April 4, 2013
by sjvn01
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It seemed like such a good idea. The developers of CyanogenMod, the popular alternative Android firmware, decided to require their users’ devices to report device-specific data so they could create better versions of CM. Who could argue with that? CM’s users could.
April 4, 2013
by sjvn01
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While some people may have been surprised that Google has finally made Blink, its own fork of the popular WebKit Web browser engine, in Web developer circles this move came as no surprise.
While Apple and Google had long worked together on the open-source WebKit project for years, developers both inside and outside of Google wanted Google to move away from Apple. In addition, the two tech giants had different visions for the Web browser engine.
April 1, 2013
by sjvn01
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The latest NetMarketShare browser numbers are in for March 2013. They reveal a three-way battle for the hearts and minds of PC web browser users, but on tablets and smartphones, Safari is leading by a wide margin. StatCounter, however, has Chrome and the Android native browser leading respectively.
Why the differences? The two most popular web browser counters use different methodologies.
April 1, 2013
by sjvn01
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Yes, the Google Chromebook Pixel, at $1,299 for the Wi-Fi-only model, is quite expensive. But, in Linus Torvalds, Linux’s creator, it’s found a powerful friend. Why? Torvalds explained, “To make a long story short: it’s all about the screen.“
Torvalds has always loved the Chromebook Pixel’s display. He praised it for its “beautiful screen” when he first started using it. It wasn’t Chrome OS — Google’s lightweight Linux that uses the Chrome Web browser for its interface — or the Pixel’s other hardware. For him it really is all about the screen.
Why Torvalds loves the Chromebook Pixel: It’s all about the display, More >
March 29, 2013
by sjvn01
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Google’s Open Patent Non-Assertion (OPN) Pledge, in which Google promises “not to sue any user, distributor, or developer of open-source software on specified patents, unless first ‘attacked”, sounds good. Indeed, it is good. But this is far from the first time that Google has made such a pledge. Indeed, open-source companies have long banded together to protect themselves and their patents from outside attackers.
March 29, 2013
by sjvn01
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Where there is the cloud, confusion all too often follows. That’s no great surprise. Ever since cloud computing started to become popular, cloud-washing — the pasting of the word cloud on any old software — has become popular too.
The odd thing about this is that, thanks to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), we’ve long have a good working definition of cloud computing (PDF Link). While the final NIST document didn’t appear until January 2011, ever since the first draft showed up in late 2009, most serious cloud professionals have been using their definition.
And what is it, you ask? Simple: “Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.”
What is a Cloud? Here’s what makes up a Real Deal Cloud. More >