[via Jeremy]

So, first the introduction of Jeremy :-)

Several years into this whole blogging thing, the technology and tools designed to facilitate this global conversation all suck.

Then, his conclusion.

The promise of the blogosphere is a loosely connected global network of conversations with an incredibly low barrier to entry. The reality is that the tools are still far too immature for the current scale of this growing network. Worse yet, most aggregators are designed to mimic e-mail or usenet news clients rather than embracing the highly connected nature of blog posts and comments, not the mention the typically short “decay” periods associated with the discussion around most posts.

I must say…I agree with this analysis. We need a kind of quantum leap in this field… Blogging means a *lot* of manual processes, which are all quite time-consuming.

[via InformationWeek]

Six interesting learnings about the usage of Open Source components in big companies.

1. Most large, multi-billion-dollar companies don’t know how much open source they’re actually using. It’s introduced into the IT environment by developers looking to build the best applications in the shortest amount of time possible.
2. Most companies don’t have a budget, per se, for open source. Open source is often used to help launch side projects that otherwise would stay on the shelf because there isn’t enough IT money to go around.
3. Open source is responsible for changing the character of large IT operations even more than it is changing the composition of these operations. […] Perhaps the greatest driver of open source adoption is that programmers like it.
4. There seems to be a consensus among large companies that open-source is a superior model for avoiding per-CPU software licensing fees that quickly add up in the data center.
5. There’s an awful lot of the open-source JBoss application server and MySQL database being used by large companies. […] One of the reasons open source has been successful, particularly in large businesses that have already made significant IT investments, is that companies can pick and choose the pieces they want to use, Fleury [CEO of JBoss] pointed out, adding, “A mark of the success of open source is that it’s modular by design.”
6. Big companies don’t want to get pinched by intellectual-property lawsuits over open source. […] Essentially JBoss will replace any code found to be in violation of intellectual-property rights.

I have completely forgotten to mention our strategic workshop at Waldgarten (website in German) on July 20, 2005 ;-) What for a view!

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Have you ever seen a crane beeing unmounted??

Received today per Email from Spread Firefox.

The Spread Firefox Team became aware this week that the server hosting Spread Firefox, our community marketing site, has been accessed by unknown remote attackers who attempted to exploit a security vulnerability in TWiki software installed on the server. The TWiki software was disabled as soon as we were aware of the attempts to access SpreadFirefox.com. This exploit was limited to SpreadFirefox.com and did not affect mozilla.org web sites or Mozilla software.

We have scanned Spread Firefox servers and at this time do not believe any sensitive data was taken, but as a precautionary measure we have shutdown the site and will be rebuilding the web site from scratch. We also recommend that you change your Spread Firefox password and the password of any accounts where you use the same password as your Spread Firefox account. We will notify you again when the site is back up with instructions on how to change your password. (Note: We do use MD5 hashing on the passwords, but MD5 cannot protect all passwords against off-line dictionary style attacks.)

After Spread Firefox was compromised in July, we instituted procedures to ensure that we apply all security fixes to the software running the site (Drupal and PHP) as soon as they become available. Unfortunately, those procedures overlooked the installation of the TWiki software since it is not used by the main Spread Firefox site. When the system is rebuilt, all the software will be audited to ensure that security updates will be applied in a timely manner. We deeply regret this incident and any inconvenience this may have caused you. Sincerely,

Spread Firefox Team
Mozilla Foundation

Mercedes-Benz released its 9th version of the Mixed Tape. Still for free. Download here.

Opening the current compilation, British Soul sensation Alice Russell has already been likened to Joss Stone and Alicia Keys. Above and beyond, this month’s Mixed Tape features a range of artists from London and Berlin, Europe’s undisputed capitals of hip. While London sends Simon Hectic (soulful Hip Hop), ECT (Broken Beats) and Talc (pure Pop) into the mix, combining timeless pop moments with cutting edge production techniques, Berlin’s varied contingent (a. o. Data MC (Electro-Hip Hop), Back2Square1 (Spoken Word) and Multiple Exposure
(R&B;)) disdain all genre restrictions in favour of their very own capital sound.
Furthermore, Mixed Tape 09 features many further forays into the global music scene between World Beats (Goya-Project) and Italian Disco Dub (E-The-Hot).

[via BetaNews]

Microsoft over the weekend revealed that PDF support would be integrated into the next version of its productivity software, known as Office 12. The announcement was made on Saturday at the Global MVP Summit, Microsoft’s annual confab for its most valuable professionals.

The company says that it’s adding the new format to promote “sharing across multiple platforms.” However, the move fits in with Microsoft’s other recent efforts to take on Adobe in areas where its rival has enjoyed considerable success.

Jones reported that on the Office Online support site, Microsoft receives approximately 30,000 searches a week for PDF support. That made for a pretty easy decision as to what new feature would interest the most users.

Maybach’s last concept car called Exelero.

The standard V12 bi-turbo engine in the Maybach 57 generates 550 hp, yet it soon became clear that even this colossal power would not be enough to propel the Exelero Concept Car, weighing almost 2.7 tonnes, up to the target top speed of 350 km/h. Engineers at the DaimlerChrysler engine works enlarged displacement from 5.6 to 5.9 litres and optimised turbocharging to squeeze out around 700 hp plus at least 1000 Newton metres of torque. Following endurance trials on the engine test rig, the Exelero Concept Car waited for its big moment. On May 1, 2005 it finally arrived: on the 12.5-kilometre Nardo circuit in Italy; three-times DTM champion and Le Mans winner Klaus Ludwig took the wheel of the Exelero Concept Car. It only took two laps before the FIA-calibrated measuring unit showed the magic reading of 351.45 km/h.

[via wikipedia]

Sometimes, physics can be really beautiful :-)

The central electrode of a plasma lamp, showing a glowing blue plasma streaming upwards. The colors are a result of the radiative recombination of electrons and ions and the relaxation of electrons in excited states back to lower energy states. These processes emit light in a spectrum characteristic of the gas being excited.

Photo credit: PiccoloNamek

[via vowe & Mini-Microsoft]

Oups.

As for Mr. Ozzie: where I was sitting, the murmuring of people having low-level conversations grew louder and louder as he talked and people stopped paying attention. He wasn’t engaging the folks around me with whatever he was strutting around about (“De cloud! De cloud!”). Sorry, Ray, you need to earn our respect with results right now. Lotus Notes and the saved-from-the-brink of bankruptcy Groove isn’t endowing you with much currency.

Some beautiful landscapes of Corsica

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