Google has pulled out of JavaOne because Oracle is suing Google claiming that Android infringes on its Sun-inherited Java IP. Google blogged that the lawsuit made it “impossible for us to freely share our thoughts about the future of Java and open source generally” though that open source gambit may not play. It probably can’t get its bronze sponsorship money back, only cancel its sessions. Meanwhile, Java’s grumpy creator James Gosling, who couldn’t stomach the jump to Oracle, has run up some “Java. Just Free It. Hold Oracles to their Pledge.” T-shirts for the September 19-23 event – or anywhere they might be useful. See http://google-opensource.blogspot.com/2010/08/update-on-javaone.html.
Intel is buying Germany’s Infineon Technologies’ profit-struggling wireless baseband chip business for $1.4 billion cash, roughly three times revenues.
It’ll give the semi giant a piece of Apple’s ARM-based iPhone business and a position in other Atom-free wireless widgets. ARM is the smartphone king, but presumably Intel is going to try to push Atom over the hump using Infineon though it needs more than that.
Intel, which has banged its head against many a wall trying to figure out phones, means to run the operation as a free-standing operation. It sold similar operations like the ARM-based XScale for cheap back in 2006 to focus on its core business, which is now under market pressure.
Gartner was late in pooping on the PC party.
Intel had already confirmed Wall Street reports that consumer PC sales were crapping out by the time the research house took down its forecast for the second half a half-hearted couple of points, reducing its growth projection to 15.3% against an easy compare.
It cited the uncertain economic outlook for the United States and Western Europe as well as sheer supply chain fear.
“There is no doubt,” it said, “that consumer, if not business PC demand has slowed relative to expectations in mature markets. Recent dramatic shifts in the PC supply chain were in no small part a reaction to fears of a sharp slowdown in mature-market demand. However, suppliers’ risk-aversion is as much a factor in these shifts as any actual downshift in demand.”
Master-Child BTF Chaperone – A Contextual Event Alternative
Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EDT
Inter Bounded Task Flows (BTF) communications are aided in JDeveloper 11g by the use of contextual events, a BTF publish-subscribe mechanism for passing data between BTFs. Yet in some situations contextual events may be the equivalent of "using a sledge hammer to crack a nut", where developers try and use them everywhere when there are alternative techniques available that may work just as well.
This blog documents a technique for allowing a master ADF application utilising the ADF UI Shell to provide services to a child BTF, including passing data backwards and forwards, without the use of contextual events. While the blog demonstrates a solution within context of the ADF UI Shell, the overall technique should be useful in other ADF solutions.
What factors make you think a web page is good or not? What keeps on that page longer than others? On the one hand it is the content on the page and whether this content is of interest to you. On the other it is the velocity with which you can navigate through the individual pages. High-Speed internet and performance-optimized pages make our day-to-day browsing easier when accessing our emails, tweets, latest updates on sports or news. With all the changes in the recent years in Web Performance Optimization (WPO) we’ve been spoiled by those sites that follow all these Best Practices and boosted their web site experience. No wonder that we start losing our patience with a site that doesn’t respond as fast as we’ve come to expect.
Google has pulled out all 17 of its presentations from the upcoming JavaOne conference in San Francisco. Yes, it's because of that lawsuit. This is what Reuters has to say about it.
Unless Oracle and Google will settle on their little issues, JavaOne may be dead. Or to say it properly, Java One will fork, bit it'll never be an event that would gather 10-12 thousands of ENTHUSIASTIC Java developers under the same roof. I'm still going there and, on return, will share with you what kind of vibe/energy I've experienced, if any.
I know this guy who should consider this as an opportunity and create large conference, an alternative to JavaOne. He knows how to do it.
In general, this Oracle/Google dispute may turn into a birth of a new language created by Google, which will make java obsolete like COBOL.
Now there are 17 empty slots to be filled with substitute speakers. I'm wondering who's going to be a substitute presenter for the annual Java Puzzlers by Joshua Bloch and Neal Gafter?
A US court has told Chen Lai-juh, the CEO of Taiwan LCD screen maker AU Optronics Corporation, not to leave the country until his trial on Justice Department-brought charges of price-fixing is over. A federal grand jury indicted Chen and a half-dozen other AU officials of years of price fixing back in June. Alleged victims include IBM, Apple and Dell. Six LCD suppliers had pleaded guilty to price fixing and have been ordered to pay upwards of $860 million in fines.
Hard drive is a commodity. Whether it is IDE, EIDE or SATA, you buy the right one and you can plug it directly into your computer.
On the service providers front (service providers are the biggest cloud storage service providers), they may not all create cloud storage services themselves. For example, AT&T and Peer1 are using EMC Atmos. Verizon and Planet are using Nirvanix. As time goes on, we will see the same provider using multiple backend solutions to satisfy different need. Also when service providers merge, the merged company may be using backend solutions from multiple vendors.
On the cloud storage vendor front, more and more are conforming to the Amazon S3 API. We saw Google Storage for Developers, Eucalyptus, Dunkel and Mezeo all creating S3 compatible APIs for their cloud storage solutions. On the other hand, Rackspace is pushing the OpenStack project. All are trying to create a unified interface.
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison is supposedly going to open his mind on the subject of Java, the prime reason he bought Sun.
He’s supposed to deliver the keynote at JavaOne the middle of September and, along with Oracle EVP Thomas Kurian, discuss Oracle’s vision and strategy for Java.
There’s unlikely to be bigger news than Oracle suing Google 10 days ago for Android trespassing on its Java widgetry.
JavaOne is supposed to be part of OracleWorld in San Francisco September 19-23.
I'm speaking with Vikas Jain from Oracle at Java One (co-located with Oracle Open World this year) on the topic of REST Security. The session link is below: read more
Process-Centric Architecture for IT Systems
Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:45:00 EDT
This provides an introduction to the architecture style namely, process-centric architecture (PCA). PCA is suited for IT systems in the enterprise.
Is Oracle the Java killer? Probably not. Java is too strong to be killed. Will Oracle's lawsuit Against Google Put a Chill on Java Adoption? When Oracle acquired Sun, I thought it was a wrong decision. It seems that Oracle's managers reached a similar conclusion and are trying to minimize the amount of money they lose. The lawsuit against Google is one of the ways to achieve it. However, this lawsuit supports the concerns about Java after Oracle acquired Sun.
Estimate the value of automating your application deployments and overall software delivery
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Oracle is apparently rolling back Solaris to its pre-open source days.
The company hasn't made an official announcement, and may never, but an internal e-mail ostensibly to its own remaining Solaris engineers outlining its position on OpenSolaris just happened to fall into the hands of OpenSolaris contributor Steven Stallion last Friday. He posted it under the headline "OpenSolaris is Dead" here.
Generally regarded as authentic, the e-mail says Solaris is meant to drive Oracle's newfound proprietary server and storage business, which is supposed to be worth "many billions of dollars," and as such "is not something we outsource to others, it is not the assembly of someone else's technology, and it is not a sustaining-only product."
Oracle Claims There’s Still Some Fire in the Old Sparc
Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:00:00 EDT
Having said nothing for months about its intentions, a deafening silence that had Sun users biting their nails down to the quick about where the technology was really going – then demonstrating their angst in their order rate or their leap into the waiting arms of competitors – Oracle the other day finally opened its mind a tad.
For starters, it staged a webcast Tuesday and said that it means to put its resources behind Sun’s Sparc and x86 systems, something it said before however unconvincingly. But now it’s got what it called an “aggressive” albeit stripped-down – and for that matter pretty much unreadable – five-year roadmap to wave around that plots out Sparc server development through 2015.
Measurement is the most central concept in any performance-related activity. If you are not measuring you are blind. As important as measuring per se is collecting the right measurements. Which metrics are the right ones depends on what you want to do. However there are some general principles which – when followed – can make your life much easier.
Installing JDeveloper 11g v11.1.1.2.0 under Windows
Mon, 16 Aug 2010 04:23:00 EDT
To save me time in the future, rather than having to write it again and again for clients, this blog entry documents how to install JDeveloper 11g Studio Edition v11.1.1.2.0 build 5536 under Windows. I'll admit it's not the most exciting blog post, for sure Oracle's already done it (without my witty dialogue of course), and hey, it's not even the latest release, but sometimes we just gotta-do-documentation-for-documentation's-sake.
Software
The JDeveloper software can be obtained from here ... then selecting the Downloads tab -> Archived Downloads -> Oracle JDeveloper 11g 11.1.1.2.0 -> Accept License Agreement -> jdevstudio11112install.exe (that constitutes the Studio Edition for Windows including JDK 6.
Prerequisites
Disable virus scanners - to make your life easier, disable any virus scanners during the installation as this will slow the install process down if the virus scanner scans each Java archive. This has from experience been a particular problem with McAfee's products, and I recommend an alternative virus scanner.
Administrative access – you'll require privileges to install software onto the local PC.
Installation
1) On the local Windows PC execute the jdevstudio11112.install.exe. This will display the Oracle Installer Welcome dialog:
2) Selecting Next presents the Choose Middleware Home Directory dialog where you can select an existing Fusion Middleware Home directory or create a new one. It's recommended you always install each JDeveloper installation in it's own directory, so create a new directory either by typing the directory in the text box or using the Browse button.
If you have multiple developers setting up JDeveloper on their local PCs, it's recommended you standardize the installation directories, and cater for multiple JDeveloper versions. In the picture above C:\java\jdeveloper\JDev11gBuild5536 reflects a separate directory for JDeveloper 11g v11.1.1.2.0 build 5536. As alternative a later version JDeveloper 11g v11.1.1.3.0 build 5560 could be installed under C:\java\jdeveloper\JDev11gBuild5560. Note to avoid cross-platform issues in the future it's recommended you standardize the capitalization of the directories too.
3) Selecting Next presents the Choose Install Type dialog, allowing you a choice between installing the full package or customising the install and dropping off components:
As it's unknown what future parts of JDeveloper will be required for development purposes it's recommended the Complete installation option is chosen. If you do choose the Custom option you'll be presented with the Choose Products and Components dialog:
.....where you need to make you're own informed choices.
4) Next presents the Confirm Product Installation Directories dialog. Of note are the base Middleware Home Directory, and the two separate directories for the actual JDeveloper software and the separate integrated WebLogic Server:
5) The Choose Shortcut Location dialog displayed next gives you options to create the JDeveloper Windows group either for the current user or all users on the local PC. As multiple developers may use the same PC, giving access to all users may be the preferred option:
If you do choose to create the JDeveloper Windows group in all users accounts, assuming you have administrative rights on the local PC for installing JDeveloper, install at the end of this process that the installed JDeveloper files can also be run by other users on the same PC.
6) The Installation Summary dialog on selecting Next displays what will be installed, how much disk space will be consumed:
Select Next starts the installation process:
7) On successful completion the Installation Complete dialog will show:
Leaving the Run Quickstart checkbox checked and selecting the Done button will close the installer and open the Quickstart program (explained in the next section). We'll assume you uncheck the checkbox and start JDeveloper separately below.
Your JDeveloper installation is now complete.
What was Installed
Post installation JDeveloper will have installed the following:
1) Under the specified installation directory the JDeveloper and integrated WebLogic Server files will exist:
2) A new directory C:\bea will have been created if this is your first Fusion Middleware install with the file beahomelist. This text file when open reveals the installation home directory for each product installed.
3) Within the Windows Start menu a new group Oracle Fusion Middleware 11.1.1.2.0 will exist:
4) When you run JDeveloper for the first time it will create two sets of files under the Windows user directories for the current user. Where these are found depends on which version of Windows you're using. Older versions including Windows XP stores the files under:
a) C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\JDeveloper\
...in that directory you'll notice a subdirectory like "system11.1.1.2.36.55.36" where the system directory numbering scheme references the version of JDeveloper and build number (e.g. version 11.1.1.2.0 and build 5536 from the example above) you've installed. Multiple versions of JDeveloper will see additional system directories created here.
b) C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Oracle\oradiag_
....I'm not entirely sure what this directory is used for presumably capturing diagnostic information. I believe it's enabled by selecting the XXXX option in the following section.
If you're using a modern version of Windows the likely location for these files are:
a) C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\JDeveloper b) C:\Users\<username>\Oracle
Running JDeveloper
You can open JDeveloper via the Windows group Oracle Fusion Middleware 11.1.1.2.0 – JDeveloper Studio 11.1.1.2.0 option. The first dialog you'll see is the loading window:
At certain points during the load JDeveloper will prompt you for more information, including:
1) The Select Role dialog will display:
This allows you to select different developer modes for the IDE which influence which features run. As typically it's unknown what the developer will be doing in thee future, selecting the Default Role option and unselecting the Always prompt for role selection on startup checkbox are recommended.
If you wish to turn this dialog back on at a later date, it's preference is accessible via the JDeveloper menu option Tools -> Preferences -> Roles, then selecting the Always prompt for role selection on startup checkbox.
2) The first time you run a newly installed JDeveloper version, if you have previous versions of JDeveloper installed on the same machine, the installer will prompt you to migrate the user's settings from the previous JDeveloper install into the new JDeveloper install:
todo: need a screenshot of this dialog
3) On the IDE opening for the first time it will prompt you to associate certain file types under Windows with the IDE:
This is a personal preference left up to the reader.
4) On the IDE opening for the first time it will prompt you to report back IDE errors and crashes to Oracle Corporation:
Assuming Oracle is actually gathering and using these statistics, this can be useful for improving the quality of the IDE in the future. However it may be against your organization's security policy to enable this. In addition if JDeveloper has connectivity problems in reaching Oracle's website this could also slow JDeveloper down.
5) On the IDE opening for the first time it will display a Tip of the Day:
Enabling or disabling this is a personal preference left up to the reader.
JDeveloper is now running for the first time.
After sometime you might see the following Check for Updates green popup in the bottom right of the IDE:
todo: need picture
JDeveloper periodically scans external plug in servers to see if there are updates available to various parts of the JDeveloper install. Blindly accepting the choices provided can result in developers having inconsistent installations, and code that will work on one developer's PC but not anothers as the wrong updates are installed. Thought needs to be given on standardizing the patches installed and if the update feature should be used at all.
Priming the Integrated WebLogic Server (WLS)
To speed up further development in JDeveloper it's useful to run and stop the integrated WebLogic Server (WLS) such that it is initialized for the first time. To do this:
1) Select the Run -> Start Server Instance (IntegratedWebLogicServer) option:
2) As a result in the Log window under the Running: IntegratedWebLogicServer child tab, you'll see the WLS server initialize and start for the first time:
Of particular note you're looking for the <Server started in RUNNING mode> message that shows a successful initialization.
3) To stop the WLS server, in the Log window select the red box icon, then the IntegratedWebLogicServer option:
4) In the resulting Log window under the Running: IntegratedWebLogicServer child tab, you'll the WLS messages as it shuts down:
This completes the initialization of the integrated WebLogic Server.
Anybody really know why Mark Hurd was forced to resign? We ask because the story that HP put out Friday to explain why its golden boy suddenly wasn’t its CEO anymore doesn’t make much sense especially in view of the contradictions now coming from Hurd’s side of the aisle.
If Hurd wasn’t having an affair with 50-year-old company geisha Jodie Fisher why would he fudge his expense account to cover up the fact that he had dinner with her?
Fifteen years ago there was no iPhone and Android. Web browsers were hot. Netscape market share was over 90% - they didn't have competition.The situation changed when Microsoft has introduces Internet Explorer (me too, me too). Back in 1998, there was an infamous law suite between Microsoft and Sun Microsystems – the former started quietly introducing their own class libraries to Java breaking the write-once-run-anywhere idea of Sun that back then seemed to be achievable. Sun won that $10B law suite. But as the saying goes, they won the battle but lost the war.
Angry Microsoft refused to include upgrades to JVM that came with Internet Explorer, which seriously hurt applets popularity – the end user couldn’t just open a Web page to see the applet that required, say 1.3 version of JVM. They’d need to first download the proper version of JVM, and only then the applets that were written with the assumption that JVM 1.3 was available would work. The process of downloading the right JVM Plug-in was a multi-step process, and a truck driver from Alabama wouldn’t be able to go through it.
High penetration of the required runtime environment and the ease of its upgrade are the crucial moments for any Web-based technology. Adobe Flash Player shines in this area today (sorry, Steve). Flash Player is also a virtual machine with a small memory footprint (1.5Mb), and its installation takes under 20 seconds after one button click. For years, the size of the JVM Plug-in was about 16Mb and install was complicated for a non-programmer, and (the rumor has it) – it’s a lot smaller now.
This situation has changed after the release of Java 6 update 10, which includes so called next-generation Java Plug-in. Now applets don’t run in the JVM packaged with the Web browser, but run in a separate JVM launched by the Java Plug-in. The applet still appears in the Web browser’s window, but now it doesn’t depend on the goodwill of the browser vendor to include the latest Plug-in. You can read more about this Java Plug-in at https://jdk6.dev.java.net/plugin2.
The other major change introduced in the next-generation Java Plug-In is ability to launch Java applets directly from JNLP (Java Network Launch Protocol) files, which in the previous releases were used only in Java Web Start technology that allowed local deployment of the applications over the network. As of Java 10.6.10 you can use the JNLP meta descriptors to launch applets too. JNLP support is described in details at http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/java/javase/index-142562.html.
Earlier versions of HTML standard included the tag <applet> to incorporate Java applets into HTML page. But as of HTML 4.01 this tag has been deprecated and you should use the tags <object> for users who like Internet Explorer or <embed> for other Web browsers. But Oracle, the company behind Java, recommends using <applet> for Web pages accessed through the Internet and <object> or <embed> for intranet-based Web sites. The main reason being that Web browser vendors are infamous for being inconsistent of implementing HTML standards, and it’s safer to use tried and true <applet> tag to get predictable look and feel of the Web pages that host Java applets. But intranet is a more controlled environment. You can read about the differences of embedding applets with these tags at http://download.oracle.com/javase/6/docs/technotes/guides/plugin/developer_guide/using_tags.html. When young and old kids (sorry Steve) tell that HTML 5 will change the world, it's funny.
What’s the next step in applet’s evolution? You’ll be creating UI for the Web-based applications with a relatively new language called JavaFX. In a month, I'll be trying to attend every JavaFX technical session at JavaOne conference to see if it'll become a real competition to Adobe Flex and Microsoft Silverlight.
If you're not into Java applets, consider attending our Third Annual Enterprise Flex Symposium in New York City. It’s a small event where attendees and presenters will talk turkey about Adobe Flex.
Integrated SOA in the Cloud at Cloud Expo Silicon Valley
Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EDT
Currently SOA is used as a technology at one customer that is using ESB, Repository, etc. Cloud computing is used in such a way that all the components are put on the cloud, requiring a complete switch for the customer to a cloud infrastructure. However, the integration of the systems at one customer with the cloud offerings has the potential to provide additional capabilities such as process modeling, business activity monitoring, or simulation in the cloud integrated with the customer’s systems.
In his session at the 7th International Cloud Expo, Ulf Fildebrandt, Chief Development Architect SOA Infrastructure at SAP AG, will explain the potential of this integration and how it can be done.
