Posts by Ilgaz

Microsoft pounces as Mozilla shuns enterprise

Safari is different

Safari doesn't run like Firefox nor allows that much customisation. It is a policy, a design choice much like Opera.

What Firefox is and at what levels it can be customised is the issue here. Extensions are really powerful and they should be really checked for compatibility when deploying a new version or things can really go wrong.

Obviously I don't expect that kind of support from Firefox or Mozilla team. Really absurd thing is, no company have seen market for firefox enterprise support including Mozilla team themselves. Free (as in freedom) software is expected to make majority of money that way, pretty much like Redhat.

MSI is native windows installer.

MSI is the format which you are expected to deploy (install) all apps on Windows. It has some excellent features that allows real cool things even for single user home PCs, like "repair" option. You can make your own MSI files, even a MS employee maintained, truly opensource without any strings attached application exists on sourceforge. Yes, MS even chose sf.net to make people less paranoid. BTW, while you see ordinary setup.exe files, they are generally packaged MSI files just being more compatible and old school friendly. They (setup.exe) generally extracts a MSI file to temp folder and instructs explorer to open it.

Similar situation exists on OS X too. Mozilla refuses to use OS X native installer format, .PKG even while Apple trusts and succeeds entire OS installs to it. That creates issues in Mac enterprise (well, Hollywood) and even small home networks.

Google battles MicroSkype with 'open' VoIP protocol

being sarcastic or actually don't know ms dinos?

People sitting and coding a new breed of Skype, something will work on a brand new operating system based on linux, at MS building!

It would happen if MS got rid of all top management and became a services company like IBM but they are not.

I seriously doubt even the existing Skype clients except Windows (and perhaps OSX) will be maintained. They will sure try to get rid of qt on Windows version for sure. They hate qt and Nokia is their puppet now.

Add smart phone users

When Skype told Nimbuzz, Fring that they can't connect their servers anymore, a very interesting thing happened. People gave up Skype instead of third party apps.

Most amazing thing is, Nimbuzz and Fring were actually coding a super stable and reliable client for them, for free! I admire their Symbian team but you can't really compete with Nimbuzz and Fring since they were born on mobile. These guys really knows how to code and even sell their (ad free) software.

One wonders... Were MS guys involved with Skype while they did this stupid policy change? That really sounds, almost shouts like MS.

MeeGo and the Great Betrayal Myths of tech history

It would be Nokia to blame, still

The original/extremely neat idea was, somehow make Symbian developers code real C++/Qt code (easy compared to 'native'), make them release popular code and ship for truly amazing number of already installed base.

When Meego ships? Let them ship the same app to Meego still making money with almost zero amount of work.

Can qt do it? Of course. It already does it, same app ships for Windows/OS X and Linux which has absolutely nothing to do with eachother.

What really happened is, they made the most amazing mistake of releasing N97 with comical amount of free C: (phone) memory where qt has to go into because of OS design. They somehow managed to alianate even more customers. Their largest smart phone segment, non touch by releasing apps for "touch only" and finally doing the final kick of NOT releasing 4.7 for non touch. This is just one mistake of many.

So, dare to code World's most perfect app for N97? Prepare for flames for 15MB download (big deal for symbian users, some weird thing) and you may even DOS the users device since it is extremely risky to fill C: on any Nokia device.

I know N97 is old story but trust me, that is the moment when qt/symbian/linux idea failed.

I'd pass Meego and shouldn't bother with Nokia except S40

As a Symbian user, I was extremely happy with previous, sane decision/rumour that Meego will drive very high end (lets call them luxury) and Symbian will be middle end since I am really not comfortable with spending a decent laptop/netbook price to a phone. It doesn't matter how smart or trendy it is. I am just for reliability, quality of third party apps, signal strength and... kernel itself. I also like a real keyboard, at least BB style.

So, I still use E71 from Nokia and I am also running macs along with a cheap amd desktop running windows 7.

For people like me (several, like 100M), meego, linux etc. were pure fantasy. Are you into ideology/politics? Eh, what happened to Neo 1973? Didn't sell. It was the only true open and free (as in freedom) device.

