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About this siteFor six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul Saturday, May 01, 2004Pocket PC pulls even with Palm OS - But RIM comes on strongTechWeb: " According to Gartner, worldwide shipments of PDAs dropped nearly 5% in the first three months of 2004 over the same quarter last year. But the fall in sales was overshadowed by Microsoft dramatically closing the gap between it and PalmSource for the lead in PDA operating system share ... Palm OS shipments plummeted nearly 21% year-over-year in the first quarter ... Microsoft made up a bit of ground by increasing its market share 4.6%. That puts PalmSource with 40.7% of the market, and Microsoft, with 40.2%, in a dead heat ... In 2000, for instance, Microsoft had just 11% of the market."ZDNet: "The decline in Palm OS market share in the first quarter of 2004 is not unexpected, because many Palm OS users have delayed PDA purchases until they can evaluate PalmSource's upcoming operating system, Cobalt ... Microsoft's bundling of Outlook with Pocket PCs and its acceptance among enterprise application developers have also worked against Palm ... Another highlight of the quarter was the spectacular 352.5 percent growth achieved by Research In Motion, which saw its market share jump from 3.1 percent in the first quarter of last year to 14.8 percent this quarter. RIM's BlackBerry initially launched mainly as an e-mail device, but it now offers cellular service as well." I've always liked the elegance and simplicity of the Palm OS, and PalmSource's new PIM applications are fantastic. But I always end up returning to the Pocket PC, and my current PPC device--an HP iPAQ 4155--is simply fantastic. RIM Blackberries, however, make me wonder if I'm not a candidate for a capable all-in-one device. I'll keep watching this market evolve. [ Posted at 12:53 PM | Permalink ]
And in related news...Brighthand is also reporting that Microsoft has reorganized its Mobile Devices Division. "In order to reduce lag time, what were previously two divisions [Embedded Devices and Windows CE] have been combined into one: the Mobile and Embedded Devices division. This will be responsible for developing new versions of Windows CE and Windows Mobile ... Last month, Microsoft released a beta of Windows CE 5.0. The final version is scheduled to be available during summer 2004. This is expected to be the basis for the next major version of Windows Mobile." [ Posted at 12:46 PM | Permalink ]
Microsoft's misguided mobile gaming strategyAccording to a story at Brighthand, Microsoft will eschew a dedicated portable gaming device and instead encourage developers to create game titles for Windows Mobile-based Pocket PCs and Smartphones."To make this easier, the company is going to build a new group of gaming APIs into the next version of Windows Mobile. Mark Spain, director of Microsoft's mobile devices division, told The Star Online that his company will add Direct 3D Mobile (D3DM) to its mobile operating system. This is a version of Microsoft's Direct X for handhelds and smart phones ... D3DM will be built into the next major revision of Microsoft's mobile operating system, expected to be called Windows Mobile 2005." This strategy is doomed to fail. Virtually every single PDA I've ever tried, and every single Smartphone on the market, has a button layout that makes gaming impossible or, at best, difficult. Unless Microsoft knows about a partner that is creating a portable game player based on Windows Mobile, this is the stupidest thing I've heard of in a while. If Microsoft had followed this strategy for the Xbox, there would be no Xbox, and Microsoft would be touting the benefits of $1000 PCs over $150 video game consoles instead. Silly. [ Posted at 12:44 PM | Permalink ]
Friday, April 30, 2004A Week with Linspire 4.5Linux Beginner: "Linspire is shiny and nice to look at, and super simple to install, but I didn't really find it much more than that. Other than Linspire rebranded software, I'm not sure what anyone would be paying for if they bought this Distro. There wasn't much support available, other than the user forums, without fees - by no means a complaint, but it makes it difficult to assess the value of something when you're not shown the whole picture. I would have been better able to analize Click N Run if Linspire had offered some sort of "trial" for it - even for 24 hours or 3 installations or whatever. I suppose I shouldn't complain, because I got the distro for free, but's it tough to make a call when you can't even try one of it's most touted features without giving out financial info, and I'm not one to plunk down my credit card for something site unseen. I'm fortunate in that I'm familiar enough with Debian that I could get access to what I needed on my own. For an "average" computer user or "new" Linux user, I'm sure it would be just fine, but as an "average" Linux user (who likes to tinker a bit), I found Linspire be a bit disappointing and awkward." [ Posted at 9:56 AM | Permalink ]