This post is yet another Contextual Event blog description with a slight programmatic twist. It was inspired by Lucas Jellema's OTN forum post on how to raise programmatic Contextual Events, and in addition uses techniques as demonstrated by Pino and Frank described below.
Readers might be interested in a thread on the ADF EMG about the design of Contextual Events in the ADF framework, and the idea of Implicit Contextual Events - The Rise and Rise of Contextual Events (or the birth of Implicit Contextual Events).
In that ADF EMG thread I allude to a near "million blogs" that already describe Contextual Events as supporting collateral for Oracle's documentation. If you're interested in other posts check out Pino Jeddah's or Frank Nimphius's screencasts.
Calling Custom Web Services in SharePoint from JavaScript (or jQuery)
Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EDT
I’ve been customizing rendering templates a lot lately using a wide variety of scripting technologies such as JavaScript, jQuery, and SPServices. One requirement I had with all of these rendering templates was to call a custom web service to populate a drop down list. This is relatively easy to do and there are plenty of resources out there on how to deploy web services with SharePoint. I thought I would make a point today though to talk about this issue since I seem to forget about it every time. :-) The issue is that you build and test your pages and they work great as an administrator. However, once an end user tries the page, the script on the page doesn’t work. With any scripting issue, I bust out FireBug in Firefox and take a look at the page. It shows the web service call which works great for the administrator but when the user tries it, the result is 403 forbidden.
Within the contextual event framework, effectively there is a "producer" task flow and a "consumer" task flow. The producer publishes a contextual event, and the consumer subscribes to the contextual event. It's all rather handily described in Section 28.7.1 of the Fusion Guide How to Create Contextual Events Declaratively
The publisher can pass a data payload (payLoad, PayLoad, um, pay load?) to the consumer. The publisher users an EL expression to extract data from their local bindings to do this, maybe something like #{bindings.employeeNo.inputValue}, which would be familiar to ADF programmers. The consumer however needs to use an EL expression #{payLoad} to capture the data from the published event.
Managed Methods Announces the Release of JaxView 6.0
Fri, 06 Aug 2010 09:30:00 EDT
Managed Methods Inc., a provider of SOA (service-oriented architecture) & Cloud governance, has announced the availability of their JaxView 6.0. While providing full support for SOA & Cloud management for the IT operations, JaxView 6.0 expanded runtime policy enforcement features such as expanded service virtualization and security federation.
"We are very pleased with our customer adoption of JaxView for SOA & Cloud governance for monitoring and securing such environments." states Al Aghili Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Managed Methods Inc.
HP and Dell to Sell Solaris; OpenSolaris Hung Out to Dry
Sun, 01 Aug 2010 10:45:00 EDT
Oracle said Thursday that Dell and HP will sell Oracle Solaris, Oracle Enterprise Linux and Oracle VM on their x86 platforms, which will presumably come as some relief to customers uncertain of Oracle’s intentions. HP said in a canned statement that many users “have hardwired stacks of applications and infrastructure that can’t rapidly change.” Oracle will do the support.
Meanwhile, things on the OpenSolaris side of the house are in a tizzy with the widgetry’s governing board issuing ultimatums and threatening to disband if Oracle doesn’t pay it some mind while a breakaway movement is believed to be in progress because Oracle, while committed to Solaris, has reduced its support for OpenSolaris as a distribution.
Terracotta is out to cure skimpy cache by making Ehcache really, really big, 1TB in fact, a size only a few people can use right now, but just you wait, it says, the day is upon us when practically everybody with a database will want it to be in-memory.
The biggest caches these days are still 100GB-200GB and they’re a lot of work to build. Maybe there are two or three that hit 200 GB. The average, on the other hand, is more like sub-20 gigs.
Terracotta swears it’s made it easy to store over a terabyte of data and hundreds of millions of entries in a single cache, so data retrieval is a whole lot faster and clouds and virtualization aren’t bottlenecked.
NaviSite Uses Oracle's Sun Servers for Managed Services Offering
Wed, 28 Jul 2010 06:00:00 EDT
NaviSite, Inc., a provider of complex hosting, application management and managed cloud services for the enterprise market, is using a combination of Oracle's Sun servers and Oracle software to run its mission-critical systems.
With more than 1,500 customers in 10 datacenters across the US and UK, NaviSite needed to expand its virtualization platform to meet the growing infrastructure demands of its customers, while delivering industry-leading performance and availability.
After months of promising we have finally moved Exadel Flamingo to exadel.org and released version 2.2.0. exadel.org is our community site for hosting open source projects. Flamingo is a light weight framework for connecting rich web and mobile user interfaces to enterprise back end.
Flamingo connects Seam, Spring, and Java EE 6 (soon via CDI/JSR299) with the following user interfaces.
Exadel JavaFX Plug-in for Eclipse v. 1.3.4 with Organize Imports
Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:10:00 EDT
Exadel has released Exadel JavaFX Plug-in for Eclipse version 1.3.4. The biggest feature in this release is Organize Imports (just like in Java editor).
The class for Text node is missing, pressing Ctrl+Shift+O, will display the dialog where the correct class can be selected.
You can also invoke Organize Imports from the editor context menu (right-click anywhere in the editor and select Organize Imports).
You can also invoke Organize Imports from the editor context menu (right-click [...]
What's the Difference Between dataSetRow["FIELD"] and row["FIELD"]
Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:38:00 EDT
One of the most common questions for people that are new to BIRT is about how to ask data from the DataSet in the report. The question is when building expressions should I use dataSetRow["FIELD"] or row["FIELD"]?
So let me see if I can set the record straight. When data is acquired, it is acquired by a DataSet, so the following query in a JDBC DataSet will create a three field resultset.
Enterprise Applications are Good Candidates for Using JavaFX
Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:27:00 EDT
I don’t know any other technology that has ever gotten as much of a beating as JavaFX did last week (here, here, and here). JavaFX has become a technology that developers love to hate. It’s like a pinata for developers. JavaFX was first announced at JavaOne 2007 (that’s 3 years ago). Many predicted its death even before version 1.0 was released in December 2008, and many continue to call for its demise. Last week also turned out to be the week where I presented Enterprise JavaFX at the Silicon Valley JavaFX JUG, and also the week that Steven Chin created a petition to open source JavaFX. Don’t get me wrong, JavaFX is very far from perfect. It has it’s problems and challenges (listed below) and its future is hanging on life support right now, but let’s start with the good.
Jinfonet Software, a provider of Java reporting solutions, on Thursday unveiled JReport 10. This new version adds rich visualization and interactive reporting to a robust, agile BI platform, providing embedded operational reporting to developers and self-service reporting to end users.
JReport 10 brings Agile Business Intelligence to the next level with rich visualization features. Web 2.0 self-service reporting allows highly interactive reports to be accessible across the enterprise with superior performance and scalability.
Cloud Expo Silicon Valley: Analytics for Enterprises Using Private Cloud
Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:05:00 EDT
It is widely accepted that large enterprises will start cloud deployment via "private cloud" – that is to say, inside their firewall. But what kind of early applications will these be?
Imagine you are the head of manufacturing at a Fortune 500 company running an Oracle Manufacturing application and multiple other source systems. You need to know critical production information instantly, several times a day. And you are moving around constantly. You have an iPad and just a touch gives you those critical nuggets of information. This is advanced analytics using the private cloud.
Another example is Project Management, where many moving parts are involved. Again, using touchscreen devices like the iPad you can visualize all aspects of the projects at any instant and anywhere.
In Part 4 I discussed the Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse and how it allows you to view, create, and manage JPA entity relationships. The Entity Editor provides a centralized view of all entity relationships, allows you to modify entity properties, and allows you to navigate between the object model, mapping associations, and database schema layers.
In Part 5, I will explore persistence settings. The persistence.xml file defines the context for JPA persistence. In this step, you will use the JPA Persistence Configuration Editor to explore the persistence.xml file for your JPA web project.
IBM’s Dustin Amrhein to Present at Cloud Expo Silicon Valley
Wed, 21 Jul 2010 10:42:00 EDT
Face it, setting up Java EE application environments can be a time-consuming, error-prone, and highly variable process. A cloud computing approach to Java EE application environments can address these problems and more.
In his session at the 7th International Cloud Expo, Dustin Amrhein, Technical Evangelist for Cloud Technologies at IBM, will describe how the IBM WebSphere test organization utilizes a cloud computing solution to enable the construction, deployment, and maintenance of Java EE application environments for testing purposes throughout the organization. This new cloud computing implementation means decreased environment setup times, elevated asset utilization, and increased test iterations.
All of this adds up to make the IBM WebSphere test organization more responsive and agile than it has ever been.
Recently I had the opportunity to figure out how to manipulate sizing, positioning and text wrapping of chart legends so I thought I'd share what I learned.
If you have a chart with legend items that don't fit in the available space, BIRT will do one of two things, depending on the wrapping width option. (Wrapping width is found on the legend layout dialog). If the wrapping width is set to zero, BIRT will simply truncate the legend item text and optionally append an ellipsis. (The ellipsis option is located on the legend entries dialog).
If the wrapping width is set to a positive value, BIRT will word-wrap the text. Unfortunately when it does this, it doesn't check the vertical boundaries and long items can end up overlapping.
BIRT Introduced OLAP style data cubes and crosstabs in version 2.2 and while they have been around for some time we still get a lot of questions on how to use and manipulate them. Below are just some of the resources that have been posted to BIRT Exchange that should help you with cubes and crosstabs.
To get an idea of what a BIRT cube is and how to tie it to a crosstab report item, take a look at this article which provides a detailed write-up of the technology and supplies some examples.
To see a recorded demonstration of a crosstab style report being build see this tutorial video.
From 500 to 1500 Managed JVMs Without Increasing Staff
Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:13:32 EDT
Recently I listened to a large enterprise customer talk enthusiastically about ITCAM’s new agent installation and deployment features. I bet you did a double-take as you read that. Why the enthusiasm? The answer had a lot to do with how the customer delegates IT roles and responsibilities and their desire to go from 500 to 1500 managed JVMs (Java Virtual Machines) without increasing staff.
WebLogic Server Scripting Tool (WLST) provides powerful command-line capability for system administrators and developers to configure WebLogic server environments. However, its usage and adoption does not reach its full potential, seen at many working places, due to various reasons. This article gives a detailed example of using WLST to configure some of the latest security provisions (SAML 2.0) of WebLogic server, and provides insights on how to overcome the possible hurdles which prevent one from using the tool.
Why WLST and What's Stopping You?
MySQL veterans either disaffected or dismissed by Oracle are starting a new company called SkySQL that will offer “enterprise-class support and services for the MySQL ecosystem.”
The outfit is being pulled together by former MySQL SVP of global services Ulf Sandberg and its one-paragraph web site, dominated by a picture of a dolphin, says that whoever else is there – without saying who exactly – are former MySQL employees. However, SkySQL is hiring in “all areas, including support, consulting, training, marketing and sales.”
Being detail-free left room for MySQL founder Monty Widenius, who’s formally objecting to the Oracle–Sun acquisition now, to position SkySQL as an alternative to Oracle–Sun, which he evidently blames for running off the old MySQL home team.
He said he was going to do it and he has.
MySQL founder Monty Widenius has made good his quixotic threat to appeal the European Commission’s decision to approve Oracle’s acquisition of Sun – and with it MySQL, which Sun paid a downright silly billion dollars for two years ago. Oracle closed on Sun in January and Widenius had a few months grace to take his case to the Court of First Instance in Luxembourg.
It is unclear what he hopes to accomplish since he has basically gone underground and turned off his phone while the futility of the move has already cost him his chief spokesman Florian Mueller.
Oracle Killed Sun’s Plan to Clone Intel’s Xeon Chip: NYT
Sun, 04 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EDT
The New York Times says that Oracle killed a Sun project to clone Intel’s x86 Xeon server chip and turn out a “no-frills, low-power variant” that it could put into thousands of servers for folks like Facebook, Yahoo and Google.
The paper said it had heard tell of such a thing for a long time but could never quite nail it until recently when it happened to interview a couple of people “with knowledge of Sun’s plans,” “who are not authorized to speak publicly.”
As part of the fey plan Sun bought the assets of one Montalvo Systems that had done work on low-power Intel clones and hired some “top talent” out of AMD.
This is a revisit of the ADF Security features under JDeveloper 11g and subsequent deployment to WLS. There are plenty of good examples and documentation on this feature and readers are encouraged to seek those out. This post is my cut of implementing ADF Security to make sure I've all the moving pieces clearly defined in my head. As usual I thought this post may be of interest to readers.
Assumptions
Readers understand the security concepts of authentication and authorization, and readers are familiar with the WLS security "myrealm" concept.
Sample Application
What I find difficult with the JDev 11g Fusion Guide is the raw depth of information to read and assimilate around the security space. Section 29 has 80 odd pages on security which is a lot to digest. Without a doubt security is an important topic but trying to understand the full 80 pages leaves me wiped out.
To make the discussion on ADF Security easier, let's discuss an extremely simple application and then describe what we're attempting to achieve in terms of security.
Consider the following application:
... and the following page flow:
The diagram reveals the following points about our application:
1) The Splash page is a landing page for our application where new unauthenticated sessions will land as they access the application for the first time. This page will be a simple web page with no ADF Bindings. It will provide links to the other 3 pages.
2) ViewBookings, a page showing data using ADF Bindings, will be a secured page. Only authenticated users will be able to access the page and they must have the ADMIN role.
3) ViewEvents, another databound ADF page using ADF Bindings, will also be a secured page. Only authenticated users will be able to access the page, but there are no role restrictions on the page, giving any authenticated user the right to access the page.
4) ViewOrganisations, another databound ADF page using ADF Bindings, will not be secured. Therefore authenticated and non-authenticated users will be able to access the page, and implicitly via this, there are no role restrictions on the page.
(You'll note in the above points I've been careful to identify databound pages that have ADF Bindings (ie. ViewBookings) and those that don't (ie. Splash). The ADF Security mechanisms *only* work for pages that have ADF Bindings and the relating pagedef files. A page that doesn't have ADF Bindings is not secured. This implies how we treat the unbound Splash page vs the bound ViewOrganisations page is different. The mechanisms for this will become apparent further in this post.)
Best practice side note: as a general recommendation while this article demonstrates a page that is totally unsecured via the ADF Bindings mechanism, readers should give strong consideration to create PageDef files for all pages regardless if they are databound or not. This is done by selecting the Page Definitions option from the page's context menu, then allocating them the anonymous-role making them accessible to anyone as explained later in this article. Implementing this gives you a number of advantages:
a) Improved control of the public page's content, displaying different content for authenticated vs unauthenticated users b) A consistent security implementation across all pages c) Easier to audit the security implementation
In order to support our application as described in the points above, we'll need a number of security "parts" for our application. Following is a summary of those parts, of which we'll describe in detail next in this document
1) A login page to authenticate users 2) An application role called ADMIN 3) An application role that identifies authenticated users 4) An application role that identifies a user regardless if they're authenticated or not 5) The ability to secure the ViewBookings page for users with the ADMIN role 6) The ability to secure the ViewEvents page for users who are authenticated 7) A mechanism to create users, create roles and assign users roles
Luckily JDeveloper provides a number of features to make this easy.
We'll add one other further security requirement. Though our application will internally make use of a role named ADMIN, once deployed to our application server the role will be called ADMINISTRATOR. As such our additional requirement is:
8) Map the application role ADMIN to the enterprise role ADMINISTRATOR.
A final point before continuing, in order to keep this example simple I've steered away from the ADF Task Flow features of JDev 11g, specifically bounded task flows. In this simple example I've stuck to the default single unbounded task flow with separate pages in order to aid understanding. In reality both task flows and pages are treated in a similar fashion so what you learn here will apply to both.
Configure ADF Security
The ADF Security wizard implements a number of the security features we require. For our open application selecting the Application menu -> Secure -> Configure ADF Security option invokes the Configure ADF Security wizard. This wizard has been described in a number of other documents and examples, so I'll not talk through all it's options, but rather just show the options picked for our example.
In step 1 of 5 we pick the ADF Authentication and Authorization option:
Step 2 of 5 we'll get JDev to create a login and error login page for us, such that the user will see an in-page login page in our application to authenticate themselves:
Step 3 of 5 we'll ask JDev to blanket grant privileges to our existing pages. We'll tidy this up in a later step. Typically we wouldn't use this option but rather the "No Automatic Grants". No grants forces developers to explicitly think about each page and what privileges to define. For demonstration purposes we're showing the other option:
Step 4 of 5 we'll leave the "Redirect" option unselected. When selected this option provides the ability to have all authenticated users redirected to a standard landing page:
Step 5 of 5 tells you what changes JDev will make on your behalf to implement the features. This screen is useful as it gives you a good understanding of what configurations are required to make ADF Security work.
Once completed the most important JDeveloper screen from here for configuring security in your application is the jazn-data.xml editor. It's accessible by opening the file under Application Resources -> Descriptors -> META-INF -> jazn-data.xml, or the Application menu -> Secure -> ADF Policies. Ensure the Overview tab at the bottom of the editor is selected. On first opening the jazn-data.xml file you'll see:
As our application includes no bounded task flows, just web pages, select the Web Pages tab at the top of the editor. For our specific application it reveals:
From here you can see three of our four pages. As the Splash screen has no ADF Bindings, it does not display and therefore has no options for defining grants and priviliges. This is because as we mentioned early in the post, only databound pages are secured by ADF Security. If we alternatively select one of our databound pages we see:
In this case the ViewBookings databound page has the role "test-all" with "View" access granted to it. In a similar fashion ViewEvents and ViewOrganisations will have the same mappings. The role "test-all" and blanket assignments to each page was generated by step 3 of the Configure ADF Security wizard.
At this stage, of our initial 8 security requirements, we've implemented #1 only. Obviously the last few steps have set up a lot of internal infrastructure and configuration for us behind the scenes which assist the next sections of work.
Application Roles vs Enterprise Roles
Our application has the security requirement to create a role called ADMIN and secure the ViewBookings page with that role. In JDeveloper security "speak" this sort of role is referred to as an *Application Role*, effectively a role that the application defines and wants to enforce against certain resources, namely web pages and task flows in our ADF application. At deployment time this role is essentially private to the application.
Application Roles are distinctly different from Enterprise Roles as they have a finer level of granularity, they only apply to one application. Conversely Enterprise Roles map to user groups within an organisation and can apply across applications, though they allow the flexibility of a 1 to 1 mapping with Application Roles too.
Another way to categorize the difference between Application Roles and Enterprise Roles is where they're implemented. Application Roles are implemented in the application at hand, while Enterprise Roles are configured in our application server or higher level identity management systems such as LDAP, MS Active Directory, OID and more.
This distinction becomes important as we configure our Application Roles, as we need to define both the Application Role, the Enterprise Role, and the mappings between them. If we don't do this, when the application is deployed, and a user accesses the system with the Enterprise Role ADMINISTRATOR, the application server has no way of knowing that this maps to the application's ADMIN role.
As per the previous section the JDeveloper security wizard predefines an Application Role named "test-all" for us. From the jazn-data.xml editor this is evident on the existing grants to pages and task flows. The intention is for development and testing purposes, any user granted the test-all role has unlimited access to the application. For a production environment this role is not suitable as it is granted to all anonymous users; any user accessing the application is already a member of this role allowing unrestricted access.
