Practical Technology

for practical people.

April 1, 2013
by sjvn01
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Web browser war: The early 2013 report

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.

Web browser war: The early 2013 report. More >

April 1, 2013
by sjvn01
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Why Torvalds loves the Chromebook Pixel: It’s all about the display

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, business, and open-source patent protection

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.

Google, business, and open-source patent protection. More >

March 29, 2013
by sjvn01
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What is a Cloud? Here’s what makes up a Real Deal Cloud

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 >

March 27, 2013
by sjvn01
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Big business buys into big Linux

The Linux Foundation and Yeoman Technology Group surveyed 355 IT staffers who work for enterprises with sales of more than $500 million and/or 500+ employees. Guess what? They found — as the foundation reveals in its 2013 Enterprise End User Report, Linux Adoption: Third Annual Survey of World’s Largest Enterprise Linux Users in the most recent quarter (4Q12) — that big business loves big Linux.

Big business buys into big Linux. More >

March 26, 2013
by sjvn01
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Writing Open Source Software? Make Sure You Know Your Copyright Rights

I know. If you wanted to be a lawyer, you would have gone to law school instead of spending your nights poring over K&R. Tough. In 2013, if you’re an open source programmer you need to know a few things about copyright law. If you don’t, bad things can happen. Really bad things.

Writing Open Source Software? Make Sure You Know Your Copyright Rights. More >