Estimation

Source: xkcd.com

Microsoft does it again…

Microsoft is criticizing OOXMLs supposed incompleteness.

Microsoft chooses to attack the messenger and ODF, going so far as to call for Rob Weir to step down as co-chair of the ODF Technical Committee.

You can read more about his and Microsofts ongoing efforts to delegitimate the OOXML standard on groklaw.net

Groklaw cite a former strategy paper of Microsoft which seems to be a guide for Microsoft

Our mission is to establish Microsoft’s platforms as the de facto standards throughout the computer industry…. Working behind the scenes to orchestrate “independent” praise of our technology, and damnation of the enemy’s, is a key evangelism function during the Slog. “Independent” analyst’s report should be issued, praising your technology and damning the competitors (or ignoring them). “Independent” consultants should write columns and articles, give conference presentations and moderate stacked panels, all on our behalf (and setting them up as experts in the new technology, available for just $200/hour). “Independent” academic sources should be cultivated and quoted (and research money granted). “Independent” courseware providers should start profiting from their early involvement in our technology. Every possible source of leverage should be sought and turned to our advantage.

You can read the whole strategy paper here on groklaw.net.

Windows 7 Review

Windows 7 Review

Quelle: xkcd.com

VMware executive: Windows days are numbered

Harapin’s [VMware exec] not just thinking servers though. He’s thinking the end of all “large commercial operating systems.” Instead, we’ll use special-purpose computers that are customized to run a particular application or set of applications. “They essentially package that up as an appliance, a running server or a running application, and they send it to you.”

Basis of this applications is gnu/linux. The whole article can be read on blogs.computerworld.com.

Source: lwn.net

Wall Street Journal: Make windows open source

It seems that the advantages of open source are becoming more and more appreciated. In an online article of The Wall Street Journal, author Lee Gomes, suggests and hopes that Microsoft is make the code of their windows product open for everybody to see.

Open-source software such as Linux is traditionally seen as the opposite of proprietary software from the likes of Microsoft and Apple. But that’s a false dichotomy.
Why can’t Windows be proprietary, for-profit and copy-protected — while at the same time be open for user control and inspection?
If Windows were a car, you’d never be able to open the hood and see what was underneath.

Well maybe he is talking more about transparency than open source…. Hard to tell.

The making of Wine

“We are completely rewriting the Windows operating system from the ground up,” he says. “Basically we took Microsoft’s crown jewel, that they’ve had billions of dollars to develop using tens of thousands of developers, and we, the open source community, have essentially re-implemented that. We are the scrappy underdogs. Here’s where the Hollywood music comes up.”

This is what White (the CEO of CodeWeavers) is telling about Wine.

Wine is a software application which aims to allow Unix-like computer operating systems on the x86 architecture to execute programs that were originally written for Microsoft Windows. Wine also provides a software library known as Winelib which developers can compile Windows applications against in order to port them to Unix-like systems.^{[1] (wikipedia)}

The interviews goes on

So, in 2008, the 1.0 version will hit the streets and the timing could not be more perfect. White admits that not every Windows application will work flawlessly on Wine, but many a critical one for the enterprise has been specifically optimized. These include Microsoft Office, Lotus Notes, Microsoft Project and Visio, graphics applications like Macromedia Dreamweaver MX, Flash MX, and Adobe Photoshop. Several Linux distros ship with Wine, too, White says.

As I’m using Wine now and then for windows programs (for example to test webpages with Internet Explorer on linux) I know how helpful wine can be.
Give it a try!

Source: Lwn.net

Ubuntu installer for Windows

Wubi is a Ubuntu installer for Windows users that will bring you into the Linux world with a single click. Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other application. If you heard about Linux and Ubuntu, if you wanted to try them but you were afraid, Wubi is for you.

Check it out and enjoy testing gnu/linux without risking anything!

More screenshots are available.

Mount windows-shares in Debian

If you want to know how you can mount a windows share in debian look at the howto article on Debian Administration.

Small fast unbloated free software windows pdf reader?

Do you use the acrobat pdf reader to open pdf documents? Are you annoyed by waiting looong seconds before the program has opened and shows you the document?
How often do you need all this form input, javascript, .. functionalitay and how often do you want to just see your pdf document?

If I am right, most of the time you just want to see the pdf document.. But with the acrobat pdf reader you nearly use all of your systems resources. On gnu/linux you have a lot of alternatives:
xpdf, kpdf, gpdf, evince , ..

But what with our windows people… There is a new program called sumatra pdf.
I have installed it onto my pc at work.. It’s really nice to have it.. Try it!