Fluid flow computing company goes open-source
Software that can, say, help make cars aerodynamic is no longer proprietary.
Stephen Shankland Former Principal Writer
Stephen Shankland worked at CNET from 1998 to 2024 and wrote about processors, digital photography, AI, quantum computing, computer science, materials science, supercomputers, drones, browsers, 3D printing, USB, and new computing technology in general. He has a soft spot in his heart for standards groups and I/O interfaces. His first big scoop was about radioactive cat poop.
Expertise Processors, semiconductors, web browsers, quantum computing, supercomputers, AI, 3D printing, drones, computer science, physics, programming, materials science, USB, UWB, Android, digital photography, science. Credentials
- Shankland covered the tech industry for more than 25 years and was a science writer for five years before that. He has deep expertise in microprocessors, digital photography, computer hardware and software, internet standards, web technology, and more.
Developers of software for simulating fluid flow such as automobile aerodynamics have decided to make their program open-source. The software, called FOAM (Field Operation And Manipulation), previously was a proprietary product, but its developers decided in December to release the software in an open-source project called OpenFOAM.
FOAM creator Henry Weller in 2004 founded a company, OpenCFD, to sell consulting and support services for OpenFOAM. The software employs the