Top 5 Scripting Languages on the JVM

Java 6 Comments
InfoWorld's Andrew Binstock takes an in-depth look at scripting language performance on the JVM. While Java has become more complex, the JVM has become one of the fastest and most efficient execution platforms available, creating an opening for a new generation of languages that lack Java's syntax overload to take advantage of the JVM. The report examines Groovy, JRuby, Scala, Fanthom, and Jython. Of the five, Groovy and JRuby have risen from the niche, a trend that will also likely benefit Scala and Fanthom as well. Jython's moment in the sun, Binstock writes, has probably come and gone.
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The Ten Most Short-Lived Gadgets

Hardware 19 Comments
Following up on the news a couple of weeks ago that Microsoft had killed the Kin, its first Windows Phone 7 device, after only a month on the market, we found a list of ten gadgets that, despite their promise, didn't make it in the marketplace. Some of these devices, such as the Modo, laid the groundwork for blockbuster products (iPod). Some, like the Audrey, developed a cult following once their failure made them affordable on eBay. Others just flat out failed (DataPlay). Are there any short-lived gadgets that didn't make the list? What about the CueCat?
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OpenSolaris Governing Board Threatens to Shoot Itself In The Head

  Submitted by diegocg Solaris 37 Comments
This morning, at the OpenSolaris Governing Board (OGB) meeting, the following was proposed and unanimously resolved: "The OGB is keen to promote the uptake and open development of OpenSolaris and to work on behalf of the community with Oracle, as such the OGB needs Oracle to appoint a liaison by August 16, 2010, who has the the authority to talk about the future of OpenSolaris and its interaction with the OpenSolaris community otherwise the OGB will take action at the August 23 meeting to trigger the clause in the OGB charter that will return control of the community to Oracle."
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BlackBerry OS6 Shown Again, Without Dancers

  Submitted by Linwood Wireless 3 Comments
I know everyone loved the last "exciting" BB video showing OS6, but here is another glimpse of what's coming. Seems to just have what every other smartphone OS has nowadays; social media tie ins, a web browser, and hopefully a useful touchscreen. nothing real eye opening other than the fact that its on a BB. The vid shows a good example of the touchscreen keyboard - I'm holding up hope that they keep the famous BB form factor with a real qwerty.
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Windows 7 SP1 Public Beta Released

  Submitted by poundsmack Windows No Comments
Speaking at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference in Washington, Corporate Vice President of Windows & Windows Live - Tami Reller announced the public beta. Microsoft revealed its plans for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 last month at its annual Tech-Ed conference. Windows 7 SP1 will include the usual hotfix patches and new virtualization tools in SP1 will help Windows Server 2008 R2 users prepare for cloud computing. SP1 will include RemoteFX which provides rich 3-D graphical experience for remote users. The service pack also will include a series of incremental updates, previously released on Windows Update for both Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.
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Rebuttal: Against Free

Editorial 47 Comments
I read David's post worrying about the end of the free internet and I had to respond, as I strongly disagree that free and advertising-supported content is the future. If anything, it is advertising-supported content that is destined to be a niche strategy, because of new internet technology that enables entirely new models and empowers consumers to have exactly what they want. Advertising will not support much content creation, so I suggest what will.
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Microsoft Unveils Windows Azure Platform Appliance

  Submitted by HAL2001 Microsoft 17 Comments
Microsoft announced the limited production release of the Windows Azure platform appliance, a turnkey cloud platform for large service providers and enterprises to run in their own data centers. Customers and initial partners using the appliance in their data centers will have the scale-out application platform and data center efficiency of Windows Azure and SQL Azure offered by Microsoft today.
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EasyBCD 2.0 Released, Lets You Boot Into ISO, VHD, and More

  Submitted by Mark OS News 14 Comments
The non-profit NeoSmart Technologies has just released EasyBCD 2.0. The new version of the free bootloader utility supports ext4fs, GRUB2, Windows 7, booting from ISO images, Virtual Harddisk VHDs, network devices, and USBs. It also has tools to create bootable external media and can be used to set up 1-click dual-boots with the most popular operating sytems. Screenshots. And the icing on the cake is that the installer is 1337 KB, and they claim that was merely coincidence.
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Microsoft Opens Source Code to Russian Secret Service

  Submitted by fran Privacy, Security 12 Comments
Microsoft has signed a deal to open its Windows 7 source code up to the Russian intelligence services. Russian publication Vedomosti reported on Wednesday that Microsoft had also given the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) access to Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Office 2010 and Microsoft SQL Server source code, with hopes of improving Microsoft sales to the Russian state. The agreement will allow state bodies to study the source code and develop cryptography for the Microsoft products through the Science-Technical Centre 'Atlas', a government body controlled by the Ministry of Communications and Press, according to Vedomosti. . . The agreement is an extension to a deal Microsoft struck with the Russian government in 2002 to share source code for Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2000, said Vedomosti.
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Google: We’re no Copycats. Apple’s Rewriting History

Wireless 25 Comments
Google co-founder Larry Page has denied that Google entered the phone market after Apple and the iPhone, accusing Steve Jobs of "rewriting history" . . . "We had been working on Android a very long time, with the notion of producing phones that are Internet enabled and have good browsers and all that because that did not exist in the marketplace," Page said. "I think that characterization of us entering after is not really reasonable."
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The End of the Free Internet

Internet 49 Comments
There's an article today at abc.com that looks at recent trends around net-based pay-for services and the smattering of paywalls from News Corp to the NYT that are up or threatening to be put up, and speculating that this could be the beginning of a trend. Of course, a YouTube video rental site and a few large publishers putting up paywalls will make zero difference to the "free internet" on their own. But if they're successful, it could spark emulation. But could this be a trend that could snowball enough to change the nature of the net?
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10 Ways Curated App Stores Undermine Developers

Wireless 26 Comments
Fatal Exception's Neil McAllister discusses 10 ways locked-down app store delivery models limit choice for developers -- and ultimately hurts users. The model, best known in the form of Apple's notoriously finicky iPhone App Store, has established an entirely new relationship between software vendors and consumers, one some are calling 'curated computing,' a mode in which choice is constrained to deliver more relevant, less complex experiences. This model, deemed essential to the success of tablets, provides questionable value to developers, undermining their interests in a variety of ways. From disproportionate profit cuts, to curator veto powers, to poor security, fragmentation, and hostility to free software, developers must sacrifice a lot to 'curated computing' to get their wares into the hands of end-users.
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hdBaseT: the New HDMI Competitor

  Submitted by fran Multimedia, AV 46 Comments
It's really more than an HDMI competitor, it's a cable specification that "converges full uncompressed HD video, audio, 100BaseT Ethernet, high power over cable and various control signals through a single 100m/328ft CAT5e/6 LAN cable." That's an idea that I can really get behind. No new proprietary connectors, no expensive cables needed, consolidation of all necessary signals into one cable. The founding companies include LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, and Sony Pictures Entertainment.
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What’s Your AV Setup?

Multimedia, AV 69 Comments
Let's do some blatant copy/paste from Ars Technica. A few days ago they ran a story called "What's in your home theatre system?". This poll wasn't so much about listing specific speaker types or amplifier models as it was about a number of more recognisable devices you could vote for. Let's copy their idea, but make it more open: what's in your home theatre setup - and list everything, from CD player to DVR to the type of cabling used. Be as anal about is as you want. Read on for my setup.
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