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Red Hat CEO on certification, Jboss and open source (Red Hat Summit podcast)
Red Hat today unveiled several new open source projects at its second annual Red Hat Summit in Nashville, TN. One of the projects will seek to create a set of open source testing and certification tools.
At the event, the company's chief executive Matthew Szulik was kind enough to make some time in his scheduled to sit down and discuss his comapny's plans for the certification tools, the recent Jboss acquisition and Red Hat's role as a commericial software vendor in an open source world.
You can download this podcast interview as an mp3 file here or use the embedded player below.
Tags: Linux, Red Hat, Matthew Szulik, Red Hat Summit 2006, podcast
May 31, 2006 at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Red Hat beats the open source drum
Red Hat chief executive Matthew Szulik this morning kicked off the second edition of the Red Hat summit.
Where Red Hat last year in New Orleans focused on its software stack and middleware products, the focus this year in Nashville appears to have shifted back to developers.
The company during Szulik's keynote presentation unveiled several new open source projects to improve code quality and allow for faster testing.
The big picture of Szulik's presentation is a focus on transparency and open content. Red Hat has always positioned itself as the true commercial steward of the open source community.
But especially after Red Hat made a very old school capitalistic move by acquiring Jboss for $420m, the firm needed to reaffirm its commitment to open source and the "democratized content" ideals behind it.
Szulik did just that.
Tags: Linux, Red Hat, Matthew Szulik, Red Hat Summit 2006
May 31, 2006 at 04:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
One Laptop per child computers work
The one laptop per child (OLPC) project has its first working prototypes - previous models were merely mock-ups. A Red Hat engineer who is a contributor to the project showed the picture below at the Red Hat summit this morning, displaying a working laptop.
The OLPC project is spearheaded by Nicholas Negroponte, who is scheduled to speak at the Red Hat summit on Friday.
Tags: Linux, Red Hat, Matthew Szulik, Red Hat Summit 2006, one laptop per child
May 31, 2006 at 03:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Microsoft's Nascar approach to security
Computers aren't exactly known for their appliance-like characteristics, and the ability to customize them is probably on of the device's main strengths. But customization and openness is a curse when it comes to security.
Microsoft on Wednesday is launching its OneCare performance suite in the US, and has come up with the perfect analogy: that of the race car driver. He too needs optimal performance and control, but doesn't want to be bothered with changing tires, refuelling and fine-tuning the engine.
The company therefore has "borrowed" a Nascar vehicle from the BestBuy retail chain and will have it compete in OneCare colours on Sunday 4 June at the Dover Speedway in Delaware.
Now let's hope that it doesn’t crash.
Photo courtesy of Microsoft
Tags: Microsoft, nascar, onecare, security
May 31, 2006 at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Kicking Microsoft’s beta tires
Microsoft’s parting gift to all those attending WinHEC this week was a set of DVDs with the Longhorn Server and Windows Vista Beta 2 software. The code should be available for the public to download within the next few weeks.
VMWare’s free (beta) virtualization software provided a safe testing environment, so it didn’t take long before a Vista virtual machine was made on my home computer and the x64 Vista beta disk was spinning around. Time to catch up on lost sleep and the next morning everything was done.
Similarly, downloading and installing the public beta of Office 2007 was a piece of cake.
Between the two applicaitons there are many new features and items that take some getting used to, but so far I’ve been able to at least locate everything.
The only serious issue is the inability to get the Aero graphical look to show up. To get semi transparent windows, you need an advanced graphics card and plenty of memory (1Gb). The system doesn’t recognize my card, even after downloading the special Vista 2 driver from the manufacturer’s website.
Word’s blogging feature furthermore turned out to be a disappointment, but for reasons outside of Microsoft’s control. The typepad blogging service that runs this blog doesn’t support FTP uploads. Posting text is no problem, but adding pictures is impossible. Boo! for Typepad.
Adding a link on the other hand is gem, since Word will display a list of recently visited websites to link to – although I doubt that that feature will support Firefox.
