Category: Computers, Science & Technology

You know I am a HUGE fan of Linux! Ever since 1992, I have been fascinated with it! (When it was introduced!) So, it is exciting to see our little OS all grown up, and commanding new, better jobs for Linux gurus!

Linux Job Openings on the Rise: Dice Report

“Linux know-how is topping the list of most highly sought expertise in software programming positions, according to Dice.

A report from IT jobs specialist Dice that forecasts the Linux job market shows demand for Linux skills is on the rise but that finding talent is difficult. The report noted that this is triggering better salaries and bonuses for Linux professionals, as companies look to open-source IT specialists to solve their business challenges and provide growth opportunities.

Eighty-one percent of survey respondents say that hiring Linux talent is a priority in 2012. This urgency is driving a substantial increase in recruiting activity, with 47 percent of hiring managers expecting to add more Linux professionals to their firms in early 2012 and 63 percent noting Linux hires are increasing relative to jobs created in other skill areas.

However, a full 85 percent report having difficulty finding qualified Linux professionals to fill these positions, pointing to the need for more skilled Linux talent. The “2012 Linux Jobs Report” includes the results of a recent survey of more than 2,000 hiring managers. Dice and The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the growth of Linux, conducted the survey.

In an economy where contract and temp-to-hire positions have become more prevalent, Linux professionals garner more full-time positions and better salaries, bonuses and perks. While the average pay increase for tech professionals averaged just 2 percent in 2011, professionals with Linux skills have seen a 5 percent increase in salaries and a 15 percent jump in bonus payouts over the same timeframe. Seventy-five percent of respondents cited the mid-level professional with three to five years of experience as their most-sought hires, especially those with development or systems administration skills.

‘Linux jobs have become some of the hottest jobs in all of tech,’ said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation. ‘Clearly, hiring managers throughout the IT tech sector understand this and are aggressively seeking Linux professionals. It is our job to meet this demand by ensuring developers and systems admins have access to the community networking opportunities and Linux training they need to take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity.'”

Ubuntu for Android. I mentioned it before, and now, it is here!

Canonical reveals Ubuntu for Android

“Canonical is making good on its promise to bring its popular Ubuntu flavor of Linux to a broader range of devices by announcing Ubuntu for Android, a release that will enable a full desktop computing experience on a docked Android smartphone. More than just a virtualized app that behaves like Ubuntu, the developers have melded together the Ubuntu architecture with the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) AOSP build at the kernel level. The result is, from what we’ve seen, a harmony between the two platforms that could make a lot of sense for demanding mobile users.

To begin the introduction to Ubuntu for Android, let’s start with what Ubuntu for Android isn’t: it’s not a new mobile OS. Rather than try to enter the arena to take on Apple, Microsoft, and Google, Canonical instead chose to build a package that leverages the popularity of Android. This means Canonical is building on top of the world’s fastest growing mobile platform as a value-add. It’s a move that allows Ubuntu to augment the Android experience as opposed to attempt to replace it. This new release is best understood as a convergence between your mobile and desktop computing environments.

In an interview with Canonical CEO Jane Silber, I was able to grasp the driving idea behind Ubuntu for Android in the scheme of Canonical’s overarching vision for Ubuntu. Right now, you most likely carry a smartphone, laptop, and perhaps a tablet device of some kind. Each has a specific purpose in your day, but adds an amount of weight and time to your mobile computing. With the release of this software distribution, Canonical has unveiled that its goal is to narrow down the amount of devices that you carry to just one that will provide the same functionality of all three items mentioned above.”

Our old buddy, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, at ZDnet has a great article on the announcement about Apache’s new version.

Apache releases first major new version of popular Web server in six years

“The Apache Software Foundation has just announced the release version 2.4 of its award-winning Apache HTTP Server. This is the first major release of the Apache Web server in more than six years. Long before the release of Apache 2.2 in December 1st, 2005 though, Apache was already the most popular Web server in the world. Today Apache powers almost 400 million Web sites.