Busting Windows-to-Linux mythsDevchannel.com: "Cliched jokes aside, there are as many myths about Linux programming on the Windows side of the router as there are IP6 addresses. Let's dispel a few, shall we? While there is some effort for the Windows programmer moving toward Linux, its not the herculean labor that some programmers fear. The urban legends surrounding a move from Windows to Linux, like most urban legends, are more fear, uncertainty, and doubt than they are real barriers. There is no minotaur at the center of the Linux maze." [ Posted at 9:54 AM | Permalink ]
Sun Java Desktop 2003 ReviewPC Burn: "Sun Microsystems has been in the Unix game for about as long as there's been a Unix. Back in 1987 they helped make Unix System V with AT&T Bell labs. They've been marketing Solaris, one of the main Unix derivatives, for about twenty years. So why, then, would they market a Linux derivative? Let's take a look at what it is they're offering and what it's uses are to shed some light on the 'why' ... With Java Desktop 2003 being a modestly tweaked variant of SuSE 8.1, it seems that Sun is doing the reasonable thing and leveraging SuSE's expertise at building a distribution to their benefit. As long as Sun fully supports it's Linux desktop solution, Java Desktop shoud be a contender for corporate markets. For companies that rely on synergy between their servers and desktops with single vendor support, Sun should really shine. So there's nothing wrong with Sun's offering. Commercial desktop users that are looking for a Linux operating system will probably want to look into it. Being based off SuSE, it really doesn't hamper your long term options. If Sun is a viable software vendor for your business, then Sun Desktop OS might be for you. For desktop users, the soon to be released 2004 edition should be a working solution. Ultimately, as with most Unix decisions, it's not so much about who you buy it from, but whom you want to support it." [ Posted at 9:53 AM | Permalink ]
Thursday, April 29, 2004iTunes 4.5 and WMA transcoding iTunes 4.5 just completed transcoding the WMA portion of my music library, or about 700 songs. It took the application 5 hours to do this, on a Pentium 4 2.8 GHz system with 768 MB of RAM. That seems a bit excessive, but hey, you only have to do it once.
A number of people wrote in, taking exception to my "sounds like crap" comments about transcoding. As I suspected, however, none of these people had actually spent time transcoding. So let's look at how this works. Each audio codec, be it WMA, MP3, AAC, or whatever, uses its own compression scheme. That is, when you encode a song in one of these formats, the encoder analyzes the song, picks out the parts it can drop, and then morphs the song into a compressed file that is smaller than the original. If it does a good job, it drops the parts you wouldn't usually hear, though true audiophile often point out that any compressed file is unacceptable. To most people, however, compressed files can sound great if they're encoded right. And, generally speaking, higher quality encoding schemes, like WMA and AAC, can create higher quality compressed files at lower bitrates than lower-quality encoding schemes, like MP3. That is, in my experience, a 128 Kbps WMA or AAC file sounds identical to a 160 Kbps MP3 file, and the resulting WMA/AAC files are smaller. When you transcode, you convert one compressed file into a different compressed format. Because each format has its own compression scheme, however, you're now converting a lossy compressed file (with certain bits missing) into another lossy compressed file (with other bits missing). Best case, the results are OK, but you can generally hear the difference with over-the-air speakers, and can always hear the difference with headphones. Worst case, they sound like crap. Any time you move from one format to another, you're just going to lose quality. It's a fact. My personal experience with transcoding is actually pretty vast. I've now ripped my entire CD collection to disk at least three times, once in WMA format to the PC, once in MP3 format to the Mac (with iTunes), and once to MP3 format to the PC. I used to use a Microsoft audio conversion tool to move files from 160 Kbps MP3 format to 64 Kbps WMA to best utilize the odd 40 MB disk limit of a Iomega portable audio device (this seems