Practical Technology

for practical people.

November 2, 2011
by sjvn01
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Is Internet Explorer Dying?

Sometime in 1998 or 1999, Internet Explorer (IE) became the number one Web browser in the world. It did so thanks to Microsoft illegally bundling IE with Windows. But, while Microsoft lost the anti-trust case, instead of being broken up as it was first ruled, Microsoft only had its hands slapped and Internet Explorer’s main competitor, Netscape, was destroyed. By 2004, Microsoft’s IE owned 95%+ of the Web browser marker. That was then. This is now.

In that same year, Firefox started taking market-share from IE. At first IE lost ground, ironically enough, because of its de facto victory over Netscape. For years, Microsoft neglected improving IE 6, and Firefox was able to quickly establish itself as the better option. Then, when Chrome was introduced in 2008, it made the Web browser races far more competitive.

In October 2011, according to NetMarketShare, IE is barely above the 50% mark of desktop browsers with 52.63%. That only tells part of the story though.

On the smartphone/tablet market, IE is a total non-player with IE and Microsoft Pocket IE combined having only 0.17% of the market. Put the total Web browser markets together, and you’ll see IE has finally dropped below the 50% mark. IE now has only 49.58% of the total market.

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November 2, 2011
by sjvn01
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What CIOs Need to Know about Intellectual Property Law

Do you think that intellectual property (IP) matters have little to nothing to do with your job as a CIO? You do? Oh my, how 20th century of you. Sure, it used to be that patent lawsuits and the like only happened to big companies, but these days every business has to worry about it.

It’s “Apple vs. Samsung” or “Oracle vs. Google” that make the headlines, but these days patent trolls such as Innovato, are going after even small and medium-sized businesses, franchises and even mom-and-pop sized businesses.

And is your software licensing all that it should be? Are you sure?

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November 2, 2011
by sjvn01
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Windows 7 finally beats XP, or does it?

It took Windows 7 a little more than two years, but according to StatCounter, the Website analytics company, Windows 7 is now being used by more people than its decade old brother XP.

According to StatCounter’s research arm StatCounter Global Stats in October 2011 Windows 7 took 40.5% of global Web market share with XP at 38.5%. Windows Vista, which was meant to replace XP and failed miserably, is down at 11.2% globally.

“Vista was like the ugly sister that few wanted to dance with,” said Aodhan Cullen, StatCounter’s CEO, in a statement. “Despite Microsoft trying to keep it back in the kitchen, XP has retained tremendous loyalty over the last decade. However, it looks like the younger Windows 7 is now emerging in the Cinderella role.”

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November 2, 2011
by sjvn01
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Can Apple really sue Google or Microsoft for using its patented sliding on/off switch?

In last week’s episode of “Can you top this dumb patent?” we discovered that Apple had patented the design element of sliding to unlock a device. Gosh, and I recall my grandpa’s front gate having a slide-to-unlock device in the 60s! Boy those Apple guys had to get up early in the morning to invent that one

Sarcasm aside, does” every Android device now infringe this Apple patent?” Or, for that matter, every Windows 8 device? Well, yes, they probably do. But does that mean that Apple is really going to be using this patent to sue everyone and anyone who uses the slide metaphor in their design? I asked some prominent intellectual property (IP) lawyers about it and this is what they said.

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October 31, 2011
by sjvn01
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Can Ubuntu Linux win on smartphones and tablets?

Mark Shuttleworth is as close as Linux has ever had to Steve Jobs. He has vision, he’s articulate, and he can move an audience. But, can he move a market that’s in love with Android phones and Apple iPad tablets to give Ubuntu a chance? I think he has a shot.

I’ve known for over a year that Ubuntu was going to try for the smartphone and tablet market, so when Ubuntu’s founder Mark Shuttleworth told me he was going to expand to devices, I wasn’t surprised. Technically, Ubuntu, and its parent company, Canonical, have the chops to do it.

In addition, Ubuntu has been working and delivering Unity for more than two years now. Unlike Windows 8’s Metro, which also seeks to be a universal PC and device desktop, Ubuntu Unity already has experienced users and developers.

True, many experienced Linux users don’t care for Ubuntu’s Unity interface, which is meant to work well on PCs, smartphones and tablets, it was never meant for them. Unity is meant for users who want an easy to user interface and don’ care if it’s Linux under the hood. That may be heresy to die-hard Linux users, but it certainly has worked well for Google with its Linux-based Android devices.

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October 30, 2011
by sjvn01
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Ubuntu Linux heads to smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs.

Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux, will announce at the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Orlando, FL, that they will be taking Ubuntu Linux to smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs.

In an interview in an advance of the official announcement, Shuttleworth told me, that their short term plans are to make Ubuntu 12.04, the next long term support (LTS) of their Linux distribution, as stable as possible and to give the Unity desktop interface, it’s final fit and polish for both home and business Linux desktop users. After that, however, Canonical will be expanding its popular Linux desktop to all computing devices.

Shuttleworth said, “This is a natural expansion of our idea as Ubuntu as Linux for human beings. As people have moved from desktop to new form factors for computing, it’s important for us to reach out to out community on these platforms. So, we’ll embrace the challenge of how to use Ubuntu on smartphones, tablets and smart-screens.”

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