Mac News: Tech Blog

Betrayals: Obama's Hollywood Sellout, Tech Companies' Layoffs
November 09, 2009

Last week, two troubling trends were in evidence. The scarier one is that it appears the Obama administration is in the process of putting in place a secret antipiracy provision that has little to do with antipiracy and everything to do with killing properties like YouTube. It is truly frightening, and people are already planning civil unrest to stop it.

Droid Lurches to Life
November 06, 2009

Today is the day of the Droid. The Motorola smartphone touches down today in what's shaping up to be one of the biggest handset launches in recent memory. Of course Verizon is going all-in as far as advertising is concerned, but there's more to the Droid's story than a marketing campaign.

Cyber-Meltdown: Managing the Message When IT Hits the Fan
November 06, 2009

It started as an act of Web site defacement by some anti-capitalist zealots, attacking one of Canada's largest multinational corporations. You know the kind -- they've got their fingers in all kinds of business pies, from airplane parts to media content to their own very popular brand of hand sanitizer.

Let's Give the iPhone Hackers a Big Round of Applause
November 06, 2009

I'm the kind of guy who rarely bothers to hack my devices. By "hack," I mean use the hacks and instructions of those who are much more intrepid than I. Tinkering with a device that I shelled out hundreds of dollars for, if not more, isn't something I take lightly. If I break it, I've not only lost usage of the device, I'm out of the money, too. If I had a bigger bank account, I might be more cavalier about it all.

Headed for the Clouds - Cisco, EMC and VMware Launch VCE Coalition
November 05, 2009

By and large, IT favors grand pronouncements and overheated rhetoric, and the industry abounds with "unprecedented" efforts firmly rooted in precedent and "unique" solutions fashioned from the commonest clay. Is that the case with Cisco, EMC and VMware's new Virtual Computing Environment coalition? Decidedly not.

Does Wine Make Linux Too Loose?
November 05, 2009

Following the Karmic Koala's joyful reception last week, sentiments toward the FOSSy marsupial have become distinctly less enthusiastic in recent days -- at least for some. "Early adopters bloodied by Ubuntu's Karmic Koala" was the headline on a piece that ran in The Register on Tuesday, which chronicled multiple cases of frustration among some users upgrading to the new version.

Windows 7 Takes Back Mac Switchers and Other Reasons for Hope
November 02, 2009

Last month was fascinating for me. Not only was Windows 7 launched, but it appeared last week that because so many Mac users were installing Windows 7, some huge enterprise servers crashed. In addition, I got a chance to see Yahoo's new CEO Carol Bartz in action, and was both impressed with her and a little disappointed in the event.

Can the Karmic Koala Take on Win 7?
November 02, 2009

Well the Karmic Koala finally climbed down from its eucalyptus tree last week, and the general result was feverish excitement across the Linux blogs. Reviews of the new release seem highly favorable, on the whole, as does the download process via release mirrors and torrents. However, not everyone is convinced Linux is ready for the mainstream.

Facebook: Too Big to Care?
October 30, 2009

A tweet and a status update tell Facebook's story after a week of very unsociable social media slip-ups for Mark Zuckerberg's company. The tweet: "Dear Facebook: Stop sucking, you're making Twitter look reliable." The status update: "[Name withheld] knows FB has its downside, but I just got friended by somebody that, to me, makes Facebook totally worthy [sic] it!!!" And there you have it.

What the iPhone Needs to Keep the Android Hordes at Bay
October 30, 2009

A couple of days ago, a friend was trying to key my email address into his aging feature flip cellphone. He was muttering about how painful the process was and how stupid the phone was, and he remarked that he was getting a new phone for his birthday -- can't wait. Me, being the tech-curious guy I am, asked him what he wanted. "I don't know," he asked. "What do you recommend?"

FOSS Goes to Washington, and Nvidia Keeps Its Driver Code to Itself
October 29, 2009

You know it's going to be a good week when it kicks off with news that the Obama administration has officially embraced the open source content management system Drupal. Just a few days later, the Department of Defense issued an almost glowingly positive memo on open source software.

Meet-Up Month: RightNow, Sage and Microsoft
October 28, 2009

Colorado Springs is an interesting place. Despite the name, there are no "springs" -- it's an arid place in a valley surrounded by the southern Rocky Mountains and Pikes Peak National Park. The springs were an invention of the railroads seeking to establish a destination for vacationers. Good idea; it's a nice place.

How to Solve the Net Neutrality Issue
October 28, 2009

The FCC recently voted to move forward on a rule-making process that could lead to new government regulations for the Internet. It claims to be supporting only "neutrality," but even key players seem confused. The Open Internet Coalition says neutrality "is about keeping the hands of several powerful network operators -- AT&T, Verizon and Comcast -- off the Internet.

Microsoft Launches a Revolution, Apple Launches a Mouse
October 26, 2009

I really was anticipating a battle royal between Microsoft and Apple and thought both companies would come to the mat with their best stuff. It felt like Apple was so focused on maintaining high margins last quarter that it gave up a huge chance to grow share, and its stealth launch of a couple of PCs and a multitouch mouse just seemed lame next to the massive rollout of Windows boxes.

Going Microsoft-Free, Saying Buh-Bye to McBride
October 26, 2009

There was a lot of news in the FOSS world last week, and it seems fair to say that the overall atmosphere was positive. First came word that a Microsoft-free desktop package is available for companies in the U.S. from IBM and Canonical. Then, from the ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead department, came news that SCO has fired its wildly litigious CEO Darl McBride.

Selling Windows 7: The Good, the Bad and the Tragically Hip
October 23, 2009

So Microsoft has a new operating system. Can the company still make average computer users care? By the time you read this, Windows will have officially launched, and there will probably be a new round of commercials for the operating system -- and the new touchscreen computers containing it -- filling the time between weekend NFL games and MLB playoff action on your TV.