The only open and fully transparent TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) study I know of that compares Linux to Windows has come to a fairly predictable result. Linux is cheaper then Windows. Of course Microsoft would beg to differ, and has done on many occasions, but never has a TCO report been issued that has really provided the full depth of their methodology such that anyone who wants to can recreate the study themselves. Until now. The study is based on the needs of a 250 user company over 3 years. The long and short of it is that Linux turns out to be up to 36% cheaper over the 3 years then Windows. Now put your hand up if this surprises you. (MCSE’s and MS employees need not bother, instead you should go and read some more of Microsoft’s sponsored studies, their results are more predictable and calming for you.)

Read the rest of this entry »

The EU after finding out that they don’t have the majority vote on approving the software patent directives have found a new way to try and push it though without giving it the scrutiny it deserves. They are apparently going to put it to an EU meeting of Fishery experts.

It really makes you wonder who is funding this from the shadows as this is not the first time they have tried it and I can’t imagine they would be this devious in getting it pushed through if they were not getting something in return. As we all know, the really big software companies love software patents as it gives them a means to drag smaller competitors though the courts for years and drain them of cash.

Read the rest of this entry »

In a move to stay ahead of rivals, Google has just started the process of spidering and indexing several US university libraries, as well as the New York city public library. The indexed content can then be used in combination with normal Internet content to answer searchers queries. This is fantastic news for pretty much all Google users as there are huge amounts of data that only currently exists in hard copy.

Franki

Web designers and graphic designers in general constantly need a stream of new ideas and creative input to keep their work fresh and lively. The good ones also learn to be highly efficient in their work because clients and a regular paycheck demand it.

I’m always on the lookout for little tools and tricks to make my life as a web designer easier. Below you’ll find a smattering of some that make my work go faster and creativity come more easily to me:

Read the rest of this entry »

The Inquirer has just done a review of the Mozilla Thunderbird E-mail client and they only have good things to say. That’s great to hear because that was pretty much my opinion after using it for the last year.

Read the rest of this entry »

The French are a strange lot, sometimes I think they are like us, and other times I’ve no idea how to define them. Today however, I’m liking the way they think. Microsoft is under fire in French courts for not keeping their end of the bargain with regards to OEM license agreements.

When buying a new PC, you are probably going to get forced to get a copy of Windows with it, and in the license agreement they say that if you don’t want the copy of Windows, you should return it for a refund (or words to that affect). Well several people have tried to get this “refund” with varying levels of success. In particular the amount of the refund should they decide to give you one may or may not match what you actually paid for it. In short, some French groups are saying “selling Windows OS with hardware violates a minimum of three laws intended to provide consumer protection.”

Read the rest of this entry »

While doing my daily rounds of all the tech news sites to look for anything new and interesting, I found a guy with several thousand Christmas lights all over his house that people can control via the Internet. What does he use to provide such a service? I hear you ask, Why Perl of course. (Mod_perl to be exact.) The site has a control panel during certain time periods (when his neighbours will let him no doubt) where you can take control over his Xmas lights and fiddle to your hearts content.

Over the last few years, languages like PHP and .Net languages have been growing very popular with the unwashed masses, but whenever I find something really cool, it seems to be written in Perl. Wise folks these guys. 🙂

Read the rest of this entry »