IE7 to be Pushed to Users Via Windows Update

July 27, 2006 Leave a comment

If you're an ecommerce site, you'd better start testing your site in IE7. Why? It looks like they are going to push it out via automatic update, right before the holidays. From the article:
IE 7 will be delivered in the fourth quarter as a “high priority” update via Automatic Updates in Windows XP, Gary Schare, Microsoft's director of IE product management, said in an interview Tuesday.
“The justification, of course, is the significant security enhancements in IE 7,” Schare said. Microsoft recommends that all Windows users install the new browser when it ships, he added.
While it should be noted that users will have the ability to choose not to install the update, I'd guess most will click yes out of habit. Microsoft will also be offering a “Internet Explorer 7 Blocker Toolkit” for businesses. This automatic update could be a mixed blessing. While anything is likely to be more security that IE6, who knows how some sites will end up rendering. The good news for us standards based coders is that we may be ok as IE7 looks to be more compliant than any previous release. If you coded to the quirks of IE6 though, you may be in trouble. I'd still recommend Firefox if you're looking for a better browsing experience, although 1.5.x on Linux has been a bit unstable for me.
–jeremy
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Filed under Main Page, Microsoft, Open Source

Re-thinking the Windows Refund

July 26, 2006 1 Comment

Just came across this LXer article and I think there's a fairly large oversight in there. From the article:
Consider Microsoft Windows in a similar light. It has the lion's share of the desktop market. It has a huge selection of applications that people can choose from. Yet, because of its historical instability, insecurity, and because it's practically impossible to fix without re-installing the whole OS, for which the vendor no longer includes any media, it has lost tremendous value. Indeed, one needs to deduct about 10% from the value just for the Windows Registry alone. I won't mention Internet Explorer. In fact, Windows has lost so much value, that computer manufacturers can actually dump Windows PCs on the marketplace cheaper than they can offer computers without any OS.
The contention is that Windows is actually decreasing the value of a computer. While I'm as pro-Linux as almost anyone, that thinking is a bit extreme. Maybe this is a common misconception though, so let me explain what is actually going on here. Companies like AOL pay companies like Dell to have their software preinstalled. So many companies pay in fact, that for the large manufacturers the money they bring in on these deals actually exceeds the cost of a Windows license for them. In essence, you're getting a subsidized version of Windows as someone is paying for it, it's just not you. Now, don't take this to mean I don't think the current OEM situation is criminal, it's just a bit too ideological to think that just because we see the flaws in Windows that it will devalue a piece of hardware to the general public.
–jeremy
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Filed under Linux, Main Page, Open Source

Yes, Virginia, there will be a Flash Player 9 for Linux

July 26, 2006 Leave a comment

Somehow I missed this, but there has been confirmation from Adobe/Macromedia that they will be releasing Flash Player 9 for Linux. While this is likely not of interest for the 100% OSS-at-all-costs group, I think it's encouraging. As much as I loathe flash ads, many interesting things do happen in flash. Increasingly, those things require Flash 8 or greater, which is frustrating. This will bring Linux in line with Windows and Mac. If Flash Player on Linux is a topic that interests you, the Penguin.SWF blog tracks its development and is an interesting read. Some of what's posted is good new, some is not but it's great to see an honest perspective from an insider. Still no word on a Photoshop port though :)
–jeremy
Linux, Flash, Adobe, Macromedia, Open Source, ADBE

Filed under Linux, Main Page, Open Source

What can we Learn from Microsoft

July 25, 2006 Leave a comment

Steven Vaughan-Nichols lists his top five things Linux can learn from Microsoft. This list is:

1. MSDN
2. Common Interface
3. Common Format
4. Marketing
5. OEM Support
While I don't 100% agree with every ascertation he makes, he brings up some very valid points. I think Marketing and OEM Support are going to be absolutely critical if we ever want to really cross the chasm. I'd still contend that once we get to the other side we might not like where we are, but that's a separate topic. As for number 1, better documentation for developers is something we sorely need and I've heard a recent rumor that OSDL will be putting one full time staffer on this. That would be extremely helpful and a single person dedicated to this could make a substantial impact. Let's hope they follow through. In the end, all too often I think we're too quick to just ignore or blindly hate Microsoft, which is not in our best interest. It's good to get a reminder sometimes that we need to stay the path, focus on where we are doing well/where we can improve and focus on what's important.
–jeremy
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Filed under Linux, Main Page, Microsoft, Open Source

A New Google Service

July 25, 2006 Leave a comment

I was already disappointed that I wasn't able to attend OSCON this year (it's an absolutely fantastic event). Then I saw this. At a talk on Thursday, Greg Stein will be releasing details about a new Google Service for the Open Source community. Let the speculation begin. Is it an Open Source code repository searchable via Google technology? A SourceForge-esque operation? A source repository from Google? We'll see in about 48 hours :)
–jeremy
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Filed under Google, Linux, Main Page, Open Source

Ottawa Linux Symposium

July 24, 2006 Leave a comment

Another conference that I meant to go to that has slipped by (yes, that means I am missing OSCON as I type this). Newsforge has posted a very thorough wrapup, which includes the closing keynote by Greg KH. To summarize:
Linux supports more devices than anyone else. Linux progresses by evolution, not design. Closed source drivers are illegal. Linux can use help with reviews and testing.
That's an overly succinct summation though and if you're at all interested in Linux kernel development you should read the entire thing. I've made a note in my Treo to remind myself about this conference next year, so hopefully I'll see everyone there. Notes from previous days are also available.
–jeremy
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Filed under Linux, Main Page, Open Source

