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Posts like this are the reason we try to write everything in advance ;) This post (especially, stuck in the middle of this week) will serve as a reminder to all of us here that not writing stuff before-hand can make the lean times difficult. We're like a bunch of chipmunks with no winter stash ;) Freezing. Cold. Alone. Just waiting for death, which is inevitable since we're starving, it's freezing out and our stomach's won't let us sleep!

Robotics engineering has taken a giant leap forward with this bionic-powered prototype wireless vacuum cleaner invented by iRobot, threatening the growing trend toward embedded Linux in robotics.

Open source is an outsider, not part of the establishment. One price it pays for this is not being privy to all the decisions that are made in the field of governmental policy. Too often, established players are involved without any counterbalancing input from the free software side. Generally, we don't see all the machinations and deals that go on here behind closed doors. But thanks to the increasingly-indispensable Wikileaks, we have the opportunity to observe how an organisation close to Microsoft is attempting to re-write – and hijack – an important European Union open source strategy paper. Here's Wikileak's explanation of why this is an important document:

At first glance, Google Apps and Microsoft are the horses to beat in the online software suite race. But The VAR Guy remains preoccupied with a dark horse called Zoho, which just launched Writer 2.0 and continues to gain moment across multiple software as a service (SaaS) fronts. Here's the scoop.

Putting fuel in my truck was the last place I expected to get into a confrontation. Especially concerning Free Open Source Software. I mean, come on... It was one of "those vans". You know, the brightly colored ones that promises to propel a computer tech or two as it goes down the road? The one that pulls up in front of houses with people who have broken their computers? You know the ones...

"Open source" has come a long way and with the new administration adopting the open source content management system Drupal to power the recovery.gov Web site, open source's visibility will likely get another big boost. Speaking from the standpoint of a developer, the number of tools, utilities and programs available under open source licensing continues to be very exciting. But it is also true that confusions still persist about what it is and, in particular, about its costs. "Open source" and "free" are not synonymous -- though there is a relationship between the two terms.

Operating Systems Battle Draining Precious IT Budget and Resources. The evil eyes, destroyed relationships and recriminations associated with the long-raging battles over Mac, Windows, Unix and Linux operating systems are on their way to becoming distant memories thanks to Likewise Software’ solutions and their new t-shirts.

New research from AMI Partners reveals some promising trends in the business intelligence market. As BI sales heat up in certain regions, The VAR Guy wonders if open source BI companies stand to benefit. Here's the scoop.

This is the first article in a two-part series that looks at a hands-on approach to monitoring a data center using the open source tools Ganglia and Nagios. In Part 1, see how to install and configure Ganglia, the scalable, distributed monitoring system for high-performance clusters based on a hierarchical design. Also learn how to add more monitoring capability by writing Ganglia plug-ins and by enabling external-source spoofing.

CODA CEO Jeremy Roche talks about his company's foray into cloud computing, and why he believes that cloud computing represents the next logical step in the evolution of enterprise computing.

We used a Sun server for this test, but this will work on any Linux or Unix server out there... probably.

Every time you open a new tab, you are opening it to go somewhere. Sometimes it’s to do a search. Sometimes it’s to type in a new URL. Sometimes it’s to check an address you just selected. The only thing you are guaranteed to not want is a blank page. From the feedback from the last two rounds of new tab concepts, we know that the page needs to load instantly (even a small wait breaks user experience); that it shouldn’t be visually distracting; and that it should be a launch point into your daily activities.

In Microsoft vs. TomTom, Microsoft is suing TomTom in part because the guys from Redmond claim that TomTom's use of Linux in its navigation devices has violated three of its file-system related patents. One reason why Microsoft feels it can do this is that it already has patent cross-licensing agreements covering these patents with other Linux-using companies.

Canonical is developing an Ubuntu Server Edition Directory Services strategy to compete (and integrate) more effectively with Microsoft, Windows Server and Active Directory. In addition to a partnership with Likewise Software, Canonical is seeking Ubuntu experts to help accelerate some Directory Services efforts. Here's the scoop from WorksWithU.

Not a lot of work has gone into Red Hat's Plymouth project since the release of Fedora 10, but now in the middle of the development cycle of Fedora 11 we are seeing some new work emerge. Plymouth is a boot splash program that leverages kernel mode-setting to provide a rich, flicker-free boot experience. In the past week there have been a fair number of commits to the Plymouth Git repository, which is the first time it has seen new work since early January.

Java Enterprise Edition 6 has passed the public review of the Java Community Process, but not by a unanimous vote. Java EE 6 (developed as JSR316) went to public review ballot last month and the results have now come in. The Apache Software Foundation voted against because of their long running dispute with Sun over the licence terms for the Java Compatibility Kit (JCK).

what we have shaping up in the next round of Linux distribution releases is a German Philosopher (openSUSE 11.2) squaring off against a Koala (Ubuntu) and the Spartan King Leonidas (Red Hat Fedora 11). Do names say a lot about the different distros themselves?

You don't see many physical gadgets coming out of the high-tech Demo conference anymore, the confab made famous as the launchpad for Palm Pilot and TiVo. What typically emerges now are tools and services around social media and productivity. Still, executive producer Chris Shipley says she saw more consumer hardware in advance of Demo than even during boom times, though only a few made it onto the conference stage. Times are tough, and Demo took a hit in attendance and in exhibitors: 39, down from more than 70 in peak years. Here's my take on a couple of interesting products this time around, a netbook computer with a twist and a network of cheap consumer webcams. Caveat: I haven't tested these yet.

Recently, Vital Wave Consulting, of TCO fame, did a in-depth Landscape Analysis of Low-cost Computing Devices. In that report, they came away with an amazing conclusion:

So your users need access to Exchange and data from outside your organisation. Sure you can set up RPC over HTTPS and various other tools to access the data. I just find OpenVPN very good, convenient and reliable.