Showing headlines posted by Scott_Ruecker

ActiveState, the dynamic language experts offering solutions for Perl, Python, and Tcl, announced today a robust sales revenue growth rate of 43% for the third quarter of 2010 and an average revenue growth rate overall from last year, year-to-date (YTD) of 19%. These strong revenue growth rates were led by a stellar line up of new Business and Enterprise Edition customers in the second and third quarters this year over a wide range of verticals including high-tech, financial services, healthcare, and aerospace companies: BNP Paribas, Cardinal Health, Daiichi Sankyo USA, Health Now, Juniper Networks, McAfee, Northrop Grumman, Research Affiliates, Standard Chartered Bank China, Tesco Bank, Vodafone, Omnitel.

Having just discussed replication in Linux -- what it is, how it can be used and how it's not the same as a backup -- it's time to tackle a simple example of one of the replication tools: rsync. You will be surprised how easy it is to use rsync to replicate data to a second storage pool.

You read the Fastest Flash article so you already know Ext4 can turbocharge your thumb drive. But you run Linux, so of course want even more! Is there anything else to do? Yup. Use a GPT (GUID Partition Table) rather than the usual MBR scheme. It will hop up flash performance on almost any filesystem -- not just Ext4.

Balancing work, home, school, or any other component of your life can be hectic. Many people use computers with the intention to simplify their lives, but that does not always happen. One of the biggest obstacles to effective use of computers is file and application organization. File managers, docks, panels, task bars, and other similar tools are all designed to make file management easier. KDE 4 offers an alternative to the traditional icons scattered all over the desktop with a Plasma widget called Shelf. Just like a shelf in a library, the shelf widget keeps files, folders, devices, and applications in order and easily accessible.

Once a year I write a column the week before the big HPC show. This year SC10 (a.k.a. the show) will be in New Orleans. I assume very few people will actually read this installment because they are either in the Big Easy, on their way, or running around frantically trying to get ready for their week on Bourbon Street. I fall into the last category. I have have been preparing my Limulus Machine, writing a white paper, helping a few clients, and smashing my thumb with a step ladder.

Charging that Oracle has willfully disregarded the licensing terms for its own Java technology, the Apache Software Foundation has called upon other members of the Java Community Process (JCP) to vote against the next proposed version of the language, should Oracle continue to impose restrictions on open-source Java use.

The Apache Software Foundation is usually a nice, quiet organization that supports the development of quite a lot of open source software. Unlike the Free Software Foundation, it doesn't usually get political or controversial. But the ASF is calling Oracle out over its handling of the Java Community Process (JCP).

Public speaking and giving presentations are stressful enough for most folks — why add to that with complex software and worries about platform compatibility? If you know a bit about HTML and how to work a browser, S5 is a standards-based slide show system that can take the hassle out of creating presentations.

When it comes to Linux command, it is always a love and hate affair. Newbies tend to shun away from the command line as much as possible while the intermediate to expert users who are used to it will swear by it, and boost how much faster and more productive they have become due to the command line. Regardless which camp you belong, as long as you are using Linux (doesn’t matter which distro), you are sure to hit the terminal and type some commands into it at some point of time. Why not embrace it and take the opportunity to learn something new?

Earlier this year we reported that the Lightworks video editor was going open-source. This was big news as Lightworks is a professional-grade non-linear video editing application that has received scientific and technical Academy Awards and Emmy Awards. This software has been used for editing films like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Shutter Island. While many have been excited that this application is going open-source, the Linux port will not be available until late 2011.

In light of continuing financial troubles, exiting developers and managers, and an uncertain future of desktop development, a group of former employees and developers with community supporters came together to fork Mandriva in order to preserve and further the beloved system. Things have been quiet since the initial announcement of Mageia until recently. Some details of their plan and a roadmap have now emerged.

Android 2.3, codenamed Gingerbread, is expected to materialize this month. Little is known about Gingerbread's features, however, because Google develops the operating system behind closed doors and doesn't publish a roadmap. This has fueled a lot of speculation among Android enthusiasts. Google has hinted that 2.3 could bring a user interface refresh that will reduce the need for handset makers to broadly deviate from the standard user experience. Various leaks have suggested that the platform is being overhauled to boost its suitability for tablet devices. Google's new WebM multimedia format, which uses the VP8 codec, will likely be supported out of the box. It's also possible that Gingerbread will include some of the music library streaming and synchronization features that the search giant demonstrated this year at the Google I/O conference.

Following a strategy review, the board of the Symbian Foundation has today decided to transition the role of the non-profit organisation. The foundation will become a legal entity responsible for licensing software and other intellectual property, such as the Symbian trademark. Nokia has committed to make the future development of the Symbian platform available to the ecosystem via an alternative direct and open model.

The exploration of design patterns is importantly a historical search. It is possible to tell in the present that a particular approach to design or coding works adequately in a particular situation, but to identify patterns which repeatedly work, or repeatedly fail to work, a longer term or historical perspective is needed. We benefit primarily from hindsight.

Walter Bright of Digital Mars has brought up with the GCC list what steps need to be traveled so that GDC, the GNU D Compiler, can be merged into GCC. Right now the GNU Compiler Collection doesn't have support for the D programming language, but that may soon change if this merge by Digital Mars is successful.

Hong Kong Jockey Club chooses SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to introduce greater flexibility and resilience for core IT applications One of the largest non-government employers in Hong Kong, HKJC employs 25,000 full-time and part-time staff. While providing the Hong Kong public with world-class sporting entertainment, it is also one of the city's major community benefactors and the largest single taxpayer to Hong Kong. HKJC required an IT infrastructure that delivers ultimate customer satisfaction through resilience, real-time information updates and high availability. HKJC has run a mixed environment with Microsoft* Windows* and OpenVMS*; the ability to customize those operating systems to improve and streamline processes was vital to the HKJC.

We’re reading the tea-leaves today, looking deep into the crystal ball and talking about the future, always a risky proposition. The future is never set in stone, and can always be changed by those who care enough to change it. However, from where I sit, the future is looking very interesting, and very mobile.

Given the ongoing and recently increased interest in the open core licensing strategy there have been numerous statements made about its relative popularity, the reasons for its adoption, and the impact it has on collaborative development. As part of our recently released report on the evolution of open source-related business strategies we evaluated the strategies of 300 companies that are engaged in generating revenue from open source software.

A remarkable continuity underlies free software, going all the way back to Richard Stallman's first programs for his new GNU project. And yet within that continuity, there have been major shifts: are we due for another such leap?

If you use Linux long enough, you'll soon discover a list of things you wished were different. Here are 24 things that we wish were different.