Linux Conquers: On IBM Mainframes
While we labor and wring hands over the success (or lack there of ) for Linux on the Desktop – lo and behold Linux has gained not just a beachead but large chunks of application share on IBM z-Series mainframes. Just take a look at the article here. IBM has seen more than half of […]
Google Wave:Update
The following is the details about Google Wave, Google’s very ambitious (open source?)effort to takehold of the social networking movement– it is derived from the fairly ample information (but no accessible demos except by permisso) on the Google Wave API pages plus a Business Week overview. Here is the schematic: The key idea with […]
Windows 7 Performance versus Windows XP
All sorts of Windows 7 benchmarks are beginning to show up – and it appears, if ZDnet is to be believed, Windows 7 is a barn burner relative to Windows XP. Finally, the performance that was missing in Vista is to be rectified by Windows 7. In every one of 31 tests Windows 7, in […]
Pay for Information?
The old adage “you get what you pay for” is getting a real workout as two philosophical viewpoints on the Internet vie for dominance in the Web marketplace. First, there is the journalistic community which is arguing it cannot rely on the current payment model which cnow uses primarily advertising and a few special services […]
IBM Stream Computing
Just two weeks ago, our report on Semi-Structured data processing had a major gap – no real IBM presence. True enough, the IBM/Cognos, IBM FileNet and other IBM BI offerings certainly dealt with some aspects of semi-structured data ,particularly FileNet’s positions in Content Management and Record Archiving. But the integration across platforms through semi-structured data […]
NetBooks Action!
This blog has been saying that Netbooks and Smartphones is where all the most vigorous innovation and action is taking place in computing today . Need I say various Androids, Blackberries, iPhones and Palm Pre to sustain my position for Smartphones. But in the case of Netbooks it has been a case of take my word for […]
Health IT: Government Produces Positive Change?
There is an article in today’s NYTimes about the profound changes that are occurring in the Health Record business now that the Obama government has added incentives of $40,000 per physician for adopting electronic health records. Players like Google, IBM, and Microsoft have tossed their Health Record technologies into the ring. But the most important factor is […]
Google Android Taking Off
In a previous posting, I described the Tipping Point that Apple and microsoft are going through due to the huge success of Netbooks on the computing scene. The argument was that two factors – 1)the rise of non-MacOS nor Windows OS would be a factor both vendors would have to contend with and 2)the rise […]
Kindle DX : Jeff Bezos’ Tablet PC???
Its just 3 short months since the launch of Kindle 2 and for $130 more here is what you get for the Kindle DX over the smaller Kindle 2: 1)Bigger screen which is nearly double the size. From Kindle 2’s 42 sq inches viewing to Kindle DX 75 sq.inch screen; 2)More than double the storage […]
Windows 7 Short Sightings
Frank Ohlhorst at Ziff Davis Enterprise has written a size up of Windows 7 for ChannelInsider (Is Microsoft Windows 7 the Obama of the OS World?) that is a bit short sighted about the depth of the problems with Windows 7’s predecessor Microsoft Vista – and therefore he tends to over-rate Windows 7. Here are two quotes […]
Apple Media Tablet
Despite denials from Steve Jobs and interim CEO Tim Cook, Apple appears to be working on a Netbook-like, so called Media Tablet. This may be a 10inch touchscreen tablet without a keyboard. The Seeking Alpha reviewers are raving and already talking $300 price for Apple stock. Now our companion blog has already written extensively on […]
Semi-Structured Data; Some New Servers
The big trend in database is the effort to XML-ize Semi- structured data. This is like a big SOAP project in both senses of the Word. Many of the control structures and procedural setting borrow from SOAP. But it is also an attempt by the major Relational Database vendors such as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle and […]
Oracle:Left Coast Big Blue
I thought of titling this posting as “Sam P. ? Is that a Sunny Yolk on You?” – but I didn’t. Instead I would like to ask Barrons to reconsider elevating Sam P. to the exhalted ranks of Best of Barrons CEOs. Also I would like to ask the IBM Board to riddle me this […]
Linux Comment II
Here is another comment on Linux and the Netbook scene . It is inspired by the article – Is Linux dead in the netbook water? over at Dani Web. Again some very good observations in the DaniWeb article prompted this reply. Hi – I think you have essentially defined the problem and opportunity for Linux. […]
Linux Comments
Keir Thomas at Infoworld has raised the question of inward-looking and brittleness to criticism in the Linux Community. The article is titled Why Linux Needs Critics – and comments on the spirit and civility of Linux supporters across their various sites, blogs and forums. I added this largely supporting comment: Keir – I am writer […]
Will Linux Remain the Desktop Whimp?
