November 24th, 2009

For The First Time in Ages, I Agree With Apple

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 1:26 pm

Categories: Apple, Business, Desktop, General, Hardware Infrastructure, Personal Technology

Tags: Hewlett-Packard Co., OEM, Apple Inc., Laptop Computer, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Jason Perlow

Is this how you work? Then don’t get angry at your OEM when they invalidate your warranty when you send your PC in for service.

Yesterday our own Apple Core blogger Jason O’Grady reported that Apple has now adopted a policy of voiding warrantees on equipment if it has been exposed to smoke. Needless to say the smokers have been angry.

To Apple, I say this: I agree with you, and I think every single hardware OEM and consumer electronics company should follow suit.

To the smokers, I say tough noogies, take your rotten cancer sticks with you and please swallow a truckload of Altoids down your creosote reeking maw before you get in close proximity of me, or I will throw up in your face.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Read the rest of this entry »

October 29th, 2009

My Top Scary Technology Trends

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 7:44 pm

Categories: Business, General, Hardware Infrastructure, Networking, Personal Technology, Security, Server, Software Infrastructure, Web Technology

Tags: Digital Media, Phone, Mobile, Information Technology, Smart Phone, E-books, E-mail, Smart Phones, Cellular Phones, Handhelds

Yes, it’s that spooky time of year again, and our “fearless” editors have asked upon the ZDNet contributors to come up with “Scary Tech”, the technologies that are so frightening, they’ll make you evacuate from multiple “interfaces”.

Halloween. All Hallows Eve. Dia de los Muertos. Whatever you call it in your culture, Halloween is a day that for many people evokes images of ghouls, the undead, vampires, witches, werewolves, ghosts and goblins — creatures of fantasy that are meant to scare young children. Although I’ve often been emotionally compared to a child, none of these things frighten me.

However, there are some things, at least in the world of technology, that really do scare the living crap out of me. While there isn’t one particular item that makes me turn completely ice cold with fear this Halloween, there are a number of trends that definitely have been keeping me up at night lately.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Read the rest of this entry »

October 20th, 2009

EvriChart: A Linux Success Story

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 6:53 pm

Categories: Business, Desktop, Enterprise Computing, Free operating systems, Hardware Infrastructure, Linux, Open Source, Podcast, Security, Server, Software Infrastructure, Web Technology

Tags: Desktop, Hospital, Imaging, Health Care, Server, Computer, Linux, Microsoft Windows, Document Management, Operating Systems

Tony Maro, CIO of EvriChart, a hospital records management and archiving business, successfully migrated his company’s Windows-based line of business document management extranet application and his employees’ 40-odd Windows-based desktops to a 100 percent Linux-based server and desktop infrastructure.

Jason Perlow interviews Tony Maro, CIO of EvriChart, Inc.

I had the pleasure of speaking to Tony Maro, who is CIO and an owning partner in EvriChart, a medical records management company based out of White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.

EvriChart had some unique requirements which included replacing a Windows-based line-of-business application for document management that would not scale with the continuing growth of their business. By migrating to a Linux/Open Source-based Web application, it paved the way for full desktop Linux adoption at his company. I asked Tony to summarize his experience so that I could share it with you in the hopes that you might gain some valuable insight from the process he had to go through.

Next –>

October 12th, 2009

In the aftermath of the T-Mobile Chernobyl

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 9:37 pm

Categories: Business, Enterprise Computing, Hardware Infrastructure, Microsoft, Server, Web Technology

Tags: Termination, T-Mobile, Workforce Management, Storage, Human Resources, Hardware, Jason Perlow

T-Mobile’s Sidekick/Danger Inc. meltdown has far-reaching implications for wireless carrier data integrity responsibilities way beyond any immediate remediation the company may need to offer its customers.

Yesterday, T-Mobile notified all of its Sidekick device customers that a failure which occurred on Microsoft’s Danger, Inc. subsidiary’s Hitachi-based storage systems caused a catastrophic data loss at a central data center which affected approximately 800,000 of their subscribers worldwide.

This data loss included all contacts, digital photos, calendar entries and to-do lists that were stored by each customer because much of the device’s core functionality was entirely dependent on online, cloud-based services.

As a consolation, T-Mobile has generously offered its customers either an early termination escape from their contracts at zero penalty, or a $20 credit on a T-Mobile G1 android phone.

Really, T-Mobile? REALLY? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below.

Read the rest of this entry »

October 9th, 2009

Frugal Friday: The Software of Stallman, Psystar/Apple, Parallels

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 7:37 pm

Categories: Apple, Desktop, Enterprise Computing, Free operating systems, General, Hardware Infrastructure, Linux, Open Source, Podcast, Server, Software Infrastructure, Virtualization

Tags: Software, Apple Inc., Psystar, Podcasts, Tools & Techniques, Cloud Computing, Storage Management, Virtualization, Utility Computing, Internet

Frugal Networker Ken Hess and I discuss Ken’s interview with Richard Stallman, Psystar’s newly announced OEM Licensing program for Mac Cloning, the greater implications of hardware and software vendor tie-in, and talk with Jamison Moore of Parallels, the virtualization company.

Click Here to listen to the October 9, 2009 Frugal Friday Podcast.

Disclaimer: The postings and opinions expressed in this podcast are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.

