Archive for March, 2008
Monday, March 31st, 2008
Adobe joins the Linux Foundation!
Awesome news from Jim and David! Hey, better late than never ;-)
“Adobe’s decision to join the LF is a natural extension of its commitment to open standards and open source, which demonstrates its leadership and foresight in the software industry,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation. “Adobe’s membership will contribute to our goal of increasing even more application development on Linux with a specific emphasis on Web 2.0 applications.”
“Adobe delivers key RIA technologies for Linux users, such as Adobe® Flash® Player and now Adobe AIR™, to deploy RIAs in the browser and on the desktop,” said David McAllister, director of standards and open source at Adobe. “The Linux Foundation is a valuable resource, providing a forum where we can work with the community to ensure Adobe RIA technologies are compatible across the Linux software platform.”
This makes perfect strategic sense for Adobe. I can’t wait to see more Adobe desktop apps running on Linux. Adobe will be at the LF Summit and I believe are participating in DAM.
Press release here: http://linux-foundation.org/weblogs/press/2008/03/30/adobe-joins-linux-foundation-with-focus-on-linux-for-web-20-applications/
Sunday, March 30th, 2008
Microsoft Windows 7 going to look a lot like Linux?
It seems like Sun and Microsoft, for all their anti-Linux crusading are both sending strong signals that their OS’s will in the future look a lot more like Linux…
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
Friday, March 28th, 2008
McKinsey’s 8 Business Technology Trends to Watch
Do any of these sound familiar?
Managing relationships
1. Distributing cocreation
2. Using consumers as innovators
3. Tapping into a world of talent
4. Extracting more value from interactions
Managing capital and assets
5. Expanding the frontiers of automation
6. Unbundling production from delivery
Leveraging information in new ways
7. Putting more science into management
8. Making businesses from information
Friday, March 28th, 2008
South Park Episodes Are Now Online, DRM Free
Who knew a media studio could actually find a way to do things “right”? Comedy Central and Viacom appear to have “seen the light”. I love the ultimate reason that spurred this effort:
http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/03/south-park-to-o.html
South Park fans will soon be able to watch any episode of the seminal animated show free online, thanks to a deal between show creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and Comedy Central’s parent company, Viacom.
In an appropriately glib statement, Parker and Stone said they were inspired to start the site when they got “really sick of having to download our own show illegally all the time. So we gave ourselves a legal alternative.”
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Happy Document Freedom Day 2008
In case you haven’t yet heard, today is apparently Document Freedom Day ;-)
http://documentfreedom.org/News/20080326
Wednesday, March 26th, 2008
Motorola gives into Icahn; splits ala Palm
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9903426-7.html?tag=nl.e703
I’m sure Carl has something big in mind, but if you look at Palm or many others, these moves don’t seem to have great track records. Interesting move, but I’m not sure this was the best option for Motorola to turn things around…
The Mobile Devices business will handle the designs, manufacturing, and sales of mobile handsets and accessories, and will license a portfolio of intellectual property. The Broadband & Mobility Solutions business will handle voice and data communication solutions and wireless broadband networks for enterprises and governments. It will also handle IP video, cellular, and high-speed broadband network infrastructure, and cable set-top receivers.
Saturday, March 22nd, 2008
Casio Exilim EX-S10 “Card” Review - the ultimate “slim” camera?
I’m a digital photography junkie although I may not post here so often. I’ve always kept a well rounded portfolio of gadgets around including my Canon Rebel XT, a Sony HDR-SR7 HD video camcorder, and until now, I always used my Canon ELPH SD100 as my goto “pocket” camera that also did lightweight video recording just as many other consumer cameras do today. The SD100 had served quite a useful life and was an outstanding performer in all areas. However, a couple things were starting to create a need for an upgrade. First, the ELPH SD100 was the smallest, viable camera on the market when it came out but today, there were increasingly more “slim” and lightweight options being introduced on the market. Second, the 3 megapixels were ok, but when cropping, I could use a couple extra megapixels to play with. I was also hoping to find a new camera that boosted the “shutter speed” slightly so that I could get more instant shots. Finally, I was hoping to find a camera that had more water/freeze resistant features for added protection in skiing environments. I also did not want to spend more than $275 (arbitrary limit primarily set by what I could thought could “go under the radar” with my wife…).
Size (more specifically depth) was my greatest concern as I reviewed features. I could accept less than top tier performance in other categories, but I like to use this type of camera for skiing (drop it into a coat pocket), going out to bars (drop it in a pant/shirt pocket), and other places where I want its size to be no more than carrying a cell phone.
And so I began my research.
There were a few cameras that were easy candidates - the Canon SD1100 being the first. The SD1100 continued the ELPH SD100 tradition with portable size, a no-nonsense frame, and as expected a high quality Canon product. The SD1100 shutter speed only seemed slightly faster than my older SD100, boosted the megapixels to 8MP, widescreen pictures, and added Optical Image Stabilization (very nice). The SD1100 boasted a relatively small depth at 22mm. The price was definitely reasonable at ~$230.
