Open Source Census Finds FOSS Everywhere
The Open Source Census, which I mentioned back in April, just dropped a press release this morning about the data it's been collecting. I chatted the day before with Kim Weins, senior VP of OpenLogic, a key co-sponsor of the census, and how they found a few ... surprises in the results.
Waiting for Answers From Oracle
As I wrote last week, the information available on the HP Oracle Database Machine and HP Oracle Exadata Storage Server is incomplete. Pertinent questions are on the table, but I've been unsuccessful, thus far, in getting any answers from Oracle... I have, however, talked to HP about the fit between this new device and its own Neoview appliance.
50 First Blogs (Or, What Writers Want)
As I "pen" my 51st blog for Intelligent Enterprise, I'd like to take a different slant on the usual blog: What I, as a writer, expect from you, our reader. The continuing, unprecedented economic turbulence that is roiling us all provides a relevant backdrop to this note... How do we help our customers and employers stay afloat in these sinking economic sands?
Accidental Accomplishment in ObjectRexx
My work on the PigIron open source project is focussed on a Java interface to z/VM SMAPI so that eventually GUI or Web administrative and user applications can be coded in open source so you can run your little ol' mainframe from your desktop or browser.
But imagine testing such code!
Apple Tweaks App Store Policies
The company is hoping to stop shady developers from propping up their applications with fake reviews, as well as keep users who haven't tried it from posting negative reviews.
Another Open Source Feather In Microsoft's Cap
My colleague Dave Methvin jumped on the news about Microsoft's use of the jQuery library before I did, but it has to be said: it's something that says as much about the state of open source as it does about Microsoft. Most of it positive, actually.
Is Business Activity Monitoring a BI Application?
A question I posed to a LinkedIn group — Is Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) a BI Application? — sparked interesting discussion. There have been 9 responses to date, including two from Howard Dresner, who has done as much as anyone to shape current-day BI. The responses speak to growing interest in operational BI, and they hint at the impact that complex event processing (CEP) will have on enterprise analytics.
Can Roles and Agility Coexist in Oracle Fusion Middleware?
I listened carefully for the better part of two-and-a-half hours last week to Thomas Kurian, Sr. VP of Oracle, present the entire product set and positioning of Oracle's Fusion Middleware. I liked almost everything I heard... but down at the bottom of this stack, he raised the issue of "unified UI for Enterprise Applications controlled by roles." This is where he lost me...
Looking for 'Front-and-Center-ware' at Oracle Open World
I attended my first Oracle Open World this week with a degree of trepidation when a colleague told me 60,000 people attend... I was a little worried about the BI sessions and customers getting lost among larger lines... and I'm not thrilled that the BI products reside in the middleware group. BI should be front-and-center-ware - the payback for all that data warehouse and middleware plumbing!
Questions Emerge On HP-Oracle Device
The whole concept of the data warehouse appliances has gone from "an interesting niche in the market to something that's smack dab in the middle of the mainstream market." That's how Jim Baum, president and COO of Netezza, sized up the HP Oracle Database Machine announced earlier this week, but it's clear that competitors, as well as analysts and potential customers, are still struggling to size up the actual product.
Sundown On Solaris?
Netcraft -- er, Jim Zemlin, confirms it: Solaris is dying. Customers are leaving it and legacy Unix behind for Linux, in his purview. Open sourcing the platform was too little, too late. Well, maybe not sundown, but it's getting mighty dark out.
Closed Open Source Community
Anyone who doesn't believe that Mainframing has drama and pathos should read Melinda Varian's VM and the VM Community: Past, Present, and Future. The author is an esteemed lady programmer present at the creation of VM, or nearly, and later one of the leaders of what you might call a closed open source community of the 1970's and 1980's.
Global IPTV: $19 Billion Market By 2012
Driving the increase is growing consumer demand for video, as well as the entry of new content providers such as YouTube and Joost, according to a new Gartner survey.
More On The Mandriva Mini
My post yesterday about the Mandriva Mini distribution for Intel Atom-powered machines prompted a response from Adam Williamson, Community Manager for Mandriva. There, we talked more about what makes Mini a special case -- so much so that simply offering it for universal download isn't (in their eyes) a wise plan.
Oracle Teams With HP On Database Hardware
Oracle in tandem with HP is bringing out its first hardware product, a database machine, which Oracle CEO Larry Ellison says is suitable for high end, high performance data warehouses.
Oracle Finally Answers Data Warehouse Challengers
Oracle, in partnership with HP, has announced a new data warehouse appliance product line, cleverly branded "Exadata."... Numbers are being thrown around suggesting that, unlike prior Oracle offerings, the Exadata-based appliance at least has scalability and price/performance worth comparing to Teradata - hey, Exa is bigger than Tera! - Netezza, et al.
Android 1.0 SDK Released
Getting developers and programmers to create innovative products will be key for Android's success.
A Difference That Makes No Difference From Open Source ...
I couldn't let the "divide and conquer road map" for keeping open source at bay, as described by my colleague Randy George, pass without comment. The more proprietary software comes to superficially resemble open source, the harder it will be for people to see the benefits of the latter.
Vertica Spells Out Compression Claims
Omer Trajman of column-store DBMS vendor Vertica put up a must-read blog spelling out detailed compression numbers, based on actual field experience... Omer goes on to claim that Vertica's compression is typically severalfold better than that of competitive row-based systems.
Mandriva Mini: Linux For Atom -- And For OEMs Only (So Far)
Looks like the "netbook" is shaping up as the major way Just Plain Folks will get a little Linux into their lives. Further evidence for that comes in the form of Mandriva's new Linux distribution specifically for Intel Atom-powered machines: Mandriva Mini. Too bad you can't download it yet.
Google Chrome's Shine Is Fading
Many analysts believe that Google is not interested in waging a market-share battle with rivals, but launched Chrome to compete with Microsoft's Office software suite.
How Does T-Mobile's Google G1 Stack Up?
We review several features available in the first Android-powered handset that could make it a hit in the enterprise and viable alternative to the BlackBerry or iPhone.
Google's Android: A Quiet Revolution
The first phones sporting Google's open-source phone OS Android are set to be announced sometime today, courtesy of T-Mobile (my own cell provider, huzzah!). Android-powered phones are set to compete with the iPhone, Nokia's Symbian, Windows Mobile, and all the rest -- and the way I see it, it'll be in much the same way Google itself competed with AltaVista, Yahoo Search, and so on: quietly, but decisively.
Adobe Introduces Creative Suite 4
The company said its latest professional media production software includes six distinct bundles because the distinction between Web sites and interactive experiences is blurring.
The Technology Behind Wall Street's Meltdown
Could technology have saved Wall Street from its current financial crisis? From my perspective, the Fannies, Freddies, Lehmans and AIGs of this world no doubt had plenty of risk analysis, predictive analytics, and business rules technology to see and avoid the risk. They just ignored the danger signs or, worse, used the technology to paper over the dangers.
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