 26 Jan 2023, 8:00 pm ////// Google News ///
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/// 26 Jan 2023, 9:08 pm ////// Phoronix ///
The OpenInfra Foundation would like to wish the Chinese community members and everyone celebrating, a Happy Spring Festival, and a prosperous Year of the Rabbit!
In 2022, the OpenInfra Chinese community has grown immensely. With numerous volunteers and a large base of Open Infrastructure organizations, the Chinese community has remained one of the largest OpenStack and Kata communities in the world.
In August 2022, the Chinese community gathered for its annual OpenInfra Days China. OpenInfra Days China is an annual event to gather technical experts and industry leaders from the global community, as well as local Chinese active open source infrastructure technology companies, to share their outlook on the development and exploration path of global cutting-edge infrastructure technologies! Even with a long history of collaboration with Segment Fault and CSDN, this was the first year they collaborated with major Chinese open source communities such as InfoQ, Kaiyuan She (Open Source Society) and Open Source China. A big thank you to our lovely Chinese community volunteer team for helping organize the event. Learn more about the state of OpenInfra China in the 2022 OpenInfra Annual Report.
Join us in learning a bit about the Chinese New Year and how you can join the celebrations!
Traditional Blessing
金虎辞岁，玉兔纳福。
祝诸位新春大吉，万事胜意！
阖家幸福，平安康健；
工作顺利，大展宏图；
学业进步，蟾宫折桂；
花开富贵，门迎喜乐！
Bidding farewell to the Golden Tiger, the Jade Rabbit has come with auspicious signs.
We wish everyone a Very Lucky New Year with everything going as wished!
We wish you bliss in family life, with everyone safe and wholesome;
We wish you advancement in your career, so that your incredible capabilities can shine and take wings!
We wish you progress in study, winning top scores in all examinations;
And may you increase in wealth, health, and happiness.
Rabbit In History
What was the place of the rabbit in politics?
It was indispensable to rituals central to the polity; even though in ancient records, the rabbit was not officially listed as one of the Five Offerings (horse, oxen, pig, chicken and lamb). Yet, horses raised in military standards were such critical properties to guaranteeing the state’s war-waging capabilities that it would be unwise to squander them for sacrificial rituals. Thus, rabbits – which were similar to horses in terms of agility and speed – became the perfect substitutes for horses.
There were famed cases of the rabbit being likened to a horse.
- The First Emperor of Qin （秦始皇）– also the ruler that founded the imperial governing system in China– owned seven Great Rides (七骏). One of them was “White Rabbit” (白兔). If there was any doubt why it was a name of auspicious meanings, names of the others would give you the answer: they were variously called “Chasing Wind (追风)”, “Lightning Run (奔电)”, “Flying Wing(飞翮)”, “Catching Sun’s Shadow (蹑景)”, “Magic Bird(神凫)”… all indicating astounding speed.
- Perhaps the most famous horse in Chinese history – “Red Rabbit” (赤兔). It was said that it could traverse a thousand miles in a single day, wading rivers and overcoming mountains as if it was running on flat grounds. It not only represented the ultimate caliber achieved by a military companion; it also encapsulated the highest moral understanding and strongest bonds between an animal and a human. When Guan Yu (关羽)– Red Rabbit’s master and also one of the most loyal, capable warriors in Chinese traditions – died, the horse refused to eat and went away with the master.
Distinct Flavors of the New Year
Have you heard of “Nian Wei” (年味)? It means “flavor” of Nian, the New Year. People use the term to refer to either the feelings, vibe and atmosphere of celebrating New Year or, the set of unique dishes that they make to mark the occasion with special auspicious meanings. Let’s delve a bit deeper into the culinary culture of New Year!
While there are dishes regarded as essential on the New Year menu across all of China, the vast geography – and the diverse regional folklore and customs – give rise to cuisines specific to the region. In the 2019 “Nian Wei Map” released by a food rating app, the North loves meatballs and Jiao Zi (饺子, dumplings) the most, while the Cantonese in the southern tip favors Poon choi, (盆菜, meaning “big bowl feast”). Poon choi consists of varied ingredients such as pork, beef, chicken, duck, abalone, prawn, crab, mushroom, fishballs, squid, dried shrimp, and more – placed into a huge basin and arranged into level-based patterns. The southerners also like making desserts called “Nian Gao” (年糕, the New Year Cake). As for the Eastern region, the signature dish is Shanghai’s Si-xi-kao-fu (四喜烤麸, “Four Lucky Ingredients Kao-fu”) is made up of four Fao-fu cake, Shiitake Mushroom (香菇), black Chinese fungus (黑木耳), Daylily Flower (金针菜), peanuts (花生米), bamboo shoots(笋). The western region prefers spiced, salty bacon meat.
For more information on traditional Chinese food, check out https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-food/chinese-new-year-food.htm.
The post We Wish You a Happy Year of the Rabbit! appeared first on Superuser.
/// 26 Jan 2023, 5:05 pm ////// GamingOnLinux ///
We cover events and user groups that are running in Wales. This article forms part of our Linux Around The World series.
The post Linux Around The World: Wales appeared first on LinuxLinks.
/// 26 Jan 2023, 4:39 pm ////// ThisHosting.Rocks ///
/// 26 Jan 2023, 4:20 pm ////// The Hacker News ///
Flatpak and Snap packages are more popular than ever among Linux users who no longer prefer native binary packages or AppImages.
Primarily because of its ease of use, integration with the software center, and the ability to get the latest app updates hassle-free.
You no longer need to worry about the dependencies when installing an app.
