Open source

Good intentions won't sell Windows 7

Microsoft's launch party videos have proven to be entertaining to viewers even if not for the reasons for the marketing department had hoped for. There were a great many comments on my post that provided context to their release, but generally speaking most industry-watchers have been confused as to the goals behind the program, questioning the target audience not just for the videos, but for the launch parties as well.

I reached out to Microsoft for comment but they withheld at this time as the videos are apparently just one step in a much larger integrated marketing campaign.

I personally found the most recent video weird, but after thinking through things a bit I think this is a case of a good idea hampered by poor execution. The videos are well-done and professional and try to connect with consumers in a humanistic tone. The fact that it feels like you stumbled into a shiny-happy Windows world filled with sit-com throwaways is the problem. Even if this is a training video to show others how to throw a launch party, it's hard to connect with the vapid characterizations of party guests.

This is the crux of Microsoft's marketing problems. It's not that they aren't good at technical marketing issues, it's that the brand itself is so voluminous, it's very hard for people to connect to specific products like Windows. And the efforts to persuade consumers isolate the tech media and confuse IT shops. … Read more

Want to analyze big data? Check your log files

More than a few technology sectors seem to be turning up the volume on "big data" and the enormous challenges and opportunities that enterprises face in managing and analyzing their data and system resources.

There are a number of hip technologies and frameworks like Apache Hadoop, which is used to store, process, and analyze massive data sets, enabling applications to work with thousands of nodes and petabytes of data.

One area that provides never-ending data analysis fodder are log files. For those not aware, log files are usually automatically created and updated whenever a machine or machine user … Read more

MySpace to open source data processing

MySpace today announced a new open-source project called Qizmt, a distributed computation framework developed by its data mining team.

Qizmt is based on the MapReduce distributed processing framework, well-known as a core part of Google's search indexing infrastructure. Qizmt, however, runs on large clusters of Microsoft Windows servers, an interesting sidebar to a computing style we most commonly associate with commodity Linux machines.

MapReduce is a programming model and an associated implementation for processing and generating large data sets. Users specify a map function that processes a key/value pair to generate a set of intermediate key/value pairs, … Read more

Avoiding the software 'fail whale'

The tech world is all too familiar with Twitter's "fail whale" and have become accustomed to Gmail failures (which are inevitably chronicled on Twitter.) And while sometimes it's infrastructure (such as routers and switches) rather than software that fails, it often seems as if we too readily accept that software will inevitably breakdown.

Mark Donsky, director of product management at Coverity, commented recently about a recent static analysis of open-source projects performed on the Scan site that showed a 71.9 percent correlation between the number of lines of code and number of defects found.

This is of course, not an open-source problem but a general issue that occurs as more code is integrated into products. I've been told that Windows is developed with two quality assurance people to every engineer as the product has grown over the years.

Coverity is focused on software integrity and advocates static analysis early in the development cycle. While testing of all kinds, including static analysis are obviously good ideas, the tools and methods vary dramatically by engineering organization. The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University and the Object Management Group (OMG) recently paired up to form a consortium to establish standards for software quality. … Read more

Microsoft miseducates Best Buy on Linux

Just when it seemed like Microsoft was content to bag on Google and Apple, screenshots of anti-Linux training materials hit the Internet a few days ago. If these are fakes, someone certainly spent a lot of time making them look and sound a lot like previous Microsoft training materials.

According to the anonymous source, Microsoft has been sending Best Buy retail staff training material that deliberately attacks and distorts Linux. And from the screenshots below (originally posted on Overclock.net forum) it's clear Microsoft is threatened by Linux--if for the wrong reasons.

Hadoop buzz continues to excite the cloud

Hadoop is the popular open-source implementation of MapReduce, a powerful tool designed for deep analysis and transformation of very large data sets. It enables you to explore complex data, using custom analyses tailored to your information and questions. It's also one of the most buzz-worthy, talked about open-source projects around.

I spoke with Christophe Bisciglia, Hadoop World organizer and founder of Cloudera, to ask some questions about this inaugural event. And by the way, if you're interested in attending, click on the link in the answer to question No. 5. (My readers get a 25 percent discount if you register before September 15.)

Q: How can you explain the buzz around Hadoop? It's deafening. … Read more

Cloud interoperability on the horizon?

Arguments for and against the cloud are starting to calm down a bit, and most people agree that the cloud is somewhere in your future, if not in your present.

Instead of arguing semantics of application development and delivery, the discussion should really be around how to deal with a mix of on-premise and on-demand, a combination that is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.

I spent the first half of this week in Las Vegas at a nontech trade show, and missed both VMworld and the Red Hat Summit. However, watching and reading from afar, I noticed two … Read more

Sharp unleashes Ubuntu-based Netbook

Lest you think that Netbooks are dead, Sharp is out with the PC-Z1, released under the "NetWalker" brand in Japan.

Running an Ubuntu Linux derivative, several sites have compared the PC-Z1 to the fabled Sharp Zaurus.

Ubuntu is a logical choice for Netbooks and other low-cost consumer devices. Besides being highly customizable, the open-source aspect really helps. Companies can tweak the operating system to meet their needs without having to be burdened with licensing fees. But having owned a 7" Asus Eee PC for more than a year, I can safely opine that Netbooks are not all … Read more

How open source levels all software market segments

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 … Read more

The big guns of Linux kernel development

The Linux Foundation recently released an updated study of Linux development statistics that reveals interesting statistics relating to who actually writes the kernel that allows others to build on top.

More than 70 percent of total kernel contributions come from developers working at large companies including obvious participants like Red Hat, IBM, Novell, and Intel as well as other less obvious small companies such as Parallels.

Red Hat: 12.3% IBM: 7.6% Novell: 7.6% Intel: 5.3% Independent consultant: 2.5% Oracle: 2.4% Linux Foundation: 1.6% SGI 1.6% Parallels 1.3% Renesas Technology: 1.3% Academia: 1.2% Fujitsu: 1.1% MontaVista: 1.1% MIPS Technologies: 1.1% Analog Devices: 1.0% HP: 1.0%

Another interesting fact is the rate of development and constant refactoring of the kernel code. An average of 10,923 lines of code are added with an average of 5,547 lines removed every day, ensuring that the code is high quality and relevant for the most important implementations of the kernel. … Read more