To see where the Applications Roles are defined select the User and Roles tab on the bottom of the jazn-data.xml page, followed by the Application Roles node on the left hand side:. This will display the Edit JPS Identity & Policy Store dialog:
You'll note you can see the "test-all" role defined under the Application Roles node. In our case we'll add a new ADMIN role, and remove the "test-all" role as follows:
From here we want to map the Application Role to the Enterprise Role. Remember again that Enterprise Roles exist within our application server, while the Application Role is defined within our application.
We now move to creating the ADMINISTRATOR Enterprise Role under the same left node menu option:
Next we need to map the Enterprise Role to the Application Role. With the ADMINISTRATOR Enterprise Role selected, select the Assigned Roles tab on the right, followed by the plus sign and the Assign Application Role option. In the resulting Select Roles dialog select the ADMIN Application Role. The result:
Protecting our pages with Application Roles
On completing the previous steps, on returning to the ADF Policies tab followed by the Web Pages tab, we'll note that because we removed the test-all role, none of the databound pages have roles assigned to them (identified by the fact they no longer have arrows to the right of them):
To allow users with the ADMIN Application Role to access the ViewBookings page, we simply select the page, the plus button allows us to pick the ADMIN role from the appropriate dialog, and finally we select the View option on the right hand side:
The 4 other privileges, Customize, Edit, Grant and Personalize are relevant to MDS and not applicable to this post. As such the remaining View privilege tells us ADF Security via the jazn-data.xml file is at it's most basic determining if a user can access the page or not. It's not concerned with any other privileges.
Testing
This presents a good time to test our solution. Before we can test our solution we need to create a user with the appropriate roles.
There's two ways we can do this. In WLS we can create the user and Enterprise Role ADMINISTRATOR, and allocate the role to the user.
For development purposes JDeveloper presents a "cheats" way of doing this. We return to the jazn-data.xml editor and select the Users and Roles tab followed by selecting the Users node on the left. From here we can define users and their passwords (aka Credentials) and then via the Assigned Roles section we can select the ADMINISTRATOR Enterprise Role:
(Note if you have trouble defining the user's password, where JDeveloper shows a red box around the password field, this is because passwords must be a minimum length of 8 characters)
For testing purposes we'll also create a 2nd user who isn't allocated any roles at all:
Normally we wouldn't be creating such users in our JDev application, they'd be created in our WLS server or a connected LDAP server or similar. JDeveloper allows us to get away with this because of the following option. If you select the Applications menu -> Deployment node, you'll see JDev has autoconfigured an EAR deployment descriptor for you, with a number of options below:
In particular the Users and Groups check box means that JDev will attempt to deploy the Enterprise Role ADMINISTRATOR and the two users we created CMUIR and JDOE to the server when the application is deployed.
On running our app for the first time we can happily land on the Splash page.
(ok, ok, it's a very uninspiring application. If you want whiz bang go read a post on DVT controls)
Clicking the View Bookings link, the user is interrogated for their credentials via the logon screen:
Of note in the JDev log window you'll see the authorisation challenge as follows:
[JpsAuth] Check Permission PolicyContext: [ADFSecurityDemo#V2.0] Resource/Target: [view.pageDefs.ViewBookingsPageDef] Action: [view] Permission Class: [oracle.adf.share.security.authorization.RegionPermission] Result: [FAILED] For more information on this failure, please set -Djps.auth.debug.enable=true
Presumably this is the mechanism that tells the ADF application to show the login page.
If we log in as CMUIR allocated with the ADMIN role we see the View Bookings page in all it's glory. Alternatively if we log in as JDOE without the ADMIN role we see the rather flattering exception:
oracle.adf.controller.ControllerException: ADFC-06000: The ADF Controller caught exception {0} while performing control flow routing. See the stack trace for details. at oracle.adfinternal.controller.util.Utils.createAndLogControllerException(Utils.java:203) at oracle.adfinternal.controller.state.SuspendedNavigationState.resume(SuspendedNavigationState.java:54) at oracle.adfinternal.controller.application.LoginSuccessHandler.resumeNavigation(LoginSuccessHandler.java:117) at oracle.adfinternal.controller.application.LoginSuccessHandler.doCreateView(LoginSuccessHandler.java:61) at oracle.adfinternal.controller.application.BaseRequestHandlerImpl.createView(BaseRequestHandlerImpl.java:57) -snip- oracle.adf.controller.security.AuthorizationException: ADFC-0619: Authorization check failed: '/ViewBookings.jspx' 'VIEW'. at oracle.adf.controller.internal.security.AuthorizationEnforcer.handleFailure(AuthorizationEnforcer.java:147) at oracle.adf.controller.internal.security.AuthorizationEnforcer.checkPermission(AuthorizationEnforcer.java:126) at oracle.adf.controller.internal.security.AuthorizationEnforcer.checkRead(AuthorizationEnforcer.java:363) at oracle.adfinternal.controller.activity.ViewActivityLogic.execute(ViewActivityLogic.java:77) at oracle.adfinternal.controller.engine.ControlFlowEngine.doRouting(ControlFlowEngine.java:876) -snip-
This is also recorded in the WLS logs. While it doesn't look nice, effectively ADF Security is telling JDOE to get nicked because he doesn't have the ADMIN role. If you wish to handle this in a more graceful way you can make use of the ADF controller's declarative exception handler to route the user to a "friendly" denied-access page, or alternatively we wouldn't have given the user the option to navigate to this page in the first place. Of course this article shows the above for learning purposes.
Of note if we were to log in as CMUIR or JDOE and access either the ViewEvents or ViewOrganisations pages we'll also see the same error. This occurs because we haven't allocated any privileges to these pages yet.
We've now satisfied our original security requirements #1, #2, #5, #7 and #8.
Allowing any authenticated user access
Our next requirements #3 and #6 are to secure the ViewEvents page, allowing only authenticated users to access this page, regardless of which roles they've been allocated.
On returning to the jazn-data.xml editor, selecting the ViewEvents page and then the plus button, you'll note in the dialog that shows there are 2 other predefined roles besides our ADMIN role, namely "anonymous-role" and "authenticated-role":
Quoting straight from the JDev online help:
"The anonymous-role is a role you can use when you want to grant access privileges to unauthenticated users. All users, including unauthenticated users, for example, those not required to log on to the application, are automatically considered by Oracle Platform Security to be a member of the anonymous-role. The authenticated-role is a generic role that you can use to allow authenticated users to access the databound web pages of your application. The authenticated-role requires the user to be successfully logged on."
As such if we allocate the authenticated-role to the ViewEvents page, and....
Alllowing unauthenticated users access
...for our requirement #4, we allocate the anonymous-role to the ViewOrganisations page:
....we satisfy the remaining requirements.
Testing
Now on testing our application, landing on the Splash screen we discover:
a) cmuir user can access all 4 pages b) jdoe can access Splash, ViewEvents and ViewOrganisations, but not ViewBookings c) an unauthenticated user can access Splash and ViewOrganisations, but not ViewBookings or ViewEvents
Troubleshooting
Some developers may find regardless of the above post, they may still encounter ADFC-06000/ADFC-0619 errors when accessing a page with a user who has the appropriate application role. A common reason you can still get this error is you've forgotten to map the Enterprise Role to the Application Role as described in the last part of the Application Roles vs Enterprise Roles section.
Further to this it's possible to see further debug output out of the ADF security engine (implemented by something called OPSS) by following this post by Duncan Mills.
Credit
My thanks must go to Frank Nimphius for reviewing this article oh-so-long-ago back in September 2009. Apparently having a 2nd daughter has somewhat delayed publication of some of my articles. God knows how people with 3 kids get anything done.
The ZK framework provides a variety of paradigms to develop Web applications. One the one hand it is always nice to have options, but on the other this can cause un-intentional paradigm disparities when several developers are using the framework to develop an application without a consistent design.
By and far, the Model View Controller pattern has been adapted by various Web applications and frameworks (like Apache Struts, Apache Beehive PageFlows) to develop quality Web applications.
The following is an illustration of how an MVC based Web application can be developed using ZK and Spring. ZK has introduced a lot of features that enable easy integration with Spring. The source code of example application is available for download here.
Seven Rules to Improve Your Application Performance Practices
Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:48:02 EDT
In this article I discuss the seven most important steps to improve your application performance practices. These simple-to-follow practices will help you to improve the way you deal with application performance. Besides eventually improving the performance of your applications it will help you to avoid playing the classical blame game which normally happens when something goes wrong
Red Hat’s Server & Desktop Virtualization Move in Together
Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:15:00 EDT
Red Hat’s desktop virtualization has joined its server virtualization in the 2.2 rev of its standalone KVM hypervisor Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV).
Like 2.1 seven months ago, 2.2 can host and manage both Red Hat Linux and Windows VMs and now offers a single infrastructure for managing server and desktop virtualization deployments.
RHEV for Desktops will deploy Hosted Virtual Desktop (HVD) configurations, a k a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). It offers a web-based connection broker for users to access their hosted virtual desktops, coupled with the open source SPICE remote rendering technology for multimedia, including multiple monitors, HD-quality video and bi-directional audio/video for video conferences. Templating, thin provisioning and desktop pooling are also included.
Rich Cannings, Android security lead, blogged about remotely removing an app from people’s Android phones. Recently, we became aware of two free applications built by a security researcher for research purposes. These applications intentionally misrepresented their purpose in order to encourage user downloads, but they were not designed to be used maliciously, and did not have permission to access private data — or system resources beyond permission. As the applications were practically useless, most users uninstalled the applications shortly after downloading them.
IBM filed a breach-of-contract / misappropriation of trade secrets suit in New York Supreme Court last week seeking to hold Joanne Olsen to her non-compete and stop her from going to Oracle for a year.
It’s gotten a temporary restraining order according to InformationWeek.
Olsen, with IBM for 31 years, was a general manager in IBM’s services unit and was hired by Oracle as senior VP of on-demand services, the SaaS versions of its software, reporting to none other than Larry Ellison.
IBM alleges that she knows too much about IBM, its operations, its growth strategies and its potential acquisitions to fall into Oracle’s hands.
IBM has gone to court a couple of times in the last couple years waving its non-competes around.
Azul Zings Its Java Hardware – Poof, It’s Software
Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:00:00 EDT
Born to peddle pricey proprietary iron built around exotic multi-core chips that ratchet up the scalability of Java apps – a dangerous exercise that has demanded a $200 million investment from its backers – Azul Systems is now going to start selling software that does pretty much the same thing as its fancy appliances but it’s optimized for the latest class of cheap, ubiquitous, increasingly powerful x86 commodity servers.
If the stuff clicks in the next year, eight-year-old Azul may be in a position to organize an orderly retreat from its hardware business, which, as it happens, reportedly just saw record Q1 earnings. It may have hundreds of widgets out there, but software’s an easier sell.
The latest Moyea Web Player V2.4.0.8 is released recently supporting JS application in navigation URL and auto-hide control bar in full-screen mode. Shenzhen P.R.C – Jun, 24th, 2010 - Moyea Software Co., Ltd. (http://www.moyeamedia.com): a rising developer of flash applications for the internet and multimedia software, today officially releases Moyea Web Player V2.4.0.8, which is the Moyea Web Player is one of the best flash video player creating and customizing programs for all-level users to make their own web player which can be embedded in multiple platforms like blogs, websites, forums and so on.
Weekend Project: Serve Up Your Own OpenID with Open Source Tools
Nathan Willis - Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:27:23 +0100
Last weekend, we looked at how to enable your Web site to accept OpenID logins. But accepting OpenID authentication is only half of the issue — if you care about online privacy and identity, the chances are that you will want to control your own OpenID. Fortunately, setting up your site to serve as an OpenID provider is not that difficult — and makes a great weekend project.
Using a Bamboo Tablet with Ubuntu 10.04
Jack Wallen - Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:00:00 +0100
Are you a budding artist? Or are you already a professional graphic artist looking to expand the hardware you have to use? And are you hoping to shed the last remnants of either the Windows or Mac operating system? If any of these are true you might be looking at one of the many drawing tablets that can be connected, via USB, to your laptop or PC. These tablets make for a far superior graphic experience, giving the artist much more control over the cursor than with a standard mouse. Unfortunately tablets can quickly become a hurdle for Linux users. In some cases the installation is a snap; just plug in the tablet, install a simple application, and go. In other cases, the process can be a real nightmare.
The People Who Support Linux: At Work and at Home
Jennifer Cloer - Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:00:00 +0100
Chase Crum is a U.S. Army veteran, a Shriner, an IT infrastructure manager, and a member of The Linux Foundation. This certainly does not capture all that defines Chase, but it begins to illustrate where he derives his ideas about Linux, community and giving back. Chase also represents a growing majority of systems administrators and IT managers who are using Linux both at work and at home.
Using Spell Checking in Vim
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:22:17 +0100
Mark Twain has been quoted as saying that he respected a person who could spell a word more than one way. Unfortunately, Twain's enthusiasm for creative spelling isn't widely shared today, at least in the professional world. If you need a little help in the spelling department, but prefer the old school way of editing text, you can turn to Vim's spelling support.
For the longest time I saw KDE as a distant third, or fourth, on the Linux desktop usability scale. For me, first came GNOME, then came Enlightenment E17, then came XFCE4, and then came KDE. This was a change from when KDE 3.5 — one of the most user-friendly desktops around. The KDE development team rolled out 4.0 and everything was turned on its head. KDE was no longer much use on the desktop, due to bugs, poor performance, and instability.
MySQL 101: Working with the MySQL DB on Linux
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:39:25 +0100
Some people are born to be a database administrator, and others have database administration thrust upon them. If you're in the former group and you need to perform some very basic operations, like creating and backing up databases, you'll find it's much easier than it sounds. Let's take a look at some very basic MySQL administration to get started.
Open Contact with Open Compliance Officers
Philip Koltun - Mon, 30 Aug 2010 13:00:20 +0100
There’s nothing quite like having an urgent issue to pursue with a company – a real thorn in your side – and lacking a name or phone number to contact for follow-up. (Once upon a time, I reserved a domain name, customerfeedbackplace.com, intending to aggregate all the world’s corporate customer feedback sites in one place for consumer convenience. But that’s a story for another day.) What do you do if you’re an open source developer – a copyright holder – and you have concerns about the open source compliance of a product that uses your code? And you can’t find a contact in that company to communicate your concerns? Here’s what you do: You let us know at The Linux Foundation and we’ll use our extensive network of relationships to provide you a point of contact in the company for open source compliance. Just use the web form at Open Compliance Directory...
Weekend Project: Accept OpenID Logins
Nathan Willis - Fri, 27 Aug 2010 22:05:56 +0100
OpenID is a critical piece of "Open Web" infrastructure. The ability to authenticate users without relying on a single gatekeeper entity puts every site on an equal playing field. As a result, community-driven, decentralized networks can enjoy all the same advantages as closed-source, proprietary players, and end users retain more of their autonomy and privacy. All of that sounds well and good, but it is not much use if you don't enable OpenID on the sites that you maintain. This weekend, why not add support for OpenID logins to your web service? You might be surprised how many LAMP and LAMP-like frameworks have a straightforward solution.
Review: ZaReason Verix Laptop
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Fri, 27 Aug 2010 02:58:28 +0100
One of the challenges of being a Linux desktop user is the difficulty in finding systems that ship with Linux pre-installed. Major OEMs often offer a handful of Linux offerings, but to get a wider range of hardware and choices of Linux distributions you have to look to smaller vendors that are really interested in promoting Linux — like ZaReason.
The People Who Support Linux: It's a Family Affair
Jennifer Cloer - Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:18:56 +0100
This is an ongoing Linux.com series that profiles The Linux Foundation's individual members and begins to collectively illustrate a very important part of the Linux community. Individual members help support the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and other important activities that advance Linux, while getting a variety of other fun and valuable benefits. It is this collective support from thousands of individual members that enables The Linux Foundation to provide important services for industry and community.
Remote Administration with Linux
Jack Wallen - Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:00:00 +0100
The next best thing to being there is being able to log into your systems remotely. One of the great things about Linux is the variety of tools you can use to remotely administer your Linux desktop and server systems. From the command line to GUI tools, you can take control of it all right from the comfort of your very own desktop anywhere you happen to be.
Dreamwidth Studios: Bringing the Corner Store to Open Source Publishing
Bruce Byfield - Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:29:29 +0100
Dreamwidth Studios' co-founder Denise Paolucci remembers growing up in a family-owned corner deli, some of whose customers had been eating there daily for decades. "They'd become part of the family, instead of faceless customers," she says. "That's stayed with me for my whole life. It's a business concept that you don't see much in today's world" — and one that Paolucci and co-founder Mark Smith decided would be part of Dreamwidth Studios' open source publishing platform from the start.
Linuxables: Introduction to the Nano Text Editor
Jack Wallen - Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:00:00 +0100
Welcome back to Linuxables, where Linux.com makes you very "able" to use Linux! We resume our series with my favorite text editor Nano. Nano is an ncurses-based editor (which means it must be run from a terminal window) that focuses on simplicity. Nano is a clone of the aging Pico text editor, the editor for the Pine email client that was very popular, back in the early '90s, on UNIX and UNIX-like systems. Pine has now been replaced by Alpine and Pico by Nano, but some things haven't changed — like the simplicity of editing with Nano.
Talking KDE and openSUSE with Jos Poortvliet
Jack Wallen - Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:00:00 +0100
Recently I had the pleasure of chatting with newly minted openSUSE community manager, and former KDE marketing lead, Jos Poortvliet about user-visible changes brought in the KDE 4.5 release. We asked him ten questions about changes in KDE 4.5, what problems needed to be overcome, and what the future of KDE looks like — and his thoughts on openSUSE.
Weekend Project: Secure Your System with Port Knocking
Nathan Willis - Fri, 20 Aug 2010 21:28:29 +0100
Port knocking is an authentication system that allows a server to keep ports closed by default, and open them up only when clients send a pre-determined sequence of connection requests aimed at particular TCP or UDP ports. as a result, you can, for example, keep SSH both invisible and inaccessible to passersby, but still allow clients armed with the secret knock to connect. setting up port knocking on your Linux system is easy, but make sure you set aside time to familiarize yourself with the security and practical risks.
IBM: Innovation is the key driver for CIOs, not Cost
Amanda McPherson - Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:38:23 +0100
Last week at LinuxCon, we presented a lot of great content for business leaders in the world of Linux and open source. (Al Gillen of IDC, Jeffrey Hammond of Forester, among others.). One of my favorite sessions was from Jean Staten Healy, Director of IBM Worldwide Linux Strategy who looked at Linux in the minds of CIOs and how it’s changed. Remember ten years ago, Linux made a $1 billion bet on Linux, and in so doing, helped create the momentum for Linux in the enterprise data center that we all enjoy today. Back then, IBM concentrated on three areas: - Making Linux better – providing contributions to help improve Linux with respect to reliability, availability and serviceability - Enabling IBM products – both across major server lines and throughout the IBM middleware portfolio - Extending...
Lightweight Linux Desktop Alternative: Xfce
Jack Wallen - Thu, 19 Aug 2010 15:00:00 +0100
GNOME and KDE may be the first desktops that come to mind when you think of the Linux desktop, but they're not the only ones. From the overly minimalistic Rat Poison window manager to the eye candy of the Enlightenment E17 desktop, Linux has just about every type of desktop you can imagine. Want a desktop that's lean and resource friendly without giving up features? It's time to take a look at Xfce.
