Practical Technology

for practical people.

June 19, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

Kim Dotcom: Petabytes of MegaUpload users’ data has been destroyed

In late 2011, Kim Dotcom’s Megaupload file-sharing site was one of the top 100 Websites in the world. Then, the FBI, working in concert with New Zealand police, seized the site and all the user files within its servers.

Dotcom’s legal battles continues, but he now claims that Netherlands-based Web-hosting company LeaseWeb has deleted millions of users’ files, “petabytes of pictures, backups, personal & business property.”

Kim Dotcom: Petabytes of MegaUpload users’ data has been destroyed. More >

June 18, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

Lies, Damned Lies and Benchmarks

Benchmarks can reveal the truth – well, some of the truth – about technologies. A well-constructed benchmark can provide a way to compare performance, reliability and other metrics that can make a difference in comparing product quality and effectiveness. But you have to look closely at what a benchmark is measuring and how it was run – and, even then, take its results with a large grain of salt. Here’s how to approach benchmarks and their touted results.

Lies, Damned Lies and Benchmarks. More >

June 18, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

Two Microsofts: Mulling an alternate reality

Thomas Penfield Jackson has died. The former U.S. District court judge ruled in 2000 that Microsoft was a monopoly that should be broken up into two companies. This part of his decision was over-turned, but what might have happened had the U.S. Court of Appeals upheld his decision to break up Microsoft?

Two Microsofts: Mulling an alternate reality. More >

June 17, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 software stack still under wraps

The story sounded plausible. Red Hat was said to have announced that the next version of its flagship operating system Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7 would ship with the MariaDB database management system (DBMS) installed by default, instead of Oracle’s MySQL. Too bad the story was wrong.

Mark Coggin, senior director of product marketing for RHEL, told me that “RHEL provides customers choice by shipping with several databases supported on a 10-year life-cycle. We plan to do the same with RHEL 7 when it ships; however we are not confirming specific features such as the databases, at this time.”

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 software stack still under wraps. More >

June 16, 2013
by sjvn01
0 comments

A third of American adults now own tablet computers

Does it seem like everyone you know is getting a tablet computer? There’s a reason for that. They have been. Tablets are getting more popular than ever. According to the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project, over a third of American adults now own a tablet.

A third of American adults now own tablet computers. More >