So, as they gave up Symbian and doing everything to make developers abandon it too, people buys everything but Nokia. Except, there are business guys who really want perfect reliability and connectivity, they go for S40 Nokias which has nothing to do with Symbian. I even saw a dollar billionaire using them. Well, his secretary/assistant for him.

I agree to Orlowski, "better" doesn't always win. In fact, they were stupidly afraid of meego undermine symbian sales. Idiots didn't even figure Symbian user profile of their own. They don't get Symbian developers who writes/can write true smart phone apps either. They seriously think they will even touch Windows .net mobile/silverlight. C++/openc coders... Yea, right. They just can't figure objective c or android hybrid apps!

Oracle seeks 'billions' with Google Android suit

it would be logical choice but they can't control qt and can't explain meego

If they did acquire qt from Nokia's dead, ms puppet hands, they could have the best thing. A native (and web friendly) framework with the bonus of Meego for the future exploding connected vehicles etc.

Of course, they want to control the whole thing and it won't happen.

Here is why

Google has fanatics who became robots (androids?) and will gang up whoever dares to talk bad about that company. Just like Apple.

Red Hat's Oracle shot: The Unbreakable Database?

How can companies deal with Oracle?

I really wonder how could enterprise companies could stand to such an amateurly, almost like a little grocery shop managed company especially when there is IBM option.

Itanium thing still makes me amazed since I still use powerpc here. If some CPU rejected to boot because its sales forecast is bad, it would be my poor Mac Mini G4 and yet, I compile everything with GCC. I guess RMS doesn't follow news like Oracle does :)

A peek inside Apple's iCloud data center

Pixar bought AMDs

When Pixar bought AMD cpu farm, they were right since AMD at that time had amazingly well performance for the particular tasks they use. G4/G3 can't do it. Also remember NeXT wasn't real fan of Motorola, they switched to x86 at first opportunity. Also remember OSX wasn't that stable (even if existed) and it would be a disaster that would drive Pixar out of business if they tried.

Now, Apple is a X86 (in fact x86-64) vendor with amazing cash in their pocket and a gigantic R&D. They also have OSX server edition which has very tough to get UNIX certification.

I don't say they should have put 5000 Mac Minis next to eachother making 1000 db Mac startup sound. For example, they could have designed a special Mac Mini fitting to racks, having fiber (instead of sound) network etc.

Why would they bother?

Nokia has multiple awards and one of the greenest companies with perfect worker relations. So, why they had to give up their own OS and in process of going out of business?

It is because nobody said "It may have less coolness and trendy apps but I choose Nokia since it is a green company who treats their workers (including .cn) well."

Why would Apple care? They may even put a Nuclear iReactor next to it and dump all the stuff to sea, people would still line up for iPhone 5.

MS uses Windows

If you talk about hotmail etc. on FreeBSD, it isn't relevant anymore. MS managed to move it to Windows after 2-3 disasterous tries.

Not supporting their action but at least they didn't fall into absurdity of Apple.

IBM uses Linux, z/OS and AIX

I don't think IBM would touch Windows on a such large installation. They have Windows client support and z/os monsters are maintained that way but the server always runs their own stuff. They also use Plan 9 (the successor to UNIX) on a massive supercomputer. I guess bluegene/l.

Of course if you are a customer of them and demand your systems served on Windows, they would arrange Windows Enterprise and may even suggest Dell if it perfectly fits. That is their new culture, unlike MS, they are a services company now and not acting like a spoiled kid.

That Mac freak stalking my posts can downvote my comment as long as he wants but let me repeat: MS would never do such a billion dollar PR/Prestige mistake. Also SJobs would really tell if they run os x server on that farm.

Plain sad

You got Xserve, OS X server and it is certified UNIX putting it to AIX league. You got a developer culture who does things different, simple looking complex stuff.

And your idea of "cloud" is, putting "very expensive" HP servers next to eachother.

Compare this to Virginia Tech supercomputer which was built on ibm g5 (ppc970) clusters running os x/xgrid and you will understand what kind of harm Intel switch did to the company culture.

Of course Intel was way to go in portable future but these kinds of side effects really bothers you.

Apple was a company who insisted their factory, inside look beautiful and now they aren't really different from other guys.

Hopefully, at least, they run FreeBSD but not betting on it.

Gotta admire MS for it

At the cost of getting laughed at or at the risk people blaming whatever downtime to their operating systems, they use Windows servers in all kinds of situations.