Kernel Progress Entering New Era of Innovation
Brian Proffitt - Wed, 18 Aug 2010 20:56:51 +0100
The last 12 months in Linux kernel development may have been less than exciting, but that may be just a breather before what's coming up next, according to kernel developer and Linux Weekly News editor Jon Corbet.
Desktop Linux Showdown
Jeff Osier-Mixon - Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:14:31 +0100
Last week I gave a presentation at LinuxCon in sunny Boston entitled Desktop Linux Distribution Showdown. The premise was to compare the three most popular desktop distributions to find out which is most user-friendly. It wasn't easy, and the results might (or might not) surprise you.
MeeGo: Where Are We Now?
Dawn Foster - Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:16:57 +0100
Moblin and Maemo equals MeeGo, it sounds like such a simple equation. What could be easier than taking two open source projects, each driven by a large organization, and combining them under a third organization as a single project with one big happy community? What? Doesn't that sound easy to you?
Weekend Project: Personal Area Networking with Bluetooth
Nathan Willis - Fri, 13 Aug 2010 17:40:12 +0100
Although most people think about Bluetooth in its "cable replacement" uses, such as with wireless audio headsets and keyboards, the Bluetooth standard defines a range of protocols and profiles optimized for specific uses. One of the most useful is the Personal Area Networking (PAN) profile, which encapsulates network-layer traffic, such as IP. This means you can use PAN to set up a cheap network access point over a Bluetooth adapter — the bandwidth will not be up to 802.11 speeds but it does offer some interesting properties, such as being invisible to wardrivers in the parking lot, and enabling Internet access on mobile devices without WiFi. To set up PAN on your Linux machine, start with a Bluetooth adapter and a working kernel.
Qualcomm's Take on Open Mobile Platforms
Jennifer Cloer - Fri, 13 Aug 2010 15:00:00 +0100
This week at LinuxCon, the Qualcomm Innovation Center (QuIC) joined The Linux Foundation at the platinum level. This represents Qualcomm's strong commitment to Linux and to collaborative development. QuIC President Rob Chandhok, who keynoted at LinuxCon, also shared with us his ideas around mobile platforms and openness....
Moglen Targets Patents, Compliance and Innovation as Key Challenges for Free Software
Brian Proffitt - Thu, 12 Aug 2010 22:18:27 +0100
Free software has come a very long way, but there's still some serious challenges yet to be met.
Announcing the LinuxCon Just for Fun Poll Winners!
Jennifer Cloer - Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:48:52 +0100
Today we're announcing the results of our LinuxCon 2010 Just for Fun Poll. A couple of weeks ago we asked you, the Linux.com community, to vote for your picks in a variety of categories that complemented the focus of LinuxCon: development, IT operations and business. And, we threw some in "just for fun," too. The multiple choice responses were determined by our Linux.com writers and appeared to be just about the right, since none of our write-ins received as many votes as the existing choices.
Forrester Analyst Says Open Source Has Won
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Wed, 11 Aug 2010 23:58:55 +0100
Jeffrey Hammond had a message for LinuxCon attendees on Wednesday morning, "congratulations, you're on the winning team. Open source has crossed the chasm."
Zenoss Survey Finds Open Source Ubiquitous, Easy
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:12:36 +0100
No surprise, 98% of enterprises are using open source. But the tide is turning in terms of perception: More than 71% of those surveyed at the 2009 USENIX Large Installation System Administration (LISA) conference say that open source is easier to deploy than proprietary software.
Forrester: Congratulations Open Sourcers, You’re on the Winning Team
Amanda McPherson - Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:08:34 +0100
In Forrester analyst Jeffrey Hammond’s keynote today at LinuxCon he outlined the trends of OSS adoption in the enterprise. (You can download the slides here.) According to Hammond, open source software has crossed the chasm and is firmly entrenched in enterprises around the world. That wasn’t a surprise to the 800 people in the LinuxCon audience. But his data did uncover something interesting: IT operations people are choosing Linux not just to lower costs but also to fuel innovation and support growth. Hammond shared data from three surveys Forrester has conducted over the last few years of IT operations directors/VPs and eclipse developers (who are heavy Java users). In a 2008 survey, cost reduction was the driving motivation of CIOs. But one year later, while reducing costs is still important, executives now view Linux as helping their companies go faster. They are choosing it for its flexibility and because it positions them for growth as we come out of...
Open Compliance Program Off to a Great Start
Philip Koltun - Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:43:37 +0100
I’m excited to debut the Compliance Blog with a launch announcement of The Linux Foundation’s Open Compliance Program. The program was kicked off formally with Executive Director Jim Zemlin’s keynote at LinuxCon in Boston but has been gestating for months.
Garrett's LinuxCon Talk Emphasizes Lessons Learned from Android/Kernel Saga
Brian Proffitt - Wed, 11 Aug 2010 01:26:24 +0100
A LinuxCon session led by Red Hat's Matthew Garrett discussed the lessons learned from Google's ongoing attempts to include power-management code in the mainline Linux kernel... and revealed there's still some emotions running high in the debate.
Linux Foundation Launches Open Compliance Program
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:51:02 +0100
While complying with FOSS licenses is not overly difficult, it can be complex and many companies have asked for help ensuring that they don't run afoul of license requirements. Today the requests have been answered...
Introducing the Open Compliance Program
Jim Zemlin - Tue, 10 Aug 2010 12:57:04 +0100
I’m extremely proud to launch a major addition in our legal programs today: the Open Compliance Program. Those of you who follow Linux know its use as an embedded OS has skyrocketed in recent memory, delivering a sea change in the consumer electronics and mobile industries. We think complying with open source licenses is relatively straightforward and far easier than complying with proprietary licenses, especially in an enterprise software setting. (Just ask a CIO who has an undergone a software audit recently. And that’s most of them.) But knowledge, after all, is power. And some companies need help, especially operationally, in defining and following best practices. That’s where we come in. We have the collective experience of our staff as well as the ability to galvanize our members to deliver information, training, tools and a standard that will help the industry coalesce around best practices and save money at the same time. Just as in open source, we feel collaborative development and re-use of resources in compliance matters will deliver great efficiencies of scale. We fully expect the Open Compliance Program to deliver real cost savings to all who participate as well as enable companies to...
A Guest Post from IBM's Jean Staten Healy
Jennifer Cloer - Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:00:00 +0100
It is hard to overestimate the importance of the mobile communications market today and the role that Linux is playing. Today, we welcome a guest post from IBM's Jean Staten Healy who gives us IBM's take on this rapidly growing area for the operating system.
Weekend Project: Secure Instant Messaging with Off The Record
Nathan Willis - Fri, 06 Aug 2010 21:55:05 +0100
Instant messaging, just like email or VoIP traffic, needs to be secure from eavesdroppers, man-in-the-middle attackers, and other security threats. Many IM clients can tunnel messages over transport layer security (TLS) to provide encryption, including XMPP (a.k.a. Jabber), IRC, and the OSCAR protocol used by AIM. TLS provides authentication and encryption at a low level, but a considerably secure solution for IM is a protocol called Off The Record (OTR). Pull up a chair and secure your instant messaging today.
It's That Time Again! LinuxCon Awaits.
Jennifer Cloer - Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:45:31 +0100
LinuxCon pass, check. Plane ticket, check. Hotel reservation, check. Penguin suit, don’t’ count on it…
Interview with New Fedora Project Leader Jared Smith
Henry Kingman - Thu, 05 Aug 2010 23:02:09 +0100
Earlier this year, former Fedora Project Leader Paul Frields announced he'd be stepping down from the post and that Fedora and Red Hat were searching for a new project leader. At the end of June, Frields announced that Jared Smith would be taking up the position. Since this is a pretty important job in our community, we thought it'd be a good idea to talk with Smith and learn more about him and his plans for Fedora.
How to join a Ubuntu machine to a Windows domain
Jack Wallen - Wed, 04 Aug 2010 23:46:00 +0100
No matter how you try, sometimes you can't escape the clutches of Microsoft and Windows. You might have a fortress of Linux solitude at home, but unless you are one of the lucky ones working in a Linux-only environment, you are going to have to interact with Windows.
MeeGo Summer Seminar: Trip Report
Ibrahim Haddad - Wed, 04 Aug 2010 02:34:48 +0100
The MeeGo Seminar Summer 2010 edition took place on July 26, 2010 in Tokyo, Japan. The event was packed. More than 530 registrants, 21 sponsors, 16 speakers, 3 tracks (Business, Technology, Qt+Atom), multiple demos, and the announcement that the GENIVI Alliance has selected MeeGo as its future in-vehicle infotainment center.
13744 Supplied
Linus Torvalds - Tue, 03 Aug 2010 20:16:00 +0100
Yeah, I'm not talking about the number of burgers McD supplies each second or anything like that. No, I'm talking about our fully automatic coffee maker. I just did a cleaning cycle, and ended up looking up what the coffee count was.I may have an addiction problem. Now, admittedly this is...
LinuxCon Preview: Novell on Linux Workloads, Appliances and Supporting ISVs
Jennifer Cloer - Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:59:54 +0100
As Novell's Markus Rex prepares to deliver his keynote at LinuxCon next week, he took a few minutes to share with us Novell's latest work on its Linux and open source efforts as well as his predictions for 2010 milestones. Rex is Senior VP and General Manager of Open Platform Solutions at Novell.
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:51:35 +0100
Looking for a Linux-friendly groupware suite that can take the place of Microsoft Exchange in your organization? You'll find a wide range of alternatives for Linux that offer most (if not all) of Exchange's functionality.
Open Source Toolchains for Linux Systems Administrators
Mark Hinkle - Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:10:17 +0100
Two of the most notable trends in systems management are DevOps and the related and partially redundant Agile Operations movement. These initiatives are popular in many Web 2.0 and cloud computing oriented companies like Twitter, Google, Yahoo! and Facebook where the companies’ products...
Weekend Project: Cache Local DNS Queries
Nathan Willis - Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0100
There are few additions to your network that will make as immediate of a performance boost as setting up a caching DNS server. Every computer on the local segment of your network makes hundreds -- if not thousands -- of DNS queries, and if you forward each one of them to a server on the other side of your WAN pipe, you are just throwing away bandwidth. Not only is caching DNS services simple to set up, you even have multiple options for doing so under Linux.
GNOME 3.0 Slips to 2011
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0100
During GUADEC 2010, the GNOME Release Team met and decided to hold the GNOME 3.0 release for the March 2011 release instead of September 2010. Even though it means an additional six months to GNOME 3.0 is officially released, it could be a good thing.
We are extremely lucky to have the support of so many who are individual members of the Linux Foundation. Their $99/year membership helps ensure we can continue protecting, promoting and advancing Linux and support the work of Linus Torvalds himself. I did a poll of our members earlier this year and found, unsurprisingly, that even though members appreciate our many benefits, overwhelmingly people are members simply because they value Linux and want to support our programs so it remains free, strong and neutral.
Linux Poll: Six Questions to Reveal Biggest Success and Failures
Jennifer Cloer - Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:19:49 +0100
As the conference focused on all matters Linux, LinuxCon brings attention to the most cutting-edge Linux advancements taking place today and the work being done to take them into the future. LinuxCon is the pinnacle for understanding what is happening with Linux at the developer, IT management and business levels of every enterprise.
OpenStack: Open Standards Meet The Cloud
Jim Zemlin - Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:00:32 +0100
Collaborative development has leveled the playing field and given power to the individual. One young man from Finland started a project, invited others to help, and started a computing revolution. Today two people...
Linuxables: Meet Kate, the KDE Text Editor
Jack Wallen - Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0100
We conclude our whimsical jaunt down text editor lane with a look at the KDE take on that always-necessary tool - the text editor. The KDE version is called Kate. Kate takes a different approach to the simplicity most of these tools take....
CDargs Brings Bookmarks to the Linux Command Line
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0100
Reducing keystrokes isn't the only path to productivity, but it certainly helps. If you find yourself visiting the same directories on your system (or systems) every day, save yourself some time and bookmark your most frequently used directories with CDargs.
Weekend Project: Using PulseAudio to Share Sound Across All Your Computers
Nathan Willis - Fri, 23 Jul 2010 23:39:22 +0100
Full PulseAudio nirvana entails digging into the project in depth, but you can at least get your feet wet over the weekend, directing and even multicasting audio between Linux machines on your local network.
OSCON Summarized: Community, Cash, and Clouds
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Fri, 23 Jul 2010 00:52:21 +0100
OSCON is worth attending, or at least watching from a distance, if for no other reason than it gives a pretty clear picture of what the developer community and industry around open source is thinking about. To sum up OSCON 2010 in three words, it's community, cash, and clouds.
LinuxCon Preview: Is FOSS Becoming More About What Execs Need Than What Developers Want?
Jennifer Cloer - Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:54:57 +0100
Our latest in the LinuxCon Preview series takes a look at what Forrester Analyst Jeffrey Hammond will be sharing during his keynote at the event in three short weeks. One of the primary trends he will talk about is the level of awareness about Linux and open source at the executive level and how that is impacting who is making the software acquisition decisions going forward...
Linuxables: Get Your Edit On With Gedit
Jack Wallen - Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0100
We continue our Linuxables series on the Linux text editor. As you might have noticed, this is one of those topics that breed much contempt. If you talk about vi, you must give equal time to emacs. If you talk about Kate, you best talk about Gedit. And that is precisely where we are - Gedit (although we have yet to talk about Kate, that comes next week).
Linux Distro Review: Mandriva Spring 2010.1
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0100
Mandriva 2010.1 "Spring" edition has arrived just in time for the summer months. It's a bit tardy, but worth the wait. Despite the company's well-publicized financial woes, Mandriva has delivered a solid and user-friendly desktop release.
New Arrivals in the Linux.com Store
Jennifer Cloer - Sat, 17 Jul 2010 04:07:46 +0100
We are announcing some new arrivals today in the Linux.com Store– hats, hats and more hats! To be more specific, we’ve added four new baseball caps, each with a different choice of a Linux-related graphic. My favorite is the “Green Fresh Kernels.”
Weekend Project: Configuring QoS for Linux Routers, Gateways
Nathan Willis - Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0100
Bandwidth is a limited resource, even if you are on a high-end, state-of-the-art fiber optic network. Because of the way TCP works, some types of application can rapidly fill up even the biggest pipe, which has the unfortunate side effect of harming other, less bandwidth-intensive applications. Seeding a Bittorrent for the just-released OpenSUSE update is a noble use of your network, but if it makes VoIP calls impossible to hear or stalls out an SSH session, it's hardly worth it. Fortunately, if your router or gateway is running Linux, you can easily set up quality-of-service (QoS) traffic-shaping rules to ensure that all of your packets play nice together.
GNOME 3: The Future of the Desktop
Jack Wallen - Thu, 15 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0100
This September, a new desktop will be unveiled to the world in the form of GNOME 3. This desktop will change the way people view, work with, and think of the desktop. It's different, it's intuitive, and it follows the current evolution of what the desktop should be. But best of all, it's all about Linux.
LinuxCon Preview: Stormy Peters on Desktops, Data and Clouds
Jennifer Cloer - Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:53:02 +0100
As part of our LinuxCon Preview series, I recently had the opportunity to ask a few questions of our keynote speaker Stormy Peters. Stormy today is executive director for The GNOME Foundation. Her LinuxCon keynote, titled "Your Desktop is Free, But Where is Your Data," takes place on Thursday, August 12, at 9 a.m. ET.
Linuxables: Your First Steps with Linux vi
Jack Wallen - Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0100
I want to preface this article by saying, very simply, if you are a programmer, a hard-core vi fan, someone looking to figure out how to make more efficient your vi macros, Linus Torvalds, or Richard M. Stallman - turn away now. Avert your eyes! If you do not, the introductory-level information you will receive here might very well steal, burn, or otherwise permanently damage your soul.
KVM or Xen? Choosing a Virtualization Platform
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0100
When Xen was first released in 2002, the GPL'd hypervisor looked likely to take the crown as the virtualization platform for Linux. Fast forward to 2010, and the new kid in town has displaced Xen as the virtualization of choice for Red Hat and lives in the mainline Linux kernel. Which one to choose? Read on for our look at the state of Xen vs. KVM.
Weekend Project: Set Up Webfinger on Your Server(s)
Nathan Willis - Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:50:40 +0100
Webfinger is a new Internet "identity discovery" mechanism, with which you can make personal or professional information about you or your organization discoverable through email addresses. Several well-known web service providers have implemented Webfinger for their customers' profiles, but if you manage your own mail server, all it takes to join the game is a little time.
Installing the Enterprise-Ready Network Monitor Zenoss
Jack Wallen - Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0100
I recently wrote about Nagios, an enterprise-worthy network monitor. For many, Nagios is all they need: It's powerful, flexible, and very reliable. However, for system administrators working with larger networks and who need auto-detection of devices, Zenoss shines as a serious enterprise-ready solution for any size network.
LinuxCon Preview: Eben Moglen on Bilski and Online Privacy
Jennifer Cloer - Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:43 +0100
After its sold-out debut last year, LinuxCon in year two is expected to be even better.
Introduction to Puppet: Streamlined System Configuration
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:00:00 +0100
If you have one Linux system to administer, you need a good working knowledge of scripting, command line utilities, and a trusty text editor. If you have two or more, it may be time to add Puppet to that list.
A Peek at MeeGo for Tablets
Linux.com Editorial Staff - Mon, 28 Jun 2010 10:41:29 +0100
It's not quite July yet, but it's not too soon to start adding things to your Christmas wish list. Case in point? A MeeGo-based tablet computer.
We found this video of a "pre-alpha" demo of MeeGo for tablets. Shows the MeeGo user interface on a touchscreen tablet, some of the default applications, and working with the MeeGo multi-touch interface. You'll get a look at MeeGo playing back HD video, and AppUp Store for installing MeeGo applications. Remember, this is "pre-alpha," so it's likely to change before official devices are launched — but we think it looks really good already.
Finding Evernote Replacements for Linux
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:34:32 +0100
One of the applications many users ask about when migrating to Linux is Evernote. While the folks at Evernote haven't created a Linux port, you'll find plenty of apps for note taking, organization, and wrangling important personal and business documents.
Nearly 8,000 Votes Cast to Determine New Geek Apparel in Linux.com Store
Our winning design, with 57 percent of the vote, is "The People's Product" and was submitted by Said Hassan of Gaza in Palestine.
Linux.com Store merchandise is designed to invoke feelings of geek pride, freedom, fun, eccentricity, and originality. Said's design touches on all of these qualities, but most of all - on geek pride. His design reads "We Made IT," demonstrating the collective contributions of a worldwide community working together to produce the most innovative operating system.
Said is receiving travel expenses and a pass to attend LinuxCon in Boston and will also enjoy the fame associated with having his design displayed on T-shirts worn around the globe.
The contest was introduced when we launched the Linux.com Store in March. We received more than 100 submissions, painfully narrowed those original designs down to six finalists, and then put the ultimate decision in the hands of the community and the power of each designer to rally community support behind their creations. Three months after the Store opening, we're excited to look towards LinuxCon in Boston where the T-shirts will be also be available to purchase.
