Filtered, run by Deputy Managing Director at IDG Communications in Sydney, Australia, has made the letter from Sun to HP available to the public. Mark seems suitably impressed that Sun has done it's home work, and suitably astounded that HP hasn't.
May the blog wars continue.
Podcasting the inside of Sun Microsystems, for those on the outside. I/O Podcast
e mërkurë Tet 13, 2004
e shtunë Kor 10, 2004
Similar to our own blogs.sun.com, Microsoft have now started Microsoft Community Blogs.
"You can use the directory below to find weblogs about Microsoft technologies written by Microsoft employees. Use these blogs to get insights and opinions about using (and creating!) Microsoft technology and software."
Blogs are really starting to open up the technology industry.
e diel Qer 27, 2004
David Weinberger links to Scott Rosenberg's Salon blog about Corporate Blogs and the potential for a slower take up in other industries unlike tech. This makes Jonathan Schwartz's comment, pointed out by Jim Grisanzio, in The New York Times article by Markoff, Sun Moving to Underscore New Strategy, very interesting.
"Mr. Schwartz will also announce that he plans to begin writing his own Web log on a regular basis. Several Sun employees maintain online dairies, known as blogs, at both official and unofficial Web sites. Mr. Schwartz said he was interested in reaching a computer industry audience directly, unfiltered by reporters."
Perhaps when other executives realise that they can speak "unfiltered" they to will start blogging.
"Mr. Schwartz will also announce that he plans to begin writing his own Web log on a regular basis. Several Sun employees maintain online dairies, known as blogs, at both official and unofficial Web sites. Mr. Schwartz said he was interested in reaching a computer industry audience directly, unfiltered by reporters."
Perhaps when other executives realise that they can speak "unfiltered" they to will start blogging.
Jonathan Schwartz has responded to a Fortune article, and in it he explains his thoughts on Red Hat and open sourcing Solaris in a bit more detail than he has previously. David Kirkpatrick, in a follow up article, Why Open Source Doesn't Always Mean Free, explains his thoughts on the letter, and publishes it in full.
e premte Qer 25, 2004
There is a little bit of talk about some "amazing" statistics that Secunia is releasing on its web site. Apparently we can now see how secure, or un-secure, an OS is by the number of advisories that are released. This seems like a great way to raise some press about a company. Simply publish some statistics that disprove popular perception and watch the profile of your company rise.
Everyone knows how reliable statistics are, given how easy they are to manipulate. For instance, the article in question, Mac OS X security myth exposed, suggests "Windows is more secure than you think, and Mac OS X is worse than you ever imagined" all based on the number of advisories for Windows XP, 46, and OS X, 36.
However, before you go out an replace your PowerBook, consider this slant on the figures. Microsoft's list of products in its Advisories section totals 154, and Apple's product list totals 11. If I had time I'd go in and count all the Microsoft advisories to compare them to Apple's grand total of 54, but the list is just too long. Being a bit more realistic, a Windows XP system, with Direct X 9, Media Player 9, Internet Explorer 6, Office 2003 and Outlook 2003 had 133 advisories. Mac OS X with Quick Time, iTunes, Safari and OpenOffice had 46. I could suggest from these figures, given that a user doesn't just use an OS but also the applications that sit on top, that Microsoft's products are several orders of magnitude less secure than Apple's. 289% more un-secure based on advisories.
I won't suggest that though. I'll just suggest that you should always be careful when relying on statistics.
Everyone knows how reliable statistics are, given how easy they are to manipulate. For instance, the article in question, Mac OS X security myth exposed, suggests "Windows is more secure than you think, and Mac OS X is worse than you ever imagined" all based on the number of advisories for Windows XP, 46, and OS X, 36.
However, before you go out an replace your PowerBook, consider this slant on the figures. Microsoft's list of products in its Advisories section totals 154, and Apple's product list totals 11. If I had time I'd go in and count all the Microsoft advisories to compare them to Apple's grand total of 54, but the list is just too long. Being a bit more realistic, a Windows XP system, with Direct X 9, Media Player 9, Internet Explorer 6, Office 2003 and Outlook 2003 had 133 advisories. Mac OS X with Quick Time, iTunes, Safari and OpenOffice had 46. I could suggest from these figures, given that a user doesn't just use an OS but also the applications that sit on top, that Microsoft's products are several orders of magnitude less secure than Apple's. 289% more un-secure based on advisories.
