Practical Technology

for practical people.

May 15, 2013
by sjvn01
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Strongbox: Aaron Swartz’s last gift to internet privacy

Tragically, Aaron Swartz, hounded by an apparently over-zealous prosecutor, committed suicide in early 2013. His just-unveiled major open-source privacy project, DeadDrop, lives on in a citizen and press protection program, The New Yorker’s Strongbox.

Strongbox is the first use of DeadDrop technology. The New Yorker magazine will use it so that its readers can “communicate with our writers and editors with greater anonymity and security than afforded by conventional email”. With the Department of Justice’s questionable seizure of over two months of Associated Press phone records, the First Amendment’s free speech right and its corollary, freedom of the press, is under attack. DeadDrop couldn’t have been released at a better time.

Strongbox: Aaron Swartz’s last gift to internet privacy. More >

May 14, 2013
by sjvn01
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There’s next to no cloud in the Adobe Creative Cloud

Mea culpa. When the news first broke that Adobe was no longer going to be selling its Adobe Creative software line— Photoshop, InDesign, DreamWeaver, etc., etc. — as Adobe Creative CloudI thought Adobe had moved their creative professional product line to the cloud. I was wrong.

My only consolation is that everyone else also seems fooled by Adobe’s improper use of the word “cloud.” The cloud is indeed “real,”but, there’s almost nothing of true cloud technologyin what Adobe is doing.

There’s next to no cloud in the Adobe Creative Cloud. More >

May 13, 2013
by sjvn01
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Debian Linux now Google Compute Engine’s default OS

Earlier in May, Jimmy Kaplowitz, Google Site Reliability Engineer and Debian developer, announced that Google would not just be adding Debian 6 and 7 images to the Google’s Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Google Compute Engine  (GCE) it was making Debian Linux it’s default server image.

Debian Linux now Google Compute Engine’s default OS. More >

May 12, 2013
by sjvn01
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Anonymous MSFT developer admits Linux is faster than Windows

Linux is far faster than Windows. That’s old news. It’s why Linux runs 90 percent of the world’s top 500 fastest supercomputers, while Windows runs 1 percent of them. What’s new “news” is that an alleged Microsoft operating system developer recently admitted that Linux is indeed much faster, and explained why that’s the case.

Anonymous MSFT developer admits Linux is faster than Windows. More >

May 10, 2013
by sjvn01
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Ubuntu working on new Linux application installer

Do you want to know how to tell real Linux geeks from people who just use it? Ask them what their favorite application packaging system is. Hardcore old-school Linux users will soon be telling you all all about RPM vs. DEB and before it’s over someone is sure to chime in about going straight to source code ala Gentoo Linux’s Portage.

The short version is there’s a lot of Linux software application packing and installation systems out there already but Ubuntu will soon be adding another one.

Ubuntu working on new Linux application installer. More>

May 9, 2013
by sjvn01
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Open Compute to open-source high-end network switches

Since Facebook started open-sourcing the data center in 2011 in the Open Compute Project (OCP), Facebook and its OCP partners have had some successes in making data-center computing more open and affordable. Now, the OCP takes on what may be its biggest challenge to date: Creating open-source, high-end network switches.

Open Compute to open-source high-end network switches. More >