Linux UIs are pro-status The question of why Linux is a whimp against Windows Vista even when several Linux distributions has already been raised in this blog here. Then the IT and Linux blogosphere was searched for a better answer to why Linux whimps even when several Linux versions best Vista in 16 of 18 […]
AAPL and MSFT Tipping Points
Rapid developments in smartphones and the emergence of Netbooks would suggest that Apple-AAPL and Microsoft-MSFT are reaching tipping points in their respective industries. However, the probability of when and the nature of the Tip may be different. But first before considering anything else, lets take a look at each company’s financial condition: Both from Google […]
RIP JPEG2000
JPEG2000 has shrivelled and not quite died but certainly is not what it promised to be as a replacement for the JPEG image format. Here are the ugly facts: Graphics Support in the Major Browsers Web Standard IE8 Firefox 3.x Chrome 1. Opera 9.6 Safari 4 JPEG2000 No No No No No SMIL Dropped? 3.1 […]
Google Android to appear on Asus and HP Netbooks
Netbook Revolution Trigger – Asus EEE PC – here with 1GB of RAM, 160GB HDD, 1.6GHz Atom CPU There is an autodealer near Buffalo NY who fills the TV airwaves with the usual attention getting claptrap – This is HUGE, HUGE!!!! COME ON DOWN NOW for HUGE DEALS…” Well I never thought I would resort […]
Sun Setting on Open Java?
The Serverside is reporting that Sun is effectively making Java two tiered – an Open Java – and then the latest JDK with all the bells and whistles. See the article here for the almost Machiavellian machinations. These actions by Sun may be motivated by three considerations: 1)The Open Source community (and the whole non-Sun […]
Sun Shines on IBM
The Sun shines on IBM if Armonk decides to go ahead with the rumored purchase of Sun Microsystems because Sun fills so many serious gaps at IBM. In fact I was just about to do an article which would cite IBM as being almost out to lunch on key computing directions including: a)virtualization technology and […]
RAIA=RIA++
RAIA=RIA++ This blog is instituting a new category, RAIA=RIA++, which means that RAIA goes well beyond simple RIA . RAIA=RIA++ will track all the latest doings in the world of RAIA – Rich Anywhere Interactive Applications. RAIA eliminates the confusion around RIA. Some vendors like Curl and Microsoft with Silverlight are saying that delivery on […]
Tracking Browser and Other Web/Mobile Stats for Free
Source: StatCounter Global Stats I must give credit where credit is due – I found this very helpful link at Digital Inspiration blog. But checking around apparently the data has been available for quite some time. The question is how accurate are the numbers – and I will admit to be looking as much at […]
JavaScript RAIA Demos
JavaScript as a contender for RIA usage is not readily contemplated. JavaScript appears to have the same problem as server-based Web UI toolkits from ASP through JSF/JSP to PHP and others – if you want to deliver true RIA with user choice of online or offline operations – tools that are dependent on an online […]
Google => Goofle ?
