Practical Technology

for practical people.

July 25, 2012
by sjvn01
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Dell re-enters high-end Linux laptop market with Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Dell has blown hot and cold on the Linux desktop over the years. Dell was the first major original equipment manufacturer (OEM) to offer consumer Linux desktops in 2007, but since then Linux-powered mobile PCs have only been available from Dell by special order.

No more.

In addition to the upcoming ‘Sputnik’ Ubuntu Linux developer laptop, Dell is now offering two new high-end mobile workstations with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6 for Desktops. 

Dell claims the two new systems — the Dell Precision M4700 and M6700 — are the “world’s most powerful 15-inch and 17-inch mobile workstations.” Citation needed, perhaps, but on the face of it do have a good aesthetic quality about them. 

Both models come with the latest Intel Core i5, i7 and Extreme Edition processors with Turbo Boost Technology, and a range of graphics cards including NVIDIA’s Quadro K-series GPUS and AMD FirePro graphics. The top of the line M6700 also offers AMD FirePro M6000 with PCIe x16 Gen 3 for fast data throughput. With any of these you can get up to high-definition 1920×1080-pixel resolution.

Dell re-enters high-end Linux laptop market with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. More >

July 24, 2012
by sjvn01
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Vizio Co-Star: Is Google TV finally going Prime-Time?

I wanted to like Google TV. Who wouldn’t want to be able to watch Internet video, normal television, and use their HDTV as the world’s biggest Web browser. There was just one problem. The various Google TV implementations, such as the Logitech Revue, never worked well. It looks to me though like the soon to be released Vizio Co-Star may finally fulfill at least some of Google TV’s promise.

Of course, Google has its own Google TV competitor these days, the Nexus Q . As far as I’m concerned until proven otherwise, the Nexus Q is just an over-priced Apple TV clone.

While you can use the Co-Star for Internet video streaming as well, it also comes with Google’s Chrome Web browser. That means you’ll be able to use your HDTV as a wireless monitor. I’ve always liked this idea and I’ve never been happy with how most systems do it. I hope, oh how I hope, that the Vizio Co-Star can do it right.

Vizio Co-Star: Is Google TV finally going Prime-Time? More >

July 24, 2012
by sjvn01
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Linus Torvalds reviews, loves, the Google Nexus 7

Linus Torvalds, Linux’s inventor, software developer extraordinary, and, now, tablet reviewer! On Google+, Torvalds reviewed his Nexus 7 tablet and like ZDNet reviewers such as James Kendrick, he loved it.

Of course, it’s not perfect. Torvalds wrote, “Yes, the camera is front-facing only, and there’s a good reason there’s not even a camera app on the thing by default: it’s pretty nasty. But does anybody really care? You’d look like a complete dork trying to take photos with a tablet anyway. It’s probably fine enough for some video conferencing, but since that’s not my thing let’s just say ‘whatever.’”

As for the operating system, Android 4.1, Jelly Bean, he, unlike ZDNet’s Jason Perlow, likes the Nexus 7’s default “plain android look.” Torvalds also found it “smoother, and that Jelly Bean is “picking up some of the best extensions (like app folder shortcuts). Yes, resizable widgets etc. And a lot of small improvement just in general.”

As or the applications, Torvalds and I agree on one point, on Gmail “the %^$* thing still cannot be set to send just plain-text emails. Why, google, why? Good technical mailing lists all know that html email is just spam or marketing people, and auto-delete html crap. Just give me the option to send text-only, ok?” Amen brother.

Linus Torvalds reviews, loves, the Google Nexus 7. More >

July 24, 2012
by sjvn01
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Big brother Microsoft listens in to your Skype IMs

The question was: “Is Skype snooping on your conversations?” The answer is yes.

According to a Microsoft Skype spokesperson, “As was true before the Microsoft acquisition, Skype co-operates with law enforcement agencies as is legally required and technically feasible.” So what the heck does that mean?

It means, by the terms of the Skype Privacy Policy:

Big brother Microsoft listens in to your Skype IMs. More >

July 23, 2012
by sjvn01
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Peppermint OS Three: The real-deal desktop cloud Linux

The desktop and the cloud are getting hitched. You see it in everything from Windows 8 with Office 2013 to Ubuntu with WebApps to Mac OS with iCloud. And, of course, there’s Chrome OS, which is just the Chrome Web browser running on a thin-layer of Linux. Then, there’s Peppermint OS Three, a real Linux marriage of cloud and desktop.

Unlike Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com), which adds some cloud functionality to a Linux desktop, call it 90% desktop and 10% cloud, or Chrome OS, which is 90% cloud/Web browser and 10% desktop, Peppermint is the closest desktop I’ve seen to a 50/50 blend of desktop and cloud.

Peppermint Three, the just released new version, is based on Lubuntu 12.04. Lubuntu, in turn, is an Ubuntu-based Linux desktop that uses the lightweight LXDE desktop environment. Unlike the more popular GNOME and KDE desktops. LXDE is designed to be very fast and to use as little in the way of system resources as possible. As the name indicates, Peppermint also uses some features from the Linux Mint.

Peppermint OS Three: The real-deal desktop cloud Linux. More >

July 23, 2012
by sjvn01
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Judge hands Web patent troll Eolas a shovel, orders it to dig own grave

For years patent troll Eolas has gotten away with intellectual property lawsuit murder. Stick a fork in them. They’re done.

After a jury ruled against Eolas in the U.S. District Court of East Texas in its latest lawsuit against Amazon, Google, Yahoo and other major Internet companies, Eolas appealed to Judge Leonard Davis for a new trial and he ruled that Eolas had  no basis for an appeal (PDF Link).

This is the end of the road for Eolas’ Web patent suits.  The U.S. District Court of East Texas is infamous for favoring patent trolls. If this court won’t rule in their favor, there’s no way a higher court would rule for them.

Over the years, Eolas had managed to get hundreds of millions for its patents from companies such as Microsoft for violating its intellectual property (IP). These patents essentially covered any Web technology such as JavaScript or AJAX that enabled any calling of a non-Web browser program .  

If that seems a little silly to you, well it also seemed that way to  Sir Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the Web, who testified against Eolas.

Judge hands Web patent troll Eolas a shovel, orders it to dig own grave. More >