Posted 12:05 PM (0) comments

ESOL [English for Speakers of Obtuse Legalese]

SCO and Novell have now each trotted out excerpts from their various documents accompanying the sale of UnixWare and other stuff. The Register's Ashlee Vance nicely sums out Where We Stand Today covering SCO's finding of an amendment to their Asset Purchase Agreement with Novell which appears to state that, yes indeed, SCO does own the copyrights to Unix and UnixWare. Novell then backed off their claim to the copyrights but still claimed to own the patents. Of course, the patent office still shows AT&T as the patent holder.
No one, so far, has been willing to post the actual documents for our perusal - instead they all show scraps, clauses and otherwise incomprehensible bits and pieces of legalese. Let's get all the documents - including the bits of Linux that SCO claims are illegal use of its copyrighted material - out in the open where everyone can form their own opinion. Then let's get it settled in court. Drop a note to Darl McBride at SCO and let him know what you think.

Posted 8:57 AM (0) comments

Less filling - more data!

My Network World colleague John Fontana reports this week that Microsoft has shipped a public beta of Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM - aka "ADLite"). In the story, he quotes consultant and author Nelson Ruest as saying “It is critical for Microsoft to separate the NOS directory and the application directory. The NOS directory has to be stable and secure but when you make application schema changes they replicate everywhere and you can’t ever get rid of them.”
Uh, Nelson? As an application vendor I also want my data storage to be "stable and secure" - and I want that data available wherever the application might be run! What's the ssense of having directory-enabled applications if you can't retrieve your personal configuration no matter where on the network you happen to be?
This isn't an "improvement" in Active Directory - its an acknowledgement that AD is simply not ready for enterprise computing.

Posted 9:15 AM (0) comments

Dead Cert

Sean Michael Kerner, writing for ZDNet Australia, asks "Do Web developers need a Linux cert?" This amply illustrates that generally held belief that acquiring a certification is equivalent to acquiring knowledge. Nothing could be further from the truth.
A certification should reflect knowledge. Too often, though, it simply reflects a certificant's ability to regurgitate pat answers to multiple-choice questions without having any real knowledge of the underlying theory or principles. My Network World colleague, Linda Musthaler, talks about certs as still relevant, but a close reading shows that its the knowledge that's important - not the paper certificate.
Save your money (certification classes can costs multi thousands of dollars) and, instead, buy a few good reference books. You'll have a better understanding of the technology, you'll save money and you'll be better at your job as a consequence.

Posted 8:38 AM (0) comments

Copyright Reform

I don't often agree with Lawrence Lessig, but I have signed his petition to the US congress to ask for the passage of the Public Domain Enhancement Act. which I believe is necessary for the further spread of ideas and will be a boon to creativity. This act would require copyright holders to renew copyrights after 50 years and pay a nominal sum (suggested: $1) for a second term. Its estimated that this would move 98% of copyrighted works into the public domain at the expiration of the first term.

Posted 11:49 AM (0) comments

MS needs a clue

A report on ZDNet |UK| ("Microsoft aims to break down Office resistance") pretty well sums up the lack of anything new being introduced at this week's TechED conference in Dallas. It seems business is reluctant to upgrade from Office 2000 to Office XP and Office 2003 is due out this fall. MS is touting Office 2003's XML base as a way to tie into to 3rd party apps - "...administrators will be able to tie documents into corporate databases and integrate them with back-end systems. "
But Office 2000 integrates with databases and back office apps quite nicely. XML will make it a bit easier to integrate, but hardly worth what should be a hefty upgrade price. Look for more incentives to be offered in the fall to encourage upgrades but also look for both a surge in use of OpenOffice as well as a decrease in sales of MS Office.
Redmond needs to develop a new game plan.