 | Economist: Ubuntu the Source of Linux's Rise December 27, 2007 10:29pm in tech |
The Economist has an interesting article predicting that open-source adoption will rise in 2008. They are crediting a lot of this to Ubuntu and rightfully so. While there are many other great distributions of Linux out there (Slackware, SUSE, Fedora, Gentoo, etc.), Ubuntu's relative ease of setup and install has helped many become more aware of Linux and the perks of open-source software. I can state from experience that I was monkeying around with Linux using such distributions as Fedora and Slackware, it wasn't until I tried Ubuntu that I really became hooked on Linux and open-source. To me starting out, Ubuntu was great. Ease of use, easy to install, and gave me a good feel for how Linux works, now allowing me to move on to other distributions should I choose, but at this point, I'll still be sticking with Ubuntu. While Windows and OS X are here to stay as many tend to be just too used to them to consider otherwise, it'd be nice to see more people make the switch to Linux. The Economist: Ubuntu is the source of Linux's rise [blogs.cnet.com] Technology in 2008 [economist.com] Tags: linux, opensource, links, ubuntu |
| 0 Comments |
| Nokia Versus OGG December 11, 2007 6:55am in tech |
I was reading this article about Nokia and Ogg music/video codec. For those of you who don't know, Ogg is an open source music/video codec. Nokia is petitioning to the W3C, (the World Wide Web Consortium) who makes the standards for web languages like CSS and HTML, not to include Ogg in the HTML v5 standard. Their reason? Ogg is proprietary and DRM is neccessary. First off, Ogg is NOT proprietary. It is open source. Second DRM is a horrible idea in itself, and the idea gets even worse on the web. DRM is prorprietary as well and the web should not become such. The proprietary format of DRM is the primary reason DRM should be excluded from standards. Fortunately, the W3C is known to be very much against proprietary standards so whether they will actually listen to such an argument from Nokia is very much debatable. The W3C insistance on anti-propietary standards as well as not licensing its standards is admirable in my opinion. If only more companies and groups could follow the same base. Standards should be based on the format's merits, not to please Nokia, Hollywood, etc. Ironically, Nokia also produces a Linux TabletPC...wait, isn't Linux open source? Nokia to W3C: Ogg is proprietary, we need DRM on the Web [boingboing.net]
UPDATE: Sadly, the W3C seems to have given into the pressure and removed Ogg from HTML v5. Removal of Ogg Vorbis and Theora from HTML5: An Outrageous Disaster [rudd-o.com] Ogg Vorbis / Theora Language Removed from HTML5 Spec [slashdot.org] |
| 0 Comments |
| Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon October 18, 2007 9:17am in tech |
 Ubuntu has just released the final version of Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon. You can download it here. I've been using it in its beta form for about 3 weeks now and overall I'm impressed. Compiz Fusion was giving me some issues but I got it working for the most part now I believe. Release Notes Ubuntu Home Tags: news, linux, ubuntu, opensource, freesoftware |
| 0 Comments |
| Interview with Richard Stallman October 15, 2007 12:36pm in tech |
 Richard Stallman, the eccentric founder of the GNU operating system and GPL, had an interview with LinuxInsider. It's an interesting read as he gives his thoughts on what open-source and free software actually means. Full Story [linuxinsider.com] Tags: linux, links, opensource, freesoftware, news, interview |
| 0 Comments |
| My Thoughts on Linux September 21, 2007 12:50am in tech |
As many of those who know me have learned, I am an advocate of open source and Linux. My server runs Ubuntu and my desktop triple boots with Windows XP, Ubuntu, and Slackware. I like what Linux offers, the ability for customization as well as some pretty nice apps to do almost everything I need. I've been a pretty steady Linux user for over a year now and I really wish I could just dump Windows and just run a pure Linux box. Unfortunately, the same thing that could possibly keep many from making the switch entirely is keeping me on Windows from time to time. One of the biggest drawbacks to Linux for a lot of people my age is gaming. I mean there's Cedega and WINE, but c'mon, let's face it, next to running games natively on Windows, neither Cedega or WINE can compare. This is particularly true on the more recent, graphic intensive games. I mean I've moved towards console gaming a lot more lately so this wouldn't be so big of a deal, but there are a handful of games where I still need my computer particularly World of Warcraft, Battlefield 2142, and my collection of RTS games. Hardware support has improved tremendously lately, I know on my Desktop, everything just works. My multimedia keyboad keys even work properly without any special configuration. The only driver installation I have to do are the nvidia drivers and dual screen setup. Past that I can simply install and go. This I'm sure is a little different on laptops, but I have a Macbook Pro and I'm perfectly content using OS X and see very little reason to install Linux on it. My experience might not match every case, but it seems that slowly but surely, hardware support seems to be growing. Software is growing in leaps and bounds. So far, with the exception of games, I have found very few Windows apps that I can't find an open source alternative for. My mac formatted iPod even works fine on Linux (a feat I don't even think is possible under Windows) Linux in my opinion is a great alternative to Microsoft Windows, and an even better alternative to the bloated mess of an operating system Microsoft calls Windows Vista. I just really wish more companies would port their games to Linux...it would make my life so much simpler and I could say goodbye to Windows forever...I'd hope. Tags: thoughts, linux, opensource, ubuntu |
| 1 Comments |
 |  |  |  |