Dr. Bill | The Computer Curmudgeon

The Senate does the right thing? AMAZING!

Senate Passes Moratorium on Internet Taxes Until 2014

“After an amendment offered by Sen. John Sununu (R – N.H.) made it feasible to extend a four-year extension on the existing ban on Internet-related taxes to seven years, the US Senate yesterday passed the Internet Tax Freedom Act Amendments Act of 2007, reportedly by another overwhelmingly positive vote. The existing federal moratorium on any state or federal tax on Internet use was set to expire next Thursday, after which time legislators were worried that states could be gearing up to create new broadband usage taxes that could be applied to users’ ISP bills. Revenue from those taxes would have conceivably been earmarked to fund the municipal side of the cost of renovating existing infrastructure for increasing broadband coverage, especially for DSL. But states won’t be able to raise funds through those means until at least November 2014, after the President signs the Amendments Act into law as he is expected to do. From here, the measure goes to conference committee to reconcile minimal language differences between the House and Senate versions, and then proceed to the President’s desk.”

Folks are coming around to common sense! Linux is free, solid, and more powerful than Windows on servers… and Dell sales are reflecting the trend!

Dell CEO: Linux server sales increasing

Claims made by Microsoft that Linux violates its software patent have not affected sales of Linux-based hardware, according to Dell’s CEO Michael Dell. Speaking at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo in Orlando, Dell said his company has seen Linux uptake for servers increase faster than Windows server products, despite Microsoft’s claims. He said: ‘On the server side Linux continues to grow nicely, a bit faster than Windows. We’re seeing a move to Linux in critical applications, and Linux migration has not slowed down.’ However, for those customers who might be concerned about whether Microsoft’s claims of patent violation could result in legal action, Dell added that there were ‘certainly mechanisms if customers are concerned about patents.’ In May, Microsoft claimed free and open source software violated more than 230 of its patents but hasn’t provided more detailed information following the statement. Dell’s chief marketing officer, Mark Jarvis, claimed that though the two vendors have had a close relationship in the past, Microsoft had not given Dell any more information about the issue of patent infringement, despite Dell supporting Linux on its server range and more recently on its desktops and laptops.”

Microsoft is sweating… and if their new Windows Server 2008 doesn’t pick up sales, expect them to ruthlessly attack Linux. But then, look what happened to SCO. Fighting Open Source is a sure way to watch your market share go down the tubes!

That’s a lot of money for a small percentage in a social networking site… Facebook is supposed to be worth $15 Billion! Uh huh. It doesn’t seem reasonable to me… but then, I don’t “get it.”

Microsoft Takes $240 M Stake in Facebook

“This afternoon, Microsoft won the apparent battle for an equity stake in social networking applications provider Facebook, making a $240 million equity investment in the company. In exchange, Microsoft will become the exclusive third-party supplier of Facebook’s advertising platform. During a conference call Wednesday afternoon, Facebook Chief Revenue Officer Owen van Natta and Microsoft platforms division president Kevin Johnson revealed few specific details. In fact, they worked hard to draw a clear line around those items they would not reveal any details about. For instance, would the partnership enable new forms of Microsoft applications on the Facebook platform? Won’t say. Will Facebook branded applications appear on Microsoft properties? Won’t say. Will other advertising partners become involved in the agreement? Although Kevin Johnson repeatedly called the agreement a ‘win/win/win situation,’ he and his new partners refused to disclose just who the third ‘win’ belongs to. He did say that if you’re a financial analyst, you should be able to take a look at the future evaluation of the advertising market over the next few years, and validate Microsoft’s belief that its equity stake will eventually (though the number of years is indefinite) be evaluated at $15 billion.”

Halo 3 pretty much pushed the Xbox 360 to top seller in terms of console gaming systems for the month of September 2007. But, the Wii is coming up close behind!

Xbox 360 Top Console in September

“Sales of the Xbox 360 nearly doubled in September in the United States thanks to Halo 3, while the Nintendo Wii continues to post impressive sales numbers. Research firm NPD said that Microsoft sold about 528,000 Xbox 360 consoles during the month of September, up 91 percent from the previous month. Much of this success could be pinned on sales of Halo 3, which sold 3.3 million copies during the month. ‘True to its name, the game rubbed off on hardware sales too–the Xbox 360 realized its best month ever in unit hardware sales outside last holiday season,’ NPD analyst Anita Frazier said in a statement. The game sold twice as many as the next nine titles combined. And the Halo effect may last into October as well. Sources tell BetaNews that internal Microsoft numbers show Xbox 360 sales continued to be brisk well into the current month as well. What is even more surprising is the Wii’s success during what should have been Microsoft’s month. Sales rose to 501,000 units, up 24 percent from the previous month and a new all-time monthly high for Wii sales within the US.”

And so… it is now official!

Ubuntu 7.10 Announcement

“Canonical Ltd. announced today the upcoming availability of version 7.10 of the Ubuntu Server, Desktop, Kubuntu and Edubuntu Editions. All will be available for free download on Thursday 18 October. Canonical is the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu. Ubuntu makes no distinction between community and enterprise editions, Ubuntu 7.10 is our best work and is available freely to all. Ubuntu has consistently ranked #1 in reviews of security update responsiveness and effectiveness. The Ubuntu platform is fully certified and supported, making it a secure choice for users looking to explore, deploy and enjoy Linux. Ubuntu 7.10 brings together the best open source and free software available in a stable, robust environment that ‘just works’. ‘We are privileged to have millions of users running Ubuntu every day”. commented Jane Silber, COO of Canonical UK. ‘This gives us great insight into what they want from a free, Linux-based platform. Ubuntu 7.10 is another milestone in delivering on these requirements on the desktop and server.’ ”

I am downloading Kubuntu now as I type this!