Category: Open Source

  • Firefox 3.0b4 review

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    Tom Raftery
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    Firefox 3.0b4 was released overnight and it is a significant improvement over the already superb 3.0b3! The browser space is really improving of late, what with the release of the surprisingly good Internet Explorer 8 beta, the nightly Webkit releases, and now Firefox 3.0b4. I ran Firefox 3.0b4 through the Sunspider browser speed test and…

  • Microsoft embracing 'Open' – can a leopard change its spots?

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    Tom Raftery
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    In a surprise announcement yesterday, Microsoft vowed to increase the openness of its key products! Yes this is still February, April 1st is several weeks away yet! So what did Microsoft say in this release? Well, Specifically, Microsoft is implementing four new interoperability principles and corresponding actions across its high-volume business products: (1) ensuring open…

  • Is Skype bucking the Open trend?

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    Tom Raftery
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    This open stuff is really taking off! Google announced Android, their open source mobile phone platform, OpenID 2.0 has been launched and even AT&T are announcing that they are Opening their networks! Against that backdrop I was surprised to hear today that Skype have decided to eviscerate their Skype Developer Program (SDP). The SDP is…

  • Ubuntu 7.10 DNS issue

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    Tom Raftery
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    Ubuntu 7.10 (aka Gutsy Gibbon) has a DNS-related bug. I referred to it when I posted about having upgraded to 7.10 last week but since then I have found how to get around it. First the problem – After the upgrade, browsers, mail clients and other Internet-related applications run very slowly. Loading pages in Firefox…

  • Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) launched

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    Tom Raftery
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    Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon) launched yesterday. Ubuntu is a linux distribution with a focus on desktop systems and usability. It issues major releases at pre-scheduled six monthly intervals. I installed the previous version of Ubuntu (7.04) on one of my laptops recently and was very impressed with its performance and stability. The update from 7.04…

  • Microsoft Licensing blog

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    Tom Raftery
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    Via Martha Rotter’s blog (Martha is Rob Burke‘s replacement in Microsoft Ireland and I bet she hates being introduced that way!), I see that Microsoft Ireland have started a Microsoft Licensing blog. This is a great idea because licensing Microsoft’s software correctly in any kinds of numbers is unbelievably complex. I often wonder if it…

  • Microsoft will Open Source Windows (or die!)

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    Tom Raftery
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    I have said on a number of occasions that Microsoft should Open Source their Windows Operating System (and their Internet Explorer). However, it bears repeating. I realise it is unlikely to happen in the near term but, I firmly believe it will happen in the not-too-distant future (when Microsoft realises that they can’t compete with…

  • Are IBM, Google and Sun ganging up on Microsoft?

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    Tom Raftery
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    I see IBM are now jumping into the free Office software arena by launching IBM Lotus Symphony. IBM Lotus Symphony is a free download from the IBM site (registration required). Up until now, Microsoft’s competition in this space has come from OpenOffice and Google – neither of whom have a strong track record in the…