Firefox 4, Chrome killer?
I have been using the latest Firefox beta and I’ll have to admit I usually miss my Chrome experience while using it. Well that has become less apparent. I think the Firefox developers really stepped up their game, and just might slow down the avalanche of users switching to Chrome.
The only thing that I have become addicted to in Chrome is searching from the address bar, rather then a dedicated search box as Firefox still uses. I understand the search bar in Chrome is a deep rooted, purposeful design that isn’t as simple as a few function additions. But there are some I’m sure that still appreciate the classic way of doing search (from a dedicated search box).
Firefox on Windows 7 is what I’m referring to. I’ve always had less then optimal performance with Firefox on Linux but hopefully that will change.
The new Firefox, besides the new tab design, is very snappy and loads pages noticably faster. Which was another reason Chrome became my browser of choice.
Attachmate to acquire Novell
Not that I have searched the net over to find this story but it seems to be a non-event in the Linux world. Well at the very least under reported by any stretch.
source:
http://www.attachmate.com/
Linux Desktop!!!!!
I think its time to start weeding the garden of bad info concerning “is Linux ready to dominate the desktop market”. Until someone makes and funds a distro in the right manner it will never be a reality in the way the public is expecting. Most Linux users especially Ubuntu users, of which I am one. I will say I’m not sold out to Ubuntu anymore then any other distro that you hear is the one that “just works”. Obviously Linux as a kernel is far beyond ready as a technology to dominate the market. Linux as a technology gets blamed for every wireless driver that stops working, every laptop display that will not allow you to brighten the back-light. Whoever compiles the distro makes the choice to put bits out in the public that are at the very least unpredictable. Then you see all the articles, and blog posts rolling about how Linux hosed their laptop or their Windows partition etc etc. As valiant an effort Ubuntu is and will be I still think until someone has a purpose to sink their teeth and money behind building a stable desktop environment with free software it will remain two steps forward and three back. Don’t get me wrong things have improved greatly but when three releases ago all your drivers were perfectly fine and now you upgrade or even do a clean install and blam, “what happen to my wireless, why dont my dimmer switch work for my laptop etc etc”. That is not Linux failing, it is the process failing of the distribution. I know Mark Shuttleworth has done great things for the reputation of Linux as an alternative desktop to Windows but some of his crusades he has gone on has to me been a a shot from left field. The worst part of the regressions that most users suffer through is that they are scripts that have been setup to suddenly blacklist your driver and off you go to the races finding out why your laptop is suddenly not Linux friendly. The kernel community has a part in this mess but no where near the blame they get. Ubuntu is a commercial product now, whether you use semantics to say it is totally free blah blah blah. No company or business will use an operating system without support. Someone has to be responsible for breakages and guess what Canonical is looking for a way to make Ubuntu profitable but not by selling it directly but selling you the service you can not do without, if your business depends on your computers working as expected. The way things are setup Red Hat is closest to what works for free software but Mark chose to condemn them as just another proprietary OS. I completely disagree. Red Hat understands that the bits their customers are using and paying service contracts on do not have to line up with every new kernel release etc. Fedora is there contributing heavily to the bottom line of free software while Red Hat’s business grade distro is kept stable by the team that understands what customers expect. That to me has been shown to be the business model that will move us forward. It’s not about a race to the newest and brightest untested kernel if your trying to satisfy “Joe Microsoft”. I know there are alpha releases and they beg for bugs but people are starting to see that as going through the motions for nothing. Developers are overwhelmed or just plain bad people persons (i know, its bad English). There are bugs open for years that were never bugs to start with. If you want to release something as your distro, then don’t blame, the new kernel, the newest gcc etc. You released it. It is a tremendous responsibility I’m sure to get this right but until we acknowledge what the problem is it will never be “The Year of The Linux Desktop”. Linux gets accused of not being ready to run a desktop yet is running super computers, ISP servers by the thousands, Google to name a few. Just stop the blame game. Even Ubuntu’s long term support release is plagued by the same system that is still broken. I don’t mind most of the time to make fixes but when you turn your computer on and want to get work done you don’t feel like playing joe hacker. Get this right and we’ll see Linux shine in the desktop market.
