Google’s OpenSocial
Google is developing a thing called “OpenSocial. It will be an “API” (Application Programming Interface) for social network websites. Engage.com, Friendster, hi5, Hyves, imeem, LinkedIn, MySpace, Ning, Oracle, orkut, Plaxo, Salesforce.com, Six Apart, Tianji, Viadeo, and XING are implementing the software.
OpenSocial is built upon Google Gadget technology, so you can build […]

“According to long-time OpenDocument Fellowship member Russell Ossendryver, it appears that GNOME founder Miguel de Icaza’s widely-publicized praise for OOXML as a ’superb standard’ is being followed up with on-going support by the GNOME Foundation in ‘resolving’ the thousands of criticisms leveled against Microsoft’s proposed standard. In an open letter in his blog, Ossendryver urges […]

The UK computer agency Becta is advising schools not to sign licensing agreements with Microsoft because of alleged anti-competitive practices.
The government agency has complained to the Office of Fair Trading.
It says talks with Microsoft have not resolved “fundamental concerns” about academic licensing and about Office 2007 and the Vista operating system.
…
Becta’s advice to schools […]

As you know, there is an effort to develop a very inexpensive laptop, and to give one to each of the several billion children living in non-industrialized countries around the world. (One Laptop Per Child Foundation.)
Naturally, since a very efficient, reliable and inexpensive operating system is need to run these laptops, they will run […]

mySQL is the number one database in use on servers. It is an OpenSource project, and it is the database “back end” for your typical LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP) server. What this means is that if you are reading a web site, you are probably using MySQL.
Google uses LAMP servers, […]

What I love about African Bureaucracy is that it rarely respects Western hierarchical structures. I remember trying to arrange to get on a plane in Kenya, as were dozens of other people, and one guy kept waving around a small card he had pulled out of his wallet. “I’m a VIP … See, […]

Stop Interrupting Me
Your computer is, at its most basic level, a clock that runs very quickly, but as it cycles, it considers interacting with the electronic machinery around it. These moments of consideration are called “Interrupts” and it is only at the moment of an interrupt that something may … or may not happen.
Since […]

This is the newest release of the Ubuntu Linux Distribution. It has improved versions of many of the features previously already in place (but the previous versions involved more user-tweaking than idea) such as multiple monitor support.
From the press release, this is a list of new features:

Hardware management improvements - improved plug-and-play […]

Some guy eating dog food. He later tried Ubuntu Linux and liked it much better…
I’d like to recommend five blog posts regarding the process of switching from whatever non-Linux operating system you happen to be using now to Linux (in particular, but not necessarily, Ubuntu).
I also want to make a few comments about problems […]

It appears that while, on one hand, Microsoft makes high profile threats about forcing all Linux users to pay them money … in fact as retribution for refusing to be assimilated into the Vista Borg, but under cover of patent infringement for unspecified patents, there is another company that is in fact, as of just […]

October 13th was the seventh birthday of the Office Suite OpenOffice.Org. This is an OpenSource office suite that will look familiar to anyone using Microsoft Office, WordPefect Office, etc. It has a word processor (Writer) that does pretty much everything Microsoft Word does, but with a more logical layout for menus and some other […]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wants you to pay him money, no matter what. You can make it easy and buy his product. Or you can make it hard, he’ll get the money anyway. The utterly uncivilized and aggressive behavior of Microsoft alone should be enough to make you not want […]

According to recently compiled data, the percentage of desktops running Windows and Mac OS has not increased in 2007, while Linux had doubled its market share. I know this does not add up to 100% but that is because Linux actually has a fairly small desktop market share. So now, Linux is pushing […]

“Warning, Will Robinson, Warning!”
Microsoft is starting its long-anticipated drive into the consumer health care market by offering free personal health records on the Web and pursuing a strategy that borrows from the company’s successful formula in personal computer software.
The move by Microsoft, which is called HealthVault and was announced today in Washington, […]

Or at least, I’m going to take it as an endorsement. Consider this:
Ubuntu is generally regarded as one of the more consumer-friendly versions of Linux, so the Linux PC experience is similar to what you would get with a Windows-equipped Dell. When you start the machine, the screen looks familiar; preinstalled applications can easily […]