AMD to Acquire ATI

July 24, 2006 Leave a comment

Some rumors do turn out to be true. AMD has announced that it will acquire ATI for nearly $5.4 billion in cash and stock. In trading, ATYT is up almost 20%, while AMD is down almost 5%. The repercussions of this should be fairly large. I keep reading that this will be good for consumers, but I'm not necessarily convinced that's the case. We used to have Intel and AMD competing aggressively in one market and then ATI and nVidia competing aggressively in another. This move could polarize things, which could actually decrease choice and competition, which is rarely good for consumers. Many questions are being raised – how will this impact Apple (who uses ATI for GPU and Intel for CPU), how will this impact nVidia (who sold quite well in the AMD market and will have to compete with Intel itself in the low end Intel GPU market) and will AMD try to move to an on core GPU processor. All of these are interesting questions, but not the ones I am concerned with. What I want to know, and what I haven't seen getting much coverage, is how will this move impact how GPU providers look at Open Source. ATI and nVidia have traditionally been extremely tight lipped about specs and have had either little or no Open Source support for their latest cutting edge chipsets. Will AMD take a different look at the market and provide Open Source Linux drivers for ATI-based products? Only time can tell but if they did, it would be interesting to see how it changes the GPU landscape in general and how nVidia, specifically, responds. Maybe this will be good for consumers after all.
–jeremy
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Filed under Linux, Main Page, Open Source

Microsoft and XenSource

July 23, 2006 Leave a comment

Microsoft recently issued a press release entitled “Microsoft and XenSource to Develop Interoperability for Windows Server “Longhorn” Virtualization”. From the press release:
Microsoft Corp. and XenSource Inc. today announced they will cooperate on the development of technology to provide interoperability between Xen™-enabled Linux and the new Microsoft Windows hypervisor technology-based Windows Server virtualization. With the resulting technology, the next version of Windows Server, code-named “Longhorn,” will provide customers with a flexible and powerful virtualization solution across their hardware infrastructure and operating system environments for cost-saving consolidation of Windows, Linux and Xen-enabled Linux distributions.
Notice that the compatibility is one sided. That is, they will support running Windows as the hypervisor to run virtualized Linux hosts. They, however, make no claim that Windows will run inside a Xen or Linux based hypervisor. This in effect means that they are hoping if you want to run both Linux and Windows in a Xen environment, all of your hypervisors will have to be Windows machines. Also note the target release date for this – “plans to release the solution to manufacturing (RTM) within 180 days of the RTM of Windows Server “Longhorn,” which is targeted for the end of 2007”. That puts the release well into 2008, which is a long ways off. I'd guess quite a bit is going to happen in the virtualization world in the next 18 months, so who knows what this will end up looking like in the end. This smacks of the tried and true traditional of Microsoft making a press release about something they don't yet have a product to address that's in a rapidly growing segment. What they hope to do is make enough people hold off on competing solutions while they bring their product to market. It often times works quite well for them. This time though, they aren't just competing with the likes of VMware (which is now a gratis product on the low end). They are also facing the realization that as Intel and AMD chips that support hardware virtualization are common place, it could rapidly change the rules of the OS game. The implications of workable virtualization are fascinating, and something I'll be blogging my opinion on very soon.
–jeremy
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Filed under Linux, Main Page, Microsoft, Open Source

Microsoft outlines principles of competition

July 20, 2006 Leave a comment

In what may become a continuing trend, Microsoft pledged today to follow a dozen principles of competition as it builds and sells its Windows desktop operating system software, the ubiquitous product that has been the subject of nearly a decade of antitrust battles. From the article:
“As creators of an operating system used so widely around the world, we recognize that we have a special responsibility both to advance innovation and preserve competition,” Smith said. “We've learned that people care not only about what we do, but about how we do it. That's why we're adopting these principles, and why we're making them so public in this manner.”
That sure is a change of tone for Microsoft. The one point that I am extremely happy to see is and business terms that protect manufacturers who go the non-Microsoft route from retaliation. It may have taken multiple antitrust suits across multiple continents, but Microsoft may actually be starting to get it. I'm as skeptical as the next person and it's going to take a lot of follow through before I'm a believer, but at this point I think Microsoft is feeling real pressure from its large clients, and that is more important to them than any lawsuit ever will be. The entire “Twelve Tenets to Promote Competition” can be viewed here. Hopefully we'll see viable competition flourishing soon.
–jeremy
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Filed under Linux, Main Page, Microsoft, Open Source

Symantec sees an Achilles' heel in Vista

July 19, 2006 Leave a comment

This CNET article covers the recently released “Windows Vista Network Attack Surface Analysis: A Broad Overview” paper from Symantec. The paper covers the flaws uncovered by Symantec in the freshly rewritten Vista networking stack. To me, that's not too interesting. Vista is still in beta, and bugs are common in completely rewritten components. The fact is, sometimes old sections of code no longer make sense in the current framework and need to be replaced. It happens in Linux regularly and it is painful, but it's the right thing to do (sometimes). What is interesting to me is that Microsoft has clearly lost what has traditionally been a close business partner and ally. With the release of Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft has directly encroached on the cash cows of Symantec and McAfee. It's suddenly in these companies best interest to make Microsoft look bad, almost incompetent. It's a tenuous line though, as unlike some companies they can't just jump ship to another OS. Why? For the most part, the ills they cure just don't exists on Mac or Linux. Add the small desktop penetration to the mix and these companies are now forced to sleep with the enemy. One has to wonder how things will turn out long term though. I'd guess the fat days are coming to an end for Windows virus providers, despite the proliferation of malware, viruses and their ilk. Once Microsoft shoe horns themselves into an industry like this, prices are sure to plummet. I for one am interested to see how the companies in question react.
–jeremy
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Filed under Linux, Main Page, Microsoft, Open Source

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