January 19, 2012
by sjvn01
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Is the Linux Desktop actually growing?

I use a Linux desktop. According to Google Analytics, 12% of the visitors to my various technology Web sites use Linux. Nevertheless, I know that on the traditional desktop, the vast majority of ordinary users are running Windows, and don’t even get me started on “The Year of the Linux Desktop.” It’s not going to happen. But, and this is interesting, it appears that there is a slight upward trend in desktop Linux use.

First reported by Katherine Noyes on Linux Insider, it turns out that the Web research firm Net Applications’ data show that Linux’s desktop market share has been growing , from a mere 0.97 percent in July, 2011 to a new high of 1.41 percent in January, 2012.

As a Linux lover, this is good news, but it’s also odd news. GNOME, long the desktop interface darling of many Linux desktop users, lost many of its fan with its 3.x revision. Ubuntu, long the most popular Linux desktop, changed to a new interface, Unity, in April 2011 and many people hate the new Unity desktop.

Mint Linux, which recently surged to the top of mind for Linux desktop users, has kept its fans, but now it’s also changing its desktop interface. With its users turning up their noses at GNOME 3.2, it’s now creating its own GNOME 3.x shell: Cinnamon.

In short, these are confusing times for Linux desktop users. So where are these users coming from?

Is the Linux Desktop actually growing? More >

January 17, 2012
by sjvn01
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All IPv6 Internet, All the time

Network administrators have long known that we’re running out of IPv4 addresses. But, IPv6, the next generation Internet protocol, adoption has remained slow. Until now, now many of the major ISPs, network vendors, and Web sites have publicly committed to supporting IPv6 later this year.

In a promising sign of things getting better for IPv6, the Internet Society has announced that “Major Internet service providers (ISPs), home networking equipment manufacturers, and web companies around the world are coming together to permanently enable IPv6 for their products and services by 6 June 2012.”

It’s well past time. Asia ran out of IPv4 addresses in April 2011. Europe will run out this summer and North America will see its last unassigned IPv4 address in the summer of 2013.

All IPv6 Internet, All the time More >

More >

January 17, 2012
by sjvn01
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Who, besides Wikipedia, is going dark and why

There is nothing wrong with your Internet. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. The reason you won’t be able to use Wikipedia, Reddit, or numerous other Web sites on January 18th is that these Web sites have decided to protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA).

Here’s my current list of the most important sites that will be going dark or limiting their operations in protest of SOPA/PIPA.

Who, besides Wikipedia, is going dark and why More >

January 16, 2012
by sjvn01
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Too big to fail? Microsoft, ARM, and Windows 8.

In 1912, three of the ten biggest companies in the world were J&P Coats, Pullman, and U.S. Steel. They were giants in their day. Today, they’re either business history footnotes or shadows of their former selves. Why in the world should we think Microsoft will be any different?

I wrote recently about Microsoft trying to block any other operating system from running on Windows 8 ARM-powered devices . While Ed Bott think that seeing this as an attack on Linux and other operating systems is FUD, I don’t think that’s the point.

I don’t see Linux being attacked by this move. I see Linux supporters being annoyed at it–I know I am–but attacked, afraid? No.

Sure as Bott writes “The Secure Boot requirements apply only to OEMs who sell an ARM-based device and Windows 8 as a complete package.” and that “If you disable Secure Boot on a Windows 8 ARM tablet, you have effectively bricked it.” So, yes you can take this as attack on people who want to switch operating systems, but it’s 2012. Now, if Microsoft was trying this trick with x86 PCs, it would be a different story, but Microsoft has backed off from that position. So, is really it that important to Linux that Microsoft is trying to keep it off Windows 8 ARM devices?

No, I don’t think so.

Too big to fail? Microsoft, ARM, and Windows 8: More >

January 16, 2012
by sjvn01
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SOPA Derailed

U.S. House Judiciary Committee Member Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA), and Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) opponent has announced that he has been assured by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has promised him that he will not bring the bill to the floor. That mean, for all practical intents and purposes, that SOPA is dead.

In a press release Issa announced that he was canceling his Wednesday hearing on “the impact of Domain Name Service (DNS) and search engine blocking on the Internet, has been postponed following assurances that anti-piracy legislation will not move to the House floor this Congress without a consensus.”

Issa said, “Majority Leader Cantor has assured me that we will continue to work to address outstanding concerns and work to build consensus prior to any anti-piracy legislation coming before the House for a vote.” Without the Majority Leader’s support, SOPA won’t get to the House’s floor, it will not be voted on, and this makes it essentially dead.

SOPA Detailed More >

January 13, 2012
by sjvn01
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Microsoft to lock out other operating systems from Windows 8 ARM PCs & devices

Microsoft and its vendor friends said that there’s no Windows 8 plot to lock other operating systems from Windows 8 devices, but now we know Microsoft was lying.

Journalist Glyn Moody dug around Microsoft’s Windows Hardware Certification Requirements for Windows 8 client and server systems and found on page 116 that will Windows 8 Secure Boot can be disabled: on Intel systems, “Disabling Secure [Boot] must not be possible on ARM systems.”

What does that mean? According to Aaron Williamson, a lawyer with the Software Freedom Law Center an organization that provides pro-bono legal services to developers of Free and open-source software, Microsoft has wasted no time in effectively banning most alternative operating systems on ARM-based devices that ship with Windows 8.

Microsoft will be doing this by using Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), to block block all other operating systems from Windows 8 systems. UEFI is the 21st century’s replacement to PC and other devices’ BIOS. It’s used to set up your computer and make it ready to boot.

More: Microsoft to lock out other operating systems from Windows 8 ARM PCs & devices >

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