Software Development » Opinions »

  • The challenges of competing with Cloud computing providers

    In discussions about cloud computing and in comments readers leave on my blog posts, I commonly get statements along the lines of "Yeah, this cloud computing stuff sounds great, but at the end of the day, you have to have an IT guy solving problems like they've always done." In personal interactions, I often hear this sentiment portrayed as, "Public cloud computing is fine for the SMB and startup market, but enterprises aren't ready to move to that model." The tone of much of this feedback is that anyone who advocates cloud computing is at best naive or at worst incapable of understanding the real details of IT.

    Written by Bernard Golden • 27 Aug. 11 03:32

  • Ubuntu's marketing kick: Is Canonical the next Apple?

    Another six months has passed and another version of Ubuntu Linux has been released, right? Wrong. Ubuntu 11.04 ‘Natty Narwhal’ arrived today and so did a new marketing direction from its parent company and principle sponsor, Canonical. And its flavour has a hint of Apple.

    Written by Rodney Gedda • 29 April 11 14:20

  • Cloud is the next game changer in testing: Micro Focus

    In the fast-moving information technology industry, barely a year goes by without a new ‘next big thing’; a radical new discovery that will transform the way businesses conduct their everyday operations, while saving them a small fortune in the bargain. The cloud is such a game changer.

    Written by Bruce Craig • 12 April 11 10:00
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    With OS project, is Google over-extending itself?

    Google's decision to build a PC operating system could be a master stroke or a colossal blunder, depending on whether the company has the resources that such an ambitious and long-term undertaking will require.

    Written by Juan Carlos Perez • 09 July 09 05:15
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    Will Oracle kill the Java community?

    Will Oracle be good to Java's developers?

    Written by Robert McMillan • 04 June 09 03:41

  • Ogg and friends challenge Flash

    Mozilla has given US$100,000 to improve and develop Ogg Theora, an open source video codec being developed by the Xiph.org Foundation. Wikimedia will disburs funds over a six-month period. Although not the best-known video format, Ogg already has some major support from web developers. Theora will be built into Firefox 3.1, which is currently in Beta 2, as well as into Norway's homegrown browser Opera. Theora is also the video format of choice for all Wikimedia Foundation projects.

    Written by Ian Paul • 29 Jan. 09 06:09
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    This software brought to you by Ovaltine

    Are we having a recession yet? Ask and ye shall receive. If the bad news keeps rolling in from Wall Street, coded phrases like "economic downturn" won't stop companies from acting as if the recession is already here.

    Written by Neil McAllister • 28 Nov. 08 10:35

  • Are international standards organisations no longer incorruptible?

    For the last several months Microsoft has been pushing for their Office Open XML (OOXML) office suite file specification to be accepted as an international standard by ISO, presumably to help them gain traction for future government contracts (look, this file specification is an ISO standard, it must be good).

    Written by Carl Jongsma • 08 Oct. 08 13:55

  • Upcoming PHP 5.3 beefs up security

    PHP security guru Stefan Esser recently posted on some of the changes and important security issues that are likely to have significant effects for the everyday PHP coder (and user) with the release of the upcoming PHP 5.3.

    Written by Carl Jongsma • 08 Oct. 08 09:09

  • Should computer programming be mandatory for students?

    If Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the State Board of Education have their way, soon every California student will have to pass an algebra test to graduate from the eighth grade.

    Written by Neil McAllister • 03 Oct. 08 08:59

  • Nokia challenges developers to think outside the phone

    You don't have to be a programmer to be a mobile innovator. All you need to do is open your eyes to the fact that a smart phone or QWERTY handset is a personal computer, sans legacy baggage. In the future, user-facing computers will have more in common with the high-end mobile devices of today than with the eight-core desktops and quad-core notebooks of 2009.

    Written by Tom Yager • 02 Oct. 08 11:55

  • Google has gone and redefined 'beta'

    The question of why so many Google products are classified "beta" -- and classified thusly for so long -- has knocked around the tech press for some time. However, no one really seemed to know the answer, at least no one outside of Google.

    Written by Paul McNamara • 30 Sept. 08 10:56

  • SDK shoot-out: Android vs. iPhone

    InfoWorld has been all over this week's official launch of Android, the new smartphone platform from Google. With its slick interface and open application platform, Android shows every sign of giving Apple's iPhone a run for its money when the first phones begin shipping in late October.

    Written by Neil McAllister • 26 Sept. 08 09:52

  • Speech-synthesis technology is worth talking about

    This year marks the 25th anniversary of the well-known (at least in the geek world) computer flick "WarGames," wherein a 1980s computer wiz accidentally connects via modem to the WOPR (War Operation Plan Response) mainframe, a supercomputer designed to conduct World War III scenarios. In doing so, he kicks off a series of events that bring the world to the brink of nuclear holocaust. Perhaps you recall the various times when, even in the underground NORAD bunker, there were speakers connected that allowed the computer program Joshua to read aloud. "Shall we play a game?" is a line we'll never forget.

    Written by J. Peter Bruzzese • 25 Sept. 08 12:38

  • Building Google Chrome: A first look

    Last week I said I would look at Google Chrome "from a developer's perspective." I should have specified what kind. I meant I was considering it from a Web developer's perspective: What does it mean for Web application builders to have yet another browser enter the already-crowded field?

    Written by Neil McAllister • 12 Sept. 08 09:49

  • The future of software testing

    Heathrow’s T5 software testing issues have highlighted the importance of software testing, I hope that lessons have been learnt and that CIO’s across the world will take note in the future.

    Written by Geoff Thompson • 02 Sept. 08 10:17

  • Bitten by the Red Hat Perl bug

    As my colleague Martin Heller recently observed, smart coders always optimize the slowest thing. Trying to optimize every trivial performance issue in your code is just chasing your own tail. You should find the one problem that's causing the biggest performance hit and fix that first.

    Written by Neil McAllister • 29 Aug. 08 11:42

  • Empowering the software auteurs

    The best technology products are often the product of a singular vision. Look at Apple. Look at Nintendo. These companies' enduring successes owe their existence to the presence of a strong guiding hand: someone whose exacting standards ensure that the project never strays too far from its core goals and principles.

    Written by Neil McAllister • 15 Aug. 08 11:20

  • Intel engineers stage CPU coup

    I haven't viewed an Intel Developer Forum with anticipation for some years. I am looking forward to this one, because unless there is some surprise afoot, this is where the Nehalem architecture should make its silicon debut. Intel tipped this by announcing the name of its first incarnation of Nehalem, a desktop chip dubbed "Core i7." Desktop CPUs tend to leave out features touted in literature describing the most potent implementation of a new architecture, so I don't expect Core i7 to embody Nehalem as IT will come to know it. I do expect to see Nehalem in production ahead of schedule, and that suits me. Nehalem could mark a return to a strategy that takes competition into account, and which includes entry-level RISC in the scope of competitors.

    Written by Tom Yager • 14 Aug. 08 10:49

  • What the heck is Mozilla thinking?

    I'm continually amazed at how the premier Web properties are willing to share what they are doing. We get to peek behind the curtain routinely. Google and Yahoo both have good lab pages, but there's some seriously experimental stuff on the Mozilla labs page. Here's what they're up to.

    Written by John Brandon • 12 Aug. 08 08:53
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