The Linux.com Store offers an exclusive line of geek apparel that helps us fly our geek flags with pride while supporting the work of Linus Torvalds and the various activities and services provided by The Linux Foundation. Said's contribution is a unique and important one.
A big thanks to all the people who submitted designs, and a special thanks to the finalists who helped bring new people to the Store by encouraging them to vote. The best ideas always come from the community and this contest was no exception. We'll look forward to offering other chances to collaborate and win prizes based on promotions for this unique online shopping destination.
The Beat Goes On: Open Source Multimedia Tools Part 2
Jon "maddog" Hall - Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:10:42 +0100
Last week, I started to share information on FOSS multimedia tools, covering some integrated multimedia distributions and some audio tools. This week, in part two, I will cover video editing, scanning, converting from one format to another, and publishing your creative arts.
LinuxCon Preview: Virgin America Runs Massive Workloads on Linux, Shares Best Practices
Jennifer Cloer - Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:22:01 +0100
Virgin America's Ravi Simhambhatla is delivering a keynote at this year's LinuxCon North America. He will be giving us the CIO view on how to sell the value of open source internally when cost isn't the only driving factor. Mr. Simhambhatla took a few minutes to answer some of our questions as we prepare to see him speak in Boston on August 12, 2010.
Linuxables: Intro to Linux Command Line
Jack Wallen - Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:47:01 +0100
Ah, the Linux command line - that of which myths and legends are made.
Weekend Project: Configure Your Keyboard Into Submission
Nathan Willis - Sat, 19 Jun 2010 00:28:53 +0100
Most of us take our keyboards for granted when they're working smoothly; perhaps we struggle for a bit finding the correct keyboard layout when doing a fresh Linux install, but once the OS is up and running they tend to stay out of our way. Except for those one or two keys that never quite do what they are supposed to. From the application "hot keys" on full-sized or multimedia keyboards to the peculiar add-ons sported by some laptop and netbook models, there are bound to be one or two specialty keys that need tweaking. You'll need some time and a couple of spare terminal windows to configure them into submission.
Open Source Multimedia Tools Make Sweet Music
Jon "maddog" Hall - Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:10:31 +0100
Forty years ago I was enraptured by the ability to control a machine using software logic, which diverted me from electrical engineering to software development. Somewhere along the line I realized that developing software for software's sake is not very useful, as I recognized that not everyone had the same fascination for computers and computing that I did.
Other peoples' creative talents surface in other areas. Some people, for instance, like to create music. They are skilled at playing the guitar or the piano, composing new music and leading the singing of people with their own voice. My parents made me play the clarinet, because they realized that I could not play the instrument and sing at the same time....a blessing to their ears.
Other people use computers to generate, record, analyze, edit and produce music and videos, and computers assist them in their creative drive. Still other people want to use both computers and multimedia to “get a message out" by creating posters, blogs, and other means of communication. Sometimes the paths would cross, and in the early days of computing it would often be a mathematician with a love of art who would bridge the gap created by the three and spend time making computers more adaptive to the creation of art of different types. It is not by accident that some of our greatest computer scientists are also great musicians, and some really great movie companies (ones like Pixar and Industrial Light and Magic) hire some of the best computer scientists.
When I was in high school a “sound lab” would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars (and that was when a dollar was worth a lot more). The sound lab would be filled with expensive, dedicated equipment. Today an inexpensive PC with a decent sound card and good microphones allow a budding musician or band to publish their art and put it on the Internet for people to see, hear and perhaps even purchase.
The software required to do a reasonable job of producing multimedia also became fairly inexpensive and until recently was all closed source. In the past several years the FOSS community has created a large number of applications and services around multimedia, including entire distributions devoted to the area. The ability of artists to use the programs with little programming knowledge (or some help from programming friends) drove the development of FOSS multimedia tools.
The reader will notice there are often multiple programs listed to do each function. This is (of course) also true in the closed source world. When you go to the shelves of the computer store there are multiple CAD programs, virus programs, and programs of almost every type duplicated by various vendors. In the FOSS world various groups of programmers also put forth their vision of how programs should work. In the FOSS world, however, the “great idea” is visible, bubbles to the top, and can be shared, so all the programs move forward rapidly. FOSS developers strive to create concepts like The Linux Audio Developer's Simple Plugin API (LADSPA), a standard API for audio (reverb, etc.), so “plug-in libraries” can be built to more easily share code between programs.
Before we start going down a list of multimedia programs, I do want to point out that a lot of these programs run on multiple platforms: Linux, *BSD, OS/X and MS Windows. A lot of them have binary packages made for the system you use, and a lot of them may be included in your current distribution of choice or distribution's repository. Your current distribution is the first place to look. The reader is therefore welcome to try each program to see which program fits their needs the best, and if I, as the author, left out your favorite program in some category, please forgive me. Better yet, put your comments here and let the rest of the readers benefit from your thoughts.
Remember that you may have to match the sound system of your distribution (ALSA, Pulse-Audio, etc.) to your computer's hardware and then typically match the settings of each application you try to that sound system before you can hear anything. Another tip for good results is to make sure that you are using the real-time version of the Linux Kernel, which has better latency handling than the general-purpose kernel.
There are also several distributions aimed at multimedia, where the distribution makers have gathered a lot of the programs and added them to a base distribution using a real-time kernel that runs live off a CD-R, a DVD-R or a USB stick. Some of these distributions are:Ubuntu Studio, Artistx , 64Studio.com and Puredyne.org (bootable USB stick and LiveCD).
Running one of these distributions “live” may be the easiest way to try a series of the applications quickly, and if you like them, perhaps set up a netbook or a dual-boot system to create a “studio-on-the-go.” There are also companies, such as Indamixx, that sell pre-installed netbooks and even hand-held “studios.” Here the distribution and applications have already been matched with the hardware, so “installation” is as easy (or easier) as most Windows systems that come pre-installed. You can just take it out of the box and use it. They also sell support on the systems.
There are also several books out on using FOSS multimedia tools. One book, “Crafting Digital Media: Audacity, Blender, Drupal, GIMP, Scribus, and other Open Source Tools,” by Daniel James (Apress, 2009), has a CD-R in the back of it based on Ubuntu. The book describes a subset of the tools listed here, but each tool it describes is in much greater detail than can be put into this web-based text.
For my Portuguese-speaking friends (or those people very good with translation software), EstudioLivre.org lists a huge wealth of FOSS multimedia tools. Finally, a lot of sites have free multimedia of different types under various free licenses. The Artistx site mentioned above has a long list of sites that have free 3D models, audio clips, video clips and other multimedia that is freely licensed. This can help you get started using some of the music programs listed here.
I decided to write this web article in two parts. This week I will start the discussion with programs in graphics and animation, and audio. Next week, I'll cover video, web publishing, and advanced topics such as format converters and live editing. In reality, it is still impossible to do justice to all of the programs and efforts in the FOSS multimedia space, but these two articles will hopefully inspire you to do more investigation yourself.
Graphics and Animation
GIMP
One of the first “end user” programs to attract my attention was GIMP. An “image manipulation and paint program,” GIMP can handle a wide range of input formats such as GIF, JPEG, and PNG. I first saw GIMP about the time that Larry Ewing used GIMP to create “Tux,” the penguin mascot for the Linux kernel. While GIMP was impressive even then, a complete re-write of it (allowing the utilization of plug-ins) made GIMP take off, and today GIMP is considered the tool for bit-map digital graphics. GIMP works on many different platforms and is especially useful for doing in-depth photo retouching, image authoring and image composition. While GIMP is not know for animation, simple animated gifs and other animations can be made with GIMP using different layers to allow for the movement. I use GIMP to “recover” otherwise damaged photographs, including old photographs that I scan in and electronically clean up. The use of GIMP allowed my father to see clearly what his grandfather actually looked like, and my mother to have a good picture of her grandmother.
One use for GIMP is in teaching composition to students learning photography. Usually composition is taught using digital cameras instead of film because of the cost savings associated with electronic media. However, Adobe's Photoshop is an expensive proposition for students to purchase. GIMP, being free of cost, allows students to learn composition and electronic effect treatment without incurring either the license cost or the stain of “software piracy.”
Inkscape
Inkscape is a program for creating scalable 2D vector graphics. Inkscape accepts a wide variety of input file types and uses SVG, a W3C XML format standard for 2D vector graphics, as its native format. With Inkscape you can make all sorts of scalable drawings and posters. I use Inkscape to title the slides of my videos. Inkscape is also very useful in creating icons, splashscreens website art and other graphical items that may have to “grow and shrink” without losing perspective. While Inkscape can store its results in a wide variety of formats to be compatible with other programs, its native format of SVG will be very useful due to the upcoming HTML5 standard.
Hugin
Hugin is a program for creating panoramic images. I take lots of pictures I would like to “stitch together” to make a panorama, and Hugin does this nicely. Again, Hugin takes a little learning and pre-planning to use, but the results are worth it.
Synfig
Synfig is a powerful multiplatform 2D animation program. It features motion between layers, distortion effects, color correction, and tabular floating point calculation for image processing.
Blender
Blender is a very powerful tool for creating 3D environments, images, backgrounds, animations and games. Also interesting is the Blender Foundation's focus on creating “open” movies, such as “Elephant Dream” and “Big Buck Bunny,” and allowing people to change them by licensing the intermediate data files under Creative Commons licensing. In 2008, the Blender Foundation created a computer game called “Yo Frankie!” which runs on a variety of different operating systems. And, another use of Blender is in creating 3D “walkthroughs” for architectural studies.
Wings3D
Wings3D is a somewhat simpler tool than Blender for creating 3D objects, and does not create animations, but is still very powerful
Audio Players
xmms and Audacious
Want to listen to music? FOSS has a wide range of music players, from the simple to the highly sophisticated. Once upon a time, I found a little music player called “xmms.” It did everything I wanted a music player to do at the time, and while it was patterned after Winamp, it was written from scratch by Mikael and Peter Alm. A very belated “thank you” to these two gentlemen! Like a lot of other projects in FOSS, it has morphed and spun off other “simple” audio player projects such as Audacious. Not that Audacious is “simple.” But as a clean, easy-to-use interface goes, even my mom and pop could use Audacious.
Mixxx
Mixxx, on the other hand, is a “not so simple” audio player, but my mom and pop never expressed an interest in being a “DJ." If mom and pop did want to test those waters, they could mix streams of different formats such as MP3, OGG, WAVE and FLACC with Mixxx. They could even make their digital recordings sound like vinyl (shades of 1968!). Mixxx can handle multiple sound cards and various MIDI controllers. It would allow mom and pop to capture and play back multichannel sound, such as their son singing in the shower.
Media Players
We move on from audio players to media players where we encounter VLC. VLC claims to “play everything. It handles DVDS, (S)VCDs, Audio CDs, web streams, TV cards and much more, including E=every codec I have ever known. And, it runs across multiple operating systems.
Some of programs I've discussed have audio capture of some type. But if you are going to do real audio capture, editing and mixing, you probably want to use a more specialized program.
Audacity is my long-standing favorite for capturing and editing audio. For me, it is the right combination of “easy to use” and “power.” Audacity imports and exports all the formats that I need, and I can edit those sound files to remove parts I do not want or “glue together” pieces of audio. Sound too loud or a bit too soft? You can easily adjust that too. Audacity works across all major platforms.
Nyquist is a language based on LISP that was intended to be used for complete audio synthesis and analysis. A subset of this language allows the writing of plug-ins for Audacity that do not need to be compiled and can be written with a simple text editor.
If you do not need Microsoft Windows support for your music editing (and who does?) but want a kick-ass editor, try Ardour, a user interface that is a bit more complex than Audacity, in my opinion. But if you can't do what you want to do with Ardour in the way of audio editing, then you are rare indeed.
Summary, Part One
Hopefully you will download one of the distributions listed above, run it live and try out some of the applications I have listed here. Then we can continue investigating the FOSS multimedia world by looking closer at video and publishing multimedia works.
FOSS Compliance: What Are the Basics You Must Know?
Amanda McPherson - Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:00:00 +0100
Software compliance isn’t exactly the sexiest topic we tackle at the Linux Foundation, but it’s one of the most important. While we focus *our* efforts on open source software, the vast majority of software compliance efforts are focused on proprietary licenses. Just ask a CIO of an enterprise who has been audited by one of their software suppliers recently, or look at the well funded efforts of the Business Software Alliance, an organization dedicated to stamping out piracy and keeping companies in compliance with their members. At the Linux Foundation, we aren’t concerned with proprietary licenses and the well-funded and well-armed organizations that maintain compliance. We concern ourselves with helping companies use open source software, and in order to use open source software, you must keep in compliance with the license. After all to most open source projects...
Seven Reasons to Upgrade to openSUSE 11.3
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Tue, 15 Jun 2010 22:38:59 +0100
Lizard lovers, get ready. The next openSUSE release is heading your way very soon. After eight months of development, the green team will launch 11.3 in mid-July. Let's take a look at the new and improved openSUSE.
osTicket: Help Desk Ticketing Done Right
Jack Wallen - Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:00:00 +0100
Are you an IT manager or a consulting firm in search of the ideal help desk ticketing system? Have you looked around for what seems like months only to find systems too pricey, too closed, too feature-deprived, or too complex to install and/or use? Or are you just beginning your search and have no idea where to look? If either description fits, you're in luck as I have the help desk ticketing system that is just the ticket to meet your needs. The system I am referring to is osTicket and, as you would expect, the "os" stands for "open source."
Weekend Project: One-Time Passwords for Extra Linux Security
Nathan Willis - Sat, 12 Jun 2010 03:05:18 +0100
Do you take your security extra seriously? Do you reject all unencrypted email and use a 15,360-bit RSA key when you log in over SSH? Well that's pretty good, but it still doesn't protect you from every kind of attack.
The People Who Support Linux: "Be a Part of Creating Your Own Free World"
Jennifer Cloer - Fri, 11 Jun 2010 22:24:20 +0100
Our third profile in the series introduces us to Damian Bere. Damian is a Senior Enterprise Architect based in the UK who has been using Linux for 10 years. Another fact about Damian: he's smitten with his @linux.com email address.
Getting a Grip on GNU grep
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Thu, 10 Jun 2010 15:00:00 +0100
If you've been using Linux for any amount of time, you've probably heard about grep, though maybe you're not familiar with using it. GNU grep is a tool that lets you search one or more files, or standard input. Simple, effective, and absolutely necessary for anyone managing Linux and UNIX-type systems. Want to get a grip on grep? We'll get you started in no time.
Eclipse Study Shows Major Gains for Linux Among Developers
Jennifer Cloer - Wed, 09 Jun 2010 22:57:44 +0100
Developers and programmers are always the earliest adopters of technology, paving the way for the rest of us. And nowhere is that more evident than with Linux.
Setting Up Email Alerts for Network Monitoring with Nagios
Jack Wallen - Tue, 08 Jun 2010 15:00:00 +0100
For any network administrator, a good monitoring tool is worth its weight in dilythium crystals (or gold, depending upon your needs).
Free Training Webinar Covers Linux Admin 101: Getting to Know Vim
Jennifer Cloer - Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:56:01 +0100
There is a really useful, free training webinar available now from one of our regular Linux.com writers (and former openSUSE Community Manager), the talented Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier...
10 Tips for Using GNU Find
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Mon, 07 Jun 2010 23:16:13 +0100
The GNU find utility is one of the most useful commands you'll ever get to know. At first glance the options and syntax can seem arcane. But, with a little practice, you'll be able to locate any file on your system with almost no trouble at all. To help you get started, we've got 10 ways you can use find to get what you're looking for.
Weekend Project: Make a Portable Encrypted File Safe
Nathan Willis - Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:50:29 +0100
Many Linux distributions offer industrial-strength disk encryption tools...
Is That You in Those Killer Linux Threads?
Jennifer Cloer - Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:24:58 +0100
Since launching the Linux.com Store in March, we've welcomed a lot of new visitors and members to the Linux.com community and have gotten some great feedback about the merchandise.
Using ClamAV to Kill Viruses on Postfix
Jack Wallen - Thu, 03 Jun 2010 15:00:00 +0100
Our Postfix mail server series comes to a close this week with the addition of antivirus. I think it's fitting to close with this article because, to many people, the idea of having to add antivirus on a Linux machine is antithetical to what Linux is. When applied to a mail server, that is quit untrue.
Jon "maddog" Hall Viewpoint: Total Cost vs. Return on Investment
Jon "maddog" Hall - Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:08:45 +0100
Over the years there has been much discussion about whether closed-source, proprietary software (CSPS) or Free and Open-Source Software (FOSS) has the lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). This typically goes hand-in-hand with discussions about whether software and computing in general are considered strategic investments or simple necessities of modern life, and that discussion typically follows from the discussion of whether software is a commodity or not.
Slackware 13.1: A Linux Distro That Gets Out of the Way
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:55:18 +0100
Slackware Linux is still going strong. The Slackware Linux Project released Slackware 13.1 on May 24th.This is just a little by shy of the 17th anniversary of Slackware 1.0 and not quite a year after Slackware 13.0. Delve back into yesteryear with me; you're in for a treat.
Meanwhile, in Finland..
Linus Torvalds - Sat, 29 May 2010 18:20:00 +0100
Being known as a Finn living in the US, sometimes people send me pointers to things Finnish.Now, this weekend is obviously the Eurovision song contest...
Weekend Project: Spring Clean Your Music Library
Nathan Willis - Sat, 29 May 2010 03:52:35 +0100
It is a long weekend coming up. If you're like most of us, your collection of digital music has a few problems that build up over time, making it an iffy proposition to simply copy a folder from your hard drive to your phone or music player. There are duplicate files, files with bad or missing tags, maybe a few stray songs purchased from a different store in a separate folder from the material you rip from CDs; and although your slick new media player software supports displaying album art, most of your albums don't have artwork attached to them. Why not set aside a few hours to give your library a quick scrubbing?
The Spring 2010 Linux Distro Scorecard (Part 2)
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Fri, 28 May 2010 23:08:50 +0100
"Zonker" picks up right where he left off yesterday. In this Spring's Linux Distro Scorecard, he provides brief reviews of Debian, Fedora, Linux Mint, Mandriva, openSUSE, Slackware and Ubuntu. Today, we get his take on the final three, and he delivers the payoff - the Linux Distro Scorecard - which can be a handy reference during the months ahead.
openSUSE
The openSUSE distribution is sponsored by Novell, my former employer. (Just in case that wasn't clear from the bio.) As a result, it's one of the distros I'm most familiar with and try to be as objective as possible about.
The project started life about five years ago when Novell decided to open up SUSE Linux development. It's the foundation of SUSE Linux Enterprise, and it's a good distro for people who want to pay attention to SUSE Linux Enterprise development. openSUSE is now developed fully in the open, and the tools behind it (the openSUSE Build Service) are entirely open source. In fact, the build service is being used by several other projects (like MeeGo) and can be used to build packages for all major distros — not just openSUSE.
The default desktop is KDE, though GNOME is also supported and is the default desktop for the commercial release, SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop. Both desktops receive a lot of polish, though the openSUSE developers try not to stray far from upstream GNOME or KDE in terms of developing features. That is to say, if a feature is being developed for openSUSE/SUSE, they try to coordinate with the upstream projects.