Now be honest – as a Google Mail user are you seeing a lot more of these type messages? 1)More Ooops messages like these doing ordinary operation in GMail ? 2)Complete unavailability/outages of Gmail Services ? 3)Slllllllow … very slow response time time ? 4)Anomalous results doing simple edits? It is happening more often than […]
Apple Parings
Slashdot has a great posting which acts as an antidote to the domestic “Gosh iPhone is Wonderful” worship from many US Gadgeteers and IT pundits. I repeat the essence here: “With a high level of technical sophistication, critical customers, and high innovation rate, Japan is the toughest cell phone market in the world. So it’s […]
Why Mozilla Counts
Mozilla counts in the Web World not just because of some of its pioneering Web development projects but because its Firefox browser really has Web muscle – browser market share. See the the tables below which show the increasing Firefox market share: The above results are from the W3CSchools Survey These results are from industry […]
Bespin – Start of the Browser Wars II
Mozilla are the people behind Firefox. And some users may know it for XUL – the XML based User-interface Language that Microsoft has copied and proprietized as XAML. Some people may know that Mozilla has also a major role in JavaScript having Brendan Eich, the designer of Javascript, on staff. So naturally Mozilla has been […]
RazorSQL – A Missed Opportunity
RazorSQL is an example of an opportunity missed. This is a general database query, display and editing program that runs in Linux, Mac, Solaris, and Windows. It reads a wide range of databases from DB2 thru MySQL to SQLite – over two dozen. It is free for 30 day trial and can be downloaded here. […]
More IDEs Surface
Here is another IDE, from alfega, that appeared on the PHP/Web development scene. It has the flavor of CodeGear/Embarcadero’s Delphi for PHP. I have seen at least 5 in the past week. What is going on ? Scramble for the defunct JavaScript/AJAX IDE brass ring – well its far from defunct as Backbase, Bindows, Nexaweb […]
SitePoint Did the Right Thing
SitePoint Books, which is based in Australia, did the right thing by having a 3 day sale of many of its books at bargian price of 5 for $30. Even better, all of the proceeds from the sale will be applied to the Relief Fund for Victims of the Disaterous fire in Australia’s Southeast coastal […]
Return to Pay Per Web View
Time magazine confronts the problem which is plaguing the publishing industry and now spreading to all media – the model for charging for your work breaks down in the face of computing and particularly the Web’s ability to copy just about any work with absolute fidelity at no cost. The current model for getting paid […]
Microsoft as Crusader for the Common Man
Oh the irony – Microsoft as crusader for the masses against an evil monopolist who dominates a market and puts arbitrary limits on users. The market ? Mobile Smart Phones. The Evil Empire? Apple. What is Apple doing that has users up in arms? Here are the details of the dispute: The Electronic Frontier Foundation, […]
BI Road Blocks ?
BI has had mixed success out in the IT marketplace and Information Week is documenting that. Just 19% of business technology professionals report succes in using BI to support business performance. As a BI supporter I was frankly aghast at the lowness of this number. But the survey cited a number of barriers: 1 – […]
What Microsoft’s Board Should Do
Microsoft’s Board of Directors are faced with some debilitating problems. The company has proceeded to devastate its Windows Brand in the past 8 years and the results are starting to breech the desktop monopoly fortress. The stock price that had been static for 8 years at $25-35 is now taking a downturn into the $15-19 […]
Linux Desktop Whimp II – Other Blog Views
In our previous look at Linux on the Desktop, the article describes how Linux tops Vista in 16 of 18 benchmark categories while besting Windows XP in 10 of 18 with two ties. Yet Linux a)has gained no market share in the Desktop PC market in the past year languishing at 1-3% depending on which […]
Kindle 2: The Book That Can Run Out of Power
Jeff Bezos is delivering the second version of his allegedly very popular Kindle (I suspect Amazon of Positive Impression Management equal to or better than Redmond in its hay daze, circa 1995). And I keep asking myself why I would want to buy a grayscale-only book (or even a book store) which runs only in […]
Linux, the Desktop Whimp?