quaint in the days of 40 - 60 GB portable devices, eh?). More recently, I converted my 250+ iTunes Music Store-purchased Protected AAC songs to CD, then re-ripped them back to the PC in 128 Kbps MP3 format so I could have clean, unprotected versions of the songs that would work in any media player and portable audio device (I've switched from the iPod to a Dell DJ). In all the transcoding I've done, the results were similar regardless of the formats. The resulting songs are generally tinny sounding, with muddy bass. But again, it's better than nothing. Well, now I've transcoded almost 700 songs from WMA to AAC using Apple's new converter in iTunes 4.5. I'm happy to report that the results are decent within the confines of the limitations of transcoding. Yes, there are obvious issues with tinniness, but these are more obvious with headphones, and less so from the PC speakers. I haven't listened to every song, of course, but I do have a selection of three songs I've set aside specifically for testing purposes, and I've been analyzing how they sound compared to online store-purchased WMA and AAC originals. They exhibit the same issues I've described again, but... you know, they're not horrible. Unless you're an audiohphile, I guess. The end result, of course, is that I'm still surprisingly positive about iTunes 4.5. Good stuff. [ Posted at 4:07 PM | Permalink ]
Times 100: Leaders and RevolutionariesTime Magazine: "TIME magazine's 20 selections in its "Leaders and Revolutionaries" category have been on the front lines, figuratively and sometimes literally, in many of today's most difficult, dangerous and significant conflicts and issues. Day in and day out, they shape the news, for better or worse, with their words and actions. Selections from the tech industry include Bill Gates, Carly Fiorina, Michael Dell, and Steve Jobs. [ Posted at 3:52 PM | Permalink ]
iTunes 4.5: A good starting point I've always sort of liked the simplicity of iTunes, and the latest version, iTunes 4.5, does a decent job of helping people get their WMA-encoded songs into the player (and, ultimately, into an iPod). And really, that's what it's all about: Accessibility. I would have prefered a more elegant solution (i.e. iTunes and the iPod just play WMA songs directly) but it's better than nothing. In short, this solution partially answers a big complaint I've had about iTunes and the Apple music strategy.
Let's look at some other features of iTunes 4.5 and the music-related announcements Apple made this week. iMix. This feature lets you share your playlists via email and, interestingly, the iTunes Music Store. It's a great idea. Party shuffle. I'm not quite sure I get the point of this. Apparently, it takes playlists you've lovingly created and then ... makes a sub-playlist of them? Eh. Print CD inserts. A nice idea taken from other media players like MusicMatch. But the Apple version is pretty barebones and is not extensible (at least not yet). I expect this to be improved over time. Better discoverability. I've often argued that Apple's interfaces aren't discoverable, but they've done a nice job of helping you find out more about your music. Just click on the little arrow next to any song name, artist name, or album in iTunes, and you'll be brought to the page on the iTunes Music Store about that item. Cool. Apple Lossless. Unlike WMA, AAC doesn't include a lossless audio codec, so Apple has created its own that features smaller file sizes than AIFF. This was probably a key concern for audiophiles, who want full CD quality without the resulting disk space waste. Naturally, Apple Lossless only works with iTunes and the iPod. iTunes Music Store: 70 million songs sold. Fantastic, and only screwed up by Jobs' foolish prediction that Apple would sell 100 million in its first year. Hubris hurts. Pepsi promotion: 5 million songs redeemed. An epic disaster. Apple was hoping for 25 million or more songs redeemed. I suspect there is a lesson here--something about the successes of a computer/consumer electronics company being put into the perspective of the wider, non-tech world--but I haven't quite been able to condense it down yet. iPod Mini. Once again, Apple did not call out iPod Mini sales, leading me to once again declare that the company is not being honest bout a product it was quite simply not ready to launch. Apple has yet to ship all of the 100,000 preorders it received for the Mini and it's unclear how many more orders it's received. Surely the one year anniversary of the iTunes Music Store would have been the obvious time to state how well the Mini is really doing. Vision. Jobs says it's all about the music, so he's downplayed color iPods, video iPods, and even subscription music services, which I think is a mistake. I've beaten this stuff to death already, so I won't waste time on it here. In short, Apple's music strategy is A-OK for the short-term, and I like what they've done with iTunes 4.5. But a lot of people were hoping for iPod updates and/or news, and that didn't happen. Let's hope there's more going on in Cupertino than they've intimated this week. [ Posted at 12:27 PM | Permalink ]