I also looked at the Olympus Stylus SW line of cameras. The 850 was within my price limit, and boasted unique features such as shockproof, waterproof, and freezeproof (great for skiers). The 850 was relatively slim at 21.3mm, however, almost every Olympus SW camera had received poor image quality results in reviews, and while slim, the camera was slightly wider/taller than other options. One other negative was that Olympus still uses its proprietary xD flash media which I just have a hard time buying into. The price was within reason at ~$260.
I was really hoping Nokia would offer me the perfect package. Nokia had two types of cameras that may have worked. First there was the 21mm slim S51, but I couldn’t get over the “cheap” feel of the camera. Then I noticed the super-slim 18mm depth, Nokia S210 which was also one of the cheapest options at a mere $175. This camera was the perfect size and on paper, had great features. I nearly hit the buy button to order it when I noticed the bad reviews on the internet. I was seriously bummed this one didn’t work out.
I checked a few others and then remembered Casio had its super-slim camera line. Casio was never known for high quality pictures, but was known for super-sexy looking cameras. And that’s when I found the Casio Exilim EX-S10 (commonly just referred to as the S10). This camera was launched in 2008 as the “world’s slimmest 10MP camera”. It just hit the store shelves a couple weeks ago at $250 but unfortunately NO ONE had done even a modestly decent review of the camera making a purchase decision difficult (and hence I’m sharing my experience now). I bought one anyway at a local Target planning to return it if I was disappointed. Since I bought it, I’ve noticed CNet UK has done a review here.
“World’s slimmest” turned out to mean 16mm slim, which … is very slim. Check out the pictures below with a Casio S10 next to my iPod Nano (3rd Generation).
The S10 is just “3 Nanos deep”. On size/portability, you can’t possibly beat the S10. The Exilim very easily fits into a shirt or jacket pocket. It has a great size LCD screen that works well in direct sunlight.
The EX-S10 picture quality was pretty decent (not a Canon, but nothing Photoshop can’t fix). Images can be taken at up to 10 Megapixels. It has 3x optical zoom, a standard flash and other features. There’s a one button movie record button which is nice. I did find it was having trouble in lower lighting conditions or very cloudy areas. Taking pictures is fairly simple and I actually found it “so easy” that it was somewhat difficult as a more advanced SLR user to get the shot to take the way I wanted. The integrated “Best Shots” feature proved to be very useful as is the face detection engine that follows the subject you’re shooting.
Here’s an example shot taken from near the mid point of Copper Mountain in Colorado recently (unedited, raw JPG, click for full 10MP version):
The Exilim is a great looking camera and packs only the features I really considered “necessary”. I personally don’t care about “in camera image editing” or other nonsensical things vendors seem to be packing into these small digicams today. There is a “YouTube upload” software package that is supposed to make uploading YouTube videos easy… whatever…
As for videos, I was surprised to see the Casio takes good videos and even does “Ultra HQ Widescreen” at 848×480 pixels.
The Casio uses an SD flash card slot which is great. It also has a proprietary battery which is not so great, but easily obtainable at $30 for a retail Casio battery (I found Casio to be the cheapest place online). Given this is a new battery, it may take some time for the super cheap options to show up on eBay. I did notice that the flash card “speed” can create a big difference in shoot time. I originally was using a slower TransFlash memory card in an SD converter, but when I switched to a SanDisk Extereme III SD card, the performance was noticeably faster.
The bottom line: if you’re looking for a slim camera that you can take anywhere and that takes relatively decent photos and videos, then this Casio is a great buy. I’ve never seriously considered a Casio and have always recommended Canon P&Ss to my friends and family, but that may change with the S10. Other Casios CANNOT be assumed to “be just as good” so be careful which one you buy.
If you want absolutely top performance in shooting and image quality, and are willing to sacrifice some size features, then the Canon SD950 or other models with OIS may be a better option although bulkier. If you need to shoot underwater, Olympus seems to be your only option without buying expensive waterproof housings. Unfortunately, Nikon’s consumer P&S line needs to catch up to its SLRs. I also looked at other vendors, but didn’t find any of them relevant to my particular needs.
UPDATE: Steve’s Digicams has posted a long review that I’d recommend looking at. There are sample pictures and videos too. http://www.steves-digicams.com/2008_reviews/casio_ex-s10_pg5.html
Thursday, March 20th, 2008
OpenOffice 3.0 Preview
I can’t wait for this release. The Notes2 features are fantastic and probably the best feature will be native tables in Impress (FINALLY!). I wonder when these features will make it into Lotus Symphony… hopefully soon.