What happened to Apple's server guys? Seriously, what bothers me is UNIX getting ignored. The only "easy to use like mac" UNIX server. Now who can blame companies with hundreds of Mac and iPhone clients when they run Windows or Linux servers?

Ex-Google engineer dubs Goofrastructure 'truly obsolete'

doesn't sound professional

So, his projects failed or wasn't allowed. Do you hear anyone from MS, IBM, Apple? These things must be happening there daily too.

For example, did any Apple engineer talk bad about Mach kernel publicly? I don't say there is a problem with it but some people almost partied when (false) rumour of it being abandoned and these people are very advanced, top of the league developers.

There is a way to do things and there is a complete rude way. I really wonder the NDA he signs if a big company hires him. I bet first article will be covering this.

Funny that the real obsolete (!) things people talk about are COBOL and Fortran and no matter what they say, the code continues to run since it works.

Easy to give example

OS X Snow Leopard and upcoming Lion (and naturally iOS) still runs on very same principles of a 40 year old technology.

As they look super cool and trendy, people forget that fact.

Apple pilfers rips off student's rejected iPhone app

They must have covered that too

When you send feedback to Apple as an ordinary user, it says:

"Please read Apple’s Unsolicited Idea Submission Policy before you send us your feedback."

And the document says

"You agree that: (1) your submissions and their contents will automatically become the property of Apple, without any compensation to you"

Oh BTW, as a "dead" Symbian owner which has no restrictions on apps as long as they aren't malicious or cause device malfunctions, here is my policy about such developers ignoring my device: I don't care and they deserve everything they get.

Java update tackles multiple critical flaws

You can't develop java with it

You need JDK and even if you install it, there is a little (almost no) need to enable java applets in browsers.

Vm isn't the problem, browser applets automatic running is the problem.

Also you won't get a speed up on booting if you remove java, it isn't resident except 700KB java update checker. They should have used windows built in scheduling like Apple software update btw.

Successful, secure apps are always "real" stuff,for example Vuze, not java applets. Applets have very stupid restrictions anyway.

Has Steve Jobs killed the consumer hard disk industry?

Especially

When the company is World's largest media distributor ;)

Not saying all files are pirated content, I got like 5 GB of completely legimate mp4 audio files and around 1TB of ripped DVDs here. Being part of media industry and knowing how these are produced, I don't even share them. The problem is, how to prove all data is legimately ripped? Impossible.

You know what bothers me?

Apple owns a tested technology like XGrid which is actively used by advanced users, developers and scientists for a long time. E.g. XCode will take advantage of it.

Whenever they say "cloud", something like realtime video transcoding, 48mpixel image effects, pixar quality stuff etc. comes to mind and it ends up something like Dropbox.

I hoped Apple, with such a massive datacenter and technology built into every mac didn't join companies abusing the "cloud" name.

It is not cloud. Amazon's stuff is cloud.

I say middle of nowhere, no humans around

I know a bank putting their mainframe sysplex middle of nowhere and underground. There is almost no civilization there. 2 facilities, 75 KM away eachother and there is also usual "fallback" contract in a civilized city.

you won't see it

Best tape drive is like a mainframe or a fully redundant server. Ordinary people never sees them especially when we talk about real enterprise.

Same goes for mainframes, they run and they are still sold but generally they are buried underground at a datacenter middle of nowhere.

MS did it.

Isn't Windows Live Skydrive a similar thing and it is kinda... Old?

FT sticks it to Apple

Symbian and RIM dead?

Seriously, if you think RIM is dead especially in enterprise environment and every business person uses an iPhone, you should really follow couple of enterprise news sites.

way much smaller company, fierce markets

There is a good J2ME (yes, java,eww) app of Fierce Markets website and millions heard their name first time because of that application.

If FT and others had full feature apps on all platforms like that, e.g. Bloomberg offers a commercial web runtime widget for Nokia, Apple would never come up with this monopolistic idea at first space.

They are the ones spoiling Apple by offering the best (without any reason) for iPhone/iPad and treating almost a billion (with a B) possible devices as secondary class citizen. Trendy developers still poo poo Snaptu J2ME app even after it was sold for $70 million to Facebook for example. They never learn.

