News (150)

MySQL releases dodgy v5.1

Sun Microsystems late last week released version 5.1 of the open source MySQL database software, but the software's founder simultaneously warned of a number of bugs present in the included new features that still needed to be fixed. Read more »

Azure manages to avoid a Hailstorm of criticism

Microsoft's Hailstorm prompted an avalanche of criticism when it was proposed seven years ago, but developers seem to have few qualms with Windows Azure, which embraces many of the same notions. Read more »

Ozzie on Azure: It all comes down to trust

Microsoft has to do more than just convince businesses that it has the right vision with Windows Azure, its burgeoning take on cloud computing, according to Ray Ozzie, the company's chief software architect. Read more »

Yahoo to chop at least 1,400 jobs

Yahoo yesterday in the US reported a 64 per cent drop in net income for the third quarter, issued cautions about a weakening advertising market, and confirmed that layoffs were indeed on the way. Read more »

NASA hacker loses second appeal

The man accused by the US government of accessing more than 73,000 US military machines has lost his second appeal to the UK Home Office against extradition. Read more »

Stallman warns of cloud vendor lock-in

Free Software Foundation founder Richard Stallman this week said cloud computing was "stupidity" that ultimately would result in vendor lock-in and escalating costs. Read more »

CSIRO victorious in Wi-Fi appeal

Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has come one step closer to defending its patent relating to several Wi-Fi standards, with defendant Buffalo Technology losing a US appeal on the matter. Read more »

Is Microsoft a threat to VMware?

The talk of this year's VMworld conference in Las Vegas was how much of a competitive threat Microsoft, which weeks earlier announced the free release of its hypervisor product, will prove to virtualisation leader VMware. Read more »

O'Reilly: Stop throwing sheep, do something worthy

NEW YORK -- Tim O'Reilly, founder of O'Reilly Media, is known as a futurist, but his keynote address on Thursday morning at the Web 2.0 Expo was heavy on the realism in the wake of sobering news from Wall Street. Read more »

OLPC rivals get 'vicious'

When the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organisation first mooted the idea of a super low cost laptop aimed at schoolchildren in the developing world some years ago, it was arguably on its own in the market. Read more »

Features (174)

10 ways to improve your office etiquette

Office environments typically require us to work in fairly close quarters, so a little consideration and cooperation can make life a lot easier. These guidelines will help you -- or maybe the irritating colleague in the next cube -- avoid distracting and potentially obnoxious behaviour. Read more »

The 7 most important communication skills an IT leader should have

Everyone wants to tell IT pros that they need to develop people skills, but no one really tells what those skills are. Here are the most important skills an IT leader should have and how to develop them. Read more »

What Ray Ozzie sees in Azure's cloud

In an interview after his keynote at the PDC, Ozzie talked about what Azure means for developers, businesses, and even the everyman. Read more »

Five ways to make meetings bearable

More annoying than even junk mail is the dreaded Outlook meeting invite. Find out how to make meetings more bearable. Read more »

10 ways to survive office politics

Friction, deceit, gossip, rivalry, power plays -- fine for movies and TV, but potentially disastrous in the workplace. Calvin Sun looks at strategies for steering clear of issues that can unravel company culture and hurt your career. Read more »

First impressions of ASP.NET's MVC framework

Find out why you may want to use Microsoft's Model View Controller (MVC) framework instead of Web Forms. Read more »

Help! My SQL Server Log File is too big!

Overgrown transactional log files can turn into real problems if they are not handled properly. This article discusses the perils of not handling SQL Server log growth properly, and what can be done to correct the problems. Read more »

How start-ups can survive

Here we go again: Another boom, another bust. But we've learned something from the last time, haven't we? Read more »

Getting started with Delphi for PHP

This article guides you through a brief tour of CodeGear's Delphi for PHP, a visual IDE for developing applications in PHP. Read more »

10 common mistakes to avoid when you're installing Linux software

Installing software in Linux is nothing like it used to be, but there are still some pitfalls to watch out for. If you follow this little guide, your Linux life will be made simpler and safer. Read more »

Video (2)

Gartner: Australian Government starves its IT industry

Australia will continue to lose IT inventions and skills to foreign interests because the government has failed to invest in education, says Gartner's government specialist, John Kost. Read more »

Novell CEO: We used to lose Linux deals to Microsoft

  Read more »

Blog (18)

Azure: A matter of trust

Brendon Chase [blogs:codemonkeybusiness] -- Ray Ozzie hit the nail on the head when he said Azure's success will hinge on trust. Who outside (and inside) the core circle of ISV trust Microsoft? Read more »

Scott McNealy's tips for a successful start-up

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- If you're itching to take your struggling start-up to the big time, you could do worse than take Sun Microsystems' Chairman and co-founder Scott McNealy advice to heart. Read more »

Android devs less than gruntled

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- Yet more discouraging news on the Android front. Having hacked off its developer community by releasing updated SDKs to just a small group of chosen devs, Google has now given the brush-off to a petition that called for more to be given to the wider community. Read more »

Q&A with EditMe: A wiki for non-geeks

Brendon Chase [blogs:codemonkeybusiness] -- Finally, a wiki CMS solution that you can safely give to your clients to use. But sshhhh... don't call it a wiki... Read more »

Install usability practices in your shop with Silverback

Brendon Chase [blogs:codemonkeybusiness] -- Getting started with usability testing doesn't require an expensive lab full of equipment and science nerds in white coats to poke and prod your users. Cheap and accessible software is readily available to help your team create better software for end-users. Read more »

Outsourcing made wrong

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- Outsourcing is hot! Every major corporation around the globe is outsourcing all or part of their software development -- and unfortunately the result is lots of unsuccessful projects. Read more »

Google to allow third party code in Gmail?

Brendon Chase [blogs:codemonkeybusiness] -- According to executives from the company, Google are preparing to open Gmail to developers outside the Googleplex labs. Read more »

Dealing with the ego elephant in the room

Brendon Chase [blogs:codemonkeybusiness] -- Egomaniacs, swell-heads, know-it-alls, showboats, show ponies, narcissists, ego-trippers, big heads, and peacocks – work with one of these? Read more »

In a world of Goliaths, who's got a stone?

David McAmis [blogs:theneteffect] -- It seems like it is that time of year again... the days are getting longer, the weather is getting a bit warmer and the top-tier software vendors are on a buying spree. Will you get lost in the shuffle? Why not support your local software developer! Read more »

Microsoft's two faces of SharePoint

Staff [blogs:syslog] -- One way or another, proprietary and open-source companies need an answer to SharePoint. Content is the center of the enterprise ecosystem, when all is said and done. SharePoint is Microsoft's answer for controlling the next decade of IT. Read more »

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