Check out the overview of new features here:
http://www.oooninja.com/2008/03/openofficeorg-30-new-features.html
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
The openSUSE Forums are Merging (Finally)
It’s great to (finally) see the most popular openSUSE forums are merging. This was something I recommended they do oh… 2 yrs ago I think. Late is probably acceptable in this case given all the other hurdles they had to get up and running. The new forum will be at http://forums.opensuse.org (although it’s not up yet, just an announcement of the initiative right now).
You can read the full announcement here: http://news.opensuse.org/2008/03/11/announcing-the-official-opensuse-forums/
Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
Eclipse takes on Java and .NET with OSGi model for run time apps
Very cool news…
http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=2136&tag=nl.e622
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
When you’re heading to Vail…
A severe winter storm warning is about as good as it gets ;-)
Check out this weather forecast
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
The SFLC publishes an analysis of Microsoft’s Open Specification Promise
The analysis document can be downloaded here: http://www.softwarefreedom.org/resources/2008/osp-gpl.html
Nonprofit Group Says Microsoft Promise Provides No Assurance for Developers
The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), provider of pro-bono legal services to protect and advance free and open source software, today published a paper that considers the legal implications of Microsoft’s Open Specification Promise (OSP) and explains why it should not be relied upon by developers concerned about patent risk.
Now this Microsoft response is just ridiculous:
“Because the General Public License (GPL) is not universally interpreted the same way by everyone, we can’t give anyone a legal opinion about how our language relates to the GPL or other OSS licenses, but based on feedback from the open source community we believe that a broad audience of developers can implement the specification(s).”
Wednesday, March 12th, 2008
SystemTap Stickers
Cool! Now where do I get one?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28532182@N00/2316388926
UPDATE: Frank sent in a comment pointing out a ton of swag available on Cafepress
http://www.cafepress.com/systemtap/
Monday, March 10th, 2008
A business school case study unfolding before our eyes
The new unlimited calling plan competition unfolding over the last week will be an interesting case study sometime in the future. Will this end with all market players racing to the bottom and losing profits to the benefit of consumers, or will Verizon’s first mover advantage give it a boost in competitive share gains - or will they all win with consumers paying for more than they consume? Only time will tell but it will be an interesting dance to watch and provide plenty of fodder for future corporate strategy textbooks …
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23564206/
Monday, March 10th, 2008
NVIDIA Quadro Driver runs fastest on… Linux? What, not Windows??
It’s true, the NVIDIA graphics driver for Linux appears to best Windows and Solaris - and by a wide margin. I think the “Linux support” issue can be somewhat put to bed finally - except for ease of updating with kernel revs… now that is usually a pain still. I am somewhat amazed at how strongly Windows secured a last place finish… I wonder how much is due to the driver and how much to the OS…
By the way, if you’re wondering how a company got away with comparing performance with Solaris (which is not allowed per the Solaris license), you should note that they used the Solaris Express Developer Edition which I can only assume does not have the clause preventing non-Sun licensed parties from publishing Solaris performance results (I have not read that license myself, but am guessing Phoronix did - or they secured permission from Sun…).
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=nvidia_workstation_perf&num=1
Friday, March 7th, 2008
Red Hat adds strong talent to its legal team
Nice move by Red Hat picking up two well respected attorneys for its team:
http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS5130424739.html
Friday, March 7th, 2008
The Linux Foundation is looking for a Community Manager: it could be you!
If you read my blog, you’re a potentially interested party for a new Community Manager position at the Linux Foundation. One perk they didn’t list is that someone in this position will also get great visibility and interaction with the Linux leads and team members at the various member organizations (e.g. IBM, HP, Intel, AMD, Oracle, etc. etc.). If you’re interested in the Linux community, this is a great position to be in.
http://www.linux-foundation.org/en/Jobs#Linux_Foundation_Community_Manager
Linux Foundation Community Manager
Linux Foundation Community Manager
We’re looking for world class talent to join the non-profit organization that is accelerating Linux. If you’re passionate about Linux, there is no better place to work. We have a unique opportunity for the right individual to make a huge difference in Linux.
The Community Manager must have both a technical and business view of key issues facing Linux and can do the following:
- Organize workgroups by galvanizing member leaders and participants. Push agendas on calls and in Collaboration Summit meetings. Recruit the right people and enable them to lead the workgroups. This person will be the LF liaison between us and our members.
- Build community in these workgroups and in the general LF online presence by writing content, recruiting volunteers to write content and managing new web properties and strategies. This is a chance for you to be creative and be a thought leader.
- Be a technical source for Linux issues for LF management and prepare them for press and speaking opps in specific areas of expertise.
- Handle details around LF workgroups and advisory councils. You will own these groups so you are responsible for everytihng, down to the details. If you’re used to a large staff to handle details for you, this is probably not the right job for you.
- Assist LF staff with conference and events. This could be writing and leading workgroup sessions, recruiting the right people, speaking at conferences, etc.
- Assist engineering in LSB content and community. (Moderating forums, recruiting participants, etc. for a new Web property.)
- You must understand the Linux ecosystem, especially server-related Linux issues, and be technical. (You don’t have to be a kernel programmer but you need to know who they are individually. If someone says GCC you know what that means.)
- You need to be able to express yourself in writing but just as importantly you need to be able to organize and run a meeting. You need to be able to do details and get things done but also have a big picture view.
- You have to be politically savvy and understand motivations and sensitivities of divergent people and groups.
- Web programming or at least a high proficiency in new web strategies is preferred.
If you’d like to apply for this job, please send your resume to angela (at) linux-foundation (dot) org.
Friday, March 7th, 2008
Don Marti interviews Andrea Arcangeli on KVM and hypervisor virtualization
Don Marti has a great podcast interview up with Andrea Arcangeli on KVM and the benefits of the kernel taking on the hypervisor role (rather than separating the hypervisor and rewriting all the supporting structures as Xen does). KVM has many advantages and very few downsides - I recommend hearing Andrea discuss its KVM features.
What’s also interesting is that KVM is primarily backed by Qumranet who focuses on selling virtualized desktop solutions, not on selling the hypervisor itself. However, the “desktop” virtualization technology is quickly being stabilized and ready for a server environment. I think Ubuntu (try the new beta) and Fedora are the furthest ahead if you want to try KVM. It’s a very synergistic model for the Linux community to grab hold of and turn into an advantageous feature.
You can listen to the podcast here:
http://www.linuxworld.com/podcasts/linux/2008/030608-linuxcast.html
Thursday, March 6th, 2008
Windows Live SkyDrive is actually very awesome
I really like Microsoft’s Windows Live SkyDrive service. It gives you 5GB of online storage similar to Novell’s iFolder. The service requires a Windows Live account, but once you have one it’s painless to setup/use. You can also control access with Personal, Shared and Public folders. It’s very easy and simple which is a good thing. Try it out:
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
Whistler: what an amazing place
Each year we seem to add a few more “should we really do that?” adventures to our days in Whistler (or Utah, or Colorado) and this year proved just as adventurous as the rest. We had a “narrow” experience hiking up to the glacier at Blackcomb where there is a 18″-24″ wide supposedly semi-official path next to a chute that drops for a few football fields of vertical. I don’t recall it being so narrow in past years I did the hike. For our group this is not entirely out of the ordinary… but this year Josh brought his girlfriend and she was with us at the time… and did I mention she’s a beginner? She survived and in retrospect I think it’s these experiences that help take people to the next level. She did quite well although I did stay with her at every turn preferring to give up an awesome run to ensure I didn’t feel guilty of leading her into a serious injury. Chris A fared less well accomplishing a near collision and a concussion (even with a helmet on). Other than that, there were no injuries to report which is a good sign on any ski trip.
This year we had 4 days of skiing. The first day was terrible (raining) until we finally found a good spot on Whistler that had new snow. After that it was 3 days of non-stop powder (Whistler was “Dump of the Week” on Ski Net this week). You simply can’t beat having 5-8 inches of fresh new snow each morning on Whistler’s peak. We did learn that Whistler’s snow tracking was a bit off (it’s odd to rationalize a snow report that says there’s just 3cm of new snow when it’s up past your ski boots…)
Once again, Cockalorum and Mondays were awesome (and relatively unknown to others - or too scary) offering the best snow and challenging terrain. A tip is to drop in off the shallow part of the cornice way to the left by aiming for the left-most orange/black “Cliff” warning sign and drop in about 5-10ft to the left of that sign. Piccolo’s face in hindsight had a much better drop in point than the rocks or cornice… try dropping in at the rightmost point. Everyone should check out the powder on Flute Bowl but be prepared to walk if you stay to the right. The Glacier was awesome except for the harrowing hike that could lead to a death this year if it stays in the same condition… hopefully not, but I was surprised it was not closed.
My Volkl Unlimited AC4 skis proved their worth again and again this year giving me outstanding control in the powder, edges on some of the sharper faces, and a strong base for some of the narrow hop turns. I would again recommend these skis to anyone looking for an expert level set of powder/resort “all mountain” skis. If you’re going backcountry, you may prefer the super fats, but the AC4s are perfect for any condition.
BTW, don’t go to Blackcomb this year - what a waste of time… at least while we were there - no snow over the 4 days and Whistler had daily snowfall…
All in all, a good time was had by all and we made it home safely. Next year we’re going to try heli-skiing - if you have any recommendations for a good outfit in the B.C./Whistler area that is reasonably priced, please please let me know.
Photo: Courtesy of Lisa C taken on 7th Heaven at Blackcomb (ok, there was a little snow!)
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