I wouldn't act different if I was Apple, seriously.

While posting this via Opera Mobile on Nokia E71. Tested ft.com with it right now, said "an error occured". It will say the same to 100 million Opera mobile/Mini users. Do they even have Blackberry support?

Apple worth more than Microsoft and Intel combined

Apple hardware isn't state of the art

Apple always uses off the shelf and cheap chips as long as they serve their purpose of running Apple experience.

I really know Apple hardware and I have even seen realtek, motorola software modem chips, el cheapo Taiwan sound chips.

If you can admin a Mac Mini latest gen and run bootcamp, install windows 7 and all the drivers you will see what I mean. Poor machine becomes a joke.

Windows and especially chip/software 3rd party vendors who really seem to lose their minds are the problem and it even includes big names like Sun/Oracle. Even they add a needless startup item java update checker while Windows has its own "cron" used by Apple and it keeps running 24/7.

let me tell what apple does to trick (!) people

They basically sell an experience and a philosophy that computers should not be different from any ordinary home device.

In addition to that, they have "easier to use" UNIX desktop, even certified and NeXT running on it.

I thought Linux guys understood their mistake on desktop and... Gnome removed close/minimize buttons to save desktop space on a damned minimum 1024x768 desktop! Without asking anyone that is.

I won't buy anything Apple soon but I still use my powerpc macs so sorry not joining your Apple hate. Of course I hate mac fan(atic)s more... That is the reason I may move to windows 7+openbsd virtual on a commercially supported virtual machine.

If you think millions of people including very clever and creative types buy high margin Apple just for image, you remove freaking close/minimize buttons and keep blaming dumb people.

MS does stupid mistakes at core level. I bet Ballmer will personally fire you if you came up with "lets remove close button" idea. For example, instead of making NTFS less fragmenting, cleverly acting on Windows, they added low IO priority and zero detail defragmenter. That is just one of their mistakes. Apple guy knew what he was talking about. HFS+ does fragment too but doesn't do it nearly on purpose. It is just logic. No spec change needed. Just know where heads are and try to predict user behaviour. No magic and your "dumb" user will notice it doesn't slow down after millions of file operations, years of usage.

iPod, iPhone & iPad runs OS X on ARM

Funny is people forget what exactly SJobs bring to Apple in addition to cool product announcements.

It was NeXT OS and the vision/style coming with it, multiplatform and scalability.

And yet, Google, ultra modern company almost made mistake of making Chrome x86 only with stupid old school asm trickery and Mozilla almost followed it. They should both thank to Android plans.

not a word game, Apple is a software company and always been

Apple's hardware are devices they think that will best run their software. Device is just a platform to run their software. Even Sony can't understand why people chose ipod instead of their excellent audio quality devices/phones. Ipod=hardware that runs Apple ipod software. Even the dumbest ones were chosen because of software while others were playing "video on 0.5 inch screen" tricks.

AMD targets tablets and cloudbooks in Intel showdown

OS X uses almost all GPU features

OS X Desktop uses almost all 3d features of the GPU using OpenGL. No hardware t&l? No cover flow on iTunes. Ask first gen Mac Mini Intel owners how they felt when G4 Mini with a real GPU (ati 9xxx) could do it.

Their GPU department needs a huge PR campaign

I have seen Intel GPU on a Macbook only and Intel Mini first generation.

It was basically a horrible experience. You should have seen the face of Macbook owner when he launched a direct3d game on bootcamp (os x was already unsupported) and see the amazing value of 1 fps. Yes, ONE fps!

I won't touch anything and won't let others unless Intel has fired all those guys responsible for shipping that scandal GMA series and convinced Apple to put them on Macs.

If I told you "no hardware T&L support", would you believe? 3dfx was still in business when nvidia introduced that feature. It is _that_ old.

Lenovo to swallow German PC giant

It isn't automatic

If you buy a German company or Swedish company, you don't automatically get their marketshare. Check what happened to Volvo.

Thankfully Lenovo is known not to destroy a brand they acquire, thinkpad/IBM is a major player in business and they still carry on their own style.

Nokia: When pigeons fly home to roast

check a site

http://www.psiloc.com , that is Poland's legendary smart phone development company who does even code something that uses your phones infrared to transform your device to the ultimate smart infra remote.