For some, the security advantages of sandboxing/isolation are a factor too. But we will not discuss the specifics for that here.
No matter the benefits of Flatpak and Snap, what are their differences? What should you consider using? In this article, we explore how they're distinct to help you decide what you want to use.
1. Origin
Snap was developed by Canonical to build applications for IoT platforms. The aim behind Snap has always been to encourage app updates, and make things easier for developers to maintain them when compared to deb packages.
Eventually, it made its way for applications meant for desktops (with GUI as well).
If you want to explore more Snap's history, I recommend you to read the blog post by Alan Pope.
Flatpak was created by Alexander Larsson, Principal Software Engineer at Red Hat. It is an independent open-source project where many notable developers from GNOME, Fedora, and Red Hat are involved.
The aim behind it was to have a robust framework to distribute Linux desktop applications across various distributions.
Originally, it was known as xdg-app, and later renamed to "Flatpak" in 2016.
For more interesting insights on Flatpak's history, take a look at Alexander's old blog post.
2. Use Cases
Every package format has its advantages. Some might say, "why do we need this"?
We need every package format available. So, you can choose to use whatever you need per your requirements. Hence, it is essential to learn where and why Flatpak and Snap packages can be helpful.
Flatpak is only tailored for Linux workstations and personal computers to run desktop applications. You can explore more about it in our resource on what Flatpak is.
However, Snaps work on your desktop and can also be used for server-focused terminal applications.
For instance, Ubuntu Core, the operating system for IoT, and Edge are built from snaps to keep things secure and ensure reliable updates.
As far as I know, Flatpak has not been used for anything similar because of its different approach and targeted use case.
3. Startup Time
Snap applications have been known to have a slow startup compared to Flatpak.
Canonical has been working on this for a while, but it was still a problem when publishing the article.
Of course, practically, not every user may notice or care about the difference. But, the overall consensus regarding the app startup time remains better for Flatpak compared to Snap.
For instance, I find launching the Spotify app as a Flatpak faster than its Snap. It can be subjective. So, take it with a pinch of salt.
4. Performance
The performance of an app not only refers to its responsiveness but its stability and feature offerings.
Some applications perform better as Snap, and some as Flatpak.
For instance, the Flatpak version of GNOME Boxes does not support device sharing compared to its Snap package. One can use this example to say that Snaps are better.
However, I always prefer to install Spotify as a Flatpak instead of Snap.
So, you need to test your favorite applications to realize what is better for you; no one gets a clear edge here.
5. Availability and Popularity
While you can install either of them on any Linux distribution, Flatpak gets an edge for its availability and out-of-the-box support on more distributions when compared to Snap.
For instance, Linux Mint comes with snap disabled but features Flatpak support built-in.
Distributions like Pop!_OS and Ubuntu MATE also offer Flatpak support by default. In other words, you will find plenty of different Linux distributions (other than Ubuntu flavours) that have Flatpak baked in by default.
However, Snaps are preferred mainly by Canonical's Ubuntu and its official flavors. If you are not using Ubuntu or its flavors, refer to our Snap guide to get it setup.
So, one can say that Flatpak's adoption for Linux desktops is much wider (if not necessarily with a more extensive user base).
6. Open Source vs. Closed Source
Flatpak is entirely open source.
Unfortunately, when it comes to Snap packages, the answer is not as simple.
Snap is an open-source project at its core, including snapd, the background service that manages/installs snap apps.
However, the back-end of the snaps is proprietary and controlled by Canonical without any community involvement.
As an end-user, you should not have a problem with the closed-source parts of Snap as long as the app gets the job done.
Of course, Flatpak will be your choice if you prefer completely open-source technologies.
Suggested Read 📖
Ankush Das
7. Decentralized vs. Centralized
Flatpak is open-source and embraces a decentralized approach.
Even though we have a famous "Flathub" portal where most users get their apps from, Flatpak allows having multiple stores when/if needed.
With Snap, you are limited to Canonical's Snap store.
Some users prefer a centralized application store for convenience. So, you should not have any issues with either of them. However, Flatpak gives you an edge to add an extra repository if needed.
8. Updates
Snap applications get updated automatically by default. The user can modify when and how often the updates happen. Also, you can hold and postpone updates for selected snaps.
On the contrary, Flatpak packages do not get updated automatically. If you have Flatpak integration with the software center, you will be notified of available updates, but it will not be forcefully updated.
You can always refer to our guide on updating Flatpak packages.
With Flatpak, you get more control by default. But, some users forget to update the packages missing out on new features or security/bug fixes.
So, whether you want automatic updates to the applications you use or want the control to update them manually, that will influence what you like better.
9. Working
Flatpak does not need admin privileges to install applications but Snap does.
Flatpak comes with sandboxing enabled by default. It uses Linux Kernel's namespaces feature for sandboxing whereas Snap utilizes AppArmour.
You can explore both the developer documentations to learn more. But, these two key points might influence picking one of them for your use-case.
10. Maintainer's Perspective
When going through forums and Reddit threads before writing this article, I found some interesting insights from app maintainers. Some of those include:
- Snaps are easier to maintain/build compared to Flatpak packages.
- Snap security is a tad bit advanced.
- With Flathub as Flatpak's store, maintainers get help from various developers to test and improve the Flatpaks.
Of course, for further technical information and differences, the documentations will be a great place to start.
💬Which one do you prefer? Flatpak or Snap? And, why? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
/// 26 Jan 2023, 12:00 pm ////// Linux Security ///
The latest beta iteration of the KDE Plasma desktop is now available and includes some important additions and fixes.