Practical Technology

for practical people.

September 26, 2008
by sjvn01
2 Comments

Canonical wants to know what you want from Ubuntu Server

All too often companies decide what you want to see in a program, and only after it’s on the market do you get to see if it’s actually something you even care about, never mind want. Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux, has a different idea. Canonical is running a survey for Ubuntu Server edition users to see how they’re currently using Ubuntu and where they’re using it so they can make the next version even better for Linux system administrators.

The Ubuntu Server survey is not your a “What’s cool about Ubuntu or Linux survey.” It asks specific questions about system administration, directory services, and enterprise software use. The survey was co-authored by RedMonk Research (http://redmonk.com/), which all analyze the survey’s results. ?

While RedMonk analyst, Stephen O’Grady expects CIOs, CTOs, and Linux system administrators to answer the survey, RedMonk also expects others with little experience in Linux servers to answer, but O’Grady explains, “The nature of the questions does little to lend itself to the so-called fanboys, being relatively enterprise-focused.”

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September 25, 2008
by sjvn01
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The five best desktop Linuxes you haven’t tried

One of the pleasures of Linux is that you can try out different distributions to see which one works best for you. You like Ubuntu, but you want to fine tune the desktop engine? OK, try Kubuntu with its KDE desktop then. Some worthwhile distributions, however, don’t get as much attention as they deserve. So, here’s my list of five great distributions that you might want to try.

Before launching into my list, let me preface it by saying that this is a list of what I consider relatively easy to use desktop distributions. So, while Debian is a great distribution, I haven’t included it because to get the most out of it you should be an experienced Linux user. I also haven’t included special purpose distributions like my favorite system repair Linux, SystemRescueCD. It’s a great system repair operating system. Even if you don’t care for Linux and your job is bringing misbehaving PCs back into line you really should get a copy. It, however, isn’t a good, general purpose desktop.

So, without further adieu, here’s my list of the five best desktop Linuxes you may not have tried.

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September 24, 2008
by sjvn01
1 Comment

Where Windows is #2 to Linux

Microsoft encourages us to think of Linux, when we think of it as all, as an also-ran operating systems for nerds. The last thing Microsoft wants us to think about is that there are some spaces where Microsoft is a distant number two and Linux is on top. Too bad Microsoft, there are several such places. One such is HPC (High Performance Computing).

At HPC’s very highest end, supercomputers, Linux rules. The first computer to bust the petaflop, 1.0 quadrillion calculations per second, barrier? IBM’s Roadrunner supercomputer running Linux. Out of the Top 500 supercomputers in the world, over 80% of them are running Linux.

Better still, Linux manages to pull this off by largely using off-the-shelf components unlike the supercomputers of years gone by. Instead of specialized hardware, the Roadrunner uses AMD Opteron and Sony, Toshiba and IBM’s Cell processors. Yes, that’s the same Cell CPU that’s inside your Sony PlayStation 3.

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September 24, 2008
by sjvn01
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Big Money Joins Linux Foundation

Anyone who still thinks Linux is just for geeky hobbyists needs to wake up and look at the stock market. Big business runs on Linux and no where is that more apparent on the world’s major stock markets. So, it should come as no surprise that the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) Group, the world’s largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, has joined the Linux Foundation.

The CME has been a major Linux user since 2003 when it started using the popular open-source operating system. Why? Not because they thought it was cool, they used it because gave the Exchange significant cost reductions, increased trading reliability, and reduced trade transaction times. Since fast transactions with low latency is what an exchange is all about, the CME is still, and will continue to be, a major Linux user. After all, when you’re trading a record 2.2 billion contracts worth more than $1.2 quadrillion in a year, which is what the CME did in 2007, you can’t afford a slow, unreliable system.

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September 24, 2008
by sjvn01
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IBM takes a stand against bad standards

Bad standards and standard wars are an all too common part of modern information technology. Now, IBM has announced that it’s not going to put up with them anymore. And, yes, Microsoft, IBM is looking at you.

In a statement, Ari Fishkind, public affairs manager for IBM Research’s Development and Intellectual Property section, says that “IBM is announcing a new corporate policy governing its participation in the technology standards community. As members of that community, we are formalizing a commitment to behave in a progressive and transparent way as we promote open, high quality standards.”

Fishkind says IBM will be judging “how consistent the behavior of standards development organizations are with these ideals will help determine our membership in these groups.” Specifically, IBM complained that “the traditional standards community runs the risk of alienating developing countries” and is giving them the “perception that they are being marginalized or ignored outright, and that rules are being changed on the fly.”

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September 23, 2008
by sjvn01
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The Android phone is here! So what?

OK, I’m really pleased that Linux does so well in the mobile phone space. I’m very happy to see Google’s Linux-powered Android phone make its first appearance. But, come on, who buys a phone for its operating system?

I know some people disagree with me. ABI Research director Kevin Burden, for example, said “Today’s unveiling of the T-Mobile G1, the first mobile phone based on the Android platform from the Google-spawned Open Handset Alliance (OHA), may be the beginning of a significant movement towards a situation in which a majority of mobile phones will run a high-level operating system, rather than the variety of real-time operating systems currently powering more than 85% of the world’s mobile phones.”

That’s all fine and dandy, but I’ll bet that most people still buy phones because of the plan price than any other single factor. Of course, there is the one exception: the Apple iPhone. We love the iPhone, problems and all.

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