Archive for August, 2005
Monday, August 29th, 2005
OpenOffice.org 2.0 Beta 2
Beta 2 is out and if you’re not using it, pick it up. Proprietary productivity suites should be concerned as OO2 is much improved with many powerful updates. Some notable changes include substantial improvements to MS Office compatibility, pivot table-like features, and the new database application. Why do I really like OO2? The new OASIS standards based document format has evolved. Too bad we won’t see it in the next MS Office…
Monday, August 29th, 2005
Upgrade to WordPress 1.5.2
The upgrade process is so ridiculously easy I had to laugh. Check it out – there are a few nice changes such as “Save and Continue Editing” plus a few bugfixes as well.
Sunday, August 28th, 2005
IBM and HP Take the UNIX Crown
Q2 IDC data shows IBM (31%) and HP (30%) took out long time leader Sun Microsystems (29.5%) based on Q2 UNIX server revenue market share. Congrats to the new leaders. I find it ironic IBM and HP are also the leaders in Linux as well. Maybe I was wrong, but didn’t Ballmer/Gates blast open source and Linux saying there was no money in open source and that the lack of revenue coming in would hurt the industry’s long term ability to innovate?
Sunday, August 28th, 2005
Too many open source licenses?
I was just reading Amy Wohl’s blog and notice her post regarding the number of open source licenses. We’ve seen licenses change as “open source” has increased momentum as the “hot topic.” While many typically link “open source” with the GPL or Apache/BSD licenses, there have been a number of more recent commercial “open source” licenses that have changed the rules of the game.
One thought to leave you with: “How many commercial licenses has your company accepted?” Do you have the same license for Microsoft and Adobe software? When you really think about it, the GPL and Apache/BSD licenses have done much to actually consolidate licenses.
Is the problem the volume of open source licenses or the expanding use of “open source” with licenses that are not reflecting the terms of what we tend to call an “open source” license? I think the real problem is sorting out traditional GPL and Apache/BSD licenses and then those new ones that have a few “tricks” typically driven by corporate aspirations. I always caution against blindly accepting some of the new open source licenses because they typically often contain a legal hook for one company to maintain commercial control. It will be interesting to see how the GPL version 3 will approach these issues.
Thursday, August 25th, 2005
“Stealthy” Worms, Trojans Seen Tripling In Number
Just as PCs in enterprises are infested with spyware, we’re seeing a surprise in more malicious activity… are you surprised? I think this is a wakeup call for alternate clients and increased use of Linux. I love OS X and who doesn’t like Gentoo?
I had to laugh when Zotob ran wild… When was the last time you heard about Linux worms taking companies down? And Linux has the largest presence on the front line where these Linux servers are just begging to be hacked. And yet they haven’t been… the most vulnerable is the least exploited… hmmm…. maybe this open development model is really working -> do more eyes on code actually improve security?? Revolutionary!
Thursday, August 25th, 2005
8 out of 10 Enterprise PCs Infected with Spyware!
Companies need to wake up to this ticking bomb. First, it makes absolutely no sense for most companies to not standardize their PCs on Firefox. When was the last Firefox spyware you heard about? Yeah I haven’t heard of one either. Someone has spent too much time trying to “out-cool” Google and forgot to fix their security problems…
Get Firefox. You won’t be disappointed.
Wednesday, August 24th, 2005
Where in the world was Mike Dolan?
He took a new job recently and was swamped last week. I’ll do better to add updates in the future! There’s 2 for today.
Wednesday, August 24th, 2005
Google Talk! Coolest thing since… the last AOL CD I threw away? Ok, not that bad.
I had to try out Google Talk today (http://talk.google.com) and have to say I was not blown away.
The best feature is that it brings up your prior conversations when a new chat window opens. I wonder if they’ll integrate the IM “Conversations” with Gmail conversations later…. just a thought. It also uses the waterfall conversation layout similar to Gmail when you have multiple chat sessions going. I swear Google must have hired away Apples HCI department. So simple, so clean.
I installed it at work on my Windows laptop (every day I boot that thing I cringe; Windows is legacy to me anymore). I’m disappointed in the Google team for not having a Linux client. What’s worse is the lack of support for other networks. It’s based on the common Jabber protocol so at least they didn’t introduce some proprietary protocol like ahem [insert violator's name here]…
I’m waiting to see a Google Linux client before I claim it’s anywhere near as cool as Google Maps. I use the Gaim Jabber connection just fine but would have loved to see Google blow the doors open with an IM/VOIP client for Linux…. maybe someday soon. Otherwise, right now it’s just a clean Windows Jabber client… not sure what’s new. Excellent work by the HCI team though – I love the clean, simplicity of Google’s products and the client GUI definitely shines again – let’s just get that on Linux.
I just found out Google employees call themselves “Googlers” and they call new employees “Nooglers”… kinda funny.
Wednesday, August 24th, 2005
The World Really Is Flat!
I just finished “The World is Flat” by Thomas Friedman. I knew the premise of the book before buying it and I must admit it was still an eye opener. America lives in a different world and as I look around at my friends, family, and younger crowds I think they are in for a different life. If not this generation, by the next the wealth of the world will undergo a substantial redistribution. Thomas Friedman presents the reality in such a compelling context. Some of his political views spill in at times… but on the whole an absolute must read for everyone in the U.S.
