links for 2010-12-15: Microsoft at crossroads; OpenJDK for OS X; Java lawsuits; Oracle Cloud Office

• Microsoft: A big ship at crossroads; What else is new? - I don't think there is any question they'll survive, the titanic references are off, but will they flourish in the new markets?
  
• Oracle and Apple Announce OpenJDK Project for OSX - I missed this when it was announced, but is great news.
  
• Oracle mobile Java licensing suit boomerangs - Can't we all just get along?  This this also.
  
• Oracle Announces Oracle Cloud Office and Oracle Open Office 3.3 - It is great that it is "announced", but they previewed it at Open World.  Where can we actually see it?  Only mention is in the datasheet where it says to call to get a demo account.  Not looking for mass adoption I guess.
  

links for 2010-10-27: Netflix moves to AWS; RedMonk Analytics; Google Docs Charting; Apple alienating their users

• Netflix transitions to HA storage in the Cloud - The value of moving to the Cloud isn't just for startups.  Netflix has their own data center, but elected to transition to the Cloud to not burden their IT staff with mundane data center build out.
• RedMonk Analytics: What Operating Systems are Developers Using? - It depends on the perspective and which developer audience is looked at!
  
• Using new visualizations to tell your story - Improving the charting Google Docs can deliver.
  
• Apple Won't Push Flash Player Updates - Apple's alienation of developers and consumers continues.

links for 2010-10-22: AWS free for a year; PostgreSQL vs MySQL; Stacking the JCP election; Java on OS X; What Steve could have said; Adivce to Oracle regarding Java

• Amazon Web Services: Try us free for a year - Something worth looking in to.
• PostgreSQL vs. MySQL: How to Select the Right Open-Source Database - A balanced well written article.
  
• Stacking the JCP election - An interesting read even if it is a bit biased (and I don't know if it is or isn't).
• Steve Jobs Comments on Apple's Java Discontinuation - Some interesting history from James.
  
• What Steve could have said - "We’ve been in the computer business for a long time and we’ve learned that 80% of people just aren’t very interesting. They don’t need to create that much content, because when they do, most it isn’t very good. The iPad actually saves them from themselves because it keeps them from creating a bunch of useless stuff that no one else wants to read."
• Dear Oracle, Get a Clue - Some good advice.  Is Oracle listening?

links for 2010-10-21: Apple deprecates Java; Apple announces OS X Lion ... 11 months off?; NYC adopts Microsoft Cloud; EnterpriseDB Postgres TCO calculator

• Apple deprecates Java - I struggle to see how this makes sense as part of OS X's resurgence was due to developers adopting the platform due to good Java support.  Perhaps Oracle adds support or someone steps forward with a good OpenJDK port, but Steve is clearer trying to cleanse his products of non-native apps.
• Apple's unveiling of updated OS X takes its cues from Microsoft - Apple rarely announces products that won't ship until nearly a year later, but did with OS X Lion.
  
• City of New York adopts Microsoft Cloud services - It will be interesting to watch how the battle goes between Microsoft and Google here.  Google gets Los Angeles, Microsoft gets New York City.
• EnterpriseDB Postgres Plus TCO comparison calculator - No matter how you cut it, EnterpriseDB is less expensive than SQL Server, Sybase, Oracle, and DB2.  Think MySQL is cheaper?  Guess again.

links for 2010-09-21: Amazon Hiding in Plain Sight; PostgreSQL 9.0 released; iPad good for two things; Oracle and HP make up; Unbreakable Enterprise Linux kernel performance doubts

• Hiding in Plain Sight: The Rise of Amazon Web Services - It really is surprising AWS doesn't get credit or press for much of what they are doing.  When they announce something they have it working and available, often with a free/beta tier.  When most other vendors announce something, it isn't available yet and when it is, you have to pay for it, get a machine, install it, etc.
  
• EnterpriseDB Announces Support for PostgreSQL 9.0 - 9.0 has some great new replication features that make it even more of a natural cheaper alternative to Oracle.
• The iPad is good for only two things - Admittedly, the first thing is pretty big and broad.
• Oracle and HP settle spat - Having the issue prolonged would not have been good for HP.
• Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Which Is The Best Open Source DB Of Them All? - Will PostgreSQL fill the perceived void created by Oracle's ownership of MySQL?
  
• Oracle announces Unbreakable Enterprise Linux kernel - This story seems to doubt the performance claims.
  

links for 2010-09-13: iPhone Flash tool back on; YouTube goes live; Android Leaderboard

• Adobe resumes work on iPhone Flash tool after apple reveral - Predictable after Apple's policy change.  Adobe can't afford to ignore the iOS platform if they can technically address the market.
• YouTube live: Public access meets old school ESPN, but potential abounds - Being able to watch more second tier sports that the major networks choose to ignore would be welcomed by me.
  
