Practical Technology

for practical people.

September 27, 2011
by sjvn01
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Google+ shows explosive growth

Ever notice how some people are a little, ah, delusional? For example, some folks were telling me recently how Google’s social network Google+ usage was going down and the site really wasn’t that popular. Seriously. Clearly these people have been under a rock, or perhaps too besotted with Facebook, to notice that since Google+ opened its doors to everyone, its growth has been nothing short of explosive. Indeed, Google+ made it to 50-million users faster than any other social network.

According to Paul Allen, founder of Ancestry.com, a leading genealogy site and Google+ unofficial statistician, “Google+ likely crossed the 50 million user mark. And since being opened to the general public (over age 18) last week, Google+ has been growing by at least 4% per day, meaning that around 2 million new users have been signing up each day.”

To be exact, it took Google+ 88 days to hit 50-million users. MySpace—remember them?–took 1,046 days. Facebook, with 1,096 days, took even longer.

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September 26, 2011
by sjvn01
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Linus Torvalds’s Lessons on Software Development Management

If anyone knows the joys and sorrows of managing software development projects, it would be Linus Torvalds, creator of the world’s most popular open-source software program: the Linux operating system. For more than 20 years, Torvalds has been directing thousands of developers to improve the open source OS. He and I sat down to talk about effective techniques in running large-scale distributed programming teams – and the things that don’t work, too.

Torvalds says there are two things that people very commonly get completely wrong, both at an individual developer level and at companies.

“The first thing is thinking that you can throw things out there and ask people to help,” when it comes to open-source software development, he says. “That’s not how it works. You make it public, and then you assume that you’ll have to do all the work, and ask people to come up with suggestions of what you should do, not what they should do. Maybe they’ll start helping eventually, but you should start off with the assumption that you’re going to be the one maintaining it and ready to do all the work.”

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September 26, 2011
by sjvn01
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Facebook: The Spy in Your Network

I used to like Facebook. Oh, its security and constantly changing privacy protection was a bad joke, but it was still the best way to find and keep in touch with old friends from high school (Hi Cathy!) and the like. That was then. This is now.

It was bad enough that Facebook tries to harvest your phone number, in the new Facebook Open Graph platform you can share all kinds of usage data with your advertisers… uh friends. With the new Facebook, you can automatically share what movies you’re watching on Netflix, what music you’re listening to on Spotify, and what’s you’re reading on Flipboard.

Privacy aside, I don’t care for Facebook’s new non-stop news-streaming ticker, either. Does anyone really want to know everything I watch, listen to, and read? Neither my wife nor daughter do. I can think of two groups, though, that would find all my information endlessly interesting: Advertisers and competitors. You may want AT&T, Exxon, and Microsoft to keep tabs on your every move; I don’t.

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September 26, 2011
by sjvn01
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The Air Force’s secure Linux distribution

Outside of the U.S., there are several “national” Linux distributions. These include China’s Red Flag Linux; Turkey’s Pardus, and the Philippines’ Bayahnian. Other countries, like Russia, are on their way to moving their entire IT infrastructure to Linux and open-source software. In the U.S., the government, especially the military, makes use of Linux all the time. Indeed, Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux), the most popular software set for hardening Linux against Linux is sponsored by the National Security Agency. But, there hasn’t been a national American Linux desktop distribution… until now.

The Software Protection Initiative (SPI) under the direction of the Air Force Research Laboratory and the US Department Of Defense recently created Lightweight Portable Security (LPS). Like the name indicates, this is a small Linux desktop distribution that’s designed for secure use.

LPS is designed to boot from a CD or USB pen-drive on any Intel-based computer. It doesn’t install anything. It’s designed solely to run solely in memory and to leave no traces behind when you’re doing running it.

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September 25, 2011
by sjvn01
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Google Chrome Web Browser to get a makeover

Chrome 14 is great, but the forthcoming Chrome 15 looks like it will be even better. This release, which is now in beta, boasts three new tab pages. These will make it easier to get to your Chrome apps, most visited sites, and bookmarks.

Thaw new Chrome 15 tab pages appear in three different sections on the bottom of all Web pages. You can flip between these different sections by clicking the section labels at the bottom of the page or by using the arrows at the side of the page. When you open a new tab, Chrome will default to opening the last tab page you had on.

It’s a simple change, but it’s one I’m already finding very useful. In particular, I appreciate having one click access to my bookmarks. The one change Chrome made to the traditional Web browser that I hadn’t liked was the way it placed bookmarks under the wrench. This made going to a bookmarked site, if it wasn’t one of my top sites, a three-step operation. Now, even without a bookmark bar, I just have to make one click and I’m able to browse my bookmarks. For me, this is a real change for the better.

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September 23, 2011
by sjvn01
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Microsoft to stop Linux, older Windows, from running on Windows 8 PCs

Thanks to Mary Jo Foley, we now know that in the name of “security,” Microsoft will be trying to use UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) to block Linux, older versions of Windows, and other alternative operating systems from booting on Windows 8 PCs. Thanks Microsoft we appreciate it.

In a new Microsoft blog, Building Windows 8, by Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft’s president of the Windows division, Linux isn’t mentioned, and he tries to place the blame on the UEFI security protocol. Behind all his dodging, the facts are that Microsoft UEFI secure boot is requirement for Windows 8 certification and that, while “OEMs [original equipment manufacturers) are free to choose how to enable this support,” they still have to have it. In turn, that will make it harder for OEMs to support alternative operating systems and, if the OEM does bow down to Microsoft’s demands, it will make it almost impossible for end-users to run Linux, older versions of Windows, or other alternative operating systems on Windows 8 certified PCs.

In short, if Microsoft has its way, all Windows 8 PCs will be even more locked into their pre-installed operating systems than Macs are into Mac OS X. Indeed, a better comparison would be how phone companies lock you into their smartphone operating systems. Just like them the Windows 8 PC you buy in 2013 will be permanently locked into Windows 8. And, like smartphones, only expert firmware hackers will be able to switch out operating systems or even enable dual-booting operating systems.

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