October 5th, 2009

Psystar's Thermopylae: The Nightmare Hypervisor Arrives

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 3:54 pm

Categories: Apple, Desktop, General, Hardware Infrastructure, Open Source, Software Infrastructure, Virtualization

Tags: Hypervisor, Apple Inc., Psystar, Cloud Computing, Virtualization, Storage Management, Utility Computing, Litigation, Desktops, Hardware

Miami, Florida-based Psystar, which is currently under litigation from Apple for producing Mac-compatible clones and is counter litigating the company for monopolistic practices, has announced that they are OEM licensing their virtualization technology and ICAP so that any PC vendor may easily produce Mac clones.

In July of 2008, in my piece entitled “Psystar’s Thermopylae won’t end Apple’s Clone Nightmare” I wrote the following during the heat of the inital phases of the Psystar vs. Apple imbroglio:

“…If I were Psystar, I’d poison pill the entire situation for Apple by making all of the ICAP they created to build the systems — sans the Apple OS X software itself — available on a public website. Then Apple will have a huge mess on their hands.

Such a thing doesn’t exist now, but give it a year, and Nightmare Hypervisor will rise from the depths to bite a chunk out of Apple’s juicy flesh

Let’s face it — virtualization is eventually going to make the hardware dependent eccentricities of OS X and Mac’s feeble attempts at DRM meaningless..”

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Read the rest of this entry »

October 2nd, 2009

Frugal Friday: Groklaw v. Jason Perlow, Ubuntu Karmic Koala, Chrome OS in China, BlackBerry Service Termination, Kickfire 3000 Appliance

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 5:59 pm

Categories: Business, Enterprise Computing, Hardware Infrastructure, Linux, Microsoft, Open Source, Personal Technology, Podcast, Software Infrastructure, Web Technology

Tags: Ubuntu, Termination, Jason Perlow, RIM BlackBerry, Handhelds, Hardware

Related Podcast:May 22nd, 2009 Interview with Bruce Armstrong

Frugal Networker Ken Hess and I discuss Groklaw’s response to my condemnation of Richard Stallman’s attack on Miguel de Icaza, The new Ubuntu Karmic Koala 9.10 beta, Chinese adoption of Chrome OS, my loss of BlackBerry service, and talk to returning guest Bruce Armstrong, CEO of Kickfire, about the company’s new 3000 Series enterprise appliance and version 1.5 software release.

Click Here to listen to the October 2, 2009 Frugal Tech Show Podcast.

September 11th, 2009

Frugal Friday: Barbecue! Apple 2009 iPod refresh, CodePlex Foundation, Microsoft Best Buy Shenanigans, Schooner Information Technology

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 7:28 pm

Categories: Apple, Business, Enterprise Computing, Hardware Infrastructure, Microsoft, Networking, Personal Technology, Podcast, Server, Software Infrastructure, Web Technology

Tags: Best Buy Co. Inc., Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Schooner Information Technology, Microsoft Windows 7, Podcasts, Marketing Research, Internet, Marketing, Jason Perlow

Frugal Networker Ken Hess and I talk about the joys of Carolina and Texas Barbecue, the Fall 2009 Apple iPod launch event, the new Microsoft-created CodePlex Foundation, the recent exposure of Microsoft’s Best Buy 2009 retail marketing plans for Windows 7 and speak with Dr. John Busch, Co-Founder of Schooner Information Technology, the memcached and MySQL acceleration appliance company.

Click Here to Listen to the September 11, 2009 Frugal Friday Podcast

September 4th, 2009

Frugal Friday: Media Outrageousness, Snow Leopard Woes, Mac Virtualization, VMWorld 2009, EU kiboshes Oracle/Sun, Brocade

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 7:15 pm

Categories: Apple, Business, Enterprise Computing, Hardware Infrastructure, Networking, Podcast, Server, Software Infrastructure, VMWare, Virtualization

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Oracle Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., Brocade Communications Systems Inc., Media, European Union, Cloud Computing, Virtualization, Storage Management, Server Virtualization

Frugal Networker Ken Hess and I discuss the new “outrageous” trend in media and blogging, problems with the Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 upgrade, Mac Server virtualization, the European Union temporarily halting the Oracle/Sun Merger, reduced attendance at VMWorld 2009, and talk with Harry Petty, Vice President of Marketing for Brocade, the Ethernet/LAN and SAN switching solutions company.

Click Here to Listen to the September 4, 2009 Frugal Friday Podcast

September 4th, 2009

VMFS-3, How Do I Despise Thee

Posted by Jason Perlow @ 2:09 pm

Categories: Business, Enterprise Computing, Hardware Infrastructure, Linux, Microsoft, Networking, Server, Software Infrastructure, VMWare, Virtualization

Tags: Network, File System, VMware Inc., VMWare ESX, Virtualization, Ip storage, Linux, Hardware, Operating Systems, Software

The VMWare Cluster Locking File System, version 3 (VMFS-3) Is one of the core technologies used in VMWare ESX/vSphere 4 virtual infrastructure environments. Unfortunately, it’s also a completely proprietary black box that makes interoperability nearly impossible.

One of the perils of being a practicing systems integration expert versus someone who strictly writes about or reports on technology is that when it comes to taking care of paying customers versus attending trade shows, my customers come first. So while I would love to attend every industry trade show that would allow me to network with other industry peers and touch base with the companies that I write about, it’s not always possible.

Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.

Read the rest of this entry »