However, I also wondered about a few basic economic theories that seem overlooked. First, there’s a number of theories on leisure time (i.e. as you make $100 more, you are more likely to spend more $ on leisure activities). I didn’t really see him address this issue. Second, I’m not sure the impact of the U.S. economic infrastructure and ecosystem were a bit undervalued. Aside from these two concerns, I absolutely believe this is a major issue for this country and we need to wake up. I found the comparison of U.S. and Chinese political leadership very compelling. We have [insert reference for idiot here] running the country who have legal backgrounds and maybe majored in English Lit. In China, their leadership is comprised of engineers and technologists who will find a way to leverage technology to gain ground. The leg race has already started and we’re still tying our shoes.
Sunday, August 14th, 2005
Gentoo GUI Install?? Yes, with 2005.1 Experimental
It would seem to contradict anything you’ve ever known about Gentoo, but the Gentoo Linux Installer project has released with 2005.1 a brand new, version 0.1 of its graphical installer, GLI. It’s not just a livecd with Gnome – there is a GUI for installing Gentoo – (i.e. pick a stage, next)! Just check out the /experimental tree on the mirrors.
There are a few concessions made in taking this short cut:
* no /etc/portage support in the frontends
* no way to modify runlevels in the frontends
* only supports x86 and probably amd64 (other arches are in the works)
* the GTK frontend’s make.conf screen only offers a few options
* no way to custom configure a kernel without a premade .config
* no lvm or software raid support
Of course a stage1 install will get you maximum performance and maximize your customization opportunities, but this new install CD is targeted at bringing the value of portage to those with … well let’s just say less time on their hands… While I applaud Gentoo’s innovative approach, I wonder what this will mean as many new users will lose out on the traiditional, trial by fire install method. I know a number of newbs who never really understood Linux until they tried a Gentoo install. Knowing the Gentoo culture, I’m sure stage 1 tarballs won’t be going away anytime soon.
Try it out and let the developer team know what you think.
Saturday, August 13th, 2005
Upgrading to Gentoo 2005.1
Well, if you’re already using Gentoo, here’s how you “upgrade” to 2005.1…
# emerge –update world
# rm /etc/make.profile
# ln -s /usr/portage/profiles/default-linux/x86/2005.1 /etc/make.profile
That’s all there is to do!
Thursday, August 11th, 2005
IBM – Linux Desktop the Next Frontier! Finally!
http://www.theregister.com/2005/08/11/_mills_linux_desktop/
Unfortunately I wasn’t at LinuxWorld to hear this, but apparently IBM’s Steve Mills first fought back against MSFT’s FUD saying,
“The cost benefit gets debated and debated and debated. The independent studies have consistently demonstrated a cost advantage for Linux with any typical workload, and it goes beyond the cost of buying the operating system.”
Then he went on to give advice on where developers need to work to get the Linux desktop movement started. Are we finally there yet? Is it really time to start the final battle? I love the contest. 98% of the desktop market share only means there’s 96% opportunity to take. And if you haven’t checked out the latest KDE/Gnome… do so now – you’ll see why we’re getting so close to this exploding. I’m sure my friends in Redmond wouldn’t be so happy…
“Pointing to large growth rates in revenue and unit shipments for Linux servers, Mill said the next opportunity for Linux is on the desktop. The market for Linux desktops is growing at a compound annual growth rate of 37 per cent between 2003 and 2007, with 10 million desktops installed by 2004, according to Mills.
Despite this, and the success of Linux on servers, developers should adopt a new approach to selling Linux and not engage in a server-style debate, he said: “Substituting Linux on less expensive hardware to run the same work, which was the server scenario, does not play out in the same way on the client.”
Customers are unlikely to swap out a 1980s client/server codebase for a 1990s client/server codebase just because it uses a different concept, Mills noted. Instead, ISV should devise applications that can provision end-users who are running a variety of desktop, laptop and mobile devices, through a centrally managed architecture that provides high-levels of reliability and performance.”
Wednesday, August 10th, 2005
Linux and IBM Shatter Record
We’ve all heard how powerful the IBM Power 5 processor is – Linux is helping it break more records. It appears DB2 and Linux have fired on all cylinders. The IBM p570 4-way server shattered the online transaction performance record holder by 23%! Yes, 23%…wow. It blew away the HP/Oracle incumbent – impressive. The Yahoo-IBM press release is here.
Sunday, August 7th, 2005
Big Changes Coming for Telco Internet Access
Just in from Congress. Phone companies providing DSL services are no longer required to lease their lines to companies at deep discounts. What does this mean? I think initially, we may see a slowdown in price competition for DSL. However, cable Internet, wireless, power line Internet and other options will likely keep phone companies in check over the long run. The reality is the old rules dis-incentivized phone companies to upgrade their networks – they would have to invest huge capital sums only to find themselves required to lease the new networks at deep discounts. Congress made this change, therefore in order to aid the next generation of investment for future services. It remaisn to be seen what the fallout of this change will be. It’s undeniable many small ISPs will be squeezed out of the market. The upside is we may actually get closer to catching up with Japan if these telephone companies start doing wireless like WiMAX…
Thursday, August 4th, 2005
Linux World SF – Next Week!
Linux World is upon us again. Make sure you get there if you can. Register now!
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