Wednesday, June 16, 2004

A Microsoft Office version comparison chart ... http://bbspot.com/News/2003/10/compare.html would ordinarily be a pretty boring thing to read. 3:55:04 PM      comment []  trackback []

VMWare announces User Groups http://www.virtualization.info/200406archive001.asp#1087351684001 Alessandro's take is that they're finally supporting grass roots in a bid to stave off irrelevancy via Longhorn's bundled Virtual Server (Netscape). 2:24:44 PM      comment []  trackback []

desktop_linux_users_count++ On a recent visit to my friend Gerlinde's house, I found the state of her family computers to be as follows: Windows XP laptop with virus Windows XP desktop with adware Windows XP desktop (Gerlinde's) which refused to boot after SP1 install Linux gateway server (set up by me) running fine for 6 months straight It seemed like it wouldn't take too much to convince her that now was a good opportunity to experiment with desktop linux for her unbootable pc, and it didn't. I verified that she didn't use any software that couldn't be replaced by mature open source software (OO+Evolution+Firebird+GIMP), paved Lindows onto her hard drive, created a non-admin user, and restored her Windows documents directory to the new home folder. I quickly confirmed that her office docs opened okay in open office, and after about 30 minutes had a free, secure system that did most of what she needs. I didn't have time to get the printer and camera working, but since I googled to find both supported by Linux, I'm optimistic this won't take more than a quick second visit, or remote login through the gateway. FWIW, I like the Lindows business model from a customer perspective, but I think at this point they're betting the farm on a desktop linux adoption tidal wave. Their Click-n-Run service is only $5/month for unlimited use, and there's no contract. So once a year an xterm-averse user can pay $5 and download updates to their heart's content. Techies can just apt-get and save their dough. I think Lindows is going to need a lot of volume to make those numbers work, volume they'll be splitting with Novell, Mandrake/O'Reilly, Xandros, Lycoris, Red Hat, etc. 11:50:01 AM      comment []  trackback []

GPS+Digicams: The article I thought I would write David Goldwasser describes the technique of matching GPS data with digital photos. It's such a simple idea, but with enormous potential. I see the ability to join this data to your geocoded address book as an important next step in navigating through the huge numbers of photos digital cameras produce. Location tagging helps you find photos that might only have date stamps for metadata (hmmm, what year did we visit the lake?), and helps the people who you met at a party dig up the photos when they visit your photo web site. Now that I have four years of digital photos (about 8,000 photos, mostly friends/family), this is rising high on my wish list. In general, I like the idea of using improved photo metadata to facilitate photo finding and sharing, and it's something I'd like to see discussed more. I've long believed that the facial recognition companies are missing out on a great PR opportunity by not providing home editions for amateur photographers. Can you really think of them as big brother when they help you find photos of your .... uh ... big brother ? 9:53:16 AM      comment []  trackback []