Author Archives: RobertG

Linux: Red Hat with CentOS – Good Tactical Move?

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A recent announcement that Red Hat and CentOS have ”Joined Forces” is interesting, and should lead to an improved development/release cycle for both.. Red Hat: http://www.redhat.com/about/news/press-archive/2014/1/red-hat-and-centos-join-forces CentOS: http://lists.centos.org/pipermail/centos-announce/2014-January/020100.html Potentially, this would certainly result in CentOS versions being released earlier, after the corresponding Red Hat Enterprise release date..    It may be that the release of both versions will … Continue reading →

Android: Hudl, and an Exercise in Customer Satisfaction?

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I ordered a Tesco Hudl online as soon as they were available, and got mine delivered 24 hours later – which was faster than expected. It is an excellent device – especially at that price point – but mine turned out to be one with a defective display (grey areas were heavily red-pixellated).. I returned the device to … Continue reading →

Facebook’s ”Home” – Embrace and Extend?

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So, the usual rumours about Facebook making its own (smart)phone turn out to be somewhat premature… http://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2013/04/05/facebook-home-apple-google/ After all, why go to all the trouble of making your own phone, when you can just ‘hijack’ an existing one? This reminds me of the interminable attempts by various online organisations to ‘take over’ your browser, by tempting you … Continue reading →

Is Facebook Finally Losing It?

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Facebook became popular because users liked the sharing of ‘friends’ information, especially among their family groups, but since those early days, every move the company makes seems more and more to be for the benefit of Facebook itself, and the users are the ones who lose out.     This may not true all of the time, but – … Continue reading →

The Death of Privacy.. Schadenfreude* Alert!

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And now for some festive comic relief.. Zuckerberg’s sister has been whining about the ‘sharing’ of one of her ‘private’ photos, originally posted on – guess where – Facebook!    She naïvely assumed it was ‘private’, but apparently a Facebook-friend-of-a-friend had access to it, as well… http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/9767266/Zuckerberg-private-family-photo-exposed-by-Facebook-sharing.html Apparently this was such a heinous and unspeakable crime, that it … Continue reading →

New Year – One to Watch in 2013..

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GoPro – the makers of HD ‘sports’ compact video cameras – have gone from strength to strength in the last year or so.   In 2011 they acquired Cineform – who develop high-end video encoding software: http://support.cineform.com/entries/20000142-cineform-acquired-by-gopro And recently, Foxconn – better known as a supplier of Apple’s hardware – took a stake in the company: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20807327 GoPro … Continue reading →

New Year – Same old Patent Wars..

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The ongoing ‘patent wars’ between Apple and Samsung took another twist, recently, when the dear old EU took another leap away from reality, and decided that it was Samsung who had ‘abused’ its patent position to the detriment of poor little Apple.. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/21/us-eu-samsung-idUSBRE8BK0UJ20121221 The article could have equally been written with the references to ‘Samsung’ and ‘Apple’ … Continue reading →

Facebook and Instagram – Welcome to the New ‘Information’ Age..?

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I have always held the opinion that you should have no expectation of ‘privacy’ or ‘ownership’ for anything posted to Facebook, and now this has spread to encompass Instagram, who were recently ‘acquired’ by Facebook, for what – in many peoples opinion – was a ludicrously large sum of money..     Now there has been a – justified … Continue reading →

The Internet is Safe! – Until the Next Time..

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So – predictably – the UK and US refused to endorse the less-then-subtle attempt by a UN body to ‘regulate’ the flow of information across the ‘net.. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/9743911/UN-internet-talks-collapse-as-Britain-and-US-refuse-to-sign-treaty.html Once these two nations made their position clear, the usual group of ‘Western’ nations followed suite, including Canada, New Zealand, and – of course – Sweden… Despite the best … Continue reading →

When Cash-Cows Collide… MS and Apple Spat over Office on iOS

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These days, both Microsoft and Apple derive a significant portion of their revenue from what are – effectively – ‘cash cows’, with relatively small investment costs giving large – and continuing – returns.. Now, the companies are fighting over two of these..   MS Office from Microsoft, and the App Store from Apple.. http://allthingsd.com/20121211/microsoft-pressing-apple-to-take-a-smaller-cut-on-sales-inside-office-for-ios/ Basically, both think that … Continue reading →