I won't suggest that though. I'll just suggest that you should always be careful when relying on statistics.
e enjte Qer 24, 2004
We use Sun Ray desktops throughout Sun, eating our own dog food. We've done so for some time because of the amazing benefits. Hot Desking is certainly one of the tangible benefits that we see in the office, but obviously centralised system management is another.
A huge difference that is amazingly noticeable when you replace 30 desktop workstations with Sun Rays in a open plan office is the reduction in noise. You might think it's a trivial difference, but you'd be amazed at the reduction in noise if you turn all your PCs off in your office.
Eating our own dog food is one thing, but it's fabulous when a local company implements a Sun solution and is then happy to talk to people about it. That's what happened recently when a Perth based construction company, BGC was interviewed for an article in Computerworld, Switch to thin clients boosts builder's productivity.
I've known about BGC's use of the technology for a couple of years, and have visited them twice. They are very proactive when it comes to using new technology to reduce the complexity of their network. So they've even made a few tweaks to the Sun Ray environment they run.
The fabulous thing about BGC's use of the technology is that they run some remote offices on the environment as well. In Australia, with a very dispersed population, that type of story is really quite important.
A huge difference that is amazingly noticeable when you replace 30 desktop workstations with Sun Rays in a open plan office is the reduction in noise. You might think it's a trivial difference, but you'd be amazed at the reduction in noise if you turn all your PCs off in your office.
Eating our own dog food is one thing, but it's fabulous when a local company implements a Sun solution and is then happy to talk to people about it. That's what happened recently when a Perth based construction company, BGC was interviewed for an article in Computerworld, Switch to thin clients boosts builder's productivity.
I've known about BGC's use of the technology for a couple of years, and have visited them twice. They are very proactive when it comes to using new technology to reduce the complexity of their network. So they've even made a few tweaks to the Sun Ray environment they run.
The fabulous thing about BGC's use of the technology is that they run some remote offices on the environment as well. In Australia, with a very dispersed population, that type of story is really quite important.
There is one session at JavaOne this year that is sure to gain a good amount of interest. On the last day there will be a panel discussion on whether Java should be open sourced.
"Numerous individuals and organizations suggest that Java technology adopt a new community and development model. This panel will dive into the tangle of granular technical and legal issues, including the potential tradeoff between technologist's calls for openness vs. the market's demand for compatibility. Panelists include leading technologists, experts on legal and copyright issues, top industry analysts, and mainstream users of the technology."
Given it looks like the panel will include, among others, James Gosling, Lawrence Lessig and Tim O'Reilly it should be a very intelligent and thought provoking debate.
For any bloggers going, please blog this session! Let me know the URL as I'd love to know how it goes.
"Numerous individuals and organizations suggest that Java technology adopt a new community and development model. This panel will dive into the tangle of granular technical and legal issues, including the potential tradeoff between technologist's calls for openness vs. the market's demand for compatibility. Panelists include leading technologists, experts on legal and copyright issues, top industry analysts, and mainstream users of the technology."
Given it looks like the panel will include, among others, James Gosling, Lawrence Lessig and Tim O'Reilly it should be a very intelligent and thought provoking debate.
For any bloggers going, please blog this session! Let me know the URL as I'd love to know how it goes.
e mërkurë Qer 23, 2004
From NEWS.com.au Technology section, NSW makes open source move.
"The NSW Roads and Traffic Authority -- traditionally a big Microsoft user -- is tipping savings of $2 million a year from the rollout of Sun Microsystems' Star Office package to registry managers and the Mozilla browser and email client to 1500 computers used by the authority's front counter staff in vehicle registries across the state."
"The NSW Roads and Traffic Authority -- traditionally a big Microsoft user -- is tipping savings of $2 million a year from the rollout of Sun Microsystems' Star Office package to registry managers and the Mozilla browser and email client to 1500 computers used by the authority's front counter staff in vehicle registries across the state."
e martë Qer 22, 2004
Hot on the heels of Cory Doctorow's DRM Speech, several technology heavy weights, including Sun, are announcing an alliance called the Personal Technology Freedom Coalition.