Tags: office 2007, windows vista, Microsoft, blogging, typepad, beta, winhec2006, winhec
May 27, 2006 at 02:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Investers say no to Vonage IPO
Vonage shares are down significantly following the company's IPO, dropping by a total of 23.5 per cent in the first two days of trading.
It's shouldn’t be too much of a concern for Vonage, as the company already has cashed in its $531m. But it looks like future sales aren't an option any time soon.
It furthermore appears that Vonage's spam campaign to lure in subscribers didn't result in any material demand for the stock either.
For a company that sells an intermediary technology that everybody knows will be gone in a few years, Vonage makes for a lousy investment. For a company that charges for a product that Skype gives away for free, Vonage makes for a lousy investment. For a company that was founded by a convicted criminal, Vonage makes for a louse investment.
Buy lottery tickets instead. At least they benefit some charities.
May 25, 2006 at 10:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Microsoft dreams up niche UMPC devices (WinHEC pics)
The first ultra mobile PC (UMPC) devices might be somewhat of a disappointment, that doesn't prevent Microsoft from dreaming of niche applications for the device.
Below you'll find photos of slides that Microsoft displayed (so forgive the less then perfect quality), showcasing concepts of niche applications. Some of these are being pursued by manufacturers, but Microsoft declined to go into any details for competitive reasons.
Key is that all these systems use Windows XP (or Windows Vista in the future) on a small display device.
Media player with dedicated control buttons on the side of the display
Japan is looking to deploy UMPCs in education. It requires additional robustness and adaptations for small hands.
Communications device with a keyboard. Front...
... and back
Fitness/healthcare monitor. Targeting baby boomers who don't use PCs on a regular basis.
GPS navigation system - as a portable unit...
...or built in
And lastly: Gaming. Can you say: Xbox Mobile?
Tags: Microsoft, UMPC, origami, winhec2006, winhec
May 25, 2006 at 06:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Talking security with Microsoft's security boss
Talk to a Microsoft executive about Vista, and he'll tell you that security is the single most important feature of the forthcoming operating system.
So instead of taking their word for it, vnunet.com sat down with Michael Nash, Microsoft's corporate vice president for the security technology unit. He worked on bolstering Vista's security for the past four years.
To listen to the interview, use the embedded player below or download the mp3 here.
Michael Nash
Tags: winhec2006, winhec, microsoft, windows vista, windows longhorn server, beta
May 25, 2006 at 01:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Microsoft to offer Vista UEFI support after all
Windows Vista will receive support for the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface technology by late 2007, Microsoft promised. The technology is set to replace the Bios, leading to shorter boot times and unlocking advanced features.
Microsoft disappointed many users and developers earlier this year when it pulled support for the technology from Windows Vista. That was in part because Apple is using UEFI on its Intel powered systems and UEFI Vista would enable users to run Vista on their Macs. But Apple itself has solved that issue with the creation of Bios powered Bootcamp.
Only a limited number of PC systems will feature UEFI support by the time Vista comes out. PC manufacturers simply needed more time, and that's what Microsoft is giving them.
The latest Beta 2 release of Windows Vista offers UEFI support for testing purposes only. Microsoft will strip the feature from the final release.
Introducing new technologies such as UEFI is a chicken-egg dilemma. If there are no operating systems supporting the technology, system builders won't build them. But without hardware in the market, Microsoft is right to focus on finishing Vista.
Building ecosystems is hard, even for Microsoft.
Photo: Andrew Ritz, a Microsoft development manager for the core platform architecture team delivering his UEFI session at WinHEC 2006.
Tags: winhec2006, winhec, microsoft, windows vista, beta, UEFI, BIOS
May 24, 2006 at 09:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Microsoft shows off Vista-Office collaboration (WinHEC Video)
Windows Vista and Office 12 aren't just stand alone products. In this demonstration at the WinHEC 2006 show in Seattle, the company demonstrates how the two work together.
Tags: winhec2006, winhec, microsoft, windows vista, beta, office 12
May 24, 2006 at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Spanish
