Developers

Zenoss' Alan Conley: Doing the Dynamic Infrastructure Dance
June 18, 2013

A thin line between traditional IT monitoring and management services and monitoring real-time operations divides what Zenoss offers its customers and what other vendors provide. The IT monitoring space is becoming more crowded with proprietary and open source software solutions. Zenoss, according to Chief Technology Officer Alan Conley, offers a uniform platform that extends its reach.

Pondering Life in a PRISM World
June 17, 2013

Not a single week goes by here in the Linux blogosphere without some assortment of news and events to keep life interesting. It's not often, however, that something comes along with the magnitude of PRISM. Linux Girl was comfortably ensconced on her favorite barstool when the news broke down at the Punchy Penguin Saloon, and it's been chaos ever since.

Gentoo Creator Daniel Robbins: Making Linux Free and Flexible
June 11, 2013

Open source software is a passion for some and a business for others. Daniel Robbins was driven by a need to make Linux better than he found it. Robbins created two Linux distros: Gentoo and Funtoo. He created Gentoo Linux during his time as a systems administrator. Funtoo, meanwhile, is a project that Robbins created to extend the technologies for Gentoo.

Testing the Faith of the Linux Masses
June 10, 2013

It doesn't seem too big a stretch to say that fidelity is an increasingly rare virtue in the population at large. Can the same be said of the Linux masses? That's just what TuxRadar apparently set out to learn recently via a thought-provoking Open Ballot. "Do you ever see yourself switching back to Windows or Mac OS X -- or BSD, Solaris, or any other OS -- and leaving Linux behind?" its query read.

The Linux Standard Base: Order From Chaos
June 06, 2013

Imagine going out to do your shopping errands in a world devoid of standards. What would that be like? Without standard sizes, something as routine as buying clothes would be an exercise in frustration. Finding a replacement bulb or buying tires for your car would require unique parts made only by the manufacturer. That's why the world of Linux has the Linux Standard Base.

Amazon Spreads Its Influence With Single Sign-In
May 30, 2013

Amazon on Tuesday announced a feature that lets users access websites using their Amazon account information. The goal of Login with Amazon is to reduce sign-in friction by providing secure credentials to websites, apps, games and other online access points on the Web, as well as on Android and iOS devices. Google+, Facebook and Twitter already offer similar social sign-in capabilities.

One Small Step for NASA, One Giant Leap for Open Source
May 28, 2013

"Space: the final frontier." These may be the opening words of the Star Trek series so loved by geeks far and wide, but lately, they've been on the tip of more Linux bloggers' tongues than ever. Why? Because Linux recently scored a major victory some 230 miles up in the sky. Specifically, Windows got the big heave-ho from the International Space Station.

The Windows Kernel's Achilles' Heel
May 20, 2013

Life is like a roller coaster, as the popular saying goes, filled with both ups and downs. Here in the Linux blogosphere we've certainly experienced our share of downs in recent months -- thanks in large part to a frustrating spate of FUD -- but lately the clouds have parted and the sun is shining on Linux with full force once again.

Linux: The Gold Standard of Code
May 16, 2013

There are few things more gratifying to those of us here in the Linux blogosphere than seeing the many and varied virtues of our favorite operating system get officially recognized. It happens with increasing regularity these days, of course -- after all, there are so very many virtues to consider -- but recently an example emerged that has been warming FOSS fans' hearts ever since.

What's Behind the Hybrid Cloud Hype?
May 15, 2013

Hybrid cloud technology is garnering much attention of late -- whether for cutting-edge development and the continuous integration and release processes achieved through devops, or for traditional enterprise-proven approaches to infrastructure and applications. There's more to hybrid clouds than hype. The growth outlook for all types of cloud computing is strong.

Sauce Labs' Jason Huggins: App Testing Is for the (Angry) Birds
May 14, 2013

Jason Huggins took Web browser and website testing to new levels. Pushed by several Aha! moments, he recognized a pressing need for automation in applications testing. He also discovered that no existing proprietary software provided cross-platform features. What did not exist in a marketable box, Huggins built as an out-of-the-box open source solution using the Selenium software he created.

Ubuntu Strikes Out on Its Own Again
May 13, 2013

If Canonical has shown anything over the past few years, it's that it's not afraid of doing things differently. Ever since the arrival of Unity in Ubuntu 10.10's netbook edition back in 2010, it's been clear the company is "marching to the beat of its own drum," as they say, with a growing focus on mobile and convergence. Well, last week brought yet another example of Canonical's independent-mindedness.

Linux, Freedom and Cold Cash
May 09, 2013

Well it's spring storm season in many parts of the world, so it should come as no great surprise that we've had some storms here in the Linux blogosphere as well. The latest example? None other than an intriguing poll about paying for Linux. Could you, would you, do you pay for Linux? the poll asked. The question had barely hit the airwaves when the stampede began.

Ubuntu's Raring Ringtail Is Kind of a Snore
May 08, 2013

The latest release of Canonical's Ubuntu Linux distro, version 13.04, or Raring Ringtail, comes with a big yawn factor. I get a growing sense that the company's rejections of users' criticisms of Ubuntu's native Unity desktop portray Canonical as Microsoft in a penguin suit. Regular Ubuntu users of previous versions will be satisfied with the new release.

Buggy Install, No Support Take the Lead Out of Pencil
May 01, 2013

Pencil is an advanced drawing and animation tool that creates traditional, hand-drawn 2D animations and static sketches. Think of this animation/drawing application as an Etch A Sketch with colored sand on steroids. Pencil creates both bitmap and vector images. Finished animations can be exported as a PNG image. Animated sketches can be exported in several handy Flash or Movie file formats.

When It Comes to Installation, xPDF Has a Hex on It
April 24, 2013

If you are looking for a fast, reliable, trouble-free, lightweight PDF viewer, and you stumble upon xPDF in your distro's app listings -- keep stumbling. Chances are it will not run on your Linux configuration. In theory, xPDF is a promising alternative to PDF viewers available for the Linux desktop such as Adobe PDF Viewer, Okular and Evince. It is a fast and light application that does not exhibit sluggish performance.

Knoppix Pulls a Lot More Than Its Own Weight
April 17, 2013

Knoppix is a lightweight Linux distro that is anything but light in its features and functions. It equals or exceeds the performance of all the desktop varieties I run in Ubuntu and Linux Mint. It also could easily replace the portability on a stick I get with Puppy Linux. Knoppix, much like Puppy Linux, provides a fully functional Linux distro that boots from a DVD or USB drive.

Morphlabs' Yoram Heller: Gearing Up to Beat Amazon
April 09, 2013

Open source technology is central to Morphlabs' business model. The company, launched in 2007 with Yoram Heller as a cofounder, builds fully modular, scalable public and private cloud products. It takes open source software and designs architecture to run on specific hardware. Building its products on top of open source software is the main innovation that allows Morphlabs to dramatically lower the barrier of entry to cloud computing.

Chakra: A Simple, Strong Energy Center for Your Desktop
April 03, 2013

Chakra is an unusual Linux distro that rethinks what the Linux desktop should be. It gives users the tools to do it their way. This interesting approach to learning what makes Linux tick, however, is not a good starting point for first-time Linux users. I was intrigued with Chakra's ground-up reconstruction and the notion that developers need to keep it simple, stupid (also known as the KISS Principle.)

Kona's Scott DeFusco: Open Source Advocate in a Closed Source Firm
April 02, 2013

Kona, an innovative social networking platform for businesses and organizations, was launched in late 2012. It grew out of a vision developer Scott DeFusco had for a way to solve communications issues shared in peoples' business and social lives. DeFusco and Kona cofounder Jeff Eckerle developed the new approach to online collaboration as an internal start-up within Deltek, an enterprise resource planning vendor