Wednesday, April 28, 2004As promised, Apple [sort of] embraces WMA in iTunesThanks Claudio: Apple today released iTunes 4.5, which allows you to convert WMA songs to AAC format so they'll play on the iPod. In typical Apple fashion, this is the hard way to do things, as the iPod would support WMA naturally if they just let it (Apple turns off this feature in the iPod bios). But give Apple credit: A file transcoded from WMA to AAC will sound like crap, so the company can point to the sound quality difference as a reason to stick with its proprietary format.More info on the iTunes import page: "If you’re excited about using iTunes, but have already have a music collection built up in other programs, you’re in luck. iTunes can import music from Windows Media Player, MusicMatch and any other app that uses MP3, AAC or WMA (unprotected). iTunes 4.5 will now convert files digitized by Windows Media Player in unprotected format to AAC, so you can use them in iTunes or on iPod. When you import your MusicMatch library or other MP3 collection, you can choose to let iTunes make a copy of the library, or point to the old files. If you want to gather up all your music later, iTunes lets you consolidate your library anytime." [ Posted at 8:57 AM | Permalink ]
Monday, April 26, 2004The most overhyped carsForbes: "The main question about Volkswagen's new Phaeton luxury sedan is: 'What were they thinking?' ... The problem, as many critics (including Forbes.com) have pointed out, is that the Phaeton's base prices range from $65,000 for V-8 models to $95,000 for 12-cylinder cars ... The problem, as many critics (including Forbes.com) have pointed out, is that the Phaeton's base prices range from $65,000 for V-8 models to $95,000 for 12-cylinder cars."Top overhyped cars of today: • Ford Thunderbird • Hummer H1 • Jaguar X-Type • Pontiac Aztek • Volkswagen Phaeton Top overhyped cars of yesterday: • AMC Pacer • Chrysler TC By Maserati • Ford Taurus SHO • Lincoln Blackwood • Pontiac Fiero [ Posted at 7:38 PM | Permalink ]
FairTunesFairTunes puts your music back into your hands. Now you can play your iTunes music when you want to, and where you want to.Features * Convert any authorized protected iTunes song into an unprotected, uncompressed file. * Supports AIFF, Wave, QuickTime, System 7 Sound, MuLaw, and AVI file creation. * Easy to use - no complicated setup needed. * Built for Mac OS X. Download now. [ Posted at 6:39 PM | Permalink ]
Strong iPod market not helping Mac G5 salesSan Francisco Business Times: "Apple Computer Inc.'s strategy of getting iPod buyers to also buy Apple desktop computers doesn't seem to be working, according to an industry research report. The Cupertino computer and consumer electronics maker has seen its share of the personal computer market drop to 2.8 percent, from 4 percent a year earlier, according to IDC, of Framingham, Mass ... 'Our concerns are that the G5 cycle has disappointed, Apple is still ceding PC share, and at some point iPod mini supply will catch up with demand, which could derail the stock's momentum and temper further earnings per share [growth],' Neff wrote in a note to investors released Monday. Supplies of the original iPod, the one in the white case, have already caught up with demand, he said." [ Posted at 6:35 PM | Permalink ]
Office 2003 vs. OpenOffice.OrgeWeak: "When eWEEK Corporate Partner Ed Benincasa shared his desire to perform a user-based comparison between the OpenOffice.org project's OpenOffice.org suite and Microsoft's Office 2003, we saw a perfect opportunity to compare the suites under real-world conditions ... We worked with three groups of users, all of whom currently use Office 97 or 2000 for productivity tasks. We tested OpenOffice.org and Office 2003 with sample documents provided by eWEEK Labs and with the testers' own files. We concentrated our tests on the applications' capability and compatibility, as well as on user training requirements. During tests, most users had little or no trouble moving from their current suite to OpenOffice.org. However, for more advanced users—especially advanced users of Excel—OpenOffice.org did not fare as well ... Users who tested Office 2003 found the suite more polished and easy to use than Office 97 and 2000. However, only a few