Archive

Google announced Tuesday that its Chrome browser will stop supporting the H.264 codec in a couple of months and will support its own WebM and Ogg Theora technologies instead. The announcement set off a firestorm. Some contended the move is a step backward for openness; others speculated that it migh...

CPTN, a consortium set up by Microsoft, Apple, Oracle and EMC to acquire hundreds of Novell patents, appears to have inadvertently faked out the open source community by withdrawing its proposal from the German Federal Cartel Office. News reports on Tuesday noted the event and alluded to possible su...

One key area of frustration for newcomers to the Linux OS is using document scanners. Most hardware makers do not provide Linux drivers on discs that accompany their scanner models. So Linux users have to struggle to find solutions on distro-specific help forums. Linux does not support the TWAIN-com...

Remember the holographic message Princess Leia sent asking Obi Wan Kenobi for help in the movie "Star Wars"" That's apparently what Android 3.0, code-named "Honeycomb," will make mobile communications seem like. "There will be heavy use of 3D-like interfaces throughout to create the impression of a ...

Forget the notebook, the netbook or the laptop; this is going to be the year of the tablet. Corporations from Salesforce.com to Mercedes-Benz and JPMorgan Chase have started equipping their executives with iPads. Meanwhile, a slew of new Android and Windows tablets have been taking the spotlight at ...

The concept of reading literature -- except for technical documentation -- on a computer screen has come a long way in the last few years. No doubt the growing popularity of EBRs, or electronic-book readers such as the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes & Noble Nook are having a big impact on our read...

Modern data centers with large number of Linux servers and heavy use of virtualization often don't have the tools they need to handle system version control and modeling. "Twenty years ago, most companies had tens of servers to manage," said Erik Troan, founder and chief technology officer of rPath....

One of my biggest concerns when I adopted the Linux OS over Microsoft Windows was Linux's ability to supply me with a robust presentation program. I did lots of lecturing and instructional seminars. Those activities required a product that closely mimicked Microsoft PowerPoint quality. The resulting...

What does the future of Java look like? Many say Java is reaching the end of its life, while others go so far as to say Java is dead. Will Java become Cobol, an antique enterprise platform too entrenched to get rid of, but no longer relevant? Will Oracle's takeover of Java prove to be the final n...

Desktop and laptop computers are great tools for organizing our worlds of things and ideas. The FOSS world of Linux applications offers perhaps more choices for cataloging and categorizing our collections than any other platform. This week's Linux Picks focuses on applications to help you track your...

In terms of tablet market share, Android tablets will be running a close second to the iPad within two years, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. While the iPad will have 44 percent of the market, Android tablets will have 39 percent, Munster reportedly predicted. More Android tablets w...

Hot on the heels of its announcement of the Optimus 2X smartphone this week, LG is reported to be working on yet another Android mobile phone. The new, ulta-thin phone will be known as the "B," according to Phandroid. LG itself has been somewhat coy regarding the smartphone. After Phandroid's story ...

If anyone had doubts that Richard Stallman dislikes Google's new Chrome OS, he laid them to rest in an interview with the Guardian Tuesday. The Chrome OS will push people into careless computing by forcing them to store their data in the cloud, said Stallman, who's the founder and president of the F...

Project management applications are a popular inroad for winning business converts to the Linux desktop. The software category provides some well-endowed tools to maximize business knowledge and techniques for project planning and progress monitoring. More than just a planning scheduler, project man...

A flap has arisen between ITG Investment Research and market intelligence blog Asymco over data regarding Verizon, Android and Research In Motion sales figures. Android's strong showing is killing off the RIM BlackBerry, according to an Asymco analysis, based on a report from ITG Investment Research...