More information at CNET, Tech heavies support challenge to copyright law, and the Register, Microsoft, Apple snub consumer freedom coalition (is it alright for a blogger to link to Orlowski these days?).
If you're not sure what all the fuss is about then it's well worth reading Cory's speech at his craphound.com site, or you can download Kottke's mp3 version at kottke.org.
This Coalition should make for some interesting press over the next few months, and hopefully they rattle enough cages to make a difference to everyones freedom.
More information at CNET, Tech heavies support challenge to copyright law, and the Register, Microsoft, Apple snub consumer freedom coalition (is it alright for a blogger to link to Orlowski these days?).
If you're not sure what all the fuss is about then it's well worth reading Cory's speech at his craphound.com site, or you can download Kottke's mp3 version at kottke.org.
This Coalition should make for some interesting press over the next few months, and hopefully they rattle enough cages to make a difference to everyones freedom.
Coles Myer, one of Australia's biggest retailers, is testing RFID to see how it will help its supply chain. Sun, Intel, Accenture and EAN are all assisting in the trial. UPDATE: Coles Myer kicks off RFID trial.
"The trial, which started in late May, uses RFID tags to track the movement of roll-cages in the supply chain from a Coles Myer distribution centre to a Coles supermarket."
In an example that is often cited by Sun Australia's CTO, it's important that organisations consider RFID today or they could substantially limit their use of it in the future without major changes of expenses. If Coles Myer didn't consider the correct roll-cages when they were buying a new batch, it could have left them without the ability to use RFID. This is explained in another article, RFID ready: Sun. "But if a product had a lot of metal around it -- such as in the metal roll cages often used for stock in UK and Australian warehouses -- RFID readers could have difficulty picking up the tag’s signal through the gaps in the metal, Clarke said."
"The trial, which started in late May, uses RFID tags to track the movement of roll-cages in the supply chain from a Coles Myer distribution centre to a Coles supermarket."
In an example that is often cited by Sun Australia's CTO, it's important that organisations consider RFID today or they could substantially limit their use of it in the future without major changes of expenses. If Coles Myer didn't consider the correct roll-cages when they were buying a new batch, it could have left them without the ability to use RFID. This is explained in another article, RFID ready: Sun. "But if a product had a lot of metal around it -- such as in the metal roll cages often used for stock in UK and Australian warehouses -- RFID readers could have difficulty picking up the tag’s signal through the gaps in the metal, Clarke said."
e hënë Qer 21, 2004
Skype, the peer-to-peer VOIP company that was spawned out of KaZaA, has released their beta client for the Java Desktop System Release 2. Previously they only had a version for Windows 2000, XP and Pocket PC.
The main difference between Skype and other IM clients is that it is decentralised. Meaning that the load is borne across the peer-to-peer network. See their Skype P2P Explained page.
Congratulations to the SpaceShipOne Team for making the first non-governmental flight to enter space piloted by the first civilian astronaut. What a great day for mankind and science.
Details of the flight as they happened at Space.com. More info at How Things Work and Scaled Composites.
Details of the flight as they happened at Space.com. More info at How Things Work and Scaled Composites.
e diel Qer 20, 2004
You wouldn't be hearing this if blogs.sun.com wasn't around. Andy Tucker, Sun Distinguished Engineer, talks about his job of Open Sourcing Solaris on his blog. It's been mentioned in the press a few times, but now you're up close and personal.
e shtunë Qer 19, 2004
Simon Phipps points to Lawrence Lessig's (Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, lawyer for web site operator Eric Eldred in the ground-breaking case Eldred v. Ashcroft, author, etc. etc.) blog who reveals that Microsoft's lawyers are suing a Brazilian Government Official that made recycled statements like Microsoft use of "'drug-dealer practice' for offering the operational system Windows to some governments and cities for digital inclusion programs". I say recycled, because as Simon points out, he isn't the first.
For those not aware, Brazil are moving toward open source, Brazil Gives Nod to Open Source, as are a few others.
What would have been much less aggressive would be an ad campaign similar to McDonalds in Australia, who are trying to defend themselves against Spurlock's film Super Size Me. Having said that, Microsoft have never been known to be defensive, preferring to be the aggressor, and it doesn't seem to be helping McDonalds reputation down here one bit. Though, it's bound to do less damage than the potential fall out from the latest Microsoft legal battle.
