Practical Technology

for practical people.

March 11, 2020
by sjvn01
0 comments

Come on, Microsoft! Is it really that hard to update Windows 10 right?

Yesterday, on Patch Tuesday, as I was finishing up the column that follows lamenting the sorry state of Windows 10 patches and providing copious examples of things gone very wrong, a big, fat example landed in my lap (but happily not in my laptop). Word emerged that Microsoft had accidentally leaked news about a new Server Message Block (SMB) bug with a maximum severity rating, a.k.a. SMBGhost. The leak also said that this bug wasn’t patched in that day’s releases.

Come on, Microsoft! Is it really that hard to update Windows 10 right? More>

March 11, 2020
by sjvn01
0 comments

Come on, Microsoft! Is it really that hard to update Windows 10 right?

Yesterday, on Patch Tuesday, as I was finishing up the column that follows lamenting the sorry state of Windows 10 patches and providing copious examples of things gone very wrong, a big, fat example landed in my lap (but happily not in my laptop). Word emerged that Microsoft had accidentally leaked news about a new Server Message Block (SMB) bug with a maximum severity rating, a.k.a. SMBGhost. The leak also said that this bug wasn’t patched in that day’s releases.

I’ll get back to this latest outrage, but first, let’s review the past several months.

I’ve written a lot about Microsoft’s Windows 10 patch foul-ups. Frankly, I’m tired of it. But you know what else I’m tired of? Another month with yet more show-stopping Windows 10 update messes.

Come on, Microsoft! Is it really that hard to update Windows 10 right? More>

March 11, 2020
by sjvn01
0 comments

Linux Foundation open sources disaster-relief IoT firmware: Project OWL

Have you ever been in a disaster? I have, and you probably have, too.

One of the worst things about them is that, when you need help, you can’t get it because communication links fall apart. That’s when The Linux Foundation Project OWL‘s IoT device firmware comes in handy.

Linux Foundation open sources disaster-relief IoT firmware: Project OWL. More>

March 9, 2020
by sjvn01
0 comments

Linux and open-source conferences: List of what’s canceled or going virtual

In the next eight weeks, I had five business trips to cover open-source and Linux tradeshows. Now, I have none. Looking farther ahead, I have seven more shows this year. I doubt any of them will be held in real life.

Nevertheless, shows in June onward are largely still happening. But I’d keep a close eye on their websites. Things can change quickly as the COVID-19 coronavirus infection numbers keep growing. It’s the same for security conferences and pretty much all other technology shows.

Linux and open-source conferences: List of what’s canceled or going virtual. More> 

March 6, 2020
by sjvn01
0 comments

Coronavirus really is that bad and you should work from home

You can’t get the news anywhere now without hearing about how conferences are being cancelled left and right and companies, like Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and many others are telling employees in the Seattle area to work from home. Is the coronavirus really that bad? Do all the shut-downs and community quarantines, when we don’t use these for flu outbreaks, really make sense? Is this all hype and panic? The answers are: Yes, it really is that bad. Yes, staying away from large group gatherings makes sense. And, no, this isn’t hype and panic.

Coronavirus really is that bad and you should work from home. More>

March 6, 2020
by sjvn01
0 comments

Kubernetes jumps in popularity

A few years ago, if you’d heard of Docker or containers, you’d thought of shipping containers. My how things have changed! In the latest Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) survey, it found 84% of companies are using containers in production this year — up from 23% in the first survey in 2016. And what are they using to manage them? The vast majority (78%) are using Kubernetes.

Kubernetes jumps in popularity More>