Computing » Is Microsoft Linux's New BFF?

"M$ hates Free Software of any kind," asserted blogger Robert Pogson. "They have attacked Linux, the GPL, copyleft, etc. -- stuff that would be of no interest to them at all except their customers see the advantages of Free Software. What the world does with Linux, the GPL and copyleft is the world's business, not M$'s. We should not do any more than allow M$ to use Free Software if they want." Those of us who have been around the block a few...

Computing » How Google Could Murder Your Digital Identity

Until Google puts in place a clear customer service organization, make sure you keep a copy of your stuff on your own hardware. This is likely good advice for any online service. Google really needs to start focusing on customer satisfaction, though. Its current perceived position of "hey, it's free -- take what we give you" isn't likely going to work in the long term. I'm in the midst of doing the biggest tablet review I've ever attempted, and...

Computing » Android Apps and the Honeycomb Holdup

Android Honeycomb, the version of the mobile OS built specifically for tablet devices, was first rolled out many months ago. Several Honeycomb tablets are on store shelves. Yet the number of Android apps built specifically for Honeycomb remains relatively small compared to the tens of thousands of iPad apps Apple claims. What's the holdup? Android Honeycomb tablets are now on store shelves and vendor websites. Six months from Honeycomb's release,...

Computing » Fulcrum Microsystems - Levering Up Intel's Cloud Ambitions

The expanding role of 10 GbE in cloud computing environments is the bigger story here. Intel's Xeon CPUs play critical roles in the vast majority of cloud and hyper-scale computing infrastructures and are critically important to cloud service providers of every sort. The company is also working closely with cloud storage vendors to enhance performance and efficiency. Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) recently announced plans to acquire Fulcrum Microsystems,...

Computing » Mozilla's Head Is in the Cloud With New Mobile OS Idea

A new project has taken root at the Mozilla Foundation to create a new mobile OS called "Gecko." The Boot to Gecko project aims to create a mobile OS based on the Android kernel that would use the Web to displace proprietary, single-vendor stacks for app development. It's been compared to Google Chrome OS, only for mobile devices instead of laptops. The Mozilla Foundation is looking into creating a standalone mobile operating system for the open...

Computing » Dealing With Emotional Data

Is curation the end result of the analytics phase? That implies analytics is all that's important. But thinking from a pure analytics perspective might simply put us into a different box. curation is not part of the analytics cascade and is, I believe, on the spectrum between qualitative and emotional. Think of curation as the kind of analytics that only a human mind can achieve. Someone (you know who you are) recently commented on my post about...

Computing » For Personal Finance Tracking, You Can Bank on Eqonomize

Eqonomize's approach to its GUI makes it more than a mere checking and savings account ledger. The drop-down menus, tool bar and action panel make a click-and-view style natural and efficient. Despite a few missing features, Equonomize takes the sweat and toil out of personal bookkeeping and banking tasks. Eqonomize is a personal accounting package that is fast becoming my app of choice for all things financial. It is packed with features and...

Computing » Microsoft Throws a Juicy Mango to Manufacturers

Microsoft has released Mango to handset manufacturers. The new update to Redmond's Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system features new multitasking abilities, threaded communications systems, and a mobile version of Internet Explorer 9. It's a sizable update for the young OS, but will it be enough to help Microsoft catch up to Android and iOS? Mango, the largest update yet to Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) still-young Windows Phone 7 mobile OS,...

Computing » Farewell, My Little Plastic Discs

The new Mac mini lacks an optical drive, as does the MacBook Air, which now holds the role of Apple's entry-level MacBook. Is the DVD drive headed the way of the 3.5-inch floppy drive? With all the content available online, from movies to software to music, most consumers probably won't miss the death of the plastic platter ... that is, unless ISPs begin changing the ways they do business. I'm not sure that we can say Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) is...

Computing » New Initiative Aims to Stamp Out Cloud Lock-In

The Open Cloud Initiative made its debut at OSCON this week. The organization is set up to provide a common set of standards cloud providers can adhere to in order to let clients know their clouds are easy to migrate into and out of. Open cloud systems must represent all user data and metadata in open standard formats and expose all functionality through open standard interfaces. Members of the cloud computing industry this week announced the...

Computing » The Patent World War

Apple's battling Android tablets in Europe, winning an injunction in a German court that bars Samsung from importing its Galaxy tab into most of the continent. The timing couldn't be worse for Samsung -- even if it manages to change the court's mind, its European launch of the device has already been hindered. Meanwhile, Kindle goes webby, Symbian says goodbye to North America, and Anonymous is not unanimous. Even though Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) lawyer...