As for ease of use, openSUSE is pretty newbie friendly, though it does have some rough edges. The installer is more complex than Ubuntu or Linux Mint. Users have to make a fair number of choices, and can select packages and such during the install if they use the openSUSE DVD. The KDE and GNOME live CDs come with a pre-defined selection of software.
YaST, the system-wide management tool, is very comprehensive. On the flip side, some folks really don't like YaST and find it too intrusive. The package management tools are very well-done, but the actual software center is not as well designed as the Mint or Ubuntu software installers. (This may be changing in an upcoming release, though.) Likewise, the package selection in the "official" repositories is not as good as Debian, Ubuntu, or Fedora. However, the community repositories in the openSUSE Build Service are pretty well stocked, and you can find quite a bit of software through PackMan.
Like most other community distros, openSUSE now only supports x86 and x86-64 officially. The openSUSE Build Service is capable of supporting other architectures, but right now there's not enough momentum behind supporting other architectures and the focus of the project is to support the majority of users.
The default software shipped with openSUSE is entirely open source. The project doesn't ship restricted codecs or proprietary software with the default install, in order to make it easier to redistribute and build on openSUSE. It's not overly difficult to get restricted codecs or drivers for openSUSE, however, and instructions can be found pretty easily.
openSUSE now has a set release cycle of eight months, and the releases are supported for 18 months (two versions plus two months). This means that openSUSE tends to get out of sync with KDE and GNOME at different times, so the "freshness" of the desktops varies from release to release. There's a focus on stability with openSUSE, so bleeding edge software usually won't make it in. openSUSE makes a very good distro for professionals who are experienced with Linux, but also want mostly current software.
Slackware
Even though Slackware is no longer one of the "major" distributions in terms of users, it deserves a mention. Slackware is the oldest surviving Linux distro, and has remained very true to its roots. If you used Slackware five or ten years ago, you'll find that its installer, management and package tools will still be familiar. That's Slackware's strength and weakness. It's a solid and very usable distro for folks who know Linux well, but might be scary for users who are put off by the command line and text utilities. Want an easy to use partitioner? Well, if fdisk or cfdisk meet your criteria, Slack's your buddy. If not, move right along.
Slackware's advantages? It tries to stay very close to the upstream material and produce the most UNIX-like of Linux distributions. It has a devoted, if smallish, community. Slackware is consistent and doesn't adopt the newest technology just to do so — which means Slackware may stick with older software longer than other distros in the name of stability. For instance, it was the last major distro to adopt the 2.6 Linux kernel series. Though it's a KDE-centric distro, it didn't adopt KDE 4 as default until late 2009. And Slackware doesn't ship GNOME at all, though some community projects have offered GNOME packages for Slackware.
Slackware development is sort of open, if you know where to look. Patrick Volkerding has been the driving force behind the distro since its inception in 1993, and does a lot of the work keeping up the distro. You can get involved building extra packages through Slackbuilds.org. Other than that, it's not a big "community" distro in the sense of having a big development community involved in developing it. If you want to support Slackware, I recommend buying the CD/DVD sets and Slackware attire. Even though I don't use Slack as my full-time distro these days, I still buy the occasional sets to help support the project.
The hardware support for Slackware is limited to x86 and x86-64, though a few community projects have sprung up to support it on SPARC and other architectures. They may not stay in step with current or stable Slackware releases, though.
You won't find much support for Slackware via third party tools and hosting providers. Want to run VMware or Dropbox? You probably will have a bit of pain trying to work with Slackware. (As a host — Slackware runs fine as a guest in VMware.)
Slackware is very, very basic. Don't expect a lot in the way of management tools or even fancy package management. Expert users who know what to expect from Slackware tend to be quite happy with it, but new users will probably struggle.
Ubuntu
If you were worried we forgot about Ubuntu, there's no danger of that. We just went in alphabetical order.
Ubuntu is, hands down, the most popular desktop Linux distro around. It's got a strong community, it's easy to install and use, and has a massive community behind it. The project is sponsored by Canonical, which offers the same Linux distro to its commercial customers as to the larger community. Mostly, anyway. Canonical is in the process of offering some "light" builds to OEMs that aren't published for the larger community.
The default distribution is GNOME-based, but the project now offers KDE (Kubuntu), Xfce (Xubuntu), and a number of other 'buntus for folks who enjoy other desktops. Most of the commercial focus is on GNOME, however. Canonical has been focusing hard of late on polishing the desktop and making it easy to use. That does mean that they've diverged a bit from upstream GNOME, but many users like the changes.
As mentioned in the Debian section, Ubuntu is based on Debian and benefits a great deal from the Debian project. Unlike Debian, Ubuntu has a predictable release cycle (every six months). The Long Term Support releases have a three-year lifecycle on the desktop, so users don't have to worry about upgrading to get support. Ubuntu tends to be at the cutting edge of releases without pushing bleeding-edge software.
Ubuntu's installer is dead simple, and the project makes a lot of choices for the user initially. This is great for new users, and tends to rankle more experienced Linux users. Ubuntu hides some system complexity from users, and was the first major distro to get away from using the root user to perform system management tasks. Unlike Mandriva and openSUSE, Ubuntu doesn't have a comprehensive system configuration tool, but does have quite a few tools to ease system management.
The project takes a moderate approach to shipping non-free software. It ships some non-free packages in the form of firmware and such to ensure that hardware works, but doesn't ship non-free codecs by default. However, these things are very easy to install right after the system is set up.
Canonical also integrates its Ubuntu One services into Ubuntu, so users can buy major label MP3s through Rhythmbox and sign up for storage and synchronization services for a fee. Again, some users really enjoy the convenience of these features and others rankle at the commercialism. Ubuntu tends to be an excellent choice for new users looking to Linux for a "just works" experience. But it's not the top choice for advanced users, die-hard software freedom advocates, or folks who want to be on the bleeding edge.
The community is very friendly and the project makes a strong effort to recruit new contributors. If you want to contribute, you can find a way. The support resources and documentation are fairly good, though it can sometimes be difficult to find solutions to problems. Google searches often turn up common questions that have no answers or responses on the forums. (That does happen with other distros as well.) You'll find plenty of third-party support for Ubuntu as well, and odds are if something is packaged for Linux, it's packaged for Ubuntu first and foremost.
In general, Ubuntu is a solid Linux distro that's earned its popularity. It has a few warts, like any other OS, but tends to be a good general distro. Great intro to Linux for new users.
Scorecard and Final Verdicts
Debian
Fedora
Linux Mint
Mandriva
openSUSE
Slackware
Ubuntu
Default Desktop
GNOME
GNOME
GNOME
KDE
KDE
KDE
GNOME
Maturity of Software
Stale
Leading Edge
Stable
Stable
Stable
Stable / Stale
Stable / Leading Edge
Resources / System Requirements
Minimal
Modest
Newer
Newer
Newer
Minimal
Newer
Ease of Use
Expert
Advanced
Beginner
Intermediate
Intermediate
Expert
Beginner
Ease of Installation
Expert
Intermediate
Beginner
Intermediate
Intermediate
Expert
Beginner
Configuration / System Management Tools
Expert
Intermediate
Beginner / Intermediate
Beginner / Intermediate
Beginner / Intermediate
Expert
Beginner / Intermediate
Package Selection
Excellent
Excellent
Excellent
Good
Good
Fair
Excellent
Length of Support
Good
Fair
Good / Excellent (for LTS)
Fair / Good (for paid desktop)
Good
Good
Good / Excellent (for LTS)
Community Support / Information & Documentation
Good
Excellent
Good
Good
Good
Fair
Excellent
Media / Codec Support
Fair
Fair
Excellent
Good
Good
Fair
Good
Architecture Support
Excellent
Fair
Fair
Fair
Fair
Fair
Fair
Third-party Tools / Packages
Fair
Good
Good
Fair
Fair
Poor
Excellent
Community Involvement / Difficulty to Contribute
Expert
Beginner / Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Intermediate
Expert
Beginner
Licensing Strictness
Very strict
Very strict
Permissive / Risky
Strict / Permissive for Commercial Editions
Strict for Default Install
Strict
Permissive
Developer Tools and Support
Good
Excellent
Good
Good
Excellent
Fair
Excellent
Remember, there is no wrong choice. Whatever distro suits you best is the right one for you, so if you're happy with a distro that didn't get a high score (or isn't listed here) that's OK. It's impossible to objectively say "this distribution is the best one, period." The goal here is to set out a roadmap for new Linux users or experienced Linux users that may not be fully happy with their current distro.
Have suggestions? Please let us know what you think in the comments. There's a lot of Linux to choose from, and new users looking for guidance every day. Let them know what's great about your favorite distro and how friendly the Linux community is.
The Spring 2010 Linux Distro Scorecard
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Fri, 28 May 2010 00:05:19 +0100
Which Linux distro should I use? It's one of the most common questions for new and aspiring Linux users. This Distro Scorecard will help...
MeeGo v1.0: The Netbook User Experience and API
Jennifer Cloer - Thu, 27 May 2010 02:32:24 +0100
Today's MeeGo v1.0 release represents an important step...
LinuxCon Program Announced: This Year’s Themes
Amanda McPherson - Wed, 26 May 2010 17:53:13 +0100
It’s been a hectic few months narrowing down the content for this year’s LinuxCon. Craig Ross and I have been working on this schedule for what seems like years, but we are very proud to announce it today...
Stop SPAM on Your Postfix Server with Spamassassin
Jack Wallen - Wed, 26 May 2010 15:00:00 +0100
If you have a mail server, you can almost guarantee that SPAM will find its way in (and out if your not careful)...
The People Who Support Linux: Driving 4,000 Miles to LinuxCon
Jennifer Cloer - Tue, 25 May 2010 22:43:13 +0100
This is an ongoing Linux.com series that profiles The Linux Foundation's individual members and begins to collectively illustrate a very important part of the Linux community. Individual members help support the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and other important activities that advance Linux, while getting a variety of other fun and valuable benefits. It is this collective support from thousands of individual members that enables The Linux Foundation to provide important services for industry and community.
The series began with senior application developer Matthew Fernandez. Today, we talk to Kevyn-Alexandre Paré.
Some Linux Foundation members don't do anything just a little. That's certainly the case with Paré, a software engineer based in Montreal who traveled nearly 4,000 miles by car last summer to attend the first ever LinuxCon (part of a 9,000-mile summer road trip). Apparently, his trek did nothing to slow him down, because upon arriving at LinuxCon, the BUG community gave him an award for enthusiasm.
Last summer is also when Paré became a Linux Foundation member, taking advantage of both discounted event registration and training courses, including Linux Foundation training courses "Developing Linux Device Drivers" and "Linux Kernel Internals and Debugging."
"Those two courses taught me a lot, were practical, and the teacher used real life experiences. I'm even thinking of retaking 'Developing Linux Device Drivers' since it is now offered as a 5-day course," said Paré.
Paré was originally introduced to Linux in college and quickly became passionate about embedded devices. Today, he uses Linux both at work and at home and participates in the beagleboard, gumstix, Android and Ben NanoNote projects.
"My favorite Linux innovation is the Ben NanoNote because they're applying copyleft to hardware and software. Do it yourself? Do it together!" says Paré.
His recommendation to new Linux users and developers is to keep working with others and sharing as much as you can to help. Paré says his Linux Foundation membership is a way to contribute to and be a part of The Linux Foundation, home to Linux creator Linus Torvalds, while gaining advantages such as discounts and networking opportunities.
"I expect it will help me stay up to date with training and making new contacts during conferences. I expect to gain a lot of positive visibility."
If you're interested in being profiled for this Linux.com series, please email editors@linux.com. To learn more about becoming an individual member of The Linux Foundation, please visit the Linux Foundation member website.
Linux Mint 9: Solid, Simple, Shiny
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Mon, 24 May 2010 22:59:07 +0100
It's lean, it's very green, and it's one of the better Linux distros for users who just want a good desktop right out of the box. Linux Mint 9, dubbed Isadora, was released on May 18th with plenty of new features and software.
Patent Absurdity
Jennifer Cloer - Sat, 22 May 2010 03:55:16 +0100
Thanks to the Free Software Foundation and its donors for producing this video that helps to expose the absurdity of our patent system today...
Weekend Project: Monitor Your Server with StatusNet Updates
Nathan Willis - Fri, 21 May 2010 22:53:48 +0100
Summer is almost here; do you really want to spend it sitting indoors and monitoring the health of a running server or daemon? Rather than resign yourself to that fate, why not set up your system to post important messages, from regular status updates to emergency messages, through a microblogging service like Identi.ca? It's easier than you might think.
Seven Reasons to Upgrade to Fedora 13
Joe 'Zonker' Brockmeier - Thu, 20 May 2010 22:18:48 +0100
Fedora 13 is right around the corner. Code-named "Goddard," the Fedora 13 release sports tons of updates from Fedora 12 and some really exciting new features that will have Linux power users running for their CD burners. You'll find everything from better printer support to experimental 3D support for Nvidia cards and filesystem rollback. Ready to roll up your sleeves? Let's take a look at the best of Fedora 13.
Install and Configure a Postfix Mail Server
Jack Wallen - Wed, 19 May 2010 15:00:00 +0100
Knowing how to set up a mail server on a Linux machine is an important task any Linux admin should know. And of course, in the spirit of all things Linux, there are a number of ways you can go in order to get that mail server up and running...
All Oracle Press Releases
Agility Streamlines Worldwide HR Processes with Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1
Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:00:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Agility Streamlines Worldwide HR Processes with Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1
Global Logistics Provider Improves HR Visibility, Data Accuracy and Employee Efficiency
Redwood Shores, Calif. – September 1, 2010
News Facts
To improve its capacity to quickly and reliably respond to the needs of its growing customer base, Agility, a global provider of integrated logistics, has standardized international human resources data and processes on the newest version of the Oracle E-Business Suite.
By replacing numerous legacy systems with the Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1, Agility is able to view an accurate snapshot of data on its 26,000 employees in 59 countries in seconds, saving time on reporting and promoting greater visibility into its company and resources.
Consolidated Data Reduces Reporting Time, Improves Accuracy
After experiencing significant growth through acquisitions, Agility was struggling to make important personnel decisions in a timely manner as its multiple disparate legacy systems were preventing it from creating a single source of consistent HR data.
Agility chose Oracle in June 2008. Working with Oracle Business Process Outsourcing Partner Caliber Point, Agility deployed a global enterprise-wide human resource management system with the Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1 in approximately nine months.
With Oracle HR, Agility eliminated redundant data collection and maintenance across multiple systems, enabling it to:
Reduce the time required to produce employee headcount reports from weeks to mere seconds;
Eliminate redundant data entry to the active employee directory for creation, updates and termination of employee email accounts within 24 hours; and
Increase collaboration and efficiency with the launch of an instantly available and automatically updated employee directory.
Agility also deployed Oracle Performance Management 12.1, which it expects to enable objective setting for employees that can be linked to the organization’s strategic direction, creating a motivator for its employees and increased retention.
As a result of improved data accuracy and increased employee efficiency gained from the Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1, Agility expects to save approximately $5.3 million over five years.
Supporting Quote
“We needed to integrate our different systems to create a consolidated view of employee information that would support both our customer needs and business priorities,” said Ian G. Paisley, vice president, human resources information services, Agility. “With the Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1 for HR, we have a collaborative and flexible platform to keep employee information accurate and accessible, which will help our organization save time and resources – as well as millions of dollars.”
Over 65,000 customers worldwide rely on Oracle's complete, open and integrated enterprise applications to achieve superior results. Oracle provides a secure path for customers to benefit from the latest technology advances that improve the customer software experience and drive better business performance. Oracle Applications Unlimited is Oracle's commitment to customer choice through continuous investment and innovation in current applications offerings. Oracle's next-generation Fusion Applications build upon that commitment, and are designed to work with and evolve Oracle's Applications Unlimited offerings. Oracle's lifetime support policy helps ensure customers will continue to have a choice in upgrade paths, based on their enterprise needs. For more information on the latest Oracle Applications releases go to: www.oracle.com/applications.
About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, visit oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Oracle Introduces Admission Applications Web Services for PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions
Tue, 31 Aug 2010 13:00:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Oracle Introduces Admission Applications Web Services for PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions
Open Systems: Third Feature Pack Enhances Higher Education Student Application Processes
Redwood Shores, Calif. – August 31 2010
News Facts
To help higher education institutions effectively manage extensive and diverse admissions application processes, Oracle has launched a new feature pack as a part of its Continuous Delivery Model for Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions.
PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions 9.0 Feature Pack 3 includes Admission Applications Web Services (AAWS) which enable an online admissions application process with self-service capabilities for prospective students and administrators. AAWS enhance the service-oriented architecture (SOA) of Campus Solutions by providing more configurability and flexibility for higher education institutions.
The Continuous Delivery Model of Campus Solutions enables higher education institutions to avoid disruptive major upgrades by delivering periodic application Feature Packs that provide new functionality to meet immediate needs.
Using AAWS, institutions can construct and deploy online applications while taking advantage of the integration and interoperability offered by Web services. Once assigned a unique user name, applicants can enter important information such as personal data, intended academic area of study or residency while being able to save their progress and return any number of times until they have completed their work and are ready to submit. Subsequently, administrators can view, manage application data and track the progress of all active admission applications.
Considering the variability of admissions applications throughout the world, AAWS provide institutions with the flexibility to select and customize online data entry to fit their needs. By having complete control over the format and composition of the application, institutions can incorporate their unique admissions criteria – down to particular colleges or programs – into the admissions database.
Because PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions with Feature Pack 3 has self-service capabilities, it is critical to prevent duplicate data entry, which could occur as so many prospective students have access to the system. Configuration options delivered with AAWS allow for automatic search/match processing every time a user saves or submits an admissions application, significantly reducing the chance of duplicates.
As a part of the admissions process, institutions typically receive multiple types of information about an applicant from external sources. AAWS are formatted to move multiple data records from any external file into the Campus Solutions database, regardless of the type of system or source, reducing the administrative burden of converting information. For instance, institutions can easily import their applicants’ standardized test scores into the admissions database.
Supporting Quotes
“After reviewing Admission Applications Web Services as part of Feature Pack 3 for Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions, I believe using AAWS will enable us to improve our ability to provide online admission applications, streamlining all processes involved,” said Debbie Littlefield, senior assistant dean of admissions, Marquette University.
“Feature Pack 3 for PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions will enable higher education institutions to make online application processes much more dynamic and provide applicants with access to the system more quickly,” said Jason McIntyre, business analyst, student business solutions, The Australian National University.
“Oracle’s Admission Applications Web Services will provide higher education institutions with a very good platform on which to build an applications system, while delivering a good return on our investment in other Oracle and PeopleSoft products and support staff,” said Ian Holmes, senior manager, student records product advisory group and SI-net projects, University of Queensland.
“In many ways, the application process is the first impression an institution makes on a potential student. It is vital for schools to demonstrate a streamlined process that is easy to use from an applicant standpoint and easy to manage from an institution standpoint. Feature Pack 3 and Admission Applications Web Services provide the flexibility to customize the admissions process to an institution’s needs while delivering the tools to organize an abundance of data efficiently, helping schools recruit the best students possible,” said Mark Armstrong, vice president, Oracle Higher Education.