I'm just waiting for Microsoft to spin their lawyers out into a seperate division. Microsoft Law Suite. That way SCO Group could outsource to them.
For those not aware, Brazil are moving toward open source, Brazil Gives Nod to Open Source, as are a few others.
What would have been much less aggressive would be an ad campaign similar to McDonalds in Australia, who are trying to defend themselves against Spurlock's film Super Size Me. Having said that, Microsoft have never been known to be defensive, preferring to be the aggressor, and it doesn't seem to be helping McDonalds reputation down here one bit. Though, it's bound to do less damage than the potential fall out from the latest Microsoft legal battle.
I'm just waiting for Microsoft to spin their lawyers out into a seperate division. Microsoft Law Suite. That way SCO Group could outsource to them.
e enjte Qer 17, 2004
Nicholas Negroponte has been a role model of mine for about 10 years. I'd read his articles in Wired, and bought his Being Digital book while at University. These days he's not as plorific. So it's great when an article pops up with him in it, and it's interesting to compare what he sees coming with what Sun is currently doing.
For me there is two key takeaways from the article in Business Week, Q&A With MIT's Nicholas Negroponte. Peer-to-peer and R&D.
Negroponte says that "Peer-to-peer is key". He's right, it's everywhere, and the more we network the more we'll see it explode. That's what makes JXTA so interesting, and why it's even more interesting that we've had it around for years when Bill Joy launched the Project. By the way, for those people that don't see Sun in open source, we made JXTA open source under the Apache Software License.
For those going to the JavaONE event later this month you can go to a few presentations and birds of a feather sessions about it. Just do a search for JXTA at the JavaONE Conference site. If you're not, then it'll be worth keeping an eye on John Clingan or GonzoMoFo blogs.
The second main point from Negroponte is summed up when he says that the key "is the question of where do new ideas come from. Historically, four places: government labs, big corporations, startup companies, and research universities. Government labs are shrinking (in the U.S., at least). Big companies are looking closer term, and even the most technological companies spend less than 1% of sales on research. Startups have suffered the burst bubble."
In most cases I'm sure he's correct, but when it comes to Sun we go to great lengths to continue significant R&D. In Jim Jubak's article, Checking Out Five Winners for Winner-Take-All Market he says that R&D is key, and he explains Sun's position. "But for a real dedication to R&D in tough times, look at Sun Microsystems. Sun's revenue plunged from $18.3 billion in 2001 to $11.4 billion in 2003. But R&D spending as a percentage of revenue rose from 11.5% in 2001 to 14.4% in 2002 to 15.8% in 2003". Not a great quote revenue wise, but with $7 billion in the bank it shows who's going to be the innovator for years to come.
For me there is two key takeaways from the article in Business Week, Q&A With MIT's Nicholas Negroponte. Peer-to-peer and R&D.
Negroponte says that "Peer-to-peer is key". He's right, it's everywhere, and the more we network the more we'll see it explode. That's what makes JXTA so interesting, and why it's even more interesting that we've had it around for years when Bill Joy launched the Project. By the way, for those people that don't see Sun in open source, we made JXTA open source under the Apache Software License.
For those going to the JavaONE event later this month you can go to a few presentations and birds of a feather sessions about it. Just do a search for JXTA at the JavaONE Conference site. If you're not, then it'll be worth keeping an eye on John Clingan or GonzoMoFo blogs.
The second main point from Negroponte is summed up when he says that the key "is the question of where do new ideas come from. Historically, four places: government labs, big corporations, startup companies, and research universities. Government labs are shrinking (in the U.S., at least). Big companies are looking closer term, and even the most technological companies spend less than 1% of sales on research. Startups have suffered the burst bubble."
In most cases I'm sure he's correct, but when it comes to Sun we go to great lengths to continue significant R&D. In Jim Jubak's article, Checking Out Five Winners for Winner-Take-All Market he says that R&D is key, and he explains Sun's position. "But for a real dedication to R&D in tough times, look at Sun Microsystems. Sun's revenue plunged from $18.3 billion in 2001 to $11.4 billion in 2003. But R&D spending as a percentage of revenue rose from 11.5% in 2001 to 14.4% in 2002 to 15.8% in 2003". Not a great quote revenue wise, but with $7 billion in the bank it shows who's going to be the innovator for years to come.