See their products of that kind are only available for Windows Mobile (poo, a real mobile os) and Symbian since they aren't possible on Windows 7 phone.

Funny is, I am also a Windows 7 desktop owner and I feel sad for that branding. It has absolutely nothing to do with "real" Windows 7. Windows mobile 6.x was the way to go, with modern UI and .NET portable.

NeXT can run on any kernel

I can understand your confusion but trust me, NeXT is a collection of frameworks and a development style. In fact, even developers aren't aware of this so they are confused when you show them couple of GNUStep/OpenStep apps which are compiled from exact same source and can run on OS X, Windows and Linux/BSD.

Some people hate SJobs for "prisoning" it to Macs. Funny is, Apple's software on Windows (except iTunes) are somehow developed with exact same philosophy. First versions of Safari for Windows shows this more obviously.

Seek web for openstep, it was the most close thing to the original NeXTstep idea.

OS X on Intel wasn't really some super secret thing, everyone knew OS X could run on any platform. Funny that Apple can release OS X for Windows today, they choose Mach, not because it is a requirement, it is better for their needs and development style. Give "openstep" a modern kernel that can handle its calls, it will still run.

You can sell Windows Mobile to Symbian users

Windows Mobile which that schizoid company abandoned is the right platform you have slightest chance to sell to Symbian owners. Even companies who only coded Windows Mobile and Symbian software will tell you that fact.

Windows 7? Trust me, if Sun/Oracle wasn't that stupid, I would choose a J2ME featurephone instead.

What about calling it smart phone?

Go to Ovi App store site, pick a popular handset like N8 or as it is still new, E72. See the tools offered? Utilities? Sports Tracker? Browsers like Opera Mobile which I use right now on a remote village with EDGE?

None of them will ship for Windows Phone as their "code in our failed flash killer" really doesn't work for large software developers or anyone into complex software. These guys doesn't do "10 print "Opera"" jokes.

So, all Symbian/Nokia guys either move to Android or iPhone. People using their smart phone as a feature phone? That is covered too, RIM Blackberry.

MeeGo/Maemo was the Apple moment

When Apple hired SJobs, he came with NeXT, something so portable that it could even run on Windows NT. For some reasons, other ports were cancelled and they concentrated on making that the future OS. It was amazingly smooth transform starting with the Carbon framework and "fat" binaries, virtual macos.

What this genius did is not different from Apple asking Windows NT for Apple computers and asking all userbase and developers follow it. It is such an insane and stupid idea that my english isn't enough to describe it.

I just can't handle amateur media/bloggers who have never, ever used a full Symbian handset and think the people using Symbian will move to Windows.

As a last note: If you check Mr. Orlowski's stories from the beginning, you wonder what would happen if Nokia listened to him and very rare other mobile watchers?

Start with reading Ovi Store story and I am sure couple of geniuses who are STILL impressed by numbers will defend Nokia. I can't freaking format my phone as the apps will need manual support to get reinstalled.

MeeGo and Mango promise mobile web delights

It means hobby

Future distruptive tech is fancy name for hobby project. Just like Apple TV but Apple had balls to call it a hobby until scene changes and it is changing indeed. FSF and Intel can't pet someone's hobby project, they are way bigger than that and risks are very high.

worse

as long as you don't touch someone's nerves, you can provide better tech and make money over it as a third party on Symbian and Android.

Windows 7 clearly has no intent of giving developers ability to code real apps, in C language.

Intel and FSF needs to get rid of Nokia

Nokia after Windows decision is doing great harm to the project's image and who knows what can it do after total Redmond control?

FSF and Intel must politely tell Nokia that the OS plan is way too big to be some kind of hobby for Nokia and get rid of them hiring their developers until it is too late. They can easily replace Nokia with a smaller but trustable partner with a good track record, better European. Even Digia can be trusted more than Nokia, I know their programming capabilities and seen their products.

Microsoft gets five bucks for every HTC Android phone

I'd say Apple but...

Well, Apple uses their own (and totally documented!) HFS+ Journaled on millions of devices they sell and besides some small issues which won't really matter on phone, it is a very robust filesystem.

However, as your idea is not paying for MS patents, the fonts they idiotically licensed from MS could be a problem. Thank God they didn't license Arial the Helvetica clone that time.