• Android Leaderboard - I may be on the market for a new phone soon so I'll be watching this.

links for 2010-09-09: NetApp vs Sun/Oracle quietly resolved; Developer vs CIO perspective; Apple relaxes restrictions

• NetApp, Oracle dismiss patent suit - It is probably the best result since both sides were suing each other.
• Meet the New Kingmakers: Same as the Old Kingmakers - The different perspectives of the Developer vs the CIO.
• Apple throws developers a bone, relaxes restrictions on third party tools - An interesting about face, probably due more to the FTC poking around than Apple wanting to appease developers.
  

links for 2010-08-27: Apple going after jailbreakers; Google integrates voice into Gmail; Happy Birthday EC2; QWERTY Face-off

• To jailbreak or not to jailbreak: That shouldn't be Apple's decision - I'm sure glad Apple is so passionate about protecting me from myself.
  
• Call phones from Gmail - A nice feature and integration of Google Voice into Gmail.  It appears they are going after Skype at least in part with this one.  But it appears Google Apps users don't get it, at least yet.
• Happy 4th Birthday Amazon EC2 - It is amazing how far things have come in 4 years.
• Phone QWERTY Face-off - They aren't a fan of the Droid 2.

links for 2010-07-26: Phillips claim of acquisitions not true?; LA's move to Google hits a few road bumps; "Mac guy" no longer Apple fanboy?; Dell drops Ubuntu

• Did Oracle hand Charles Phillips a PR written pink slip? - Charles said they'll spend $70 million, then Larry's PR said no.
  
• Los Angeles' move to Google Apps continues with a few hiccups - They've made progress but didn't meet a June 30 deadline to get everyone on Google.
• Why this "Mac guy" will dump Apple fanboy club card - Competition is good for the consumer.
  
• Dell dumps Ubuntu loaded machines - "“The reason why they’re not on our main pages is because Ubuntu systems are primarily targeted towards advanced users and enthusiasts...” ... if I’m an advanced computer user, what are the odds I’ll order a computer by phone before using the internet?"

links for 2010-07-19: HP closing campus; iPad didn't meet expectations

• HP to close Cupertino campus - Consolidating in Palo Alto.
• Why I’m Craigslisting My iPads - Seems to have had wildly unrealistic expectations.  Wanted full blow Excel?  Flash?
  

links for 2010-07-13: iPhone 4 Apple's Vista?; Consumer Reports on iPhone 4; Google's master Android plan

• Is the iPhone 4 becoming the Windows Vista of Apple? - The author makes a bunch of good points.
• Lab tests: Why Consumer Reports can't recommend the iPhone 4 - They blame the new antenna, not AT&T's network for dropped calls.
  
• Google's master Android plan: We're all mobile app developers now - Do we really want "everyone" to be a developer?
  

links for 2010-07-02: IBM defaults to Firefox; AT&T-Apple class action suite; Apple fesses up on reception

• Saying it out loud: IBM is moving to Firefox as its default browser - 400,000 employees "encouraged" to use it as their default.  That's a big step.
  
• The Apple-AT&T class action suit should have come years ago - How about rather than bog the court system down, just like the author did, return the device if it doesn't work for you!  "I suppose I could have dragged them to court myself when I was one of those disgruntled iPhone owners who suffered from poor iPhone reception in the San Francisco Bay Area. But instead, I chose to return my device and move on."
  
• Apple can't fix iPhone reception, will start telling truth about signal strength - How can this statement be true?  "Upon investigation, we were stunned to find that the formula we use to calculate how many bars of signal strength to display is totally wrong."  The phone has been out for years and people have been complaining the whole time, and you just got around to checking the formula?
  

links for 2010-07-01: iPhone to Verizon rumor (again); Brown University goes Google; SQS Updates; Open Source Licensing; Steve Jobs on the Enterprise; Database Migrations Easy?

• Verizon to Start Selling iPhone in January [REPORT] - This report seems to be a bit more credible than ones of the past, so will it really happen?
  
• Brown University has gone Google - "Our students were really the ones that led us down the Google path. They knew these tools would work because they already used them in their non-school lives."
• New: Free Tier and Increased Limits for Amazon Simple Queue Service - Some incremental updates making SQS a little more valuable.
  
• Open Core the new Dual License - He still advocates pure open source and using telemetry and data as ways to generate incremental revenue.
• What Steve Jobs hates about the enterprise - So Apple will just rely on the consumerization of IT as their way into the enterprise?  Is this an opportunity for Microsoft to capitalize on RIM's weakness?
  