testers—again, mostly advanced users of Excel—said an upgrade to Office 2003 would provide them significantly more useful functionality ... Almost every person who tested Office 2003 expressed appreciation for Office's Task Pane—an interface feature that lets users carry out operations related to the document at hand, such as using the thesaurus while working on a Word document. Testers also said they valued Task Pane as an interface to Office's help system, which they found to be effective."Huh. Someone found the task-based UI in Office 2003 to be "effective." Nice. Word vs. Writer "The testers who worked with Office 2003 said there were few differences between Word 2003 and earlier versions of the Microsoft word processor ... However, the testers who worked with OpenOffice.org said the suite's word processor application, Writer, seemed familiar as well ... Several testers said they were impressed with the ability of Writer to save documents as PDF files, a feature they believe would save money as well as time because PDF export for Word requires a Microsoft add-in that must be purchased separately." Excel vs. Calc "Those who are accustomed to using Excel 97/2000 as an analysis tool ... leverage Excel's statistics capabilities, among others, and appreciated the improvements made to the Pivot Table feature in Excel 2003. OpenOffice.org's Calc offers a similar feature, called DataPilot, but testers had trouble locating it because of the differences in the way Calc and Excel are organized ... Among the more casual spreadsheet testers, the differences between the spreadsheet applications were less jarring." PowerPoint vs. Impress "A move to either PowerPoint 2003 or OpenOffice.org's Impress would require significant training because PowerPoint 2003 is the Office application that's changed the most since its 97/2000 incarnations and Impress is the OpenOffice.org application that differs most from Office in its design. Shaffer said of Impress: 'Its icons and commands are not very similar to PowerPoint' ... Impress and PowerPoint handled transition animations differently, and certain Impress capabilities, such as three-dimensional text in presentations, did not carry across to PowerPoint." Stupidly, the eWeak report doesn't appear to pick a winner, but rather lists a similarly numbered list of "pro" and "con" items for each suite, all of which are obvious (Office 2003 con: Licensing costs; OpenOffice con: interface differences) Wow. That's incisive. It's seems odd that eWeak would spend that much time and space reviewing the two and not come to some conclusion. [ Posted at 6:32 PM | Permalink ]
Apple's iPod strategy is familiar tuneSeattle Times: "To longtime tech watchers, Apple Computer's dilemma over whether to 'open up' its wildly successful iPod/iTunes strategy has an amusingly familiar ring ... Apple now faces intense pressure to allow the iPod to work with multiple music services beyond iTunes. RealNetworks Chief Executive Rob Glaser seems to be leading the charge with a recent offer to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs. Let iPod users play music from RealNetworks, Glaser proposed, and Real in turn will tailor its music service to promote the iPod as its player of choice. Nearly two decades ago, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and executive Jeff Raikes made a similar suggestion to Apple regarding its then-new Macintosh. Why don't you license Mac technology to other vendors and build in compatibility with Microsoft's DOS operating system, Microsoft suggested. In return, Microsoft would help promote the Macintosh. Suspicious that Microsoft had ulterior motives, including using Macintosh technology for the still-unreleased Windows, Apple rejected the idea. Technology historians have long noted the blown opportunity in explaining why Apple, with a huge chronological lead in the graphical-user interface, nevertheless became marginalized by Windows in the PC revolution. Did Apple learn its lesson? While there are seductive similarities in the two scenarios, it seems unlikely that Jobs is in any hurry to 'open up' the iPod."Again, a familiar argument around these parts. [ Posted at 8:38 AM | Permalink ]
