Practical Technology

for practical people.

August 2, 2009
by sjvn01
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Roll your own Linux distribution with SUSE Studio

People have always been able to build their own Linux distributions. That’s one reason why there are over a hundred Linux distributions today. But, building them easily to do a particular job and with major vendor support…. well, that’s not so easy. But now Novell has made it downright easy and-pay attention ISVs (independent software vendors)–they’ll also support your particular house brand Linux when you take it to market.

Novell’s new SUSE Appliance Program is based on SUSE Studio, the core online Linux application builder and SUSE Linux Enterprise JeOS (Just Enough Operating System). As an ISV, or just someone who wants MyVeryOwnLinuxDistro, you just pick and choosing the components you want after logging into the SUSE Studio Web page.

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August 1, 2009
by sjvn01
2 Comments

Microsoft enters Video-on-Demand business

Hulu and the other Internet video-on-demand Web sites have a new rival: Microsoft.

You won’t see this new Microsoft service, the MSN Video Player in the United States anytime soon though. Microsoft is launching its new service in the next few days in the United Kingdom. The online VoD (video-on-demand) player will include shows from the BBC , BBC Worldwide, and All3Media, an UK independent TV distributor.

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July 31, 2009
by sjvn01
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One billion Firefoxes

Let me give you an Internet history lesson. Less than five-years ago, unless you were one of die-hard Netscape Navigator users or a handful of Opera users, your Web browser choices were Internet Explorer or… ah… Internet Explorer. AOL was already abandoning Netscape, but, before they pulled the plug, they started an open-source Netscape spin-off group, which was first called the Mozilla Organization, which became the Mozilla Foundation, so that Netscape would live on. I’m sure AOL didn’t expect anything to come of it. Boy, were they wrong. Mozilla’s Firefox has just been downloaded for the 1-billionth time.

Wow.

Now, Linux is probably more important, there are hundreds of millions of Linux-powered Web sites and business servers. And, Apache is the Web server behind almost all those Linux Web sites. But, for sheer number of end-users, I don’t think you can beat Firefox. And, this success has lead to improvements in all Web browser software.

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July 30, 2009
by sjvn01
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Canonical to offer Ubuntu desktop support

Do you want to save desktop support money? Do you have Windows and Mac-using friends or co-workers who want to try desktop Linux? Well, in either case, you’re going to want to check out Canonical, Ubuntu Linux’s parent company, latest desktop support offerings: Starter, Advanced and Professional.

Canonical will be announcing these new support services for the Ubuntu desktop for individuals and small businesses tomorrow, July 31st, in London. These services are particularly designed for small business owners who are looking for cost effective alternatives to Windows and Apple Mac.

You may not have know it, but Canonical has long been in the Linux support business. With this new offering, though, Canonical is making a special effort to reach individual users and SMBs (small-to-medium businesses) users.

Steve George, director of Canonical’s Corporate Services division, said, “Canonical’s Desktop Support Services provides an easy, inexpensive way to get Ubuntu up and running in the home, home office and small business – reaching the vast majority of computer users. With our team supporting them, Ubuntu is ideal for people who just want their computer to work, where the goal is to get up and running with no fuss, focusing on the things they want to accomplish.” George added, “So, if you have an old computer, or you’re just stuck with Vista, you can install Ubuntu and experience peace.”

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July 29, 2009
by sjvn01
1 Comment

Night of the living Yahoo

“Brains! Must have Yahoo advertising brains!” That might have been Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s call as he finally made a deal for Yahoo. Sure, it looks like Yahoo still exists as an independent company, but in reality, Ballmer’s bite has turned it into a Microsoft zombie.

Yahoo has agreed to let is search engine brain, the only thing of value it really had, to be replaced by Bing, Microsoft’s “decision engine.” That’s a fancy Microsoft marketing phrase, which means it’s a search engine with a built-in bias towards giving pro-Microsoft search results.

As expected, Bing hasn’t made a dent in Google’s search share. Indeed, despite some reports of it hurting Yahoo’s search market share, I haven’t seen any proof that it did any real damage to Yahoo. Of course, Yahoo was already in a world of hurt and new CEO Carol Bartz quickly proved she wasn’t up to the job of reviving the ailing Internet giant.

With this deal, Yahoo has become a dead company walking. Yahoo has clearly given up on search. If you look closely you’ll see that even its ad platform Panama, is being replaced by Microsoft’s adCenter.

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