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The tragedy of Java's success

As James Gosling set out to create the hugely popular Java programming language, he also created a monster, he said in interview with vnunet.com.

For as a Vice President with Sun Microsystems in charge of Java, he has little time to spend coding or working on the actual software:

"[My hands] both itch and I have this sense of tragedy. Because there are only 24 hours in a day. How do you ever decide what to do? There are all kinds of things that are crying out to be played with," Gosling says in the interview.

"But I sneak in a fair amount of coding. Mostly I do little things. Because getting on the critical line for any product is bad idea for me. I get pulled off to do other things, I can't make deadlines. I've done an application that I did a while a go for slide shows, for doing Power Point. But it's rather different than Power Point. I hack on that one a lot. Just for the hell of it."

Really, if it were up to Gosling, he would be working on 3D graphics. He true passion calls. The question is when the call will get loud enough for him to leave Sun.
Gosling (right) last month at Java's 10th birthday party on Sun Microsystem's Santa Clara campus. Next to Gosling: Jonathan Schwartz (Chief Operating Officer) and Duke, the java mascotte.

May 27, 2005 at 08:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

An open source advocate loses his faith

A sense of realism seems to be settling down in the open source arena, as some of the gold diggers start to realise that the two words by themselves aren't magical. Nor will they "just" deliver sustainable businesses.

"Open source as a business model, in isolation, is pretty much unsustainable," Larry McVoy told Forbes.com. McVoy has been working with Likux since 1992 and currently is chief executive officer for BitMover, a developer of a software development tool for Linux called BitKeeper.

Although the application isn't open source, the company used to give its product away for free. But not for much longer: as of this June developers are charged a licence fee.

"We believe if we open sourced our product, we would be out of business in six months," McVoy told Forbes. "The bottom line is you have to build a financially sound company with a well-trained staff. And those staffers like their salaries. If everything is free, how can I make enough money to keep building that product for you and supporting you?"

Unfortunately for McVoy, his company's failure to make money from his product might say more about his business skills than it does about open source.

The secret behind creating a successful open source company isn't that much different from the secret behind creating an op open source company in general: offer better functionalities than the competition, good support, and in the case of open source: gather a community that is willing to help out with development.

Red Hat, Novell and MySQL will tell you that it isn't impossible.

McVoy seems to be on the right path to finding the answer however, he just needs a little more help. "Open source software is like handing you a doctor's bag and the architectural plans for a hospital and saying, 'Hey dude, if you have a heart attack, here are all the tools you need--and it's free' I'd rather pay someone to take care of me."

Just replace open source with "failed software."

May 27, 2005 at 07:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The old world: a safe haven for hackers

European PC users have won the honourable title of caring the least about security. Data from CipherTrust shows that Europe leads the way in the number of zombie PCs: 26 per cent of all PCs infected are located there, followed by the US (20 per cent) and China (15 per cent).

Zombie PCs are computers that have been infected by a worm or virus and are at the control of hackers. They rent them out to send spam or launch DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks.

It's an embarrassing result for Europe, especially because there are some simple ways to prevent your computer from being turned into a zombie. Praying is one of them, followed by running anti virus software, a firewall and staying up to date with the latest patches.

Oh, and don't open every email attachment that promises pictures of naked 16 year old girls.

May 27, 2005 at 07:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Do you want some hype with your storage?

Somehow it appears that we have to care a great deal about the next generation of DVD disks. The Blu-ray vs. HD DVD was is in full swing as Iomega entered the stage with a disk that promises to store as much as 800 Gbytes – about 94 times as much as current generation DVDs and double the capacity of Blu-ray or HD-DVD.

Consumers need all this storage for our movies, claim the technologists behind all these standards. Never mind that a high definition movie fits nicely on any of the next generation disks.

Think bonus features, the marketing guys will argue. Ah, yes. The joy of watching the movie while you can hear the sound guys talk about the blasts and punches. Fascinating. 800 Gigs of sheer joy.

Forget all the talk about "user benefits". This discussion revolves around licence revenues and hardware sales. A new DVD standard means we all have to go out and buy new DVD players.

I don't blame Iomega for wanting to make a buck – they we hit relentlessly when the CD-rom burners made their Zip-drive business disappear and have been wandering ever since. Just don't expect me to embrace a standard that was created with financial health the optical storage industry in mind.

