open source » Skunkworks

I’ve got the news about the new Google endeavor from their official blog yesterday morning. After reading all sort of comments on the net I’ve realized that I don’t see any need for Google Chrome OS and most probably is just a preemptive strike against Microsoft at one level and probably Facebook at a different level.

Let me explain. Most probable Google Chrome OS will consist in a Linux kernel, a new window manager and Google Chrome browser on top of all these. Keep in mind that Ubuntu as of 9.04 has an official release for ARM processors. If you need a similar experience today you can get Ubuntu Mini iso (which is a 12 MB download) for x86 architectures. Most probably starting with 9.10 release it will be available for ARM architectures also.

Then, check the instructions from this ubuntu forum . Idea is that you need to install a few packages from the command line:

sudo apt-get -y install gnome-core gdm network-manager-gnome fast-user-switch-applet human-theme x11-xserver-utils tangerine-icon-theme gnome-themes-ubuntu ubuntu-artwork jockey-gtk gnome-screensaver gnome-utils

apt-get install laptop-mode-tools ubuntu-laptop-mode wpasupplicant # this one is for supporting a laptop

apt-get install maximus # this one is for achieving the maximizing effect from the Ubuntu Netbook Release .

Then using Ubuntu Tweak and Add / Remove Programs from Ubuntu desktop environment you can install Firefox 3.5, Google Desktop (with gadgets support), Google Gears, AWN and Firefox Prism . I’ve also installed Pidgin and VLC. The bottom line you get an web oriented OS which takes around 80 MB of RAM (at idle) and is very responsive.

On the other hand take a look at all these links:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10282037-56.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=Webware

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10280270-56.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10006582-56.html

http://friendfeed.com/scobleizer/3a1eac42/why-did-google-announce-chrome-os-this-week-well

And all these announcements from Google related to Google Apps out of beta this week and Google Chrome OS makes more sense.

So the way I see things Google won’t be able to change the status quo in the OS world.

But if Google some how succeeds we will run a Google OS on a Google approved device using only (is going to be only a matter of time ) Google services (no Facebook or Twitter for you). And btw you will probably have Google Analytics at desktop level .

For all these reasons I will stick with the Web OS option that I described at the beginning. If I am wrong in my assumptions let me know in a comment.

Software as a Service (SaaS) is getting a lot of attention lately. SaaS has many Pros and some Cons as well. This piece outlines both the good and the bad, tries to answer the question: “By going the SaaS way, is IT just trading one set of problems for another?”, and suggests that the benefits outweigh the shortcomings.

The development of web based applications has decoupled the user interface from the business layer as well as its software and hardware. As a result, a user working at a personal computer (or a smart phone) with a web browser can access a variety of business applications for the cost of the Internet connection and the subscription to the service.

WorldWideTelescope hype

Old blog, Posts Comments Off

Feb 292008

When I read about this 1 week ago, and the NDA Robert Scobble had to obey, I thought that what Microsoft is going to show is going to be huge. After I watched the video presentation at TED I am dissapointed. Maybe my expectations were too high but from the video it seems that this software is not able to do much more than pan and zoom . I would go as far as saying that I am still more impressed with the animations and the tours that you can create in Celestia which is and old opensource software which runs on every OpenGL enabled computer OS and creates amazing graphics. The difference between WorldWideTelescope and Celestia is the fact that in one you get the images by downloading them at the time you are doing the zoom and in Celestia you already have the images and objects downloaded as textures. Without actually seeing the software would be wrong for me to go any further with the criticism but I will say that most probably this software is not going to be much better than Google Sky. Also I am sure that the marketing money of Microsoft will prevail this time.

OpenOffice. A lost cause?

Old blog, Posts Comments Off

Oct 312007

Read today something very interesting related to the office format wars. As it appears Sun does not care too much if ODF is going to be the winner of the format wars. The Open Document Foundation is talking now about a new format called CDF which has better chances to be inter operable with the Microsoft format. Do not know which of the 3 formats is better from technical point of view, but it seems that ODF (the format) is loosing traction.

Also another thing that I heard recently (a podcast from The Register) was the discontent that Mark Shuttleworth has regarding the OpenOffice as a whole. He is not happy that it take 9 hours to compile the source code (for that matter I think nobody is happy about it) and he says that if the guys at openoffice.org do not move the software in the right direction he (Ubuntu guys) will take matter in his own (their) hands.

Probably is the time for some sort of rewrite of the suite. The big problem is who is going to pay for this. I wonder if IBM will somehow take over from Sun and develop Lotus Symphony into the new open source office suite. And also I wonder if Mark is thinking to switch Ubuntu to Lotus Symphony or something based on it.

The idea for this article came when I heard about OpenOffice extension mechanism and I start looking for extensions. I got almost nothing in my searches and I tried to explain to myself why there are so few extensions for OpenOffice. On the other hand you can find numerous Firefox extensions. Below are the facts and possible some conclusions.

Let’s say that I am working in a software company that creates products for the self service industry. Now let’s say that this software company has a product which from features point of view is similar with the best products on the market. Also this product is very easy customizable to support different flows as per clients requests. Also let’s say that this product is actually more than a product. Is the first product made on a platform framework which can supports all possible self service transactional based applications.
For you guys to have a better idea about the selling price: we can charge up to 600$ per license and then anything between 15-25% per year in maintenance agreements.
You would say that we are in a very good position right now to take over the world of self service applications. Sadly is not the case due to the way the self service industry works and the fact that my company is small.
I was thinking what will happen if I am going to open source the product under GPL license and give the product for free (as in free beer)?
Am I going to be able to charge a small amount from the possible clients?
What should I do to manage to create a momentum?
Am I going to be able to charge a comparable amount from the clients after let’s say 6-12 months of using the product?
Am I going to be able to create a viable business model which could allow me to grow the company?
Am I going to be able to actually displace some of the heavy ones from the big retailers in US or Europe and take over the industry?

Maybe some of you guys out there can help with some answers to these questions.
Thanks in advance.

Google Chrome OS ? Thanks, but no thanks.

Software as a Service Pros & Cons

WorldWideTelescope hype

OpenOffice. A lost cause?

OpenOffice.org vs Firefox

To open source or not to open source

Follow Me

Tags

Archives