My Macbook from Linux results
Well after a few months I couldn’t take the muffled feel of the Macbook compared to my trusty old Ubuntu. I was dual-booting fairly early in the experience anyway but it just didn’t seem worth the extra dough to own the glamorous, what some make call trendy Mac. I went back initially to my two year old Sony which has been very trust worthy I might say for dual booting Linux and Windows (Windows since the streaming video still seems to need work on the Linux side of the fence). I watch alot of tech videos online if for nothing but to keep up with what is going on on the landscape of our world. That has lead me to Microsoft sights that require Silverlight, and no offence to Miguel but the Moonlight plugin sometimes doesn’t just install has hoped, not to mention you can tell they are chasing a technology around like a dog chases his tail and that it is not something I feel like getting behind since it’s future (Mono etc.) is still to me a bit shaky.
I did not like MacOSX plain and simple and the hardware is not any better then the new Samsung I just paid a quarter of the price tag as the Macbook. Mac used to have the supposed advantage because they “made” the hardware and the OS so things were much grander since they were made for each other NOT. Not to mention Apple showed the inability to keep up with Intel so the insides of the Mac are no longer any different, and as I see it better then the competition they for so long have made fun of. Good bye Mac OSX, good bye. Now I still haven’t answered the question of why Linux developers and open-source developers were parading their Macbooks at Gnome, and Lnux conferences (others as well of course). No things don’t “just work”, any better then using Cygwin on Windows “just works” for someone looking for the workflow and open smorgasbord that has become Linux’s hallmark. Please developers use what you are building in the way that will make our position stronger. The world sees this as someone who works for General Motors building the best cars GM has to offer, then leaves the plant to drive home in the comfort of his Japanese made automobile. Show the confidence in Linux and the available hardware for it, that you’re preaching by building it. If you do it for a hobby or do it for the money you make please stop making us all look like we are “talking out both sides of our neck” . As always just my two sense and I do not want to argue but good dialogue I look forward to.
From Ubuntu to my new Macbook?
I finally took the plunge and purchased a Macbook last week. My first impression was a bit shaky and still is, but getting stronger. I was impressed with the solid hardware. The keyboard is more comfortable for me then even my Thinkpad was. I miss the work-flow that I have become accustomed to over the last year or so on Linux. The directory structure throws me at times I don’t like all the files that are hidden and the Unixy folder structure as well. To make dotfiles unhidden is a task that even would throw a seasoned Unix person. I mean why not be able to open a config file or go to a properties menu on the Finder application? No it is a command that doesn’t lend it self to a person familiar with Unix. This command let’s me view my files in the Finder application:”defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES”. How intuitive is that? After seeing the complaints in some Ubuntu forums from ex-Windows users complaining about “apt-get install” or the like, I can’t believe you don’t hear more in the blogosphere about stuff like this. I believe there are apps to install that makes this more accessible but to me this is something that should be very close to a context menu or at least the preferences for the Finder application. I can’t believe there is no native way to leave a window on top as with Linux. Like Windows you have to install a third party app for this. Why the folder names and symlinks were needed to mimic what I see as a classic Unix file structure is beyond me. Is it really that much of an aesthetically pleasing change that someone would see the Mac as less beautiful. I don’t know.
I do appreciate the multimedia being very good though. I know I miss some proprietary goodness when using Linux in this regard. The Mac is definitely a solidly designed system. I’m just trying to figure out how so many Linux lovers can switch to something that can at times seem far from the uninhibited experience we have come to love from Linux. Maybe I’ll get use to it, maybe I won’t and I’ll just make this my Linux laptop. It certainly is an expensive laptop, if indeed it comes to that. For what this is worth I could have purchased two PC laptops with the same Intel processor with the same amount of RAM I received with this. I’m not giving up on the Mac awesomeness yet!
Give me your thoughts my Linux partners out there. Especially the ones developing for the Linux platform while using a Mac. Why is it worth going for something seemingly trying to hide the Unix awesomeness when you can have Unix in it’s full glory and full openness in Linux.
Python or Ruby!