I never,ever imagined Google would put that joke patent trap to their modern operating system.It as designed for diskettes! Even on a diskette, better filesystems existed.

VFAT on Android?!

Sorry, a bit shocked... How come Google came up with the idea of using FAT on removable storage? Nokia does make same mistake but it is Symbian and they already have license from MS for a long time, also the Symbian system is kinda designed around it etc.

If you own a Android device and you have personal data (not mp3s, lets say family pictures) on that memory card, make sure you back it up. There is absolutely no security on fat, no journaling whatever.

Man even MS doesn't use VFAT on Windows Phone! They have some malicious indents but basically, it is a far risky filesystem on removable storage. Also the age of micro sd card readers are over after the devices have high speed usb chipset so please don't come up with the usual "but that xp user" excuse. If you are Google, you can sit and even code ext2 filesystem plugin for xp/7 and make it part of install.

Also Android fans who will androidically thumb down this post: I hope you will never need to extract data from a really corrupt fat32 drive. You may end up even paying thousands of dollars or spending a MONTH literally.

Oh it is excuse of lazy companies

Both Windows NT and OS X can read any filesystem as long as they have "installable filesystem" at right place. On OS/2; windows NT grandfather, things were a bit more obvious and NT did also read the HPFS using the very same system.

There is no reason rather than lazyness (and a bit political) windows can't read ext2. You can't blame open source guys too, they just don't want to take responsibility for people's data on a complete foreign operating system but a company sized as Google with their resources can install ext2 (or any sane filesystem,even a new invented one) to both os x and Windows.

At last resort, they can donate a bulky sum (ethical reasons) to FUSE and make use of it without any kernel level risk.

Obviously, GNU will never bother to do these things or FSF. Can you imagine them getting some Microsoft signature for their app? :)

Microsoft shareholder calls for Ballmer's head

That effect can't happen

People lost their trust to Microsoft business plans. They love Windows 7 since it is actually Vista, fixed.

No matter what they say about Windows 8, for ordinary people, it will be Windows 7, improved.

Funny that I bought Vista Starter for my Virtual Box while 7 was available. Why? Because it was a more tested, quirks fixed OS. That is how much "7" or any MS new OS impress me ;)

Just wait for giving up Nokia Qt

Skype is also poster child of Nokia (trolltech/digia) qt framework. It basically exists on so many platforms because of that excellent framework.

Now Nokia was forced not to support qt, completely pissing off very very large scale developers, can you imagine MS will let them to keep using c++/qt combination?

It will show a good thing: to which scale MS lost their sanity.

IBM and Apple

He should be fired for not changing the company culture, emberacing changing times.

Apple and IBM are here today not because of iPod, it was because Apple had balls to dump their impossible to fix MacOS and restarted from strach NexT code without alienating existing userbase and UI paradigm. When people see Finder there and the same UI as 1984, they miss the fact that it is one of the biggest decisions to make.

Check IBM, a company who even insisted on EBCDIC encoding from punch cards. They moved to the new World, gave up hopeless and counter productive end user business, added millions of lines to open source projects.

And here, sorry for getting reminded all the time since I am on perfectly working Nokia E71, a company who puts trojans to companies, bribes people to "buy" marketshare for an OS based on failed flash killer wannabe.

New Mac scareware variant installs without password

No, it is UNIX model

Under UNIX, a user is free whatever to do in their home directory except installing "servers", especially stuff serving between port 1-1024.

I use my system as a completely non priveleged user thanks to that model as I install my usual software to ~/Applications in my home directory...

will they dare?

Number 1 problem is "open 'safe' files" default setting, notice the quotes there, put by Apple themselves!

You can also make "Downloads" non executable, UNIX has that capability but, they won't dare as it will create serious usability problems and idiot developers still insist on not using OS X installer (including browser makers) so, drag&drop would be effected.

If I was Apple, I would assign couple of developers to anonymously contribute data to Clam database as Clam guys have problem understanding Mac threats and taking them serious.

EU belatedly cancels funding for Symbian OS

MeeGo

They could replace Nokia on MeeGo board so they could be part of a large, neutral, completely open source operating system.

Of course, their first job could be investigating what really happened to Symbian.

or... They could declare they are puppet of Redmond.