Oh, yeah, he also sells computers [for now]New York Times (free registration required): "In just two and a half years, Mr. Jobs, Apple's chief executive, has managed to take a well-designed hand-held gadget, add software connecting it to Macintoshes and Windows-based personal computers and convince the recording industry that he has found an elegant solution for ending its nightmare of digital piracy. In doing so, he has shifted the emphasis of Apple from what made it famous - hip, even lovable computers - to what he hopes will keep it relevant and profitable in the future: products for a digital way of life ... Apple is acting less like a computer company and more like brand-brandishing, multinational companies such as Nike and Virgin. The iPod's success is also the clearest indication that Mr. Jobs, if he is to successfully revamp Apple, will ultimately win not by taking on PC rivals directly, but by changing the rules of the game."That last bit is a cute way of saying, "if he is to successfully revamp Apple, will ultimately win not by taking on PC rivals at all, but by quitting the PC market and joining a more disfunctional market for portable devices where the competitors are a lot less ruthless." The problem, of course, is that the same competitors who kicked Apple's behind in the PC market are slowing lumbering into iPod territory now as well. Anyway. There's more for you people that believe Apple isn't ignoring its Mac line. "Despite iPod's success, skeptics say Mr. Jobs's digital music venture will not be enough to offset a flagging performance in the PC business. 'The success of the iPod doesn't seem to have significantly changed Apple's market share,' said T. Michael Nevens ... And Mr. Nevens said that there was 'no support for the theory' that the new digital appliances would bolster computer sales. Mr. Jobs, however, does not appear to be banking on that happening. Instead, he is betting on his ability to rapidly replicate the iPod's success by creating a string of digital consumer product categories." Naturally, Jobs didn't "create" the iPod's "product category," which had been around for years before Apple released its admittedly superior styled device, but let's not quibble with the facts, eh? The iPod has been a huge success, no doubt about it (and the iPod Mini debacle notwithstanding). But that business is still only a small portion of the company's flagging Mac market, shrinking though it may be. It reminds me of the mid-1980's, when Apple ignored the dying Apple II system despite the fact that it was then generating all of the company's revenues. [ Posted at 8:25 AM | Permalink ]
Picture of the dayWell, this explains why no one can find an iPod Mini anywhere. Jobs poses with every iPod Mini ever made.
Sunday, April 25, 2004Commentary: MPEG-4 is DeadStreamingmedia.com: "Given the adoption of Microsoft's Windows Media Video 9 by the DVD Forum, there's increasing reason to believe, to paraphrase an old Southern expression, that the MPEG-4 dog just won't hunt. It hasn't yet and probably never will, at least in any serious commercial way ... In addition to offering lower quality, MPEG-4 also sports the obligation to pay royalties, not only on encoders and decoders, but also on content. Given that decoders for the other three have always been free, it's doubtful that this costs more, looks worse "value proposition" will win many takers in the streaming media space ... it's hard to minimize the importance of the DVD Forum's provisional approval for Microsoft's VC-9 technology, essentially Windows Media Video 9, along with two other technologies, H.264 and MPEG-2, as mandatory on next-generation playback devices."Again, it's nice to see eye-to-eye with people. I believe I first started touting WMV 9's superiority to MPEG-4 in August 2002, if memory serves. [ Posted at 8:16 PM | Permalink ]
Interview: Adobe CEO Bruce ChizenPC Magazine: "PC Magazine Editor-in-Chief Michael J. Miller recently had the opportunity to talk with Adobe CEO Bruce Chizen about open-source software, the Macintosh and the software scene."Bruce Chizen: "When you look at our overall revenue, or percentage of revenue, we get somewhere between 22% and 25% of our business from Macintosh customers or software that runs on the Mac. If you factor out Acrobat and the server products, our Mac business has stayed relatively strong, which is good news. And I believe, at least what our customers are telling us and what our revenue is telling us in terms of mix, that those loyal Macintosh users, continue to be loyal to the Mac. What we don't see are a lot of graphics professionals moving over, back from Windows to Macintosh, but those who are on Mac, because of all the great things that Steve [Jobs] has done, are sticking with Mac. Most of our customers are telling us they have plans to move to G5 this year, which is good news for the industry and good news for us ... The two major applications that we chose not to do on Macintosh were Premiere and Photoshop Album, and basically for the same reason: Apple already had an offer, and it doesn't make sense for us to take our resources and try to compete directly with them, where in effect they either give away the software or they have a competitive advantage that it doesn't make sense for us to try to compete against. And in the case of video, they're tied into Quicktime, they're tied right into the hardware. It was easier for us to focus in on Wintel and try to produce a more compelling solution. In the case of Photoshop Album, they give away iPhoto free. Why compete with free? So, the good news is, Apple's serving its customers. So the customer is not getting cheated out of it, and we get to, in effect, produce a better product for the Windows customer, that doesn't have Apple producing software for them." [ Posted at 6:07 PM | Permalink ]