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, visit oracle.com.
About Oracle Applications
Over 65,000 customers worldwide rely on Oracle's complete, open and integrated enterprise applications to achieve superior results. Oracle provides a secure path for customers to benefit from the latest technology advances that improve the customer software experience and drive better business performance. Oracle Applications Unlimited is Oracle's commitment to customer choice through continuous investment and innovation in current applications offerings. Oracle's next-generation Fusion Applications build upon that commitment, and are designed to work with and evolve Oracle's Applications Unlimited offerings. Oracle's lifetime support policy helps ensure customers will continue to have a choice in upgrade paths, based on their enterprise needs. For more information on the latest Oracle Applications releases go to www.oracle.com/applications.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Oracle Unveils Next-Generation Servers to Enhance Communications Services
Tue, 31 Aug 2010 12:00:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Oracle Unveils Next-Generation Servers to Enhance Communications Services
New Sun Netra Servers and Blades Extend Oracle’s Leadership with Most Complete, Open and Integrated Hardware and Software Portfolio for Communications Service Providers
Redwood Shores, Calif. – August 31, 2010
News Facts
Extending its leadership in the communications industry, Oracle announced the introduction of two new Sun Netra servers that help network equipment providers and communications service providers keep pace with rapidly growing demands for new services such as 3G- and 4G-wireless data and voice-over-IP.
The Sun Netra servers expand Oracle’s complete, open and integrated portfolio of industry-leading software and hardware for the communications industry, including carrier-grade SPARC and x86-based blade and rack servers, storage and networking infrastructure.
Coupled with the mission-critical Oracle Solaris operating system, Sun Netra servers deliver extremely high reliability and scalability for running demanding communications services with 24x7 availability.
Oracle’s Sun Netra CP3270 Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA) blade server meets the increasing requirements for greater performance and memory-in-infrastructure networks while also maintaining a low power and thermal footprint to cut operating costs for mission-critical environments.
Oracle’s Sun Netra X4270 AC and DC carrier-grade rack server features high performance and unprecedented density in a rugged, energy-efficient and compact form.
Sun Netra CP3270 ATCA Server Details
Enhancing the performance of the previous generation of x86 ATCA blade servers, the Sun Netra CP3270 ATCA server is designed to enhance application performance while reducing the overall system power and cooling demands.
The server has earned Network Equipment-Building System (NEBS) level 3-certification, meeting stringent specifications for fire suppression, high temperature environments and vibration resistance for earthquakes.
To help communications service providers maintain network efficiency as data usage continues to grow, the Sun Netra CP3270 ATCA supports 32GB of accessible memory through eight Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM) slots.
The server is easy to manage and runs Oracle Solaris, Oracle Enterprise Linux, OracleVM and other operating systems and virtualization infrastructure software.
Sun Netra X4270 Server Details
The Sun Netra X4270 doubles computing resources and reduces system power and cooling requirements over previous generation systems, helping improve network cost efficiencies.
The server’s 18 DIMM slots make it ideally suited for memory-intensive applications, such as Oracle TimesTen In-Memory database, and support for eight central processing unit (CPU) cores doubles the number of compute threads when compared to previous Sun Netra x86 servers.
The Sun Netra X4270 is NEBS level 3-certified, reducing risk for mission-critical workloads.
The server is easy to manage and runs Oracle Solaris, Oracle Enterprise Linux, OracleVM, and other operating systems and virtualization infrastructure software.
Supporting Quotes
“Communications service providers are under constant pressure to increase operational efficiency and maximize revenue. Coupled with our number-one position in communications software, Oracle’s new Sun Netra servers are designed to deliver greater performance and memory capacity while lowering power consumption and overall cost,” said Dan Ford, vice president of product marketing, Oracle Communications.
“Oracle’s Sun Netra carrier-grade servers are a key component of our service provider solutions, which run mission-critical applications like new converged services, media gateway controllers and subscriber data management. The Sun Netra servers provide high performance and energy efficiency, enabling us to deliver differentiated solutions cost effectively to our customers,” said Kumar Vishwanathan, vice president of engineering and chief architect, Sonus Networks.
Only Oracle’s software and systems span the communications industry technology landscape — from carrier-grade servers, storage and IT infrastructure, to mission-critical business and operational support systems and service delivery platforms; from business intelligence applications and retail point-of-sale solutions to the Java platform running on more than two billion mobile and handheld devices. Oracle helps 100 of the world's top 100 service providers innovate and exploit new business models, build strong, profitable customer relationships, and streamline operations. For more information, visit http://www.oracle.com/communications
About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) provides the most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems in the world. For more information about Oracle, visit oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Oracle Announces Availability of Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0, Key Component of Oracle Utilities Smart Meter Platform
Mon, 30 Aug 2010 12:00:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Oracle Announces Availability of Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0, Key Component of Oracle Utilities Smart Meter Platform
Redwood Shores, Calif. – August 30, 2010
News Facts
Oracle announced the availability of Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0, a key component of the Oracle Utilities Smart Meter Platform, which helps utilities manage the vast quantity of customer energy and water consumption data gathered from smart meter deployments.
With Oracle Utilities Smart Meter Platform, utilities can organize consumption data and turn it into actionable intelligence – improving service, controlling operational costs and responding appropriately to meter-related events and alerts. Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0 sits at the platform’s core and verifies, stores, processes and formats the data, providing every utility department, application and business process with the metering information it needs.
Key Features and Benefits
Through this new version, Oracle has resolved the integration challenges that exist in the industry today between customer information systems and meter data management systems. Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0 minimizes data duplication and interoperates with Oracle Utilities Customer Care and Billing, enabling, for example, a customer service representative to easily access the data required to resolve customer queries without having to jump between applications.
With Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0, utilities can still leverage custom, legacy systems with a more simplified IT architecture, which supports the move to time-of-use, intraday or real-time pricing initiatives. The software enables utilities to retain the key flexibility needed to configure an IT system to meet the goals of any smart grid initiative.
Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0 features a centralized device portal that delivers maximum flexibility to all users across the organization. It enables customer service representatives to easily review current and historical usage, while also allowing field service technicians to view metering activity details and manage meter reading schedules. The device portal also contains tools that help utilities view/edit interval data, look for signs of tampering or theft, view/analyze audit records and examine weather patterns to determine usage variations from one time period to another.
Within the next 12 months, Oracle plans to include the following applications in Oracle Utilities Smart Meter Platform: Oracle Utilities Business Intelligence for Meter Data Management, Oracle Utilities Smart Grid Gateway and full support of communication to customers regarding usage and efficiency programs.
The Oracle Utilities Smart Meter Platform enables utilities to choose only the products and services they need to meet today’s requirements while providing a solid foundation to add new functionality when needed.
Supporting Quotes
“Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management’s robust interval data capabilities are important for enabling our key business processes. The software’s interoperability with multiple Oracle solutions should give us the scalability and functionality we need to achieve our goals as one of the United Kingdom’s leading energy companies,” said Mike Ballard, senior solutions architect, EDF Energy.
“Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management 2.0 – a component application of the Oracle Utilities Smart Meter Platform – is a true enterprise metering solution that enables utilities to organize vast quantities of consumption data generated by smart meters and turn it into intelligence that helps them run their business more effectively across every department. It ultimately helps empower customers to effectively monitor and manage their energy and water use,” said Stephan Scholl, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Utilities.
Oracle Utilities delivers proven software applications that help utilities of all types and sizes achieve competitive advantage, business performance excellence and a lower total cost of technology ownership. Oracle Utilities integrates industry-specific customer care and billing, network management, work and asset management, mobile workforce management and meter data management applications with the capabilities of Oracle’s industry-leading enterprise applications, business intelligence tools, middleware and database technologies. The software enables customers to adapt more nimbly to market deregulation, meet ever-evolving customer demands and deliver on environmental conservation commitments. Additionally, Oracle Utilities helps utilities prepare for smart metering and smart grid initiatives that enhance efficiency and provide critical intelligence metrics that can help drive more-informed energy and water usage decisions for consumers and businesses. For more information, visit www.oracle.com/goto/utilities.
About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) provides the most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems in the world. For more information about Oracle, visit oracle.com
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Janice Hazen
O'Keeffe and Company
+1.770.938.4753
jhazen@okco.com
The Oracle Education Foundation Invites Students and Teachers to Join ThinkQuest International Competition 2011
Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:10:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
The Oracle Education Foundation Invites Students and Teachers to Join ThinkQuest International Competition 2011
Students are Challenged to Think, Create and Innovate
Redwood Shores, California, August 26, 2010
The ThinkQuest International Competition 2011, sponsored by the Oracle Education Foundation (OEF), is now open to teams of students worldwide.
The competition challenges students, up to age 22, to solve a real-world problem by applying their critical thinking, communication, and technology skills.
This year, OEF has introduced some exciting changes that will capture the creative spirit of even more students than before. The introduction of two new events considerably broadens the choice of technologies students may use to create their entries. Moreover, the emphasis on problem-solving serves to inspire participants to tackle real-world challenges and produce solutions that benefit others.
Participants may enroll in three events: ThinkQuest Projects, Digital Media and Application Development.
In the ThinkQuest Projects event, participants will use ThinkQuest Projects, a hosted environment where students produce web-based learning projects, to create their entry.
In the Digital Media event, participants will use digital media tools to produce a blog/journal, website, animation, public service announcement, photo essay, video, or some combination of these items.
In the Application Development event, participants will develop a web-based application or game using their choice of programming language from a select list.
Teams have eight months to develop and submit their entries by the April 27, 2011 deadline. Professional educators from around the world will judge all entries.
Qualifying entries will be published in the ThinkQuest Library, the world’s largest online repository of student-developed learning projects that is visited by millions of learners each month.
Prizes include laptop computers, a trip to ThinkQuest Live, hosted in the San Francisco Bay Area, and monetary grants for the coach’s school, or organization.
More than 4,700 teams from 83 countries participated in the last competition cycle.
“Our experience shows that when students collaborate on subjects about which they care deeply, they produce inspiring work,” said Brad Saffer, Vice President, Oracle Corporate Citizenship. “We encourage teachers and students to take part in this powerful learning experience and look forward to seeing the results of their efforts.”
“ThinkQuest has profoundly changed my classroom. It enables students to collaborate on authentic problems and engage with the community to create websites that showcase their learning on a global stage. Through this process, they're learning important 21st century skills, such as how to engage in digital conversations, create valuable shared content, and find partners beyond their borders," said Jeanne Paulus, teacher and multi-award winning ThinkQuest coach.
The Oracle Education Foundation is a nonprofit organization funded by Oracle. It delivers ThinkQuest, an online learning platform that helps students develop important 21st century skills, including communication, critical thinking, and technology skills. ThinkQuest includes a project environment that supports collaborative learning; technology competitions that challenge students to solve real-world problems; the award-winning ThinkQuest Library, a learning resource visited by millions; and professional development for educators. For more information, visit http://www.oraclefoundation.org.
About Oracle
Oracle is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Contact
Kimberly Pineda
+1.650.506.8831
kimberly.pineda@oracle.com
Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking Achieves Industry Leading Results with Oracle Exadata V2 Benchmark
Thu, 26 Aug 2010 12:05:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking Achieves Industry Leading Results with Oracle Exadata V2 Benchmark
Redwood Shores, Calif. – August 26, 2010
News Facts
Oracle today announced that the Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking System running on Oracle Exadata V2 – The First Database Machine for OLTP -- achieved outstanding benchmark results.
This benchmark demonstrates Oracle’s unmatched ability to engineer applications, middleware, database, operating systems, servers and storage to deliver industry leading performance and value to meet the rigorous processing needs of the world’s largest financial institutions.
Benchmark Results
The benchmark tested the system against account volumes found amongst the world’s largest retail banks.
Oracle FLEXCUBE running on Oracle Exadata V2 achieved outstanding results -- successfully processing 100 million accounts. This benchmark was designed to model month-end processing, which sees some of the heaviest workloads in a bank. The benchmark was completed in 4 hours and 23 minutes.
Compared to previous benchmarks in this category, the results running on Oracle Exadata V2 are 3 - 5 times faster.
Many banks running such high volumes today run on legacy distributed environments. The integration of Oracle FLEXCUBE running on Oracle Exadata V2 offers banks the ability to progressively transform their operations on a modern business infrastructure, capable of meeting their long-term business needs.
This benchmark utilized a full rack Oracle Exadata Database Machine, in place of a “conventional' configuration of at least 4 - 5 cabinets of server and disparate storage racks to deliver similar performance, which can translate to significant cost reductions for the datacenter in terms of infrastructure management, power utilization and space.
Oracle Exadata V2, which is designed for extreme performance, enables financial institutions to meet rapidly growing data processing demands by delivering up to 50 gigabytes/second of raw I/O bandwidth.
With Oracle FLEXCUBE and Oracle Exadata V2, financial institutions can scale seamlessly to meet escalating transactional volume requirements. A building block methodology with complete, built-in redundancy enables the Oracle Exadata Database Machine to quickly and easily scale to virtually any size.
Supporting Quotes
“Our customers require a partner that can deliver fully integrated, best-of-breed hardware, applications and technology that address their rigorous business requirements. This benchmark reflects Oracle’s continued ability to developing the most innovative, industry-leading solutions -- helping drive growth, value and profitability for financial institutions worldwide. The integration of our industry leading banking software (FLEXCUBE) with the First Database Machine for OLTP (Exadata V2) is a clear differentiator,” said Frank Brienzi, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Financial Services Global Business Unit at Oracle.
“The benchmark of Oracle FLEXCUBE on Oracle Exadata V2 demonstrates the power of our combined solutions to scale to meet even the most demanding transactional environments in the financial services industry,” said Kapil Gupta, Senior Vice President, Banking Products Division, Oracle Financial Services. “The results illustrate Oracle’s differentiation to our customers and our ability to provide our customers with the agility needed to meet their business challenges and pursue new opportunities.”
Oracle is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.
Trademark
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Retail Industry Executives to Discuss Complete Solutions and Breakthrough Technologies at Oracle® OpenWorld 2010
Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:00:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Retail Industry Executives to Discuss Complete Solutions and Breakthrough Technologies at Oracle® OpenWorld 2010
Retail-Specific Program Expands to Include More Than 30 Sessions and Networking Events
Redwood Shores, CA – August 23, 2010
News Facts
Retail executives will gather at the upcoming Oracle OpenWorld conference, September 19 – 23, 2010 at Moscone Center in San Francisco, to share new ways to leverage Oracle technology to enable retail business strategies.
As part of a series of more than 30 sessions, demonstrations and networking events focused on retail trends and applications, executives from AutoNation, Lowe’s, Office Depot, Rent-a-Center, RSR Research, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, multi-channel retailer B2W and Brazilian department store retailer Lojas Renner will present on using Oracle technology, database and applications to support their retail business strategies. Quick service restaurant leaders including Chipotle, Jack in the Box and Wendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc. will present case studies on using Oracle Applications to help grow their restaurant chains and improve performance.
Also at Oracle OpenWorld, Oracle Retail Senior Vice President and General Manager Duncan Angove will present a new vision for retail during a general session sponsored by HCL AXON. Retail is among the most IT-intensive and turbulent businesses in the world, and today’s consumer environment provides unprecedented opportunities for retailers to create stronger connections with core customers through innovation.
The Oracle Retail team will demonstrate the impact of Web 2.0 technology on every aspect of the retail enterprise, from new mobile commerce applications to providing merchants and executives with anytime/anywhere access to business analytics to help make intelligent decisions that impact sales today.
Retail@Work, a popular showcase of Oracle Retail solutions at work in a real store environment, will return to the Oracle OpenWorld bookstore. Here, retail executives see Oracle Retail applications and technology in action through real and virtual transactions, and talk to Oracle Retail stores solutions experts about the application suite.
A retail demonstration area and networking lounge will provide attendees an opportunity to see new retail features and functionality, and talk to the product experts behind Oracle’s renowned retail applications.
Oracle also will host Leaders Circle, an invitation-only program that gives C-level executives an opportunity to meet with Oracle executives.
Oracle OpenWorld provides a spectrum of content from super users to executives with insight into Oracle’s product and business strategy for the retail industry and to foster discussion on how Oracle can continue to support its customers’ retail business needs across the enterprise.
Supporting Quote
“Oracle OpenWorld San Francisco affords us a unique opportunity to share our vision and discuss the complete hardware and software solutions that enable new retail strategies. We anticipate valuable dialogue with our customers as they meet and exchange ideas,” said Duncan Angove, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Retail Global Business Unit.
Oracle is the number one provider of innovative and comprehensive industry software solutions for retailers – enabling organizations to serve their customers better by applying insight into daily business decisions for more profitable results. With software that provides supply chain, operations, merchandising, store systems, and optimization as well as enterprise applications and infrastructure software, Oracle partners with the world’s leading retail companies, including 20 of the 20 top retailers worldwide, to transform the economics of their businesses.
About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Oracle Delivers Industry’s Most Complete and Integrated Desktop-to-Datacenter Virtualization Portfolio
Thu, 19 Aug 2010 17:58:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Oracle Delivers Industry’s Most Complete and Integrated Desktop-to-Datacenter Virtualization Portfolio
Company Outlines Benefits of Virtualization Integrated from Applications to Disk
Redwood Shores, Calif. – August 19, 2010
News Facts
Today at an online event, Oracle’s Edward Screven, Chief Corporate Architect, and John Fowler, Executive Vice President, Systems, outlined Oracle’s virtualization strategy and why Oracle Virtualization delivers more value than VMware.
The event highlights how Oracle Virtualization, the most complete and integrated virtualization solutions portfolio, enables customers to go beyond simple server consolidation to virtualize and manage their full hardware and software stack, from desktop-to-datacenter.
Oracle offers unmatched breadth in server virtualization options, including Oracle VM Server for x86, Oracle VM Server for SPARC, Oracle Solaris Containers and Dynamic Domains.
Oracle continues to enhance its virtualization products on all fronts including four recently announced new desktop virtualization offerings: Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure 3.2, Oracle Sun Ray Software 5, Oracle VM Virtual Box 3.2 and Sun Ray 3 Plus Client.
In addition, the recent release of Oracle WebLogic Suite Virtualization Option and Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder, both running on Oracle VM, allows customers to dramatically speed up and simplify application deployment—including in cloud computing environments.
Oracle’s application aware virtualization goes beyond VMware’s hypervisor-only approach by providing virtualization technologies, the applications that run within, and integrated management—addressing the entire stack from applications to disk.
Oracle Virtualization – Helping Transform Datacenters into Service Providers
By providing the industry’s most complete virtualization, with integrated management and support, Oracle helps customers quickly and efficiently deploy and manage complete application stacks. Oracle Virtualization includes:
Oracle Server Virtualization: Designed for efficiency and optimized for performance, Oracle Server Virtualization technologies enable improved consolidation ratios, cost savings and application performance.
Oracle Desktop Virtualization: Oracle’s comprehensive desktop virtualization solutions, from secure thin client devices to highly optimized virtual desktop infrastructure software, offer ease of administration, high security and enhanced user access.
