Technomancer
by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
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Recent blog posts

How to avoid falling into the Twitter security black hole

Seeing areas of black on Twitter.com? Don't even run your mouse over it, never mind clicking on it, it's a nasty security hole …
Shuttleworth answers Ubuntu Linux's critics

Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu Linux's founder, maintains that he and Ubuntu are doing right by the Linux community and the even larger …
Google Chrome OS is for Netbooks, Android for Smartphones & Tablets

Puzzled by what Google has planned for its two operating systems? Here's what's what.
Digg, Dug, Done

I've tried to like the new Digg, I really did, and I'm here to tell you that it's awful.
Is Over-the-Air TV Dying?

Even though the new Apple TV isn't that great, Internet TV is really gaining ground in a hurry.
Nothing new in the new Apple TV

I like owning videos. I like knowing I can watch and compare the classic Maltese Falcon and first version from 1931 whenever I want. Or, …
What does Paul Allen think he's doing!?

I don't know, but I do know that it's going to make a mess of the technology business and all of us will pay for it.
Upgrading to Windows 7 isn't Cheap

A recent Gartner report showed what many of us already knew: Moving to Windows 7 from XP is expensive.
Is Oracle going after Google because Ellison is buddies with Jobs?

At first, I thought this was just a silly rumor. But, after having several C-level executives tell me this theory, I began to seriously …
The Corporation has gone Open Source

We no longer need to talk about why businesses should turn to Linux and open-source software. They already have.

The Five Winners of Oracle suing Google

In the long run, who knows? But, in the short run, there are some clear winners.

By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Well, now they do.

The good news is that the Linux Foundation has started the Open Compliance Program, a comprehensive initiative to help companies and developers comply with open-source licenses. There are also other groups like the Open Invention Network trying to defend against patent attacks on Linux and businesses like Black Duck Software and Palamida that can help independent software vendors and other businesses block IP attacks.

The bad news is that IP attacks are now more of a worry for open-source developers than they have been before. SCO's feeble attacks on Linux were a sideshow. Oracle's patents attack is far more worrisome.

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Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (sjvn@vna1.com) has been writing about technology and the business of technology since CP/M-80 was cutting-edge and 300bit/sec. was a fast Internet connection -- and we liked it!