Linux vs Windows: Another Great OS Leap Forward On the Way?LinuxWorld.com: "A company based in The Philippines is claiming it has developed software that would allow Windows-based applications to run smoothly on Linux - paving the way for the production of more PCs preloaded with Linux instead of Windows. Codenamed 'David,' Manila-based SpecOps Labs says it will unveil a working model of this middleware tomorrow and adds that it could be commercially available before the end of this year. SpecOps Labs (formerly known as Softlabs) began the ambitious project last year knowing it would eventually put them directly against Microsoft (a.k.a. Goliath in case the reference was lost on you.)" [ Posted at 6:05 PM | Permalink ]
Sun's Java Desktop System shows promiseMSNBC: "When it comes to operating systems, Microsoft, IBM and Apple aren’t the only mega-companies with all the knowledge. Sun, with its Solaris OS, has years of expertise with Unix-based operating systems. But in the 21st century, Sun has decided to add Linux to the mix. It includes full support for the company's Java system – plus a suite of office software – in one package.It’s called Sun Java Desktop System, or JDS for short. Like Solaris, it’s designed for offices and businesses more than for extensive home use. But, Sun has just announced that hardware manufacturer Microtel will now make you a computer with the JDS operating system inside for $298-698 depending on the configuration. They're for sale on Wallmart.com." [ Posted at 6:04 PM | Permalink ]
Mandrake sees good demand for desktop LinuxPC Pro: "Mandrake expects to finish the year in profit, following positive half year results announced today. The Linux company's financials from last October to March show a 20 per cent growth in revenue, year on year, to €2.52mn. Because some 76 per cent of this is from direct sales (e-commerce and Mandrake's MandrakeLinux Users club) this has boosted margins to 84 per cent." [ Posted at 6:03 PM | Permalink ]
PC-Phobia--Would a New GUI Paradigm Help?Linux Today: "What's so hard about using a PC? This question is valid for all popular operating systems, not just Linux, because with few exceptions, all of these systems use pretty much the same GUI concept: window, menu, dialog box. There are variations of a theme between all of the OSs, and within the desktop environments and window managers of the *Nix family, but essentially that's what they all use ... The desktop model assumes that people know how to use a real-world desktop. I look at my desktop here at the office and I don't even think I qualify for that ... But making the GUI more intuitive could be one way to lessen ... resistance. This is a question that the open source community should really try to answer, as a breakthrough here could lead to better acceptance of OSS and PCs in general."Again, it's always nice to see people coming around to an opinion you've had for quite a while. Quite obviously, the desktop paradigm is broken, and unwieldy in a world of 160 GB hard drives and 3 GHz processors. [ Posted at 6:02 PM | Permalink ]
Linux backers foresee desktop gainsZDNet: "Linux may be entrenched in the data center, but it will need some sprucing up before the upstart operating system grabs a significant spot on the desktop PC. Cosmetic adjustments, better business applications--and more of them--and improved marketing will help turn the tide, according to speakers at the Desktop Linux Summit here [in San Diego]. While figures vary widely on worldwide Linux desktop penetration, most credible sources place it between 0.5 percent and 2 percent of the market, making the open-source operating system a slowly rising third to Windows and Apple Computer's Mac OS. Still, many are optimistic Linux will reach mainstream status, typically defined as 10 percent market share or better, within the next five years."Note: Since the Mac has only 1.7 percent of the market, it's likely that Linux desktop usage has already surpassed that of the Mac. [ Posted at 6:00 PM | Permalink ]
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