Practical Technology

for practical people.

June 1, 2020
by sjvn01
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Ready or not, we’re on our way to the Windows Virtual Desktop

Talk about timing. With the coronavirus forcing a telecommuting sea change — we went from corporate workers begging, usually unsuccessfully, to be allowed to work from home to businesses insisting that they do so — Microsoft released its latest and best desktop-as-a-service (DaaS) program, Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD).

I’ve foreseen the move from old-style fat-client desktops to DaaS for some time now. What I hadn’t seen was a pandemic that would have just about everyone who can work from home doing that in no time flat. It’s a change that puts DaaS in a whole new light.

And a lot of businesses are latching on to WVD as a way to solve their sudden telecommuting difficulties. Simon Binder, endpoint manager at Microsoft, recently tweeted that there are “6 times more [WVD] users active today than expected during 2020.”

Ready or not, we’re on our way to the Windows Virtual Desktop More>

May 28, 2020
by sjvn01
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Strapi introduces new open-source headless content management system

Strapi, the company behind the most popular open-source headless content management system (CMS), has announced the general availability of its Community Edition after two years of development. The business also announced paid support plans and disclosed plans for an Enterprise Edition, which is already in private beta testing.

What’s a headless CMS you ask? Unlike such popular CMSs as WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal, a headless CMS doesn’t bother with the website’s front-end. Instead, all its focus is on the back-end content repository, which is used for storing and delivering structured content. This content is then made available for display via a RESTful API, typically using JSON or XML.

Strapi introduces new open-source headless content management system More>

May 28, 2020
by sjvn01
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First new Docker release under Mirantis appears

After years of failing to turn its exceptional technology, Docker containers, into a viable business, Docker, the company, sold its Docker Enterprise product line to Mirantis, a top OpenStack and Kubernetes cloud company, in November 2019. Now, Mirantis is improving Docker Enterprise with its first major release: Docker Enterprise 3.1.

First new Docker release under Mirantis appears More>

May 27, 2020
by sjvn01
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You can build Linus Torvalds’ PC: Here’s all the hardware and where to buy it

Linus Torvalds is the most famous programmer in the world, father of the Linux operating system, and maker of the near-universal Git distributed version control system. He also builds his own developer workstation and recently upgraded his PC to a speedy AMD Threadripper 3970x-based processor. But a computer is more than a CPU.

You can build Linus Torvalds’ PC: Here’s all the hardware and where to buy it More> 

May 27, 2020
by sjvn01
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Look what’s inside Linus Torvalds’ latest Linux development PC

In a Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML), Linus Torvalds, Linux’s top developer, talked about the latest progress in the next version of Linux: Linux 5.7-rc7. Along the way, he mentioned, “for the first time in about 15 years, my desktop isn’t Intel-based.” In his newest development box, he’s “rocking an AMD Threadripper 3970x.” But a computer is more than just a processor no matter how speedy it is, so I talked with Torvalds to see exactly what’s in his new box.

Look what’s inside Linus Torvalds’ latest Linux development PC More>

May 22, 2020
by sjvn01
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GNOME gets big open-source patent win

In 2019, the GNOME Foundation was sued by Rothschild Patent Imaging (RPI) for violating its “wireless image distribution system and method patent” (US Patent No. 9,936,086).” Rothschild, a Non-Practicing Entity (aka a patent troll), had filed 714 lawsuits over the past six years.

Now, in a surprise move, GNOME, makers of the popular Linux desktop of the same name, won not only a release and covenant not to be sued for any Rothschild patent but a release and covenant to any software that is released under an existing Open Source Initiative (OSI) approved license.

GNOME gets big open-source patent win More>