If you think I’ve been joking about how cool Ubuntu Linux is, check out these two links to find out how well it is being supported:
Apparently, popular demand still means something to some people.
Go configure!
Recent comments by Microsoft’s executive management have opened up a real can of worms and this time offended rather than entertained the open source community. It seems that a certain really big software company somewhere in the Pacific Northwest is being accused of using “Threat Marketing” not only to ensure their control of the desktop, but also to suppress public interest in the open source movement. The claim is that building bridges with other big companies like Novell, Dell and Samsung, will be good. The question is, how many bridges can you build and how far can you build them before they become trade restraining monopolies and pathological deceptions?
Alleging 235 documented instances of patent infringement, the giant software company in Redmond, Washington is being accused of using scare tactics to wrench control of Linux and other publicly licensed software from those who continue to work diligently to ensure it’s usefulness and success. Comments inviting Bill Gates to, “Sue me first”, are echoing throughout cyberspace and continue to attract media attention. One can only wonder what the outcome will be this time as proponents of both the open source community and the closed source community choose weapons to battle yet another round over free-use licensing versus paid-use licensing.
In an article by IT Week a Microsoft spokesperson was quoted as saying, “Our focus is on continuing to build bridges. Microsoft and Novell have already developed a solution that meets the needs of customers, furthers interoperability, and advances the interests of the industry as a whole.” The spokesperson went on to say, “Any customer that is concerned about Linux intellectual property issues needs only to obtain their open source subscriptions from Novell.” Great! One merely needs to obtain (buy?) from Microsoft’s approved source Novell, in order to run a non-patent infringing, untainted or legal Linux operating system that is already free for anyone to use under the terms of GNU General Public License. Huh? Where does this leave all of the other popular and free flavors of Linux?
While the folks over at Ubuntu are obviously delighted over the recent announcement of Dell’s intention to install Ubuntu Linux on their new computers, other news resources indicate that Michael Dell has already signed one of Microsoft’s bridge agreements. However, that agreement indicates Microsoft will sell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server certificates to Dell under an alliance between Microsoft and Novell. Preposterous as it sounds, does this mean that Novell subscriptions will be required by Microsoft for Dell to provide the Ubuntu Linux operating system pre-installed on their new computers? Michael Dell is running Ubuntu Linux 7.04 on his personal laptop and has been doing so since April. It is not clear at this point who’s permission, subscription or certificate he obtained in order to do this without being sued for patent infringement. Perhaps he is not, “concerned about Linux intellectual property issues.” Or, maybe he is siding with other-high visibility individuals who take exception to Microsoft’s position.
Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu recently shared his opinion by providing timely comments regarding software patent issues and blogged, “In short, Microsoft will lose a patent trench war if they start one, and I’m sure that cooler heads in Redmond know that.”
© 2007 DM Jackson - All rights reserved
Mountain View California based Google is apparently willing to share even more information than previously regarding what the curious are searching for by providing a list of the 100 hottest topics queried on the Internet’s leading search engine. Available now, the new Hot Trends rankings reveal day-to-day information on the hottest search terms that Google has been providing Internet searchers.
Referring to the Google Trends project he worked on, Amit Patel, a Google software engineer said, “It’s very entertaining and it’s very addictive.” Of course, Search Engine Marketing specialists may desire more than entertainment or to feed an addiction when perusing the daily trends of Google searchers.
A word of caution here, although Google claims that the improvements will enable users to analyze search terms within sub-regions, the results are edited. That said, here’s the link to Google Trends and here’s one for the new Hot Trends Top 100
Dell has announced that it intends to offer Ubuntu 7.04 as its Linux desktop on new computers. In a February forum significant feedback indicated that customers wanted Linux on their desktop and notebook computers.
Dell’s response, a partnership with Canonical to offer Ubuntu on a variety of their new desktop and notebook products. According to Lionel Menchaca, Digital Media Manager, “This represents another step in the overall enhancement of our Linux program.”
Now the question is, if the rumors that Michael Dell has Ubuntu 7.04 running on his own new notebook are true, how does he like it?
Sources at Microsoft Corporation said today that the Redmond, Washington based software giant will pay approximately 6 billion dollars to purchase the on-line advertising company aQuantive. Microsoft has continued to struggle in the on-line advertising market while competing against the mega-giant Google. With its AdWords and AdSense programs, Google currently dominates the lucrative Internet advertising field, a rapidly expanding Internet cash cow returning unprecedented profits reminiscent of the web’s pioneer days.
The deal comes as no surprise, occuring just after Google recently wrestled the purchase of DoubleClick away from Microsoft for a mere $3.1 billion. This was quickly followed by Yahoo’s recent buyout gambit for RightMedia and the 24/7 RealMedia purchase by advertising giant the WPP Group. Still, it’s Microsoft’s largest acquisition ever and the latest in a flurry of deals for on-line advertising firms by big Internet and media companies. According to Chris Dobson, head of global advertising sales at Microsoft, “If you ever had any doubt that Microsoft was going to be big in the on-line advertising space, this should make it clear that it will.”
Microsoft recently tried unsuccessfully to buy DoubleClick and after being outbid and outmaneuvered by Google for that acquisition, faced substantial competition for aQuantive, which explains the inflated price tag for the Seattle, Washington based ad company. Although Microsoft is paying around 10 times the estimated revenue for aQuantive in this latest round of leviathan deal making, it was obviously determined not to be outbid by arch-rival Google or anyone else this time. While Wall Street saw the price of Microsoft stock drop slightly, predictions that Internet ad spending will increase by approximately 28 percent this year to a total of $31 billion globally, indicate the potential for future growth in on-line advertising is strong and expected to expand.
Unfortunately, the result of all of the above mentioned activity, be it Microsoft’s or Yahoo’s or Google’s, will leave Internet advertisers and online marketers with fewer alternatives for themselves and their clients. It’s interesting to note that while history is being crafted in these monstrous deals, history is also being ignored or even worse, disregarded.
Shouldn’t we know by now that we’ve already been taught that true strength lies in diversity? Doesn’t anyone remember the dinosaurs? History teaches that once upon a time they were really big and they were really dominate, until one bad afternoon with an asteroid came crashing down and put them all on ice.
Stay tuned as Web 3.0, “The Only-Net” continues to evolve.
© 2007 DM Jackson - All rights reserved
According to a story this morning in the New York Post, Microsoft Corporation may be crafting a $50 billion dollar deal to buy it’s sometimes ally and ofttimes competitor, Yahoo. Although the Wall Street Journal quickly reported that the discussion between the two leviathan corporations are in very preliminary stages, a merger may be likely, regardless of the speculative nature of this morning’s news.
Various Internet pundits have chimed-in on this most recent mega-merger. Some claim that this is a natural paring to be expected as jockeying for top position in the Internet Search industry continues. Others see it as a bad marriage of two terribly mismatched corporate cultures, one highly focused on the Internet and the other highly focused on buying anyone that they can’t outmaneuver. One thing is for sure, combining these two still puts them in second place relative to the gargantuan search company, Google Corporation.
If anyone remembers that this past March, Microsoft’s Chief of Search Technology, Christopher Payne, announced his resignation and departure to pursue, “other interests”, then the pride of Redmond’s move may be seen by some as, “to be expected”. However, I don’t recall hearing about anyone hanging a “For Sale” sign on Jerry Yang’s or David Filo’s front door as some Internet visionaries seem to imply. Further, if this should come to pass, what’s next? Are we heading toward only one Really Big Search Engine (RBSE), with only one set of results?
Welcome to Web 3.0 aka., the “OnlyNet”
© 2007 DM Jackson - All rights reserved