If you read comics books from the late 1930s thru to the mid 1960s (think Archie, Batman, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Superman, Wonder Woman … oops, am I revealing too much ?), you undoubtedly recall the Charles Atlas Body Building comic book ads. The ads were of various size (see the full length one above […]
LightCMS, with Emphasis on the Former
The above is the resources given with the “free” LIghtCMS – yep not a lot. Now heavens knows I feel strongly that developers and bloggers need ways of making a return on their investments. But this is sort of like those Google Ad sites – feigning being helpful; but really full of marginal links. LightCMS […]
Hello Welt from Chrome, Safari, Opera
Some strange things are happening to the Weblog in Firefox the post process just decrepitates. Here is the report for the other browsers: – I amgetting thru in Chrome2. – Also in with Safari 3.1 – Also in with Opera 9.5 – Now Firefox rebooted is working – Finally IE7 which also worked only on […]
EU Has Got It Right
The US DOJ under the Bush Administration totally blew the Antitrust Decision with Microsoft. But that was the first sign of an endemic incompetence. Now the EU Commission in requiring Microsoft to preload Windows 7 with the Safari, Mozilla, Google, and Opera browsers as well as IE for a user option of choice (much as […]
Sturdy and Reliable
Business Week has a spot-on article about Obsolete Computers that Still Do the Job. Despite the misnomer – these computers are certainly not “obsolete” if they deliver continued value and efficiency as described in the article. This is sound advice that unfortunately goes up against the perfect storm of “newer is better”, “in gadgets we […]
Transparent and Accountable
These are the call words of the Obama administration and if you go their website – you will should be reasonably impressed with how much detail the Obama government has opened up on the Web. Update:With resignation of 2 cabinet appointees, Obama is finding out how hard transparent and accountable can be. I would love […]
Cloud Computing Drivers: AJAX Frameworks
It can be argued that JavaScript AJAX Frameworks are leading software development right now. This is not just UI Web development but the whole tenor of software being developed. Open, agile developing that is cross browser, OS, and database/web server platforms are the regular mashup targets of more developers. And the primary development software they […]
Visions of Cloud Computing
This site has been citing Cloud Computing as one of the critical tools for delivering integrated information at your fingertips. Providing not just the ease of use interfaces but also the access to tools+the complete data necessary for making the right decisions. But Cloud Computing has its skeptics. Information Week did a survey of over […]
Tamil Tiger Toronto Tale of the Web
There is a demonstration by supporters of the Tamil Tigers of NorthEast Sri Lanka at the Toronto midtown corner of Bloor and Yonge Streets. It is notable because this is a continuing series of ever more heated protests so the police and TV media are out to “cover” the protest each in its own ways. […]
VB6 and VBA Are Not Dead, Just Not Supported: Update
Microsoft did not stomp on VB6 and VBA, they just removed any more paid support for it. See the news here. In Redmond’s favor, they made good on a promise in 2005 to do this. However there are are numerous affected parties. On the VB6 side many users including some Microsoft designated Master Programmers, feel […]
Google APIs
Backbase and YUI started it, and now Google has finally succumbed – a great demo interface for its JavaScript APIs: Try it you will like it. But also note that Google is using jQuery 1.26 as its JavaScript Framework for most of the core windowing and display work. Interesting ?
Pogue’s View on Vista 2 … uhh Windows 7
NYTimes tech guru David Pogue was one of the few IT commentators that dared to call Windows Vista a thing of beauty with perhaps some notable deficiencies. But even David failed to get the depth of the deficiencies – he completely missed the 30-50% slower than Windows XP and the revolting changes to the UI […]
Ajaxians Being Grateful, Skeptical, then Resigned …
There is a podcast at the Ajaxian blog with Ben Galbraith and Dion Almaer, entitled the Audible Ajax. They talk about the State of Ajax and address the following issues: IE8 and standards – they are so grateful for anything that Microsoft puts in IE8 that get closer to standards that is positively embarrassing to listen […]