December 2, 2010
by sjvn01
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When I heard that Xmarks, the popular cross-browser plug-in that synchronizes bookmarks and passwords across multiple computers, was going out of business, I was really upset. For me, and many others, Xmarks is an invaluable resource. Well, we don’t have to worry anymore. LastPass, makers of an excellent password manager, has just announced that they’ve bought Xmarks. Hurrah!
Better still, for most users, both Xmarks and LastPass will continue to be free.
December 1, 2010
by sjvn01
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Believe it or not, there is still this illusion that Linux and open-source software is written by counter-culture, C++ programming cultists living in their parent basements or huddled together in Cambridge, Mass. group-houses. Please. That is so twenty-years ago. Today, as the Linux Foundation reveals in its latest analysis, Linux Kernel Development: How Fast it is Going, Who is Doing It, What They are Doing, and Who is Sponsoring It (PDF Link), it’s big business that’s making Linux in 2010.
Yes, there is a political agenda that can go with Linux and free and open-source software. It tends to be a mix of libertarian and liberal ideas and its main focus is on free “as in speech, not as in beer” software. For more on that side of free/libre/open source software (FLOSS), I recommend you visit the Free Software Foundation (FSF). Still, while the FSF’s Gnu General Public License (GPL) was, and is, vital to Linux, businesses are what drive the day-in, day-out development of Linux, and most other open-source programs.
To be specific, the Linux Foundation found that “over 70% of all [Linux] kernel development is demonstrably done by developers who are being paid for their work.” There is still a lot of work being done by “amateurs,” about 18.9%; although I’m not sure how “amateur” a programmer can be whose work is accepted into the Linux kernel.
December 1, 2010
by sjvn01
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Recently, Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu shocked the Ubuntu Linux world when he announced that the next release of the popular Linux, Ubuntu 11.04, would use Unity instead of GNOME as its default desktop interface.
Why move from pure GNOME to Unity? As Shuttleworth explained to the Ubuntu developers, “Lots of people are already committed to Unity — the community, desktop users, developers, and platform and hardware vendors.” In particular, he noted, “Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) favor Unity. They’re happy to ship it.”
That last part is important. Shuttleworth had told me that Dell, which he said had sold several million Ubuntu desktops, laptops, and netbooks, supports the project. In addition, Canonical has desktop deals in place with Lenovo and Acer. These arrangements may lead to these, and other, major PC OEMs finally releasing Ubuntu desktops in the U.S and European markets.
You see, Unity is Shuttleworth’s (and Ubuntu’s) attempt to capture not just a bigger share of the desktop market, but a lion’s share of the netbook, desktop, tablet, and even smartphone market. Shuttleworth said that providing one interface for all user devices will improve quality assurance and make it easier for OEMs to integrate and support Ubuntu across their PC platforms. In short, “There will be no fault-line for OEMs between desktops.”
December 1, 2010
by sjvn01
1 Comment
It’s the holiday season, and if you’re like me, you’re being tempted by new toys. Who wouldn’t want a shiny new Apple iPad, a Motorola Droid II or an Amazon Kindle DX e-reader? I do — but I don’t actually need any of those things. I can still get a lot of use out of my first-generation Apple iPod Touch; my prehistoric, dumb-as-dirt cell phone; and a pile of paperbacks I haven’t read yet.
I recently wrote about Verizon’s latest ultra-high-speed home broadband plan, which offers a monthly deal of 150Mbit/sec. down and 35Mbit/sec. up for $194.99 a month. For me, with three Internet-compatible TVs and a LAN with two dozen PCs and servers, that kind of money can be justified. I’ve paid more for less — for example, having a fractional T1 with frame relay laid into my home office. For other people… not so much.
A friend of mine recently had a lot to say on this topic, and I’d like to share some of what she said: “I still own and use vinyl and VHS and cassettes, and a PC that has IDE cables and a floppy drive and a monitor that weighs more than a bowling ball. With my ever-shrinking, lower-middle-class income and my disdain for the must-have-new-toys, slavering, materialistic mentality of suburban America, I absolutely will never engage in this dance we do where the minute we buy things, they are already obsolete and their successor is on the way. We were raised by a generation of parents who would shriek to hear we need a new $200-to-$500 gadget every two years just to keep up. I haven’t left my roots. I also didn’t lose my shirt in the recession. I was already being frugal out of need.”
November 30, 2010
by sjvn01
2 Comments
Network neutrality is a simple concept: ISPs shouldn’t play favorites with the content that goes over their parts of the Internet. It’s a concept that harks back to the Commercial Internet Exchange (CIX) in 1991 when the first Internet carries agreed to share connections equally with each other. Although CIX is now largely forgotten, it’s what started the Internet on its way from a backwater for researchers and schools to the omnipresent network in which we live, work, and play today.
Now, Comcast, appears to be the first major ISP to break that old CIX rule of network neutrality. Level 3 Communications, one of Netflix’s content delivery network (CDN) partners has accused Comcast of charging Level 3 extra fees for carrying Netflix’s movies.
Thomas Stortz, Chief Legal Officer of Level 3, wrote that out of the blue “On November 19, 2010, Comcast informed Level 3 that, for the first time, it will demand a recurring fee from Level 3 to transmit Internet online movies and other content to Comcast’s customers who request such content. By taking this action, Comcast is effectively putting up a toll booth at the borders of its broadband Internet access network, enabling it to unilaterally decide how much to charge for content which competes with its own cable TV and Xfinity-delivered content. This action by Comcast threatens the open Internet and is a clear abuse of the dominant control that Comcast exerts in broadband access markets as the nation’s largest cable provider.”
Stortz added: “On November 22, after being informed by Comcast that its demand for payment was ‘take it or leave it,’ Level 3 agreed to the terms, under protest, in order to ensure customers did not experience any disruptions.”
November 30, 2010
by sjvn01
0 comments
The story behind the story is that Linux has become totally mainstream. You may not have a Linux desktop in front of you the way I do, but if you spend most of your day visiting Google, Facebook or Twitter, you’re using Linux. That Android phone in your pocket? Linux. Your DVR? Probably Linux. Do you use a NAS (network attached storage) device for extra storage? Almost certainly Linux. Trade stocks? Yes, Linux again. You get the idea. Linux may be invisible, but it’s also everywhere.
Still don’t believe me? Look at the numbers and my first story of the year: