Archive for May, 2007

Gartner Joins Open Source Squabble

Gartner today joined squabbling by vendors over the meaning, purpose and spirit of open source by declaring that users demand the right to modify and redistribute software code and the resulting products.

In a recent research note, Gartner analysts Brian Prentice and Mark Driver said that some members of the open source software community were concerned about the role that vendors play in supplying and supporting the software. “Vendors increasingly want to tweak the meaning of open source to include, for example, attribution licensing, which says the user can modify and re-distribute the software and make derivative versions based on it only if they give the author credit,” Prentice said. “But ‘open source’ is simply a licensing agreement that allows unfettered modification and redistribution of software code. In fact, it is both a key sign of a healthy open source community and a key benefit to users.”

According to Gartner, the current debate among open source vendors is about reconciling an inherent incompatibility. “The incompatibility is not with the commercialization of open source software, but rather between open source and traditional industry business models designed to achieve single-vendor dominance of products or technical standards,” Prentice said. Gartner advised open source software users that the uncertainty around vendors’ claims would make sourcing and architectural decisions for open source software more difficult.

To mitigate this problem, users must demand a strict definition of open source linked to the modification and redistribution of code and products, which are significant benefits of the open source model. A recent Gartner survey shows that open source software has penetrated the IT environments of many Asia Pacific organizations.

It found that 57 percent are currently using open source software, and for those organizations it represented approximately 26 percent of their overall software portfolios.

It primarily substitutes for commercial server and desktop operating systems, database management and network and system management tools.

Source- Technoworld

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Microsoft launches Popfly and integrates with Spaces

This morning, the Developer Division group within Microsoft announced the alpha version launch of an new product called Popfly.

Popfly is a tool designed to help non-programmers create mashups of content, feeds, and other Cinteresting sources and publish them for their own personal use or for the larger community to use. The tool is web-based and allows you to drag and drop “blocks” onto a working surface and connect various data sources together. For example, you can snap together a built-in Windows Live Spaces photos block of your pictures and a Silverlight photo visualizer block to provide a rich, interactive display of your Spaces photos.

One of the coolest thing about Popfly is that once you create a mashup, you can, in just a few clicks, publish it directly to your space as a gadget using the “Add to Windows Live Spaces” link.

Check out a video demonstration here.

Sign up for the waiting list here and also keep your eyes open over the next few months for an invitation from one of the Alpha users. Get ready to have some fun creating cool Spaces mashups!

MSN Live Earth Launched

This week MSN teams launched http://liveearth.msn.com, the exclusive online destination for Live Earth: The Concert for a Climate in Crisis. Live Earth will culminate on 7/07/07 with a global concert on seven continents with venues that include the US, UK, Japan, Brazil, South Africa, China, Australia, and Turkey. Live Earth is much more than a concert – it’s designed to be a catalyst event to coalesce a worldwide community of people who share a single environmental vision and mission: to convert concern to action.

More than 150 of the world’s hottest artists will perform for Live Earth including Madonna, whose new song, “Hey You” is available for free download exclusively for seven days from the MSN Live Earth site.

“Hey You” was produced by Pharrell Williams and Madonna and recorded in London. Madonna will perform “Hey You” as one of the headliners for Live Earth U.K., joining the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, the Beastie Boys and other performers at Wembley Stadium in London on July 7, as part of the 24-hour, seven-continent Live Earth concert series.

As the exclusive online destination for Live Earth, MSN is pleased to offer this song in conjunction with Madonna and is proud to donate 25 cents for each of the first 1 million downloads to the Alliance for Climate Protection, in support of Live Earth.

Windows Vista Odyssey- The adventure of a lifetime starts with one bold move..

Are you fearless in your approach? Interested in promoting the Windows Vista operating system? Are you interested in Shark diving in South Africa, Swinging through Costa Rica’s canopy, Trekking on top of the world, Patagonia by kayak and horseback, Exotic rock climbing in Thailand, African wildlife safari, or Cave rafting in New Zealand.

If so, Microsoft is looking for you or your team.

Microsoft is now selecting hundreds of partners to recognize and reward. The five most remarkable partners will receive an unforgettable adventure to be experienced by an individual or as a team.

Up to 500 selected partners will be named Windows Vista Adventurers, and the person who submits the nomination form will receive a rugged Oakley backpack filled with equipment to support their trailblazing endeavors. Contents include:

- Polycarbonate water bottle
- Binoculars
- Ultra-bright LED crank flashlight
- Multi-function survival tool with red LED light, thermometer, compass, whistle, storage - compartment, mirror, magnifying glass, and nylon cord
- Pedometer
- Sunscreen kit
- Moleskine travel journal

Unfortunately, the rewards and entry period are limited. So take a few minutes now to complete and submit the self-nomination form.

Check out http://microsoft.mrmpslc.com/windowsvistaodyssey/Default.aspx for more information.

Windows Server 2008

After so much rumours Microsoft has officially named Windows Longhorn as Windows Server 2008.Here is the logo of the Windows Server 2008-

and here is the image of the box-

Link to the Windows server 2008 website- http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/default.mspx

Windows Live Folders beta

One beta ends and suddenly five more spring up in its place. We can finally get the talk around Windows Live going again - the Windows Live Folders site has just opened up in preparation for the beta. (Please note the beta has not yet started, so the site will not work correctly.)

Update

So how does it work? Windows Live Folders allows you to upload your files to the cloud, providing access to them from an internet browser (both IE and Firefox are supported). The key part is using Windows Live ID to limit access to the files you have uploaded, allowing you to keep them private, share them with contacts, or make them public. With Windows Live, it’s the sum of the parts that gives it so much potential. Here’s a summary of the Folders service:

Personal

* Use personal folders to back up important files that are only for you.
* Get to your files from any computer with Internet access by signing in with your Windows Live ID.

Shared

* Shared folders make it easy to collaborate with coworkers or classmates.
* You decide how much control each person has over each shared folder. Some can just read what’s there: others can add and delete files.
* Everyone who is sharing uses their own Windows Live ID.

Public

* With public folders, anyone on the Internet can view your files, but they can’t change them.
* Want to show your public files to others? Just send them a link! Each folder and file has its own web address.

source- liveside