Practical Technology

for practical people.

May 29, 2013
by sjvn01
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The top two cloud-using companies are…

Let me first define my terms. I’m not talking about who deploys the most cloud instances or who has the most customers. There’s no mystery there. For now, it’s Amazon with Amazon Web Services – and Google, Microsoft, RackSpace and VMware. But, no, what I’m talking about today is large companies that live and die by their cloud deployments… and that’s a much harder question.

By my count, the answer is: Intuit and Netflix. What’s that, you say? How can an accounting software company and a video-entertainment company possibly be the top cloud-using companies? Easy – they bet big on the cloud early and they’ve doubled down on their bets since then.

The top two cloud-using companies are… More >

May 29, 2013
by sjvn01
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Google revises Gmail inbox

Google announced on May 29th that “Gmail is getting a brand new inbox on desktop and mobile that puts you back in control using simple, easy organization.” That’s a bit of an overstatement, but Gmail’s new cateogories will make it easier for some users to organize their mail.

Gmail has long enabled users to organize their mail by using labels. With labels you can organize your messages into categories–work, family, to do, read later, jokes, whatever. Google claims that is better than the very similar idea of folders because you can assign multiple labels to a message.

Google revises Gmail inbox. More >

May 28, 2013
by sjvn01
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10 years of defending Linux’s legalities: Groklaw

Ten years ago, SCO decided to sue IBM and started a series of legal attacks on Linux. Their cases were pathetically weak, but CIOs and CFOs didn’t know that. Thanks to paralegal turned legal journalist, Pamela “PJ” Jones and her Website Groklaw, executives who wanted to know what was really what with SCO’s multitude of lawsuits soon learned of the FUD behind SCO’s claims. SCO and its silent backer Microsoft hope for profits and slowing down Linux’s corporate success would come to nothing, and SCO ended up in bankruptcy. 

Now, in late May 2013, SCO’s last, dying twitches continue in the courts and Groklaw continues to cover technology related intellectual property (IP) legal issues. Outside of the courtroom, Linux has become a completely mainstream technology, and Microsoft, thanks to its Android-related patent claims, actually profits greatly from Linux.

10 years of defending Linux’s legalities: Groklaw. More >

May 28, 2013
by sjvn01
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Fedora 19 Linux, “Schrödinger’s Cat,” goes beta

It’s official. Red Hat community Linux, Fedora 19, code-named “Schrödinger’s Cat,” is now available in beta.

Fedora’s last release is infamous in Linux circles for its multiple delays. According to Robyn Bergeron, Red Hat’s Fedora Project Leader, Fedora 18’s delays were due to the major rewrite of Fedora’s Anaconda, its software installation and update program. Bergeron promised that that delay “was a one-time aberration” and that moving forward, Fedora would stick closer to its six-month release schedule. She was right. The Fedora 19 beta arrived six-months after Fedora 18 finally made it to beta.

Fedora 19 Linux, “Schrödinger’s Cat,” goes beta. More >

May 28, 2013
by sjvn01
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Google moves away from the XMPP open-messaging standard

When Google announced that it was consolidating its Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) instant messaging and video-conferencing services into Google Hangouts, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) noticed that Google had also sharply diminished “support for the open messaging protocol known as XMPP (or sometimes informally Jabber.)” Google has since admitted that it is indeed shrinking its support for Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP).

XMPP was meant to enable users from one Internet communication network to be able to talk to a friend or co-worker on another such network. So, for example, an AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) user could talk to his co-worker on Google Talk and vice-versa. It sounds great, so what went wrong? 

Google moves away from the XMPP open-messaging standard. More >

May 24, 2013
by sjvn01
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Microsoft’s Linux app, Skype, gets updated

A few years back, Linux’s creator, Linus Torvalds said, “If Microsoft ever does applications for Linux it means I’ve won.” By that standard, Linux won last year when Microsoft started shipping a new version of Skype, its then recently acquired Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) program, on Linux. In late May 2013, Linux is still winning as Microsoft has released an updated version of Skype for Linux.

Microsoft’s Linux app, Skype, gets updated. More >