Archive for the ‘Tech’ Category
How open source levels all software market segments
August 26th, 2009 | 
Author: In a new study on open-source adoption in the business intelligence (BI) market, it’s becoming clear that both the benefits and shortcomings of open source software are nearly universal across all technology segments.
According to the study by Third Nature (sponsored by Jaspersoft and Infobright), “the top reason for adopting is still cost savings, although reduced vendor dependence and ease of integration were close to the same level. The limiting of vendor technology lock‐in and freedom from deployment restrictions were key elements of reducing vendor dependence. Some companies used open source deployments as a means of keeping their incumbent vendors honest.”
The statement above is hardly unique to BI, but is perhaps germane if only because BI solutions have for so long been hugely expensive and proprietary. In past discussions with Jaspersoft CEO Brian Gentile, he has stated that BI is the least agile piece of the enterprise puzzle. Open source BI solutions mean that customers can take matters into their own hands.
The study also makes some recommendations on evaluating BI and data warehousing tools, that again are relevant for any open source product.
- Don’t focus solely on cost savings.
- Make open source the default option
- Plan to augment, not replace, existing software with open source.
- Consider developing open source policies.
- Evaluate open source like any other software.
In the end, software needs to solve business problems. The adoption of open source gives users more alternatives to address their issues, be it cost reduction, increased business agility or just a new way to manage their data.
Source :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13846_3-10318035-62.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
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Free Software Foundation trashes Windows 7
There’s nothing like trashing the competition.
The Free Software Foundation is using the launch of Windows 7 to try to convince businesses to dump Windows in favor of an open-source operating system.
(Credit: Free Software Foundation)
And that’s exactly what the Free Software Foundation plans to do on Wednesday, staging a demonstration in Boston where it will encourage businesses to throw away Microsoft Windows in favor of free alternatives.
In addition to the public display, the foundation is sending letters to the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, warning that Windows is a threat to their businesses’ privacy, security, and freedom.
Although the demonstration and letter center around Microsoft’s imminent release of Windows 7, Free Software Foundation Executive Director Peter Brown says the protest has to do with Microsoft’s approach in general and not with the specifics of Windows 7.
“Any time Microsoft tries to push them to a new version, it’s a good time to make that case,” Brown said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
With Windows 7 getting fairly positive reviews, Brown said he knows it could be tougher to garner public support than was the case with the oft-criticized Vista.
“There’s kind of this attitude of ‘Well, it’s better than Vista,'” Brown said, “so we are kind of working against the grain.”
But, he said, the stakes are high–and it’s about more than just which operating system gains market share. Brown points to Amazon.com’s recent deletion of e-books from the Kindle as an example of the kinds of action that could become commonplace if the world becomes more filled with digital rights management technologies.
“That’s the kind of power that proprietary software gives to these corporations,” he said. “When we give that power, sooner or later somebody comes knocking, whether it is the government or the corporations themselves. Free software is kind of the answer to that.”
Although the letter focuses on Microsoft, he said the group is also concerned with other products, including the new Snow Leopard operating system from Apple, which goes on sale on Friday.
“It’s not just Microsoft,” Brown said. “It’s a problem generally for society that we should accept proprietary software when there is an alternative.”
Source :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10317591-56.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Apple readying MacBook makeover?
Apple is getting ready to introduce a slimmer, lighter MacBook, according to an Apple blog citing unnamed sources.
Apple’s 13-inch notebook in currently undergoing an industrial redesign that will also feature new internal architecture, according to a report on AppleInsider. The redesign, which would be the entry-level machine’s first overhaul in three years, is expected to be unveiled in the coming months, the site reported.
At its annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference in June, Apple introduced new versions of its 13- and 15-inch notebooks that use the same battery technology found in the 17-inch models. The rebranding of the 13-inch unibody MacBook to the MacBook Pro line left the polycarbonate white plastic casing as the only true “MacBook.”
That move left many speculating on the lone remaining model’s chances of survival. But the MacBook remains very popular with consumers. AppleInsider notes that Apple’s online store says the white MacBook is the second best-selling model behind the iMac.
Indeed, Mac sales have been very impressive lately. Data provided by market research firm IDC showed the entire PC industry down more than 3 percent for April, May, and June, but Apple sold 4 percent more computers that quarter than it did during the same quarter in 2008. The company’s laptops were responsible for that surge: MacBook and MacBook Pro shipments were up 13 percent.
However, Apple typically unveils new or redesigned products at media events, but after the September 9 music event, Apple has no such events on the calendar for the rest of the year.
Source :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10317810-37.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Google patches severe Chrome vulnerabilities
Google has fixed two high-severity vulnerabilities in the stable version of its Chrome browser that could have let an attacker remotely take over a person’s computer.
With one attack on Google’s V8 JavaScript engine, malicious JavaScript on a Web site could let an attacker gain access to sensitive data or run arbitrary code on the computer, Google said in a blog post Tuesday. With the other, a page with XML-encoded information could cause a browser tab crash that could let an attacker run arbitrary code within a Chrome protected area called the sandbox.
Chrome 2.0.172.43 (click to download for Windows) fixes the issues and another medium-severity issue. Once Chrome is installed, it retrieves updates automatically and applies them when people restart the browser.
Google won’t release details of the vulnerabilities until “a majority of users are up to date with the fix,” Engineering Program Manager Jonathan Conradt said in the blog post.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-10317320-264.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Mobile ‘biochar’ machine to work the fields
An ancient technique to fertilize soil by creating charcoal from plant waste is being revived to tackle some of today’s environmental problems.
The latest company to pursue manmade charcoal, called biochar, is Biochar Systems, which has developed a biochar-making machine that can be pulled by a pickup truck. Two customers–a North Carolina farm and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management–will be begin testing the units this fall.
The unit, called the Biochar 1000, is designed to convert woody biomass, such as agricultural or forestry waste, into biochar, a black, porous, and fine-grained charcoal that can be used as a fertilizer. It uses pyrolysis–slowly burning biomass in a low-oxygen chamber–to treat 1,000 pounds of biomass per hour, yielding 250 pounds of biochar.
The Biochar 1000 converts agricultural wastes to charcoal, which is then added to soil, a process that enriches soil and removes carbon from air.
