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How Google Tracks Everyone and Everything at I/O 2013
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Tag Archives: open source
Dell’s Ubuntu Ultrabook Now Available, Costs $250 More than Windows 8 Model
Give Dell credit for wading into open source waters with "Project Sputnik," a pilot program to build a developer solution based on Ubuntu 12.04LTS. After six months of exploration and feedback from testers, Project Sputnik has now landed and is renamed Dell XPS 13 Laptop, Developer Edition. It's a thin and light 13.3-inch Ultrabook powered by Intel's Core i7 3517U processor and driven by Ubuntu, though you could potentially end up paying more versus a similarly spec'd Windows 7 model (with slower processor) or Windows 8 model (with half the storage space). Let's look at the hardware.
In a blog post, Dell said its Developer Edition laptop would run $1,549 but it actually starts at $1,449. For that, you get the above mentioned CPU along with 8GB of DDR3-1600 memory, Intel HD Graphics 4000, 256GB solid state drive (SSD), and 1 year of ProSupport.
It's a bit pricey for an Ultrabook, but the real turnoff is that Windows versions of the same model laptop have cheaper options available. A similarly spec'd XPS 13 Ultrabook with Windows 7 and 1 year of Enhanced Support starts at $1,300 (that's with a Core i5 3317U processor) , whereas the Windows 8 version runs $1,200, albeit with a 128GB SSD (there's no option to upgrade the Win 8 model to 256GB).
There are also cheaper setups to choose from in Windows-ville, starting at $1,000 for Windows 7 and $1,100 for Windows 8. To be fair, the Windows 7-based XPS 13 with same specs (Core i7 3317U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) runs $50 more than the Developer Edition.
Dell's going after a different audience with its Developer Edition laptop, and perhaps the Windows versions come pre-loaded with third-party bloatware to get the price down.
EDIT
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that a Windows 7 equivalent was cheaper than the Linux-based Developer Edition. The model originally referenced actually comes with a slower processsor (Core i5 3317U versus Core i7 3517U). An identically spec'd Windows 7 XPS 13 starts at $1,500, or $50 more than the Developer Edition.
Dell’s Ubuntu Ultrabook Now Available, Costs $250 More than Windows 8 Model
Give Dell credit for wading into open source waters with "Project Sputnik," a pilot program to build a developer solution based on Ubuntu 12.04LTS. After six months of exploration and feedback from testers, Project Sputnik has now landed and is renamed Dell XPS 13 Laptop, Developer Edition. It's a thin and light 13.3-inch Ultrabook powered by Intel's Core i7 3517U processor and driven by Ubuntu, though you could potentially end up paying more versus a similarly spec'd Windows 7 model (with slower processor) or Windows 8 model (with half the storage space). Let's look at the hardware.
In a blog post, Dell said its Developer Edition laptop would run $1,549 but it actually starts at $1,449. For that, you get the above mentioned CPU along with 8GB of DDR3-1600 memory, Intel HD Graphics 4000, 256GB solid state drive (SSD), and 1 year of ProSupport.
It's a bit pricey for an Ultrabook, but the real turnoff for some is that Windows versions of the same model laptop have cheaper options available. A similarly spec'd XPS 13 Ultrabook with Windows 7 and 1 year of Enhanced Support starts at $1,300 (that's with a Core i5 3317U processor) , whereas the Windows 8 version runs $1,200, albeit with a 128GB SSD (there's no option to upgrade the Win 8 model to 256GB).
There are also cheaper setups to choose from in Windows-ville, starting at $1,000 for Windows 7 and $1,100 for Windows 8. To be fair, the Windows 7-based XPS 13 with same specs (Core i7 3317U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) runs $50 more than the Developer Edition after Dell dropped the price.
Dell's going after a different audience with its Developer Edition laptop, and perhaps the Windows versions come pre-loaded with third-party software to maintain a comparable price.
EDIT
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that a Windows 7 equivalent was cheaper than the Linux-based Developer Edition. The model originally referenced actually comes with a slower processsor (Core i5 3317U versus Core i7 3517U). An identically spec'd Windows 7 XPS 13 starts at $1,500, or $50 more than the Developer Edition.
EDIT 2
It appears Dell has been busy this morning updating specs and prices after this and similar stories hit the web. Whereas previously you could buy a comparable Windows 7 XPS 7 Ultrabook for less (or identically spec'd for $50 more), the site now shows that a Windows 7 XPS 13 Ultrabook selling for $1,450 comes with a Core i7 2637M, 4GB of DDR3-1333 RAM, and 256GB SSD.
