Mittwoch März 23, 2005

My first Solaris 10 box
Last night I installed Solaris 10 from the DVD kit that I picked up at CeBIT last week. I installed it on one of my old laptops which I normally use to watch news via video streaming. BTW, video streaming is cool! It allowed my wife and me to watch German news while we lived in the Bay Area (California). It also allowed us to get to know my wife's cousin's girlfriend/partner. She is one of the main news presenters and my wife's cousin met her the first time while we were in the US.

Anyway, since the laptop is almost my TV replacement, I was a bit afraid of trying to install Solaris 10. I did not want to ruin the existing operating system. It turned out that I was afraid for nothing. Now I have a dual-boot machine with Solaris 10 running on one partition!

Today on the train I read different Solaris 10 reviews. I have to admit, I can agree to some of the critical statements. The setup routine could be a little smoother and the desktop system driver support could be slightly better. However, with the Java Desktop System interface it just looks like my Linux box and all the necessary desktop applications are ready to use including StarOffice 7.

The different Solaris 10 reviews made me also curious about all the cool stuff in Solaris 10 like containers/zones, DTrace and the Service Management Framework. Not that I need containers for my day-to-day desktop work, but I want to understand why so many people asked for Solaris DVD's at CeBIT.

Thus, if you have some cool "getting started" documents for me, let me know! In the meantime I will do some digging on www.sun.com and docs.sun.com and take a new look at my old Solaris admin training materials.
( Mrz 23 2005, 06:46:54 PM CET ) Permalink

"Perhaps its most important achievement is the OpenDocument format ..."
Great article about open file formats:

"The OASIS consortium produces open XML standards in all fields of business and computing activity. Perhaps its most important achievement is the OpenDocument format for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, directly derived from the one used in OpenOffice.org and submitted to the International Standard Organization (ISO)."
( Mrz 23 2005, 04:49:11 PM CET ) Permalink

Just switch! - StarOffice & Java - Part II
I just played a bit more with the StarOffice SDK. This time with StarOffice 8 though. It's pretty cool what you can do with the StarOffice software and the Java technology. For example, you can generate org charts from your Java application:



... or create bar charts ...



... or create a presentation within your GUI application ...



... either with menus and toolbars enabled ...



... or disabled.



Stay tuned for more information about how StarOffice can be integrated into other applications and technologies!
( Mrz 23 2005, 03:31:42 PM CET ) Permalink Kommentare [1]

Open source translation tools
"Translating an application is a little more complex than simply translating its documentation. GNOME, OpenOffice.org, KDE, and Mozilla/Firefox have their own separate procedures for translation. OpenOffice.org requires its GSI (GutSchmidt's Interface) files to be translated, while Mozilla and Firefox have their translatable messages in .dtd and .properties files. One way to translate these applications is to convert everything into PO files and then use one of the PO editing tools. SourceForge's Translation Project has various tools that can assist you as a translator. The oo2po and po2oo tools convert files from the GSI format to PO format and, after translation, back to GSI. The moz2po and po2moz perform similar functions with the Mozilla English Language Packs."
The full article can be found here.
( Mrz 23 2005, 10:42:01 AM CET ) Permalink

Interview with SpikeSource CEO Kim Polese (talks about OpenSolaris)
"Polese hinting that it's not the type of open source license (eg: GPL vs. CDDL) that matters to enterprises -- it's what is best suited to the task: They're looking for the best tool for the job that they have. We hope to help them make intelligent decisions. We aim to help them do that by saying if you're trying to accomplish this task, we've evaluated this component, we've aggregated all the knowledge we can find, about this component and this combination of components and here's what we recommend if you're trying to get this particular task done.

In answer to the question of whether SpikeSource will be certifying Solaris now that it has gone open source: We will be. Yes. Solaris 10 and OpenSolaris."

The full article can be found here.
( Mrz 23 2005, 09:56:39 AM CET ) Permalink

"Popularity won't make Firefox insecure, says Mozilla head"
"Part of Firefox's better security profile comes from how it is developed, compared with Internet Explorer, she said. "Not being in the operating system is a phenomenal advantage for us," Baker said. Another benefit, Baker said, comes from the fact that Firefox does not support Active X plug-ins. For years, some consumers and analysts have slated Firefox because it couldn't run Active X. "It turns out it is only less convenient until you get hacked," she said. "Then it becomes a disadvantage." Mozilla is part of an industry effort to create an Active X alternative that would let plug-in applications like Macromedia Flash run within the Web browser without the security risks associated with Active X. Others involved in that effort include browser makers Opera Software and Apple Computer, and plug-in makers Sun Microsystems, Macromedia and Adobe Systems."
The full article can be found here.
( Mrz 23 2005, 09:51:01 AM CET ) Permalink

"CNET News.com Reports on Greasemonkey"
"The extension comes preinstalled with a script that changes all underlined text on Web pages to italics (to avoid confusion with links) and one of the many site-specific Greasemonkey user scripts automatically changes the colours used on Slashdot. More advanced scripts are available too, including one that adds a persistent search feature to Gmail."
The full article can be found here.
( Mrz 23 2005, 09:47:50 AM CET ) Permalink

TechSmith Introduces SnagIt 7.2 with Firefox Extension
"TechSmith Corp., the world's leading provider of screen capture and recording solutions, today announced the availability of SnagIt 7.2 in French and German. SnagIt now includes an extension for Mozilla's Firefox browser so that Mozilla's large European user community can enjoy the illustrative benefits of SnagIt screen captures right from the Firefox browser."
The full article can be found here.
( Mrz 23 2005, 09:45:41 AM CET ) Permalink

Just switch! - StarOffice embedded in a Java GUI
Since my blog entry about the Mozilla plugin turned out to be extremely popular, I thought I should mention another integration/interoperability feature, too. As the following picture shows, StarOffice can be embedded into a Java GUI application.



In this case it is StarOffice 7, because there is no public download for the Software Development Kit (SDK) for StarOffice 8 Beta, yet.
( Mrz 23 2005, 07:27:39 AM CET ) Permalink Kommentare [1]

Greasemonkey, a new Firefox extension
"A new Firefox extension that lets people customize their experience of the sites they visit is stirring excitement among Web surfers and consternation among security experts."
The full article can be found here.
( Mrz 23 2005, 07:19:43 AM CET ) Permalink

"Firefox Plays David to IE's Goliath"
"I believe that Firefox's emergence as a contender forced Microsoft to change course and announce a major upgrade to its browser. Bill Gates and company focused on consumers' current need for more security in the IE announcement (which is not surprising, considering it occurred during Gates' keynote speech at the security-focused RSA conference), but you and I know why we'll see IE 7 this summer. Microsoft can see the future as well as any other company, and it knows that failure to act now could mean very dire consequences for its second-most-ubiquitous piece of software."
The full article can be found here.
( Mrz 23 2005, 07:17:01 AM CET ) Permalink