Practical Technology

for practical people.

February 28, 2011
by sjvn01
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BlackBerry’s Android?

In the Mirror, Mirror universe, Research in Motion (RIM) uses Android instead of QNX for its next generation of BlackBerry smartphones and its PlayBook Tablet. Now, there’s a rumor that RIM may well add support for Android applications to its BlackBerry line on top of its forthcoming QNX operating system.

According to BGR, a RIM representative has apparently been caught on video saying “‘We will also support Android apps when we release the Dalvik engine on top of QNX,’ while showing off a PlayBook. Oops. The newly uncovered video was filmed at Mobile World Congress earlier this month and while we can’t quite call it an official confirmation from RIM, it certainly seems to substantiate our report. Though the RIM representative mentioned Dalvik, conflicting reports have stated that RIM won’t end up using the Dalvik engine, but rather a different option.”

It never made a lot of sense to me in the first place that RIM would support QNX Neutrino RTOS, an embedded Unix variation, for its tablets or phones. QNX is an excellent operating system. It has a modular micro-kernel, an excellent Inter-process communication’ (IPC) system, a lightweight user interface, and network-transparent distributed processing. All of which is wonderful, but it still put BlackBerry years behind both Apple with iOS and Google’s Open Handset Alliance Android supporters. Can a mobile vendor really afford to start a new system so far behind its chief competitors? I don’t think so.

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February 27, 2011
by sjvn01
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Wires? We don’t need no stinking Wires! Gigabit Wi-Fi

I think Intel’s Thunderbolt technology with its 10Gbps (Gigabit per second) speeds and support for both for data transfer and displays sounds wonderful. And, yes, I like the idea of cutting down the number of wires coming out of my entertainment center and computers with Thunderbolt. But, really wouldn’t you rather have no wires at all? That’s what a quartet of Wi-Fi technologies are promising.

None of these technologies are quite ready for prime-time, but then, neither is Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt uses the DisplayPort and PCI-Express data protocols over two data transmission channels, and, in theory, can hit up to 10Gbps over copper. That’s twice as fast as USB 3.0. Eventually, optical connections are supposed to bring that up to 100Gbps in burst mode. Even the fastest commercial SATA drives can only deliver 6Gbps.

So, while Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 are all fine in their place, shouldn’t we really be looking to technologies like 802.11ac, 802.11ad, Wireless Gigabit aka WiGig, and Wi-Fi Direct? No, they’re not as fast, but they can everything that Thunderbolt or USB 3.0 can do without any wires.

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February 25, 2011
by sjvn01
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Ubuntu Linux for beginners: Tips for getting started

Maybe it was one piece of malware too many, maybe it was realizing that while Windows 7 doesn’t look like XP, there really wasn’t that much better about it, in any case the day had come when you decided to give Ubuntu Linux a try. Here’s what you need to know to make the most of your new experiment in operating systems.

The easiest way to try Ubuntu is to just buy a laptop or PC that already has Ubuntu installed on it. Dell, system76, and ZaReason are all reputable computer vendors who have shipped Ubuntu equipment for years. You won’t go wrong with any of these vendors.

If you’re not in the market for a new PC, it’s easy to give Ubuntu a try on your existing PC. Indeed, you won’t have to change a thing on your computer to try it.

First, you’ll need to download a copy of the latest version of Ubuntu. Today, that’s Ubuntu 10.10. You might be tempted to try a newer version. Don’t give in to temptation. The alpha and beta releases of any Linux system are for expert users, not someone who’s trying Linux for the first time.

The fastest way to get a copy is to download it from the Ubuntu download page. Not sure which version to get? Just go for the 32-bit. Even if your machine can support a 64-bit operating system, the 32-bit edition will still run just fine on your PC.

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February 24, 2011
by sjvn01
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Canonical & Banshee Agree to Disagree

Canonical, Ubuntu’s parent company, has spoken with the developers of Banshee, which is to be the default music player in next version of Ubuntu Linux, and announced a “compromise” on how to handle Banshee’s revenue from its built-in Amazon Store connection. Banshee’s programmers are not happy.

Banshee had been devoting all the funds it made from its Amazon Store connection to the GNOME Foundation. Canonical wanted Banshee to either disable the Amazon Store connection coming on by default, which competed with its own Ubuntu One music store, or take a 75% cut of any revenue from the Banshee/Amazon stream.

So, Canonical started to talk with Banshee about finding a more equitable solution. Well, Canonical did come up with another proposal, but it hasn’t made the Banshee community very happy.

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February 24, 2011
by sjvn01
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My favorite Linux desktop: Mint 10

Over the years, I’ve seen more Linux distributions than anyone this side of the Distrowatch editors. Some end-up staying in my offices. For example, I use openSUSE and CentOS on my servers, and I’ve often used Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, and MEPIS on my desktops and laptops. I’m also constantly looking at new Linux distributions, such as SplashTop and Peppermint on my test boxes or a VirtualBox virtual machine. Now, though, I find myself using Mint 10 as my main Linux desktop.

Why? Because Mint works, really, really well. Simple isn’t it?

I run the mainline Mint distribution. It’s based on the Ubuntu 10.10 with its GNOME 2.32 desktop. I’ve been using it on both my work laptop a Lenovo ThinkPad R61 with its 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7500 and has 2GBs of RAM and my workhorse desktops: Dell Inspiron 530S powered by a 2.2-GHz Intel Pentium E2200 dual-core processor with an 800-MHz front-side bus. This box has 4GBs of RAM, a 500GB SATA (Serial ATA) drive, and an Integrated Intel 3100 GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator) chip set. These are in no way, shape, or form leading edge computers. While Windows 7 SP 1 doesn’t show to good advantage on either system, Mint runs quickly and smoothly on them.

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February 23, 2011
by sjvn01
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Loving Ubuntu Linux

My writing compadre Bruce Byfield wrote that while “Ubuntu first appeared, the free and open source software (FOSS) community was delighted. But, “In 2011, that honeymoon is long past. Although Ubuntu remains the dominant distro, criticisms of its relationship with the rest of FOSS seem to be coming every other month.” To which, I can only reply, “So what else is new?”

Ubuntu started as a Debian fork almost seven years ago and I can still find Debian developers who are ticked off about it to this very day. Since then, as Byfield notes, Ubuntu, and its parent company Canonical has gotten into hot-water with one party after the other in open-source circles.

A short list would include Debian’s continued jealousy getting in the way of co-operation between the closely related Linux distributions; countless accusations that Canonical/Ubuntu is all about promoting Ubuntu and not Linux; and that Ubuntu doesn’t contribute its fair share to the Linux kernel and other up-stream open-source programs.

But this, this is all old news. Ubuntu has long endured these criticisms. So have the other Linux distributions.

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