‘It is with great pleasure that we announce the availability of Apache HTTP Server 2.4′, said Eric Covener, Vice President of the Apache HTTP Server Project in a statement. “This release delivers a host of evolutionary enhancements throughout the server that our users, administrators, and developers will welcome. We’ve added many new modules in this release, as well as broadened the capability and flexibility of existing features.’

The Foundation claims that numerous enhancements make Apache HTTP Server v2.4 ideally suited for Cloud environments. These include:

• Improved performance (lower resource utilization and better concurrency)
• Reduced memory usage
• Asyncronous I/O support
• Dynamic reverse proxy configuration
• Performance on par, or better, than pure event-driven Web servers
• More granular timeout and rate/resource limiting capability
• More finely-tuned caching support, tailored for high traffic servers and proxies.
Additional Apache 2.4 features include easier problem analysis, improved configuration flexibility, more powerful authentication and authorization, and documentation overhaul.

It’s that first point, improved performance, that most users have been waiting for. While Apache has remained very popular, many users have wanted a faster Web server.

This update has been long expected, but it couldn’t come at a better time for Apache. In recent months NGINX, a low-latency, high-performance Web server, has flown by Microsoft’s Internet Information Server (IIS) to become the world’s number two Web server. While it seems unlikely that NGINX could overcome Apache’s commanding lead, NGINX has recently started to offer commercial support and is growing in popularity compared to both Apache and IIS in recent months.”

Apple is integrating iCloud, their Cloud Computing platform, into OS/X “Mountain Lion”… and now, Microsoft is announcing that they will incorporate their SkyDrive into Windows 8!

Microsoft confirms SkyDrive app for Windows 8

“SkyDrive, Microsoft’s cloud storage product, will be get a Metro-style app with Windows 8, the company announced today.

SkyDrive will also get a desktop app for Internet Explorer and the ability to fetch remote files from the Web, the software giant revealed on its Building Window 8 blog.

Microsoft intends for SkyDrive to ‘evolve with Windows 8 from a website today into a true device cloud for Windows customers,’ Mike Torres and Omar Shahine, group program managers for SkyDrive, wrote in the post. ‘With Windows 8, we wanted to make sure that your files would be instantly available and up-to-date as you move between PCs–without configuring add-ons or using a USB drive.’

‘This will bring a file cloud to every Metro style app, allowing you to open files in your SkyDrive and save them right back to your SkyDrive just like you would on your local hard drive,’ the pair writes.

The desktop app will allow ‘easy drag-and-drop upload and download support for SkyDrive, anywhere access to your data, offline access, and the power of Windows Explorer to manage your files and folders.’”

The evolution of the Windows logo is interesting. I guess my originally being an Art major in college makes me more interested in this than some. But hey, it is kinda neat to see where we have been, and where we are going! See the full story at the link below to see the logos and the story!

Redesigning the Windows Logo

“We have said that Windows 8 is a complete reimagination of the Windows operating system. Nothing has been left unexplored, including the Windows logo, to evaluate how it held up to modern PC sensibilities. The Windows logo is a strong and widely recognized mark but when we stepped back and analyzed it, we realized an evolution of our logo would better reflect our Metro style design principles and we also felt there was an opportunity to reconnect with some of the powerful characteristics of previous incarnations.

We had a very short list of agencies that we wanted to work with on the redesign of the logo and were thrilled when Pentagram agreed to join us in the project. Pentagram’s illustrious history speaks for itself, but we were particularly attracted to their sense of classic graphic design which fit well with our Metro design principles.

Early in the development cycle for Windows 8, in a conference room on the Microsoft campus, we assembled a kick off meeting with Paula Scher, Michael Beirut and Daniel Weil from Pentagram and a few designers and marketing leaders from Windows and across the company. The team spent a full day sharing some of the Metro style design philosophy; the Windows brand history and values as well as graphic design and technology industry trends.”

YES! USA Today had an article that combines two of my favorite things, Space, and Angry Birds! How cool is that?

‘Angry Birds’ blast off into ‘Space’

“Having conquered smartphones and tablets, the hit casual title Angry Birds ventures off to a new frontier: Space.

Studio Rovio has announced they will launch the game Angry Birds Space on March 22.

