Peoples almost religious attachment to Microsoft

I have to say I do find it extremely strange the vehemence that Microsoft users exhibit when challenged with anything new. If you stop and think about it, they owe Microsoft nothing, all they have done is given that company money, and invest some time in learning their products. So why the blind allegiance? It is not a question I have the simple answer to , I have to admit, though I do have a few ideas.

Being a fan of Darwinian evolution, there are several parts of the modern interpretation of that theory that suggest that it is very important to human evolution, that showing blind alligance to an idea or concept can be beneficial. I could start down the path of a Machiavellian theory that Gates & Co were well aware of this, but I think that gives them way too much credit. I think the answer lies more in the mundane, that humans just don't like change. So once they are hooked on Windows with their first computer purchase, shame on the legislators for that, the likely hood is they won't change, or even know their is the possibility for change. Apple are very slowly changing this , and this could lead to more choice for the customer, which will eventually also include Linux.

I also think their is a human trait where fear of anything new is common, but why there is so much antagonism I do find odd. If you stop and think about what Open source is doing for software solutions is nothing more than offering a choice. You don't have to use it , and those who are too timid or frightened to try anything new, well you can just keep being spoon fed by Microsoft, and be happy.

I on the other hand prefer to look at new ideas, and although I have long been a user of Linux this does not stop me enjoying developments in Mac, Solaris and BSD. I think competition is good for all computer users. We don't have to look far for an example, just think how Mozilla Firefox has forced other Internet browser creators to up their game in the face of an incredibly powerful and useful new application. i

No, I think change is good, and the more Open Source forces other software producers to improve their products then everyone benefits.

I would also like to point out to Microsoft die hards, I enjoy what the Open Source has to offer, and no matter what Redmond produces, unless they Open Source it and make it freely available to everyone, then I will not move wholesale to it. I will of course use it where it is appropriate, and not be that bigoted not to use it, but out of preference I will always look for the Open Source option. You see it's not all about features, it's more fundamental than that.

I do see signs that governments are starting to get this, and once more people start to get the real an perpetual cost savings and freedom that Open Source offers they to will also start to change their buying patterns.

Eeebuntu - latest version has been released

I work with a team of like minded people to deliver a really good looking and useful version of Ubuntu specifically designed for the Asus Eeepc netbook computer.

Well we have just released a new version for your Eeepc, which comes in three flavours:

1) Standard - which comes with a good base of pre-installed applications.
2) Base - which comes with the bare minimum, so you can add the applications you want
3) NBR - which uses the new Ubuntu mini computer interface

Jump over to our web site Eeebuntu web site and download the iso and have a look.

The easiest way to try it first is to install the iso file onto a USB stick. The easiest way to do that is to use another machine with Ubuntu installed as it now comes with a built in USB key creator application. If you don't have that, then use the unetbootin application.

Have fun , and post your comments etc on our forums.

Suns Opensolaris who is it for, and does anyone care?

I recently attended a London Opensolaris user group meeting(LOSUG) , at Suns London briefing centre. The meeting was to show the latest release of Opensolaris, and a presentation of the "great" new features for the desktop that this operating system would bring . The presentation was given by Jim Hughes, who is CTO of the Solaris Operating System, and someone who certainly knows Solaris.

I joined this meeting with high expectations, as a long time Unix user, almost exclusively Linux for the last decade, but I have used Sun products for many years and have a great deal of respect for their OS. I have always found that their package and patch management processes to be arcane, but reliable.

I was not to be disappointed, as Ian Murdochs Debian hand could be clearly seen on the revamped package manager, which is a direct copy of the Debian Linux package manager, not a great surprise as Ian had been put in charge of the "Indiana" project. He must have rolled on the floor laughing when he first saw their original setup. Their strategy on software repositories however is muddled and not clear, some being owned and run by Sun, others by the community. This will lead to accusations of not truly being Open at all.

That is just the problem I have with this project, it is playing catchup with Linux/BSD from the early part of this millennium, and is not offering anything new, with the notable exception of ZFS, which Jim did bang on about.

The audience burst into a round of applause when I pointed out that the default shell was now Bash, which is very worrying, and I became aware that a lot of the hardcore Solaris guys in that room are living in another era, which could explain the lack of forward thinking that is going into this product.

Gnome was version 2.18, and there was nothing of any particular note other than ZFS, as impressive a technology as that is. Jim seemed to have a real hatred of Linux, and spent too much time saying how Opensolaris would be just what everyone wanted. I took from this that he was really worried that Sun were doing too little too late, and they were extremely worried that Linux had already eaten the breakfast and lunch of the desktop Unix market, and were now after their evening meal. I think Sun have every reason to be worried as I believe this has already happened, just look at the success of the UMPC's like the ASUS eeepc and the Everex cloudbooketc. You can also now buy pre-installed Linux from all of the tier 1 hardware suppliers with HP's announce at Brainshare last week.

We did see a demo of Opensolaris being installed on an Apple Macbook pro, which worked well, as this to be fair is an early version of the OS. This again though, is nothing earth shattering, as I can install many versions of Linux on a Mac if I so choose, and waste vast sums of money on some over priced technology.

So in answer to my own question, I think the target market will be people who work with Solaris on a regular basis and can't face changing to anything new, not an enormous market. As the project stands, I can't say that what is currently on offer would be useful to me over Fedora Linux which I use on a daily basis. The hardware and software support is just not there, and is unlikely to be there unless a very large community develops around the project.

I also suspect that most if not all Linux users will feel the same, and therefore will not care what Sun are doing. I can see this as becoming just another Sun failure to deliver a decent desktop OS, and they know deep down they should have bought Apple when they could, and then they wouldn't have had to bother.

The likely outcome now is that the MP3 behemoth is likely to buy them to add some serious backend server technology to their product range, we shall see.