John Carmack: Kudos to Valve, but Not Many Linux Users are Willing to Pay for Games
Valve is forging ahead with plans to port its Steam distribution platform over to Linux and has even managed to tweak Left 4 Dead 2 to run faster on a 32-bit Ubuntu system than on a Windows 7 machine, but as far as John Carmack is concerned, the real challenge will be getting Linux users to open their wallets. Carmack, as you know, is the founder and technical director of id Software, and also an open source advocate. He's also a realist.
"Valve announcing Steam Linux support changes things a bit but we have made two forays into the Linux commercial market, most recently with Quake Live client, and that platform just hasn't carried its weight compared to the Mac on there," Carmack said during his keynote at QuakeCon. "It's great that people are enthusiastic about it, but there's just not nearly as many people that are interested in paying for a game on the [Linux] platform and that just seems to be the reality."
Carmack wasn't trying to cast a wet blanket over Valve's plans by any means, and he pointed out that one thing working in favor of Linux is that integrated graphics drivers are getting better, albeit they still have their issues. He praised Intel for being "completely supportive of open source graphics drivers efforts, that they have chipset docs out there," and said if he had the time, he'd work on optimizing them himself.
You can watch the entire keynote on YouTube (skip ahead to the 45min 26sec mark to hear Carmack's comments on Linux).
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Linux 3.4 Released With Increased Graphics Support And Big Btrfs Improvements
Some head-in-the-clouds philosophical types say time is like a rubber band, stretching out slowly then snapping forward in a burst; the proof to that hypothesis may just lie in the humble Linux kernel. It took Linus and co. a whopping 20 years to finally release Linux 3.0 last July, and less than a year later, Linux 3.4 is already here. The new build brings several new things to the table, with a multitude of Brtfs updates and support for the latest graphics options being the most noticeable changes.
Linux 3.4 sports initial support for Nvidia's GeForce GTX 600 series, although it's limited to basic unaccelerated modesetting. Experimental support for the graphics portion of Intel's new smartphone-focused Medfield chips is also included, as is full support for AMD's Radeon 7000 series and the brand spankin' new Trinity APU. (Now we just need Steam for Linux to finally rear its head…)
Btrfs got a whole heap of improvements, including enhanced performance and error handling, larger metadata blocks and new repair data recovery tools.
As with any Linux kernel update, that's just the tip of the iceberg, though most of the other changes are either minor or behind the scenes (including the interesting "X32 ABI," which lets some 64-bit programs run with 32-bit pointers). Read all the dirty details in Linus' LKML announcement or on the Kernel Newbies website.
Linux 3.4 Released With Increased Graphics Support And Big Btrfs Improvements
Some head-in-the-clouds philosophical types say time is like a rubber band, stretching out slowly then snapping forward in a burst; the proof to that hypothesis may just lie in the humble Linux kernel. It took Linus and co. a whopping 20 years to finally release Linux 3.0 last July, and less than a year later, Linux 3.4 is already here. The new build brings several new things to the table, with a multitude of Brtfs updates and support for the latest graphics options being the most noticeable changes.
Linux 3.4 sports initial support for Nvidia's GeForce GTX 600 series, although it's limited to basic unaccelerated modesetting. Experimental support for the graphics portion of Intel's new smartphone-focused Medfield chips is also included, as is full support for AMD's Radeon 7000 series and the brand spankin' new Trinity APU. (Now we just need Steam for Linux to finally rear its head…)
Btrfs got a whole heap of improvements, including enhanced performance and error handling, larger metadata blocks and new repair data recovery tools.
As with any Linux kernel update, that's just the tip of the iceberg, though most of the other changes are either minor or behind the scenes (including the interesting "X32 ABI," which lets some 64-bit programs run with 32-bit pointers). Read all the dirty details in Linus' LKML announcement or on the Kernel Newbies website.
VLC Offers a Free DVD Player, Why Can’t Microsoft?
We’ve recommended VLC on more than one occasion, and for good reasons. It’s the swiss army knife of the video playback world. It supports more formats and codecs then we can count, installs quickly, and is updated frequently. With the upcoming release of Windows 8 however, it will start offering a new killer feature most people probably didn’t care about before - DVD playback. Microsoft’s decision to not support DVD playback in Windows 8 unless you shell out the extra cash for media center has created a ton of vitriol in comment feeds around the web, but also a pretty obvious question. If a free and open source app can offer the feature, why can’t Microsoft? ZDNet blogger Ed Bott set out to answer the question, and his findings may surprise you.