May 27, 2005 at 06:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

What can a software engineer learn from a real estate architect?

If architects would design buildings the way software architects create software, we would be in for a big mess with buildings crashing left and right just because you happen to open the wrong door at the wrong time.

How can we get some of the architectural expertise and apply it to software design? Start with the educational system, argues Oracle's Chief Security Officer Mary Ann Davidson in an interview with Computing.

"I would like to see university programmes certified so you couldn't get out until you could prove at least basic secure coding. You couldn't do that in civil engineering. Look at architects, for example. They can design the most amazing buildings, but they're also secure. I didn't walk into this building today and wonder if it was going to fall down."

Software companies are making progress here by the way, at least that's what Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer told students at Stanford University earlier this month.

Mary Ann Davidson. Photo: Oracle

May 26, 2005 at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Sex hungry cop opened the door for Lexis Nexis hack

Over on the Security Watchdog Blog:
Sex hungry cop opened the door for Lexis Nexis hack

May 26, 2005 at 09:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Nokia's useless non-phone

Phone maker Nokia has launched a Linux powered tablet-like device. The appliance is designed for browsing the internet and reading email. An on screen keyboard allows for text input.

It connects to the internet through a build in WiFi radio or uses to a mobile phone's data connection via Bluetooth. It however doesn't have a radio for cellular networks.

If it weren't running Linux, this would have been an utterly lame device. At least now it still some minor cool factor. It allows developers to create their own applications through the "Maemo" platform that Nokia created.

But I can't think of a single scenario where this device would come in and save the day, or at least where a PDA, smartphone or laptop wouldn't suffice.

So please tell me, dear readers, if you think the Nokia 770 Internet Tablet is worth $350 - and if so what it would allow you to do that you can't do today.

Photo credit: Nokia

May 25, 2005 at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack

TiVo feels the free factor

TiVo has had to learn this the hard way: great technology by itself won't break through – you still have to give it away for free to get user adoption.

At least that's what appears to be the logical conclusion from an In-Stat study that saw 2004 shipments of personal video records (PVRs) surge by 147 percent to 11.4 million.

Increased consumer awareness is the driving force behind the rise, the researchers claim, but not without cable and satellite providers giving away the devices for free. And they also happen to have slashed the subscription costs for the devices.

A PVR automatically record television shows and allow consumers to easily skip commercials. It also lets users rewind a live television show, a much appreciated feature when Janet Jackson flashed a breast during the 2004 Super Bowl half time show (warning: link contains picture of covered nipple).

It’s the mobile phone all over again. No matter how great your technology is, it helps a lot to give away the required devices.

May 25, 2005 at 08:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Microsoft opens the door for pirates

As Microsoft is readying its "Windows Genuine Advantage" technology that will prevent access to some updates for users of illegal copies of Windows, it turns out that there is a fairly easy way to circumvent the technology.

The technology requires users to run an application. After it has determined that you're using a legitimately licensed copy of Windows, you'll receive an authentication code. Enter the code in a form on the Microsoft website and your system is authorised for the rest of its life.

Now grab your notebooks: the workaround allows you use the authorisation code on any computer, just do it within a few hours, because the code expires "quickly", a Microsoft spokesperson told vnunet.com.

Because code has limited use (it expires), Microsoft doesn't plan to fix the workaround, he said.

Users however can circumvent the expiration time by setting changing the system time on their computer, claims security expert Debasis Mohanty in a posting on a security email list. Just make sure you write down when you requested the original authorisation code.

May 25, 2005 at 12:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

PalmSource CEO gone or not?

For a chief executive that was fired just last Sunday, PalmSource's David Nagel didn't mind taking the stage at the Palmsource Mobile Summit and Developer's Conference.

Nalgel's appearance was intended to send a message that all is well and that there is consistency in the company that is currently struggling for consistency.

"I didn't expect it to be like this," Nagel said as he walked on the stage. "No, not in that way," he was quick to add, referring to his recent resignation. Instead he explained that the event drew a crowd much larger than  he had expected.

References to his departure were pasted throughout the opening keynote. But the company stayed numb on the reasons for the management overhaul.

May 24, 2005 at 06:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack