Practical Technology

Since Facebook started open-sourcing the data center in 2011 in the Open Compute Project (OCP), Facebook and its OCP partners have had some successes in making data-center computing more open and affordable. Now, the OCP takes on what may be its biggest challenge to date: Creating open-source, high-end network switches. Open Compute to open-source high-end [...]

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Intuit, makers of Quicken and QuickBooks, is making its popular online personal finance service Mint available to financial institutions. As Ron Shevlin, senior analyst at Aite Group, told American Banker, “I’m surprised it took so long“. Indeed, you could see this move coming at least three years ago when Aaron Patzer, Mint’s founder and then Intuit [...]

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While some people may have been surprised that Google has finally made Blink, its own fork of the popular WebKit Web browser engine, in Web developer circles this move came as no surprise. While Apple and Google had long worked together on the open-source WebKit project for years, developers both inside and outside of Google wanted [...]

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The latest NetMarketShare browser numbers are in for March 2013. They reveal a three-way battle for the hearts and minds of PC web browser users, but on tablets and smartphones, Safari is leading by a wide margin. StatCounter, however, has Chrome and the Android native browser leading respectively. Why the differences? The two most popular [...]

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Yes, the Google Chromebook Pixel, at $1,299 for the Wi-Fi-only model, is quite expensive. But, in Linus Torvalds, Linux’s creator, it’s found a powerful friend. Why? Torvalds explained, “To make a long story short: it’s all about the screen.“ Torvalds has always loved the Chromebook Pixel’s display. He praised it for its “beautiful screen” when [...]

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