Practical Technology

for practical people.

May 1, 2011
by sjvn01
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Shuttleworth on Ubuntu 11.04 Linux & Unity

Ubuntu 11.04 has been out for a few days now and while, generally speaking, I like Ubuntu’s new Unity interface, I know some people really dislike it. So, who better to explain why Unity looks and works the way it does than Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and the company behind it, Canonical?

Shuttleworth opened by saying that the main point of Ubuntu 11.04 with Unity was “to bring the joys and freedoms and innovation and performance and security that have always been part of the Linux platform, to a consumer audience.”

How did Canonical do it? Shuttleworth explained that it was a combination of user design testing with professional design work. “We committed to test and iterate Unity’s design with real users, and evolve it based on those findings. We’ve documented the process we’re following in that regard, so that other free software projects can decide for themselves if they also want to bring professional design into their process. I very much hope that this will become standard practice across all of free software, because in my view the future of free software is no longer just about inner beauty (architecture, performance, efficiency) it’s also about usability and style.”

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April 29, 2011
by sjvn01
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Attachmate reveals Novell, SUSE, & Linux Plans

Now that Attachmate owns Novell, what does the formerly obscure company plan to do with its $2.2-billion operating system and networking prize? I interviewed Attachmate via e-mail CEO Jeff Hawn and this is what he told me.

Before launching into the interview, I’ll note that most of Novell’s senior executive staff won’t be hanging around. Ron Hovsepian; President and CEO; Dana Russell, CFO; John Dragoon, CMO; and Markus Rex, SVP and General Manager of open platforms and long time SUSE leader have all left. So it is that Attachmate is starting with a clean management slate.

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April 28, 2011
by sjvn01
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What you need to know about the new Ubuntu

The latest release of Ubuntu 11.04, the world’s most popular desktop Linux is out today. But, this is not just a one step forward update. No, it’s a giant leap to a new kind of Linux desktop thanks to its Unity desktop interface. Here’s what you need to know today about it.

First, as before, you can download Ubuntu 11.04 from the Web to your PC. In the next few weeks, you’ll also be able to run the Ubuntu 11.04 desktop from the cloud, but that’s not available yet. You can, however, give Ubuntu 11.04 server a try from the cloud today though.

Finally, you can also try Ubuntu 11.04 within Windows using Wubi. With this approach, you treat Ubuntu just as if it were a Windows application and run it within Windows. While this isn’t as fast as running Ubuntu as a native operating system or on a virtual machine, such as VirtualBox or VMware Player, it’s the easiest way for Windows users to give Ubuntu a try.

Most users though will want to download Ubuntu 11.04 and then use the operating system’s ISO image on a CD or a USB stick to either try it out or install it on their PC. If you use this way, you can install Ubuntu beside your existing operating system.

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April 27, 2011
by sjvn01
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What works, and what doesn’t work, with IPv6

As you may know, a lot of SOHO/consumer network gear doesn’t support IPv6 yet. At the same time, some vendors claims that their Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) works with IPv6, but it’s compatibility is, shall we say, a little questionable. Now, the RIPE Network Coordination Centre, the technical arm of RIPE, the Internet’s Regional Internet Registry (RIR) for Europe, is conducting a global survey to see what’s what with the devices people are using today and IPv6 compatibility.

They’ve done this survey before–IPv6 CPE Survey – Updated (January 2011)–but they’d like to make it more complete and useful.

Specifically, RIPE say that “we would like to receive more feedback on the IPv6 capabilities of currently available CPE. This will make the evaluations of the CPEs and the information we publish in the IPv6 CPE matrix more useful.”

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April 27, 2011
by sjvn01
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Novell Deals Done

As expected, the buyout of Linux power Novell by Attachmate has finally gone through. On April 27th, Attachmate acquired Novell for $6.10 per share in cash–approximately $2.2-billion. With this deal completed, Novell is now a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group, the parent company of Attachmate Corporation. Immediately prior to the merger Novell completed it’s “previously announced sale of certain identified issued patents and patent applications to CPTN Holdings LLC for $450 million in cash.”

According to the company, “As a result of the merger, Novell’s common stock will cease trading on The NASDAQ Global Select Market at the close of business on April 27, 2011, and Novell expects to de-register and suspend its reporting obligations. BNY Mellon Shareowner Services has been appointed to serve as the agent for payment of the merger consideration to Novell’s stockholders, and will promptly mail to stockholders of record instructions on how to surrender their stock certificates and receive payment for their shares.”

Attachmate has attempted to assure Novell customers and openSUSE users that it will be business as usual under the new regime. One interesting change though has already popped up, according to the Attachmate Group site, Novell and SuSE will be separate companies. Novell acquired SuSE for its Linux operating system in 2003.

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April 26, 2011
by sjvn01
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Browser Wars: 2011

It wasn’t that long ago that things were as dull as used dishwater when it came to Web browsers. Then, along came Firefox and suddenly it wasn’t just an Internet Explorer world anymore. Today, in 2011, Google’s Chrome Web browser, not to mention Apple’s Safari and Opera Software’s Opera, are all good choices for your Web browser.

In particular, over the last few months, Chrome, Firefox and IE have all come out with great new versions. Today, you have a richer choice of top-quality Web browsers than ever before for your Linux PC, Mac, or Windows PC. So, how do you decide which browser is best for you? Well, I bravely installed the whole lot of the latest generation of Web browsers and this is what I found.

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