According to a blog post on Rovio’s official website, Angry Birds Space is a “completely new game with innovative new gameplay, but with some of the familiar Angry Birds elements that fans already know and love.”

The post says the game will launch “simultaneously in mobile gaming, animation, retail and publishing,” but it does not provide details on which devices will support it.

Angry Birds Space already has an official website with an image of a slingshot on the Moon overlooking Earth.

With the game moving into space, it begs the question whether gravity will play a role in the physics-based game, which requires players to wipe out a group of enemy pigs by flinging birds with a slingshot.

And the shift in location seems appropriate considering its meteoric rise following launch in 2009 for Apple’s iOS platform. Last November, Rovio revealed the franchise had crossed a half-billion downloads.”

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But, it will just be a physical one! Pail Thurrott reveals that all Windows 8 devices will have a physical Start Button (or, “Start Orb.”) If you have a legacy PC, it probably has a “start” key already, and if not, there is always the “Control-ESC” key sequence. So, relax!

There was a “hoohah” earlier in the week when people freaked over there not being a “Start Button” in the Windows 8 preview! Well, Paul sets our minds at ease!

Windows 8 Secrets: Windows 8 Is NOT Dropping The Start Button

“There’s been a lot of silliness and angst about Windows 8 supposedly dropping the Start button, the first time this central user interface has been absent from Windows since its debut in 1995. There’s just one problem: The Start button isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it’s being made more prominent than ever in Windows 8.

To understand what I mean by this, consider the recent news that the Start button–more correctly called the Start Orb, but whatever–has been removed from Consumer Preview-era builds of Windows 8. I corroborated this rumor in my own post, logically titled Start Orb Removed In Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

While it’s technically true that the Start button/Orb, which used to adorn the left end of the taskbar on the Windows desktop, is missing in action, most people are missing out on two salient points. First, the Windows desktop is not the primary user interface in Windows 8 anymore. That’s the Start screen.

Second, the Start button isn’t gone, and it’s not going away at all. In fact, it will be present on every single Windows 8 device sold going forward.

And here’s why I know this. As my Windows 8 Secrets co-author Rafael Rivera revealed last month, a Windows Key button is required for any PC or device to get the Certified for Windows 8 logo from Microsoft. This hardware button replaces the Windows button, and it will be present on all PCs and devices that come with Windows 8 preinstalled. And unlike the old taskbar-based software button, this hardware button, the Windows Key button, will be always on and always available, no matter which Windows 8 user experience–Start Screen or desktop–you’re using.

That’s why the Start button was removed from the desktop. It’s superfluous now.

As for you people who will upgrade to Windows 8 on your legacy PCs, you already have a Windows key on your keyboard too. And for the tiny, tiny minority of you that don’t, well, please feel free to use the CTRL + ESC keyboard combo. That works fine too. Even in Windows 8.

I’m not sure why this was such a big deal. But it’s just common sense, really.

Update: I’ve had to explain to a couple of people via email that mouse users aren’t in the lurch either. From the desktop, you can still mouse over the lower left corner of the screen to access a Start screen pop-up which, when clicked, works just like the Start button did in the Developer Preview. Everyone’s included. No compromises.”

9 inches is bigger than 7 inches. Yes! That is the idea behind the possibility of a new 9 inch model!

Fire in the Hole! Amazon May Ship 9-Inch Kindle by Midyear.

“There’s no question that Amazon’s going to sell a lot of Kindle Fires this year. And it might sell even more if it rolls out new and larger versions of the device. And according to some, that’s the plan.

Pacific Crest analyst Chad Bartley this week raised his Fire sales estimate for this very reason. ‘We are raising our 2012 sales forecasts to 14.9 million from 12.7 million,’ he wrote. ‘But we believe there is an upward bias, particularly from the new 7- and 9-inch models, which we expect to launch in mid-2012.’

It’s been speculated upon before, but it’s interesting to hear that Amazon may have a 9-inch version of the Fire headed to market later this year, particularly now that we know Apple’s iPad 3 will debut next month. Makes you wonder how the retailer’s loss-leader strategy will translate to the larger-screen tablet market that Apple dominates.

Maybe they’ll call it the Kindle Conflagration.”