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Microsoft claims patent on feed aggregators?

By on December 22, 2006 in Home Page, Microsoft, Technology

Over at Scripting News: 12/21/2006, Dave Winer blogs, “Today I received a link to a patent granted to Microsoft, where they claim to have invented all this stuff. Presumably they’re eventually going to charge us to use it. This should be denounced by everyone who has contributed anything to the success of RSS.”

I’m no patent expert (and don’t think software patents should exist), but reading through this documentation, it looks like Microsoft is trying to patent the process of accumulating feeds and presenting them in different formats. That’s no invention of theirs! Dave’s Radio UserLand did that (first, as far as I know). Bloglines does it. Planet does it. Yahoo! Reader does it. Google Reader does it. Jeez, just about everyone but Microsoft does it. What is their invention?

It's all about … choice

By on December 17, 2006 in Apple Macintosh OS X, Linux, Microsoft, Technology

LXer points to a page with logos of 352 Linux distributions. So little time, so many possibilities.

Choice is good, and choice is bad. Edubuntu, for example is a distribution designed specifically for young children, with approachable games, education and entertainment. TrixBox is a distribution focused on small- and medium-sized business phone management (PBX).

So how can choice be bad? David Pogue reviews Vista in last Thursday's New York Times. Vista will be available in 5 different versions, and it's not so much about what's added as what's taken away in the lower priced versions. That's not a feature. Pogue goes on to say:

So after five years, how is Windows Vista? Microsoft's
description, which you"ll soon be seeing in millions of dollars' worth
of advertising, is “Clear, Confident, Connected.” But a more truthful
motto would be “Looks, Locks, Lacks.”

So, choice can be bad when it's between evils. A better choice if you're facing Vista? Mac OS X? Stay the course with Win2K or XP? 352 Flavors of Linux?

It's your choice.

It's Patch Tuesday, again!

By on December 12, 2006 in Microsoft, Security, Technology

The SANS Internet Storm Center publishes Microsoft Black Tuesday – December 2006 overview — looks pretty grim. Seven patches focused on the OS: Internet Explorer, deeply embedded in the Operating System, and still generating monthly flaws, Outlook Express, Microsoft's bundled email client, Windows Media Player, Microsoft's bundled application as well. Other flaws include crss, SNMP, RIS, and one in Visual Studio 2005. All Windows users should review and patch asap.
So, for 2006, MS released 78 patches for Windows and included software, as well as some not included in this count for Office and other tools. That doesn't stack up too well against previous years. The “Trustworthy Computing” memo is getting long in the tooth, and Microsoft should have enough time to review and audit its software and remove a lot of these flaws. Instead, we see “new” versions of their software like Server 2003 still affected by common components with flaws. Hopefully, with the release of Windows Vista and Office 2007, many of the flaws will finally be plugged. But Microsoft's customers have to be growing tired of this.

HylaFAX

By on December 7, 2006 in Linux, Microsoft, OpenSource, Technology

I installed HylaFAX yesterday on a Fedora Core 4-based staging server, in preparation for installing on-site at a client. Installation was pretty easy, thanks to the clear RTFM provided on the website's documentation links. Then, I needed to test remote access to the server, so I installed PDFCreator and WinPrint HylaFAX, a Windows printer driver that prints to the HylaFAX server, on a WinXPPro workstation and confirmed I could create PDFs and “print” a fax directly out of Windows. Again, installation was pretty easy and configuration straight-forward. Now, to figure out where the errors could crop up – network disconnection, bad fax numbers, no answer – and ensure I understand where they appear and how to notify the operators about them.

OpenCD version 4.0 released

By on December 6, 2006 in Microsoft, OpenSource

As I mentioned when talking about last years Software Freedom Day, the OpenCD is a great collection of Open Source utilities for Windows. I've passed this on to many clients for the PDFCreator and the handy collection of other features such as OpenOffice.org and many others. The OpenCD project team has recently released version 4.0. By dropping the Linux LiveCD sampler from the disk, they opened up enough room to add several great programs like the vector drawing Inkscape and the desktop publishing program Scribus. Rease their release announcement here.

The war is over and Linux won?

By on November 11, 2006 in Linux, Microsoft, OpenSource, Technology

Dana Blankenhorn opines, “The war is over and Linux won.” Ah, if it were only that simple. I think we've seen a turning point, but unlike wars with surrenders and treaties and armistices, commercial and non-commercial software will always live with some dynamic tension, and plots by one to eradicate the other will continue. There has been a sea-change though: vendors are learning to accomodate Linux as an alternative choice of their customers.

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