Before we get to the answer it is important to understand that DVD playback is made possible by way of two core software components. First you need an MPEG-2 decoder, and second you need Dolby Digital audio support. The cost of adding these to Windows 7 is estimated to be somewhere in the range of $2-$3, so how does VLC do this for free? It helps to be French.
VideoLAN, the company behind VLC explains the French connection on its “Legal concerns” page, and skipping down to the bottom of the page you find the following.
“Patents and codec licenses
Neither French law nor European conventions recognize software as patentable (see French section below).
Therefore, software patents licenses do not apply on VideoLAN software.”
Of course they also have size on their side. VLC is a nonprofit organization based outside the reach of the US legal system, and represents a small enough niche that it’s currently not worth pursuing. We can’t help but wonder if that will change over time if it becomes more popular, though it’s hard to image a world where the big OEM’s ever ditch CyberLink PowerDVD in favor of something open source.
Nvidia Among Linux Foundation’s Newest Members
The Linux Foundation earlier this week welcomed four new members. It’s not the number of new members that’s important here, though. What’s more important is the fact that one these new Linux patrons is graphics chip maker Nvidia. Hit the jump for more.
The Santa Clara, California-based company has joined the Linux Foundation as a silver member. While undoubtedly an important addition, Nvidia is not the first major chip maker on the non-profit consortium’s membership roll, which already boasts the likes of Intel (platinum member) and AMD (gold member).
Speculation is already rife that Nvidia plans to open source its drivers. However, the official press release contains nothing regarding the extent and nature of Nvidia’s commitment to Linux. In fact, it has little more than the following quote from Scott Pritchett, VP of Linux Platform Software at Nvidia:
“NVIDIA is strongly committed to enabling world-class experiences and innovation with our GPU and mobile products. Membership in The Linux Foundation will accelerate our collaboration with the organizations and individuals instrumental in shaping the future of Linux, enabling a great experience for users and developers of Linux,” said Scott Pritchett, VP of Linux Platform Software at NVIDIA.”
Of course, Nvidia is not the only company to have joined the Linux Foundation this week. The others to do so are Fluendo, Lineo Solutions and Mocana.
Apache 2.4 is First Major Update in Six Years
The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) this week rolled out version 2.4 of its open source Apache HTTP Server software. It's the first major overhaul in six years, and it also happens to coincide with the software's 17th anniversary. During its nearly two-decade run, Apache HTTP Server has come to power almost 400 million websites around the globe, making it the most popular Web server around.
"It is with great pleasure that we announce the availability of Apache HTTP Server 2.4," said Eric Covener, Vice President of the Apache HTTP Server Project. "This release delivers a host of evolutionary enhancements throughout the server that our users, administrators, and developers will welcome. We've added many new modules in this release, as well as broadened the capability and flexibility of existing features."
Apache Server began as a fork of a Web server created by Rob McCool for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). When McCool left NCSA, an assembly of online programmers formed the Apache Group and continued to improve the software by collaborating through email. It took less than a year for Apache HTTP Server to become the No. 1 server on the Internet.
It's a different landscape today, and with that in mind, ASF said there are a number of enhancements in version 2.4 that will benefit Cloud environments. The team also focused on performance, which they say is now on par with, or better than, pure event-driven Web servers.
You can read the release notes here, and iff you really want to flex your geek muscle, you can check out detailed API changes in version 2.4 here.
Apache 2.4 is First Major Update in Six Years
The Apache Software Foundation (ASF) this week rolled out version 2.4 of its open source Apache HTTP Server software. It's the first major overhaul in six years, and it also happens to coincide with the software's 17th anniversary. During its nearly two-decade run, Apache HTTP Server has come to power almost 400 million websites around the globe, making it the most popular Web server around.
"It is with great pleasure that we announce the availability of Apache HTTP Server 2.4," said Eric Covener, Vice President of the Apache HTTP Server Project. "This release delivers a host of evolutionary enhancements throughout the server that our users, administrators, and developers will welcome. We've added many new modules in this release, as well as broadened the capability and flexibility of existing features."
Apache Server began as a fork of a Web server created by Rob McCool for the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). When McCool left NCSA, an assembly of online programmers formed the Apache Group and continued to improve the software by collaborating through email. It took less than a year for Apache HTTP Server to become the No. 1 server on the Internet.
It's a different landscape today, and with that in mind, ASF said there are a number of enhancements in version 2.4 that will benefit Cloud environments. The team also focused on performance, which they say is now on par with, or better than, pure event-driven Web servers.
You can read the release notes here, and iff you really want to flex your geek muscle, you can check out detailed API changes in version 2.4 here.
