February 15, 2012
by sjvn01
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We’re finding out more and more about Windows 8 as its beta release approaches. And, you know what? The more I find out, the more I feel secure about saying Windows 8 will be a flop.
I’ve already explained in general terms I think Windows 8 will follow in Vista’s footprints as a strategic failure. Here’s specifically, from least important to most important, are the operating systems and platforms that will ensure Windows 8 be a non-starter.
February 14, 2012
by sjvn01
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The job market is still only slowing shifting back into gear, but the IT job market is still doing better than the general market. And, guess which technology is doing especially well for would-be IT employees? If you said, “Linux,” you’d be right.
According to a survey by The Linux Foundation and Dice, the top technology job site of more than 2,000 hiring managers at corporations, small and medium Businesses (SMBs), government organizations, and staffing agencies from across the globe” slightly more than eighty percent of companies that use Linux are making hiring Linux professionals a priority.
The 2012 Linux Jobs Report(PDF link) found:
Eight in 10 (81%) survey respondents say that hiring Linux talent is a priority in 2012. This pressing matter is particularly evident when Linux demand is compared to hiring in other skill sets: 63 percent of hiring managers are increasing Linux hires relative to jobs created in other skill areas. The issue? A full 85 percent say finding Linux talent is somewhat to very difficult, making Linux professionals some of the most sought talent in 2012.
February 13, 2012
by sjvn01
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There are two major kinds of patent lawsuits. On the one side, there are the patent trolls, like Eolas making fundamental Web technology claims . Here, the idea is to use flimsy patents to collect hundreds of millions from the businesses that actually use ideas to make a product or service. Then, there’s what Apple has been trying to do to Samsung and other Android vendors: Sue them out of the marketplace. Apple’s not been successful at this, but that hasn’t stopped them from trying. Indeed, Apple is trying to block Samsung from selling the first Android Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS) phone, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, in the U.S. Apple’s lawsuit happy ways may soon come to an end though. The European Union (EU) has cleared Google’s proposed purchase of Motorola Mobility.
Why would this make a difference? Because Google won’t have the patents it needed to fight Apple until its purchase of Motorola goes through. Getting permission from the EU was the deal’s biggest stumbling block. Now, it’s almost a sure thing. And, in this second class of patent lawsuits, where software patents are merely ammunition for business wars. Google needed the Motorola’s patent ammo to fight off Apple’s patent claims.
Apple’s Android nightmare: Google’s Motorola purchase gets EU OK: More >
February 10, 2012
by sjvn01
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CNET’s Charles Cooper is reporting that Iran is cutting its citizens off from many major Web services and sites. You’d think authoritative governments would learn from the lessons of the Arab Spring. Egypt, Libya, and Syria all turned off the Internet. Egypt and Libya now have new governments and Syria is fighting a civil war. Cutting off the people off from the Internet is clearing such a smart move.
Unlike Egypt, Libya, and Syria, though Iran hasn’t simply turned off external Internet access. Instead, the Iranian government appears to be blocking access to popular, external e-mails services such as Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo. In addition access to at least one major social network, Facebook, seems to have been cut.
February 9, 2012
by sjvn01
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Google’s been really busy lately. They may be releasing “G-Drive,” a personal cloud storage service ala Dropbox. They have released a beta of the Chrome Web browser for Android. And, with all that, their developers have also been hard at work keeping Chrome on top of the Web browser hill.
Chrome 17, the latest and greatest, is fast. But, then Chrome has long been faster than its competition: Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Opera, and Apple Safari. This latest update though has more than pure speed. It also comes with some new, useful features.
The best of these is security related. Besides such squashing potentially dangerous security bugs, Google now automatically runs checks on executable .exe and .msi files. If the program doesn’t match a built-in white list of OK programs, Chrome then automatically checks in with its Safe Browsing site to see if the Website you picked the program is known for of malicious downloads.
If the file isn’t from a known source, Chrome automatically sends the URL and IP of the host and other meta-data, such as the file’s hash and binary size, to Google. The file is then automatically classified using machine learning analysis and the reputation and trustworthiness of files previously seen from the same publisher and Web site. Google then sends the results back to Chrome, which warns you if you’re at risk.
Review: Chrome 17, faster than ever, more secure than ever. More >
February 9, 2012
by sjvn01
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These days, everyone and their uncle offer online cloud data storage plans. Dropbox is the name everyone knows, but big name Internet companies like Amazon, with its Cloud Drive; Apple with iCloud; and Microsoft with SkyDrive all have their personal cloud storage options to tempt you with as well. But, the one big company that everyone’s been waiting on for a cloud storage option, Google, has never shown their personal cloud drive cards. That may be changing.
According to a Wall Street Journal report, Google is getting ready to launch a personal cloud-storage service called Drive . Sources are reported to have said that, like most Google services, it will be free for free for most of its consumers… unless they require a lot of storage. How much is a lot? Good question. We don’t have any answers. Dropbox prices, which are typical for personal cloud storage, currently give users 2GB for free, then charges them $9.99 for 50 GB and $19.99 for 100 GB.
Google’s response to this story is that “We do not comment on rumor or speculation.” OK. Fair enough.