Apr 29 2008 6:41PM GMT
Posted by: Margaret Rouse
Ubuntu,
Linux
 |
Linux won’t truly be ready for the desktop until someone computer illiterate can sit down at a the computer and with little effort do what they want to do.
Content Consumer, The Great Ubuntu-Girlfriend Experiment
|
The Linux on the Desktop debate continues. Lots of buzz this week about this guy who had his girlfriend try out Ubuntu’s latest release, Hardy Heron. (Love the codenames!)
It seems the guy (Content Consumer) had his girlfriend perform 12 tasks — ordinary things like watching a video on YouTube or changing the mouse speed. Nothing fancy.
And guess what? She had trouble. His conclusion?
Conclusion
The main issue with the desktop experience is that the geeky programmers and designers assume too much from the average user. They assume the user knows about the way in which programs are installed, or how the file system is set out. The average user will not go out of their way to google for help or even read the associated documentation that comes with Ubuntu and its default software. The little information pop-ups and guided wizards are critical to explaining how the user can accomplish the basic tasks they most probably are trying to do.
For those of you who’ve never even seen Linux on a desktop, Shawn Powers from Linux Journal gives you a high-level look-see. And here are the release notes from Wayne Richardson in plain English.
Apr 29 2008 4:52PM GMT
Posted by: Margaret Rouse
Adobe
 |
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and the Web graphics formats are all public, open standards. It just doesn’t seem right that the primary tool for professional Web site creation should be an expensive, proprietary software package. Where are the low-cost or open source competitors?
Neil McAllister, GoLive Goes Dead as Adobe Consolidates
|
Adobe should just have cleaned up GoLive and made it free. It’s still a useful app and would go a long way to soothe all the people who are still angry about how Adobe promised something useful with Photoshop Express but didn’t deliver.
Apr 28 2008 12:44PM GMT
Posted by: Margaret Rouse
.NET,
operating systemss,
Programming
 |
Unlike most OSes, Cosmos doesn’t run on the bare metal of machines. Rather, it’s a virtualized OS that runs within the .NET container, intended to support .NET-based languages (particularly C#) that are also resident on the .NET container.
Joe McKendrick, A New OS is Born |
Channel 8 has step-by-step directions for downloading and making Cosmos work on your PC.
Apr 25 2008 4:53PM GMT
Posted by: Margaret Rouse
Technology,
Live Mesh,
Microsoft,
Cloud computing
 |
Essentially, Live Mesh is a collection of feeds (which can be expressed as ATOM, JSON, FeedSync, RSS, WB-XML, or POX). Every piece of data entered into a user’s Mesh — be it a file, a folder, a message, a user permission, or a new device — is rendered as a piece of information in a feed. The feeds are then synced with other devices that are part of that Mesh following rules for how to sync each particular piece of information.
Josh Catone, Live Mesh: First Look at Microsoft’s New Platform |
Ok…I’m loving this. Social networking all grown up. News feeds are the future and Facebook showed us how to use them.
The Live Mesh Notifier is a news feed of all the activity on a user’s Mesh. Right now that means changes made to files, folders, devices, user permissions, and comments left on files/folders. However, because Live Mesh is a platform that seeks to interact with third party services…it is easy to envision how much more could be pushed through the news feed.
Apr 25 2008 12:44PM GMT
Posted by: Margaret Rouse
Technology,
holographic storage,
Storage
 |
Essentially, the InPhase guys have built yet another WORM (write once, read many) optical drive. Yes, the 1.6 TB capacity is impressive, considering that the only recently has the new Blu-ray DVD-like format made it to market and the proposed dual-layer Blu-ray disks top out at ~50 GB. However, modern 52X CD-ROM drives have a random seek of ~90 milliseconds, significantly faster than the InPhase spec. for their drive.
Dossy, InPhase Technologies to publically demonstrate “Tapestry” holographic data storage drive |
When I saw that Ivy had picked holographic disk drive as today’s Word of the Day, I got all excited. Then Dossy brought me back to earth.
Apr 24 2008 9:15PM GMT
Posted by: Margaret Rouse
Technology,
Vista,
Windows XP,
Microsoft
I don’t know which was more entertaining — Ballmer’s spin — or laughing at how this Reuters headline was written for search engines.
Microsoft, by the way, has announced that the cut-off date for XP will be June 30.