Just a few thoughts in my quest to become a very proficient professional hacker. I have probably tried to get going the most with Python but as always there just seems to be a disconnect with the abstractions that just don’t click with me. Lately I have been playing with Rails and Ruby and as much as I kept running from Ruby as the language that I wanted to learn it is starting to grow on me. In the words of many great hackers Ruby seems to fit my brain. The code is quite a bit more readable then even Python. Along the way I also noticed a few things about the Ruby and Rails culture that differs from the Python world. Ruby has not had the problems Python has with package management as Python seems to still have. Ruby Gems are pretty ubiquitous when it comes to Ruby packages. I think Python and Linux has very striking similarities when you look at Linux’s packaging and all around standards in general. You can’t just read instructions on installing programs on Linux or where in the file system to find things etc. Some may enjoy this but they have to admit it is a hindrance when it comes to adoption of a platform. Python seems to be as splintered just look at the squabbling over web frameworks between the Turbogears type and the Django types. Ruby like the Mac has found a way to agree on things that help to keep the community productive and pragmatic as well. I’m even finding Rails to make a lot of sense in terms of how it works and as much as the web seems to be crawling with the Twitter performance stories and Ruby being slow, the Ruby and Rails communities still move along at a pretty good pace getting things done. There are very big sites and web apps still using Rails in spite of the Twitter story. I know it has quieted down somewhat but it is far from a dyeing technology. There are still a great deal of thriving businesses being started and chugging along that find Ruby and Rails a perfect fit. I know some would argue that Python and Linux are stronger communities for all the choice you have but some people want to see a platform mature and make some choices that allow a platform to move on to the next step. As much as I hear people say how readable Python is and how it fits their brains I understand it but for me it seems to be Ruby.
Operating System Humor!
This post is so funny. I laughed at each and every one. It is called “If Operating Systems Were Airlines” enjoy!
Opensource, but when and for whom!
I have a question. Is it me or has the corporate world completely changed the opensource philosophy. I really started thinking in depth about this when Mark Shuttleworth was getting a hard time for Launchpad’s opensource timeline. It seems that opensource is completely foreign to its roots which to me were much closer to the beginnings of free software.
Think of how Linus started the kernel project compared to how the new “open source” non-evil companies start projects. The spirit is completely lost. The idea as far as I’m concerned was never for multi-billionare company starts money making venture by building their “open source” project for a year or two in secret. Then when they think the project is ready to make money the source code is put on a server to get some free help improving said product.
Just my two cents but is the spirit of free software completely lost in “open source” business. We watch Google year after year get more and more powerful and keep saying “don’t be evil”. Is that all there is to it. If so I think we could use some good old fashion Stallman to counter balance these fallacies.
The Cloud is not a future that I’m looking forward to!!
I have had reservations to say the least about the whole idea of all our line of business apps moving to the cloud. I know some businesses are using this method now but a wholesale move is a different story altogether. Many people have moaned about the Microsoft Office monopoly for a while now, trying to convince everyone that Open Office was free and better than Microsoft Office and that is another story for another day.
Anyway I was always concerned to say the least about personal data being stored in the cloud on servers that has traditionally held the purpose of being the backbone to the internet. Now before you correct me I know new server farms are being setup by the giants and they are not just throwing in a few hard drives and uploading the world’s data. The problem for me is the lack of control that you have over not only your own data but also the applications that sometimes need some convincing to act right. Most people now will call the vendor’s support number when they have issues but there are other cases where businesses are used to controlling their infrastructure and it gives a certain sense of security knowing if all else fails you can physically work with and have access to the servers and machines that are crapping on your data and sometimes that is the only way to go and that is the way it should be.
For instance I am regularly helping relatives with their computer issues and usually can get to the bottom of things and at the very least recover things. I know the argument from Google and those looking to bury Microsoft is, let us professionals keep your data servers tuned and safe and you have nothing to worry about. You only have to look at what they are doing to our email to see how that would go. They want to demonize someone else’s business model to monetize your personal data and sell your data down the river when you give them access to it. And I can hear the support call now when the CEO wants you to recover the quarterly P and L statements that were lost that you have had no problem in the past getting for him on your schedule, only to be told that we’re sorry but we had a power outage in the area and the air conditioners backup generator’s failed so we will need a few days to get to the data. I know some people will be in a better position because they never backed up anything anyway but some things in my opinion were meant to remain in control of those who care about the assets the most.
On a lighter note my in laws server based game is constantly lagging and kicking her off and yada yada but I can not get more memory or remedy the problem in any way. Why you ask? Because the big boy server farms are better at hosting and maintaining optimal performance than locally running apps. I think the market will re-correct some of this nonsense but there are some big companies that have bet the whole farm on cloud based apps and it will not be very easy to just turn the vessel aside and miss the iceberg as history has taught us all.
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