News and views from a software developer's perspective
Monday, May 06, 2002IBM has unseated Oracle, study says. Big Blue has surpassed Oracle as the leading seller of database-management software, according to a study to be released later this week and obtained by CNET News.com. [CNET News.com]
Oracle is still number one, by a commanding lead, in Unix databases, but is now number two behind IBM in the total database market (Unix + Windows).
I don't know why, but I like IBM. For a big company, they're not bad. Is it because they don't have a prominent personality (no Gates, Balmer, McNealy, or Ellison)? Or is it because they are Linux and open source friendly?
A Look Inside Jaguar. The next version of Mac OSX, code named Jaguar, claims to have a sophisticated spam filter. Cool! Here's what they say:
One of the hazards of online life is the constant bombardment of unsolicited email, a.k.a. spam. Most spam programs use unsophisticated filters to block email. The Mail program in Jaguar, however, uses an advanced semantic inference engine to actually understand the structure of spam. Mail already knows the format and content of many typical spam letters, and also learns what you consider junk mail. It then bases future blocks on content, not email addresses.
Business Week: Lawrence Lessig: The "Dinosaurs" Are Taking Over. They've succeeded in making Washington believe this is a binary choice -- between perfect protection or no protection. No one is seriously arguing for no protection. They are arguing for a balance that avoids the phenomenon we are seeing now -- one where the last generation of technology controls the next generation of industry. [Tomalak's Realm]
Is it a 'magic box' or a high-tech hoax? Northeast Florida man attracted millions from investors who now say they were scammed.
This is a fascinating story. To really understand it, one would have to have been aware of the mania that took place in the late 1990s.
The guy put a VCR in a computer case and strung a coax cable through the power cord. Then he convinced investors that he discovered a way to pump bits through an ordinary phone line at speeds exceeding fiber cable. As proof, his demo included streaming video. It's sad, when you think about those who lost their investments. It's also rather funny.