Blogs

Last week I wrote about how Linux distributors could do more in the way of integration work and usability testing to cement Linux’s place on the desktop. The release of Linux Mint 10 on Friday is a good reminder of how some people remain hard at work to achieve that goal.

Last week I commented on Ubuntu’s recent decisions to move its default user interface away from GNOME and X to Unity on Wayland.

Before you accuse me of being a spoil sport on the day of the race that stops a nation, let me elaborate on how sporting events like the Melbourne Cup can benefit from the greatest promise to come out of the IT industry – cloud computing.

I finally got my hands on Windows Phone 7 mobile device – a LG-EG900 to be precise – to find out what Microsoft will go into battle with in its renewed assault on the burgeoning mobile computing market.

It’s not completely unlike Steve Jobs to publicly attack a competitor, but when he took a shot at Android during Apple’s earnings announcement this week I couldn’t help but think of the early PC industry and how history has as nasty habit of repeating itself.

In my last blog I seem to have ignited some passionate debate around whether ISPs should continue broadband infrastructure build-outs or just leverage what they already have to push the limits of data allowances – now approaching the terabyte mark. Let’s get the debate back to basics and worry less about comparing apples with oranges, or any other fruit.

Amid all the uncertainty surrounding the NBN, Internode has started the week with a bang announcing it would join the growing ranks of ISPs offering a terabyte of data for download every month on select plans. Is it being greedy to want this level of data over fibre to the home?

As I’ve discussed previously, Microsoft has an up hill battle to gain market share in the mobile operating system space with the iPhone and Android well and truly out the door. But if this week’s announcements are anything to go by, it’s prepared to muscle in anyway.

A week after the controversial Internet filter was renounced by the federal opposition, Tony Abbott made it two from two by announcing plans to scrap the NBN in favour of a scaled-down alternative.

It was a long time coming, but the coalition has done what many predicted was inevitable and formally opposed the government’s mandatory Internet filter policy. Good politics or a knee-jerk reaction during the campaign trail? Let’s investigate.