Breakfast briefing: a closer look at Eldy, retweet or not, iPhones and HP+3Com=?
More of a mixed grill today - tuck in and enjoy A slightly longer than usual briefing...
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Breakfast briefing: a closer look at Eldy, retweet or not, iPhones and HP+3Com=?
Letters and Blogs | 12 November 2009
The fight against malware Frankly, I don't have any sympathy for people who don't take reasonable precautions ( Enemy of the state , 5 November). Anyone who is going to use a tool should learn a little bit about how to use that tool safely.
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Letters and Blogs | 12 November 2009
Windows 7 or Ubuntu 9.10 – battle of the operating systems
Whether you're a die-hard Windows fan or a Linux evangelist, here is the lowdown on the latest updates Operating systems have become like buses: you wait ages for an OS update, and then three turn up at once. Apple let Snow Leopard out of its cage in August, and then, last Thursday, Microsoft released Windows 7, a major update of Vista. At the same time, Canonical chose to release "Karmic Koala" – which is otherwise known as the open-source operating system Ubuntu 9.10. In the five years since its launch , Ubuntu has become one of the most popular Linuxes; though popular for servers or embedded systems, it remains a minority as a desktop operating system. Some put the figures as low as 1%, though the enthusiasts put the figure closer to 12%. Taking the vital aspects of an operating system into account, which is better, Ubuntu 9.10 or Windows 7
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Windows 7 or Ubuntu 9.10 – battle of the operating systems
Open-source hardware heralds greater creativity
The rising popularity of open-source hardware projects combines the heritage of a pre-computer age with brand-new creative opportunities We're all familiar with open-source software, such as the Apache webserver or the Linux OS, but in the last few years, open-source hardware projects have risen in popularity, including the open-source electronics platform Arduino . Open-source hardware has a long history that predates computers with the amateur radio community; and personal computing in Silicon Valley rose out of the hardware hackers of the Homebrew Computer Club. At its heart, Arduino is a programmable microcontroller, which was developed in Italy in 2005. You can connect the microcontroller via a serial or USB connection to a computer running Windows, Mac OS or Linux, and program it using the free open-source integrated development environment. Arduino is often described as a physical computing platform because you can use sensors to measure motion, light or temperature, and to flash LEDs or lights, sound buzzers or run motors. Arduino also has communications extensions that add Bluetooth, Ethernet or wireless-mesh networking capabilities, and can be triggered by events on the web or via web APIs. During the Guardian's recent hack day , Arduino was used to create a robot that responded to hashtags on Twitter. It powered a device to alert journalists when people were reading their stories, and the team from Arduino consultancy Tinker.it built a leaderboard that measured responses to the Twitter accounts of the main British political parties. Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino, CEO of Tinker.it, says all kinds of people are using the platform, including hobbyists and engineers but also artists and designers – people who don't have a technical background. Clothing designers even use Arduino with special circuit boards that can easily be sewn into fabric. You can buy pre-built Arduino boards or, true to the open-source movement, can download plans and build your own. To rapidly create prototype projects many Arduino enthusiasts use solder-less breadboards. To get started Deschamps-Sonsino suggests going to the " playground " on the Arduino website. It has a list of projects broken down by difficulty and purpose. For instance, there are audio, visual, and communication projects, as well as physical or mechanical projects. Tinker.it and other Arduino suppliers, such as SparkFun in the US, can sell you microcontrollers, lights, sensors and other components for the projects. Tinker.it also holds workshops, and with hardware hacker Maker Faires you can see what's possible with Arduino and other open-source hardware platforms. If, like me, you're taking a stay-cation, Arduino may be a great way to relax and try something new with open-source tech. Computing Programming Linux Windows Apple Kevin Anderson guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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Open-source hardware heralds greater creativity
Do friends let friends install Linux?
A friend tells you he's considering putting Linux on his Windows machine.
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Do friends let friends install Linux?
Victor Keegan: Did Microsoft force Asus to axe Linux
Microsoft is right to warn about the danger of a serious monopoly in search because of Google's dominance. Its own revamped search engine, Bing, is a welcome addition and has some interesting features that should earn it more followers. Maybe it is time to apply Microsoft's enlightened approach to monopolies to what is happening in its own backyard where, amazingly, it still has almost 95% of the global market for PC operating systems (Windows), word processing (Word) and spreadsheets (Excel). Last year, a new generation of "netbooks" running the open-source Linux operating system seemed set to capture the bottom end of the market. I bought a $199 Asus , which I thought would be my dream machine as it weighed barely 1kg and came with the free OpenOffice.org word-processor, Linux operating system, Skype, educational and arts programs and Google documents. It didn't turn out so well: the screen was too small, wireless links flaky and battery life poor.
