Practical Technology

for practical people.

June 7, 2010
by sjvn01
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Five reasons Apple gets the lion’s share of attention

Today, June 7th, 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs will once more hold the attention of the technology world when he speaks at Apple’s annual WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference). We already know that Jobs is going to announce: a new iPhone. And, thanks to Gizmodo’s reporting on a swiped iPhone prototype, we already have a good idea about what’s going to be in this model. So, why the heck are there currently over 1,100 news stores and 696,000 (!) blog postings according to Google about Apple’s WWDC announcement?

I mean, it’s not like there isn’t other important technology news today. For example, Microsoft has announced that the beta for Windows 7 SP 1 will be coming out in July. By my and Google’s count, there are currently less than a handful of news stories about Windows 7 SP1.

What’s going on here? Why does Steve Jobs grab our attention so even for people who can’t stand Apple? Here is, for what it’s worth, my list of reasons why Apple gets the limelight.

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June 4, 2010
by sjvn01
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Canonical to offer new Ubuntu Linux business support options

Linux is great, if you know what you’re doing. If you don’t, Linux like any operating system, can be a pain. Enter Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux. On June 7th, Canonical will start offering new Ubuntu Server and Ubuntu Desktop “Ubuntu Advantage” business support services

Ubuntu Advantage will offer more than just technical support. Canonical has long offered excellent business and individual technical support. What makes Ubuntu Advantage different is that it also offers systems management tools, access to online resources, training and legal assurance. According to a company representative, “It is built to help businesses who have deployed Ubuntu as a desktop and/or server solution to become more successful in their adoption of the platform. The new subscription package gives organizations a single service to underwrite their investment in Ubuntu and is split into different service levels to cater to the different uses of Ubuntu in business.”

So, say your company’s in-house counsel has questions about a Linux’s intellectual property issue? No problem. Ubuntu Advantage Assurance will “take care of intellectual property (IP) infringement legal claims brought against customers in their use of Ubuntu.” Further, “Canonical will provide legal compensation for any claim brought against you worldwide so you can deploy Ubuntu without complicated legal concerns.” Take that Microsoft with your endless, bogus Linux patent threats.

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June 4, 2010
by sjvn01
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Steve Jobs blunders on the Internet TV market

When the rumor went around that Apple would be releasing a new iPhone-OS based Apple TV, there was a lot of excitement. I didn’t really buy into the new Apple TV hype. Now, we know it’s not coming, or if it is, it’s not going to amount to much. We know this because Steve Jobs told us so.

At the D8 Conference, Jobs said, “The problem with innovation in the TV industry is the go-to-market strategy. The TV industry has a subsidized model that gives everyone a set top box for free. So no one wants to buy a box. Ask TiVo, ask Roku, ask us … ask Google in a few months. The television industry fundamentally has a subsidized business model that gives everyone a set-top box, and that pretty much undermines innovation in the sector. The only way this is going to change is if you start from scratch, tear up the box, redesign and get it to the consumer in a way that they want to buy it. But right now, there’s no way to do that … . The TV is going to lose until there’s a viable go-to-market strategy. That’s the fundamental problem with the industry. It’s not a problem with the technology, it’s a problem with the go-to-market strategy … . I’m sure smarter people than us will figure this out, but that’s why we say Apple TV is a hobby.”

Jeeze Steve, wake up already. The old satellite/cable model is ready to die a horrible death. That’s why TiVo, Roku, and, yes, soon Google are all in the TV set-top business. It’s why Sony and all the other Blu-Ray DVD and high-end TV companies are sticking Wi-Fi into their devices as fast as they can so users can get to Netflix and the other Internet video sources.

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June 3, 2010
by sjvn01
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Linux Evolves: Tablets, Smartphones, and TVs

Linux rules supercomputers. It’s vitally important to servers. And, Linux is making gains on the desktop. Where Linux is really going to shine in the next twelve months though is in devices: tablets, smartphones, and TVs.

For example, more than a dozen Apple iPad-like tablets made their first appearance at the Computex computer show in Taipei, Taiwan. The vast majority of these devices run Android Linux or other embedded Linuxes such as the latest MeeGo embedded Linux.

I have every expectation that Apple’s iPad is going to stay on top. It’s a great design, and, except for its failure to support Flash thanks to Apple’s fight with Adobe, it works well. But, iPads are expensive and they don’t support Flash. That gives the coming flood of low-priced Linux-powered tablets more than enough room to win in the market.

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June 2, 2010
by sjvn01
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Making the latest Facebook Safe

May 31st was supposed to be Quit Facebook Day. With only 0.005 percent of Facebook’s 500 million users electing to quit, I think we can safely call it a flop.

It’s not that people aren’t ticked off at Facebook; it’s just that they’re not mad enough to actually walk away from it. In part, that may be because there really isn’t a new alternative social network for people to move to. I also think, it’s in part, because people never take security seriously until it blows up in their faces.

After all, if you can’t talk your company into updating from XP SP2 to the far safer SP3, why should Joe and Joanie Facebook be any different?

Still, while Facebook still hasn’t done the one simple thing that’s needed to make Facebook far more private and secure than it is now-lock down your sharing options from the start-they have made it easier to protect your privacy.

To get at the new privacy controls now, click your way over to Facebook’s Privacy Tab. Your first stop here is Basic Directory Information.

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June 1, 2010
by sjvn01
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‘Good-Bye Windows, Hello Linux, Mac’ says Google

As everyone knows by now who follows technology news, the Financial Times reported that Google “is phasing out the internal use of Microsoft’s ubiquitous Windows operating system because of security concerns.” Some doubt this story, because they say that’s its vague about sources. Well, I asked, and the story is ‘mostly’ right. Google is switching away from Windows to Linux and Macs, but it’s not just because security.

I e-mailed Google and, according to a Google official, while “We’re always working to improve the efficiency of our business, but we don’t comment on specific operational matters.” That’s not much of a statement, but did you notice the key word there? It’s ‘efficiency.’

I then got on the phone, IM and e-mail with my friends at Google and they told me off-the-record pretty much what the Google employees told the Financial Times that “Many people have been moved away from [Windows] PCs, mostly towards Mac OS, following the China hacking attacks.” But, following that efficiency word around, I was also told that Linux was far cheaper than Windows and that many Google users preferred it, in any case, to Windows. While many others found Macs to just be more useful than Windows PCs.

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