• Database Migrations Are Finally Becoming Simpler - Compatibility layers make sense.  I knew EnterpriseDB had been doing this for some time, I didn't know IBM was too.  Oracle, your move.
  

links for 2010-06-25: iOS4 vs Android Multitasking; Tiered Data Pricing; AWS SNS User Survey; eGate and Java CAPS future options

• Apple iOS 4 vs. Android Multitasking: Which Approach Is Better for Users? - A good highlighting of the pros and cons.  What it fails to note is that the con against Android (grace and vision?) can and will be addressed while the con against Apple will likely not be as it goes against Apple's approach of dumbing it down for the user.
• Report on AT&T's tiered data pricing forgets the innovation factor - It is interesting how the cycle seems to be going back to tiers and not unlimited.
  
• AWS SNS User Survey - An opportunity to give feedback to Amazon on their Simple Notification Service.  I'd advise not simply asking for all the features of your favorite JMS provider, think Cloud!
• NextGate webinar for Sun Integration customers - Good information on what the options are for future strategies around eGate, ICAN, SRE, and Java CAPS.  They are holding it again next week.

links for 2010-06-24: iOS 4 missed on multi-tasking; iOS4 vs Android; History of Communication; Oracle see Sun profit

• Multitasking With iOS 4 is Horrible: Apple Blew It - One person's view of one of the key features of iOS 4.  It seems only select apps can do it and/or developers have to write special code for it.  Also see this: "on day one, this feature is a mixed bag, and appears to be best left to Apple's own core apps--as opposed to third-party apps--which largely defeats the purpose of the feature."
  
• iOS 4 ... All you need to know! - One persons review, another here comparing an iPhone with Android.
• A Modern History of Human Communication - Interesting chart, and yes I'm a Google Voice user and love it.
• Oracle Beats, Sees Sun Profit - They say Sun contributed $400M to operating income.

links for 2010-06-17: iPhone to Verizon? (again); Emerging Cloud Wars; YouTube video editing

• Apple iPhone to Verizon drumbeat picks up (again) - The rumors (or wishes) continue.
  
• The Emerging Cloud Wars - A good discussion of the move to and strategic value of PaaS.
• YouTube Video Editor: A nice start but hardly ready for prime time - They aren't impressed, but my guess is this is just a start and more features will come.
  

links for 2010-06-04: iPhone to Android switch; Open standard, but only in Safari; AT&T Data Pricing

• So You Want to Switch to Android…One Man’s iPhone to Nexus One Migration - Stephen makes the switch and shares his thoughts.
  
• Only Apple can do open standards, apparently - This is laughable.  Yes, HTML5 is fairly new and so it is still being fully implemented in browsers, but Chrome and Firefox have been near or at the lead in those implementations so demonstrating and open standard but requiring Safari kind of defeats the purpose.
  
• AT&T's data plan pricing: Bringing confusion back to the game - It may be confusing, but I check my usage and it was actually quite low due to being on WiFi most of the time.  But I haven't been traveling much so it may be artificially low.
  

links for 2010-06-01: Apple pulled previously approved apps; Primer on "HTML5"

• It's Groundhog (Software) day again as Apple rejects already-approved app - This is what is really frustrating, an app that was approved being pulled with no recourse or direction on what to change.  "The problem lies, absolutely, in the shifting goalposts of Apple's rules on what it is going to allow on its platform."
  
• A HTML Primer for the Overwhelmed - Not sure what exactly HTML5 is (and isn't)?  This is a good read and introduces the "HTML5 Family".

links for 2010-05-25: MPEG-LA sued; Stonebreaker's VoltDB; Apple playing catch-up?; Android to be "Windows" of phones?

• Company Sues MPEG-LA, Claiming Antitrust Violations Over Patents - Is it just sour grapes from Nero or has MPEG-LA not held up their end of their deal with the DoJ?
  
• Database daddy goes non-relational on NoSQL fanbois - VoltDB, perhaps offering the best of both worlds?
  
• Google vs. Apple in the battle of the fanboys - Is Apple playing catch up?  This years WWDC will tell us for sure.
  
• Is Android destined to be the Windows of smartphones? - Informative piece that highlights Google getting into mobile back in 2005.
  

links for 2010-05-17: Google I/O is the new JavaOne; Government using the Cloud; Caspio = Access + Cloud?; Jobs engages blogger

• Google I/O is the new JavaOne - Google I/O is this week.  Will it become "the" developer conference superseding the new, not at Moscone, JavaOne Oracle puts on in the fall?
• Recovery.gov finds new home in the cloud - It is good to see the government saving the taxpayer a little money by using the cloud.
• Is Caspio The "Microsoft Access" Of The Cloud? - Interesting tool for simple query (and presumably full CRUD) applications.
  
• VMware/SpringSource buys GemStone - I worked with their Smalltalk offerings in the past and really liked them.
• Steve Jobs engages blogger via e-mail - Kudos to Jobs for engaging, but I still think Apple goes too far in "protecting" their users.