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Victor Keegan: Did Microsoft force Asus to axe Linux
Acer plans to add Android to the Aspire One netbook
Offering Google's mobile phone operating system on its netbooks will give users more choice and could give Acer a marketing advantage At the Computex 2009 trade show in Taiwan, Acer said it planned to ship most versions of its Aspire One netbook with a version of Google's Linux-based Android operating system, used on mobile phones such as the G-1. "The Android operating system will provide Acer netbook users with faster connection to the Internet, further enhancing efficiency on-the-go," said the company. It would be available in Q3 2009. The introduction of Android into Acer netbooks presents customers with another choice of operating system
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Acer plans to add Android to the Aspire One netbook
Netbooks: Are netbooks losing their shine? Jack Schofield reports
Netbooks have been the rising stars of the PC market. But with sales slipping, and new rivals appearing, their future is looking less certain Netbooks have been the PC market's bright spot over the past nine months, but sales have slipped recently, and they now face an uncertain future. They are losing some of their price advantage over notebooks, and soon will be challenged by a new type of ultra-slim notebook PC with a long battery life. Netbooks first appeared in 2007 and have been a big success. Sales have far outstripped the predictions of analysts such as Gartner - 14m units last year, against a forecast of 5.3m - and now make up 20% of the portable PC market. The Asus marketing specialist John Swatton points to "tech novices" adopting netbooks in the way they have adopted mobile phones and MP3 players, which he says "will drive further growth in the netbook market. We are also seeing more and more users purchasing netbooks as a second, and more portable, device to provide connectivity when away from their primary laptop or PC." An affordable, everyday option "The netbook has changed the landscape for good," says Ian Fogg, an analyst with Forrester. "The netbook category has overturned the idea that users should pay a big price premium for ultraportables." Ultraportable notebook PCs have been available from companies such as IBM and Sony, but they typically cost £1,500 to £2,500. Today's netbooks cost around £200-£300, which makes them affordable enough for everyday commuters. Women like them because they can fit inside a handbag. Kids like them because they can have their own machine, and they may get one from their school - Dell has just launched a rubberised Latitude 2100 in a variety of colours for the education market
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Netbooks: Are netbooks losing their shine? Jack Schofield reports
Technophile: Canonical’s Ubuntu 9.04 reviewed
Canonical's Ubuntu update is faster, smoother and more responsive – enough to put a jaunty spring in the step of Jackalope users Canonical has unleashed the Jackalope, or Ubuntu 9.04, code-named the Jaunty Jackalope. It's the latest release of an operating system that has become one of the most popular Linux distributions, and it manages to balance adding new features (including cloud computing), a netbook release and an improved interface with performance. That's a balance that Microsoft and Apple don't always make with major updates to their operating systems. I've been using Ubuntu since 6.10, and with each release, Ubuntu has become a little more polished. Each update has built on their easy installation process. After installation, the first thing you'll notice is the much faster boot time. It was one of the main goals of the release . As others have said, everything just feels smoother and more responsive. I run Ubuntu primarily on an Athlon XP 2400+ desktop computer with a little over a gigabyte of Ram as a home media server. Windows runs sluggishly on it, even with a clean install, but Linux has given it a second life. Ubuntu comes in a number of flavours.
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Technophile: Canonical's Ubuntu 9.04 reviewed
Jack Schofield: The netbook’s future will be decided by Intel’s Atom
Meeting Asus last week, I had a look at a scaled-up Asus S101 – the gorgeous one with the discreet Swarovski crystals – with a 12in screen instead of the 10in version . Wasn't the S121 pushing it for a netbook, I wondered? "People want to buy bigger screens," replied Asus's Hailuen Ling. Asus gets credit for starting the netbook market in 2007 with the Eee PC 700, which had a 7in screen and was initially targeted at the schools market. RM introduced it to the UK as the MiniBook , running Linux. The idea was that it would be a consumer appliance, like a CD player or TV set: no support would be needed, beyond a reset to factory condition. This sort of netbook was clearly different from a notebook PC. It saved money by having a small screen, no hard drive, and no Microsoft Windows — though at the time, RM said Windows and hard drives would be offered in later models. Since then, netbook screens have grown through 8.9in and 10.2in versions to the latest 12in models, and hard drives have gone from 40GB through 80GB to 160GB. Also, most netbooks now run Windows XP, thanks partly to a cut-price deal from Microsoft
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Jack Schofield: The netbook's future will be decided by Intel's Atom