linux

Is Linux too hard?

Despite booming enterprise server sales, some in the industry continue to grumble that Linux is too hard. Designed by geeks for geeks, the theory goes, Linux will never be mainstream.

Reality hasn't been kind to such arguments.

Consider the fact that Linux-based Google Android saw 350 percent growth in 2009, according to Myxer data. I've yet to hear anyone talking about Android being hard to use. My teenage neighbors bought their Android phones and have had little trouble texting, browsing the Web, and installing applications.

It's Linux. It's not hard.

Where Linux does sometimes fall down … Read more

Microsoft sues TiVo...but not over Linux. Surprise!

Hard as it may be to believe, sometimes Microsoft's patent lawsuits have nothing to do with Linux. Increasingly, however, they all seem to end with the same punchline: "Get a license to our patent portfolio and everything will work out."

When

Microsoft intervened in AT&T's patent infringement suit against Linux-based TiVo; it said it was doing so to uphold its IP interests. While the open-source community fretted that the intervention might signal evil intent against Linux, closer inspection by Groklaw revealed the lawsuit "has absolutely nothing to do with Linux."

Phew!

At … Read more

Novell slapped for impersonating Red Hat

It's no secret that Novell would dearly love to trade market share with Red Hat in the Linux market. Red Hat, however, isn't happy with at least one of Novell's chosen strategies for getting there:

Cloning.

As its white papers allege, Novell thinks it can offer high-quality support for SUSE Linux, the Linux distribution it owns and ships, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), the Linux distribution that it...doesn't. The company has been offering a migration plan from RHEL to SUSE since at least November 2008, but it recently raised the ire of Red Hat … Read more

Linux: World domination (and jobs) in sight

U.S. Department of Labor data suggest that systems analysts and software engineers comprise two of the fastest-growing six job categories through 2016. With 80 percent growth in Linux job postings over the last five years, according to the Linux Foundation, it could well be that these categories will be dominated by Linux geeks.

World domination...finally in sight?

It's looking more and more likely. Linux is everywhere, creating jobs, lowering IT costs, and serving as poster child for the open-source business and development movements.

This momentum isn't lost on Microsoft, which has revived its anti-Linux charm offensive. … Read more

Cheap hardware loves Linux, hurts Microsoft

Microsoft used to bury the cost of Windows in the $1,000-plus price of a new PC. But as personal computers take different and cheaper forms, Microsoft Windows is starting to look a heck of a lot more expensive...and expendable.

That's the argument ZDNet's Adrian Kingsley-Hughes makes, and it rings true. Microsoft's earnings have been slipping as the industry resets to Netbooks and other low-cost hardware, which is forcing Microsoft to cut its prices on Windows accordingly.

Microsoft may be "beating" Linux in Netbooks, but it's an ugly, Pyrrhic victory, as Kingsley-Hughes describes:… Read more

Lenovo announces Skylight smartbook, smaller than a Netbook

Do you believe in smartbooks yet? Smaller than Netbooks, running custom OSes and miniature smartphone processors, these newly-coined devices are supposed to offer the best of smartphone convenience with the form factor of a Netbook. They're ready to start appearing on the scene, and Lenovo has one of the first with their Skylight.

With a 10.1-inch screen, it's not exactly a supersmall device compared to an iPhone--but it is much thinner than nearly any Netbook. With built-in 3G and Wi-Fi, Lenovo promises a seamless browsing experience. The OS, however, is not Windows, or even Ubuntu: it's … Read more

Running World of Warcraft in Ubuntu Linux

If you are looking for an operating system that offers the best values, none can compare to Linux.

First of all, it's free. Most Linux distributions can be downloaded gratis from the developers' Web site and you can install it on however many computers you want. Secondly, it comes with a lot of things, such as office tools (word processing, spreadsheet, presentation), audio and video playback, Internet and e-mail, instant messaging, and so on. Basically everything a general user would want to use with a computer is there when the installation is done. For those applications that are not … Read more

Canonical shines its Ubuntu light on consumers

Canonical, creator of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, has taken its share of criticism for not being innovative enough for some in the Linux community. In 2010, however, Canonical's focus on design and packaging will come to be seen as a seriously shrewd strategy as it helps to take Linux to the masses.

The reason? The innovation that pays is changing, and UI matters more and more.

When we think of innovation, we normally think of traditional research and development (R&D), complete with a white-coated scientist or pizza-gobbling engineer.

As Apple, Google, and other highly successful software companies … Read more

Red Hat's Q3 earnings defy gravity

Someone needs to let the folks in Raleigh know we're in a down economy still. While much of the tech market lingers in the doldrums, Red Hat announced another strong earnings report for its fiscal third quarter 2010.

Here are some of the headline numbers:

Revenue of $194 million, an 18 percent increase year-over-year. Subscription revenue topped $164 million, up 21 percent year-over-year (and 85 percent of the company's revenue). Deferred revenue climbed 23 percent year-over-year to hit $619 million. All 25 accounts up for renewal in the quarter renewed, and at 120 percent of value.

Small wonder, … Read more