Practical Technology

for practical people.

October 9, 2019
by sjvn01
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With Windows Virtual Desktop, the bad old days are coming back

I’ve been saying for a while now that Microsoft wants you to move from Windows on your desktop to Windows as a service. I’ve rarely gotten so little pleasure from saying I was right.

In the last few weeks, Microsoft rolled out Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD). If you have a fast internet connection to an Azure region, you can run your desktop off Azure today.

Maybe you’re OK with your business running on cloud-based Windows. I’m not.

With Windows Virtual Desktop, the bad old days are coming back. More>

October 7, 2019
by sjvn01
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Linus Torvalds isn’t worried about Microsoft taking over Linux

Every time I write a story about Microsoft and Linux, I can guarantee I’ll be buried under such comments as “Microsoft is buying control of Linux!” or “Microsoft is just practicing it old embrace, extend, and extinguish tactics to destroy Linux” or “Microsoft is a wolf in sheep’s clothing — it will wreck Linux.”

Here’s the truth of the matter: Yes, Microsoft wants to profit from Linux. And, yes, Microsoft wants to extend and control Linux. Guess what? Everyone does, and none of them can.

At the 2019 Linux Plumbers Conference, I talked to Linus Torvalds and several other of the Linux kernel’s top programmers. They universally agreed Microsoft wants to control Linux, but they’re not worried about it. That’s because Linux, by its very nature and its GPL2 open-source licensing, can’t be controlled by any single third-party.

Linus Torvalds isn’t worried about Microsoft taking over Linux. More>

October 4, 2019
by sjvn01
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Fedora drops 32-bit Linux

Seven years ago, Linus Torvalds dropped “ancient-386-CPUs” support from the Linux kernel, dismissing it with “good riddance.” While 32-bit Linux lingered on, it was no longer part of Linux’s mainstream. Gradually, distributions such as Arch Linux dumped it, as well. Then, Canonical decided to boot 32-bit Linux out of Ubuntu as well, and people threw a fit. Canonical backed off and returned some 32-bit Linux libraries. Now, it’s time to see what people think of Fedora Linux dropping support for its last 32-bit — i686 — Linux.

Fedora drops 32-bit Linux. More>

October 2, 2019
by sjvn01
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IBM and Canonical work together in financial services

Yes, IBM bought Red Hat, but as Chris Wright, Red Hat‘s CTO, recently told me, “We’re fundamentally a separate entity from IBM.” Want proof of that? In NYC, Mark Shuttleworth, founder and CEO of Canonical, Ubuntu Linux‘s parent company, and Ross Mauri, general manager of IBM Z and LinuxONE, jointly hosted an event for senior IT financial services executives.

IBM and Canonical work together in financial services. More>

September 30, 2019
by sjvn01
0 comments

Docker is in deep trouble

Docker, the technology, is the poster child for containers. But it appears Docker, the business, is in trouble. In a leaked memo, Docker CEO Rob Bearden praised workers — despite the “uncertainty [which] brings with it significant challenges” and “persevering in spite of the lack of clarity we’ve had these past few weeks.”

Lack of clarity about what? Sources close to the company say it’s simple: Docker needs more money.

Docker is in deep trouble. More>

September 26, 2019
by sjvn01
0 comments

Leave GNOME alone: This patent troll is asking for trouble

Rothschild Patent Imaging (RPI) suing the GNOME Foundation for violating its “wireless image distribution system and method patent” (US Patent No. 9,936,086) doesn’t make much sense. But when has that ever stopped a patent troll?

The GNOME application in question, Shotwell, is a personal photo manager. Its functionality, which has Rothschild all hot and bothered, is that — like all other end-user photo programs — it can import and organize pictures. For relief, Rothschild demands that either this functionality be removed or the company be awarded a “running royalty from the time of judgment going forward.”

Leave GNOME alone: This patent troll is asking for trouble. More>