Oracle Storage and Middleware Virtualization: Integrated solutions such as Oracle’s storage virtualization and middleware virtualization technologies help organizations gain performance, flexibility, and better utilize existing infrastructure to reduce space, power, and cooling requirements.
Oracle Virtualization Management: The cost and effort of managing, monitoring and provisioning virtual environments can be expensive and taxing on IT departments. Oracle Enterprise Manager provides the most comprehensive and integrated solution for managing applications and infrastructure across physical and virtual environments, including multi-architecture support for both x86 and SPARC.
"Unlike other vendors who provide virtualization solutions focused solely on the infrastructure layer and consolidation, Oracle Virtualization focuses on making applications easier to deploy, manage, and support – from the desktop to the datacenter,” said, Edward Screven, Oracle Chief Corporate Architect. “By taking a holistic approach that addresses all layers of the enterprise datacenter, Oracle Virtualization can help companies transform into effective service providers that support business priorities, increase performance and reliability, and reduce costs and inefficiencies.”
Supporting Resources
Register for the online event now, sessions begin at 9:00am PDT. On demand versions will also be available.
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Oracle OpenWorld 2010 Highlights New Opportunities for Partner Success with Full Line-Up of Partner-Driven Sessions and Events
Wed, 18 Aug 2010 12:00:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Oracle OpenWorld 2010 Highlights New Opportunities for Partner Success with Full Line-Up of Partner-Driven Sessions and Events
Oracle PartnerNetwork Forum, Pavilions, Awards and Partner-Only Sessions Provide Opportunity for Partners to Showcase Innovations and Gain New Strategies for Driving Business Growth Through Specialization
Redwood Shores, Calif. – August 18, 2010
News Facts
Further enabling partners with the information and resources they need to specialize, differentiate and achieve better business results, Oracle today announced a full line-up of partner events and activities at Oracle OpenWorld 2010 in San Francisco.
The week kicks off with the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Forum, and will be followed by a series of Partner Pavilions and partner-only sessions, throughout the conference that will allow partners to share successes, showcase solutions and capabilities, increase customer and prospect visibility, and learn about new opportunities for business growth with Oracle.
During Oracle OpenWorld, Oracle will also hand out global and regional awards recognizing partners from around the globe for their innovation and business achievements.
The OPN Forum provides a venue for Oracle partners to learn about new innovations in the OPN Specialized program directly from Oracle executives, as well as hear more about unique regional opportunities.
The event, to be held on Sunday, September 19 in Moscone South, will feature a discussion on Oracle strategy and vision with top Oracle executives. Oracle senior vice president of worldwide channel and alliances, Judson Althoff, will also share insights on Oracle’s FY11 channel vision and outline how partners can strengthen their market opportunities with Oracle.
Throughout the one-day event, partners will gain valuable information, contacts and resources in a series of breakout sessions developed to help partners achieve specialization and better build, market and sell Oracle-based solutions.
In addition, partners can join Special Interest Group meetings for Database, Middleware, Applications, Project Portfolio Management, Servers and Storage, Software-as-a Service, Partnering with Oracle in the Cloud, Solaris, Linux and Java, amongst others.
Partner Pavilions at Oracle OpenWorld
Oracle OpenWorld Pavilions allow partners to showcase their expertise and specialized solutions based on Oracle technology. Partner pavilions will include:
CRM On Demand Pavilion: Discover how partners are delivering proven customer success and helping organizations extend their investments in Oracle CRM On Demand.
Hyperion Pavilion: This track will introduce and provide an update on Oracle's Hyperion performance management applications and demonstrate how partners are working with customers to drive better business value with Oracle Hyperion solutions.
JD Edwards Pavilion: The JD Edwards track will provide an opportunity for users to learn about partner product solutions that complement and enhance their JD Edwards portfolio.
Project Portfolio Management Pavilion: In this track, Oracle partner experts will showcase their best-in-class solutions for project and portfolio management.
Virtualization and Cloud Pavilion: Attendees can learn more about Oracle and partner cloud and virtualization solutions, and how they can meet their specific requirements and increase business effectiveness.
Oracle PartnerNetwork Lounge
The Oracle PartnerNetwork, located in Moscone South Room 100, is available to partners throughout the week. The lounge will include meeting spaces, demo kiosks, OPN information stations, and a special area for blogging/vlogging in the OPN Video Blogging Room, as well as opportunities to network with Oracle and other partners.
Partner-Only Sessions
Partner-only sessions will provide key information on how to work with Oracle to improve business results. Sessions will include:
Top Five Strategies for Growing Your Business with Oracle Software and Sun Hardware
How to Register Deals, Leverage the Competency Center, and Use OPN Tools
How to Work with Oracle's Global Business Units
Get Specialized: Resources to Get You Started
Partnering with Oracle in the Cloud
Supporting Quote
“The Oracle PartnerNetwork Forum was designed to deliver the information, resources and intelligence our partner community needs to achieve growth and differentiation with Oracle,” said Judson Althoff, senior vice president, Worldwide Alliances and Channels, Oracle. “This year’s program will continue to highlight how partners can achieve success through specialization, deliver new strategies and techniques for FY11 and provide the insight customers need to better build, market and sell Oracle technologies – from application-to-disk.”
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.
About Oracle PartnerNetwork
Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Specialized is the latest version of Oracle's partner program that provides partners with tools to better develop, sell and implement Oracle solutions. OPN Specialized offers resources to train and support specialized knowledge of Oracle products and solutions and has evolved to recognize Oracle growing product portfolio, partner base and business opportunity. Key to the latest enhancements to OPN is the ability for partners to differentiate through Specializations. Specializations are achieved through competency development, business results, expertise and proven success. To find out more visit http://www.oracle.com/partners.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Oracle Database 11g Standard Edition One running on an HP ProLiant ML350 G6 server with a single six-core Intel® Xeon® X5650 2.67 GHz processor with Oracle Enterprise Linux set a world record TPC-C price/performance result of $0.39/tpmC with a performance result of 290,040 tpmC.
Oracle continues to hold the TPC-C world records in both major categories – performance(2) and price/performance(1). In the TPC-C price/performance category, Oracle has delivered the top three results(1, 3, 4). These record results were achieved on Oracle Enterprise Linux and Windows.
Oracle Database 11g Standard Edition One is an affordable, full-featured database for servers with up to two sockets. It provides enterprise-class performance and security, is simple to manage, can easily scale as demand increases, and is upwardly compatible with other Oracle Database editions.
Supporting Quote
"Oracle Database 11g Standard Edition One continues to demonstrate exceptional performance and price/performance, as showcased in this benchmark result,” said Juan Loaiza, senior vice president, Systems Technology, Oracle. "Along with its renowned performance and reliability, customers have the ability to easily upgrade as requirements grow, making Oracle Database 11g Standard Edition One an ideal solution for many cost-conscious organizations."
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
As of August 16, 2010. Source: Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC), www.tpc.org:
(1) HP ProLiant ML350 G6 server, 290,040 tpmC, $0.39/tpmC, 4.22 Watts/KtpmC, available 08/16/10.
(2) 12-Node SPARC Enterprise T5440 server cluster, 7,646,486 tpmC, $2.36/tpmC, available 3/19/10.
(3) Dell PowerEdge T710 server, 239,392 tpmC, $0.50/tpmC, available 11/18/09
(4) HP ProLiant ML350 G6 server, 232,002 tpmC, $0.54USD/tpmC, available 5/21/09.
Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is a complete management, hosting and access solution for virtualized desktops hosted in the datacenter. By enabling standardized virtual desktop images, Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure helps reduce administration overhead, lower total cost of ownership and increase security.
New features in Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure 3.2 include global hot-desking, multi-company capabilities, enhanced video and audio capabilities and administrative enhancements.
Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure 3.2 is part of Oracle Virtualization, the industry’s most complete virtualization portfolio – from desktop-to-datacenter.
Complete Management, Hosting and Access for Virtual Desktops
Global hot-desking, allows administrators to link multiple, global datacenters and helps ensure a high quality user experience, regardless of location;
The ability to redirect requests to alternate sites if a datacenter is unavailable, providing enhanced disaster recovery;
Multi-company capability, enabling one deployment to share resources and serve multiple domains and directories, helping service providers and large enterprises with complex directory services architectures.
Multimedia improvements:
Enhanced video support provides smoother video playback on all supported virtual desktop operating systems;
Audio-in support allows users to send audio to their Windows XP virtual desktops.
Administration enhancements and optimizations:
Built-in Windows virtual desktop provisioning offers a faster and simpler alternative to third party tools;
Desktop re-provisioning allows the underlying Windows virtual desktop images to be updated while preserving user settings and data, making operating system updates easier and conserving disk space;
Memory sharing and memory ballooning for Windows virtual desktops increases virtual machine density, and enables better utilization of server resources with dynamic virtual machine memory management. This helps provide an optimum balance between high consolidation ratios and high performance;
Enhanced backup, notification, and storage with integrated backup and restore of Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure server settings, new system alarms and search options, and enhancements to storage utilization.
Additionally, Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure 3.2 offers the broadest choice of virtual desktop operating systems including Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 2000, Oracle Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop; a built-in virtualization host optimized for virtual machines running desktop operating systems, which can also integrate with VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V; and support for Oracle Sun Ray Clients and most modern PC and Macs.
Supporting Quote
"This release of Oracle Virtual Desktop Infrastructure is further evidence of Oracle’s commitment to providing a complete portfolio of virtualization solutions that helps reduce costs and leverages existing IT resources,” said Wim Coekaerts, senior vice president, Linux and Virtualization Engineering, Oracle. “The latest Improvements in scalability, multimedia, and administration can help remove the barrier to entry for organizations considering virtual desktop architectures, and allow them to increase IT efficiency and flexibility.”
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
John Fowler, Oracle Executive Vice President, Server and Storage Systems, to Outline Systems Product Strategy
Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:53:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
John Fowler, Oracle Executive Vice President, Server and Storage Systems, to Outline Systems Product Strategy
Keynote at Next-Generation Data Center Event to be Webcast
Redwood Shores, CA - April 4, 2010
News Facts
At an August 10 event at the Four Seasons in Palo Alto, John Fowler, Oracle Executive Vice President, Server and Storage Systems, plans to outline the product strategy for Oracle’s systems business. As part of his keynote, Mr. Fowler will detail upcoming plans for Oracle’s servers, storage and operating systems.
• Following the strategy keynote, Oracle executives will present on how Oracle and Sun technology can build a more efficient, powerful data center.
• With its full stack of business software and hardware, Oracle delivers complete, open and integrated systems that deliver record-breaking performance, reliability, security and simplified management, along with cost-saving efficiencies.
• The Oracle and Sun product strategy delivers innovation through integration at every level of the data center—from application to disk.
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Latest Release of Oracle® Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11g Accelerates Java Development
Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:00:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Latest Release of Oracle® Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11g Accelerates Java Development
New Features Provide Broader Support for Oracle Fusion Middleware Components and Eclipse 3.6
Redwood Shores, Calif. – August 2, 2010
News Facts
Further enabling developers to easily build, test and optimize Java applications, Oracle announced the latest release of Oracle® Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11g.
Additionally, this release supports Eclipse 3.6 and essential Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE) tools.
A component of Oracle Fusion Middleware, Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse is a free set of Eclipse-based plug-ins that enables developers to build Java EE and Web Services applications for the Oracle Fusion Middleware platform where Eclipse is the preferred Integrated Development Environment (IDE).
Enhanced Tool Set for Java Application Development
Support for Eclipse 3.6 – allows users to develop on the latest Eclipse platform and leverage new Java EE 6 tools including JSF 2.0 tools, which simplify project configuration and support XHTML editing, facelets, and composite component development; support for other new Java EE 6 standards like Servlet 3.0, EJB 3.1, and JPA 2.0.
Oracle Coherence tools – enable Eclipse users to develop, run, and debug against Oracle Coherence. Tools include Oracle Coherence launch configurations, which help streamline debugging and deployment to Oracle Coherence from within Eclipse; Oracle Coherence project facet, to enable project and library configuration; Oracle Coherence override descriptor editor with wizards, validation and integrated help for the Coherence Override configuration file.
WebLogic Scripting Tool (WLST) features – bring new Oracle WebLogic Server administration support to Eclipse with:
Jython/Python IDE for WLST, based on PyDev – provides full syntax highlighting, validation, and code completion for WLST scripts;
Define and reuse WLST templates – accelerate WLST script editing;
Oracle WebLogic MBean explorer – visualizes the server MBean tree for easy drag and drop to the WLST script;
Integrated WLST console – provides script execution and debugging tools from within Eclipse in both online and offline modes;
WLST integrated help – makes it easy to access documentation for WLST commands.
Oracle WebLogic Server JDBC deployment descriptor editor – provides a graphical editor for JDBC DataSource configuration that includes wizards, schema validation, and integrated context sensitive help.
Oracle WebLogic Server Web Services annotations editor – offers configuration and data binding wizards for JAXWS annotations editing for regularly used JAXWS properties.
Oracle GlassFish Server Tools – provide full server support for Oracle GlassFish Server, enabling server configuration, deployment, and debugging for Eclipse projects.
Supporting Quote
"The latest release of Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11g continues to provide Java developers with new tooling that can enhance their productivity,” said Ted Farrell, chief architect and senior vice president Tools and Middleware, Oracle. “With support for Eclipse 3.6 and broader support for key Oracle Fusion Middleware components, Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11g R1 enables developers to deliver more value with even greater ease.”
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Leading Communications and Media Companies Choose Oracle to Optimize Incentive-Based Compensation Programs
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:34:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Leading Communications and Media Companies Choose Oracle to Optimize Incentive-Based Compensation Programs
Redwood Shores, CA – July 29, 2010
News Facts
In order to maintain a competitive edge in the communications and media industries, several prominent service providers and media companies are leveraging Oracle Incentive Compensation, a key component of the Oracle E-Business Suite, to hire and retain the best salespeople, ensure accuracy in incentive payouts and quickly adjust business plans based on changing market dynamics.
Oracle Incentive Compensation Customer Details
Cox Communications, the nation’s third-largest cable television company, implemented Oracle Incentive Compensation to provide a standardized and fully-automated compensation management solution for 18 cable systems and headquarters operations. The company gained the flexibility to handle current compensation plan complexities, as well as retention and promotional programs, to remain competitive. By integrating with Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise Payroll, Cox now has the ability to improve commission process efficiency for 12,000 communications services sales and field service professionals. Cox created a single source of compensation data, allowing for an effective evaluation of the company’s compensation plans and reducing the time required to manage the biweekly compensation process from a full week to just a few days.
PAETEC Holding Corp., which delivers personalized communications solutions and service to more than 40,000 business-class customers nationwide, turned to Oracle Incentive Compensation to support complex compensation plans for the company’s unique sales process, which requires representatives to design a custom communications service plan and price for each customer. By automating 90% of the company’s 70 compensation plans, Oracle Incentive Compensation enables PAETEC to make adjustments to its compensation plans throughout the year based on progress toward sales targets and changes in market conditions, ensuring the company reaches its revenue goals. PAETEC increased its recruitment competitiveness because it can offer the best compensation plans to its sales representatives.
Supporting Quotes
“By automating our compensation process with Oracle Incentive Compensation, we have significantly reduced administrative costs, ensured the accuracy of commissions and facilitated auditing procedures. Additionally, the ability to make modifications to support new promotions and other programs enables us to maintain our competitive advantage in the increasingly competitive broadband communications market,” said Jackson Davis, senior manager, enterprise solutions, Cox Communications.
“Oracle Incentive Compensation has not only made our incentive compensation process more mature, but also improved our bottom line. We have the ability to react to market conditions and sales projections by quickly changing compensation plans throughout the year to maximize sales productivity and revenue,” said Daniel Miller, vice president of sales operations, PAETEC Holding Corp.
“Communications and media companies constantly strive for a competitive edge, and many have found it with Oracle Incentive Compensation. By streamlining their incentive-based compensation processes, companies can curtail administrative errors, provide the agility required to react to dynamic markets and improve the bottom line by growing sales,” said Dan Ford, vice president of product marketing, Oracle Communications.
Only Oracle’s software and systems span the communications industry technology landscape — from carrier-grade servers, storage and IT infrastructure, to mission-critical business and operational support systems and service delivery platforms; from business intelligence applications and retail point-of-sale solutions to the Java platform running on more than two billion mobile and handheld devices. Oracle helps 100 of the world's top 100 service providers innovate and exploit new business models, build strong, profitable customer relationships, and streamline operations. For more information, visit http://www.oracle.com/communications
About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Monaco Telecom Extends Relationship with Oracle Communications
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:51:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Monaco Telecom Extends Relationship with Oracle Communications
Leading Communications Service Provider Launches Business Transformation Program Built on Oracle
Redwood Shores, CA – July 29, 2010
News Facts
Monaco Telecom has selected Oracle Communications to assist in its business transformation program, Synergie, focused on convergence, customer-centricity and quality of service delivery.
In order to offer fixed, mobile, internet and television services in the Principality, Monaco Telecom needed to simplify its complex architecture and provide it with the agility necessary to stay competitive.
The company, already using Oracle Communications Billing and Revenue Management, will work with Oracle Communications Consulting to implement the latest upgrade. Monaco Telecom will also implement Oracle Communications Order and Service Management to deliver an integrated billing and provisioning system that spans the consumer and business mobile telephone, fixed telephone and internet protocol system markets.
This will help Monaco Telecom to streamline its business practices, enabling the company to quickly introduce new offers, improve billing flexibility and provide visibility across the entire order lifecycle.
Currently, Monaco Telecom captures customer information in more than 40 different interfaces connected to four billing systems, four databases and four different business reporting processes.
However, with Synergie, Monaco Telecom is going to drive the reconstruction of its service delivery system through defining and formalising its customer operating modes. This will be achieved using best-practice industry standards and through integrating the functionalities of existing and new applications into one common multi-channel portal.
Supporting Quotes
“This implementation will help Monaco Telecom adjust to rapidly changing market dynamics by enabling us to offer convergent services and ensuring predictable order fulfillment for an enhanced customer experience. Building a strong relationship with Oracle and Oracle Communications Consulting ensures we will receive the most effective solutions in the market to help maximise service delivery and operational efficiency,” said Martin Péronnet.” Chief Executive of Monaco Telecom.
“Our extended relationship with Monaco Telecom is testimony to the power Oracle delivers to the communications industry. We are pleased our products and services contribute strategically as Monaco Telecom transforms it business to best meet the changing demands of its customers,” said Gordon Rawling, director of EMEA marketing, Oracle Communications.
Only Oracle’s software and systems span the communications industry technology landscape — from carrier-grade servers, storage and IT infrastructure, to mission-critical business and operational support systems and service delivery platforms; from business intelligence applications and retail point-of-sale solutions to the Java platform running on more than two billion mobile and handheld devices. Oracle helps 100 of the world's top 100 service providers innovate and exploit new business models, build strong, profitable customer relationships, and streamline operations. For more information, visit http://www.oracle.com/communications
About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Dell and HP to Certify and Resell all Three Oracle Operating Systems – Oracle Solaris, Oracle Enterprise Linux and Oracle VM – on their x86 Server Computers
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:01:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Dell and HP to Certify and Resell all Three Oracle Operating Systems – Oracle Solaris, Oracle Enterprise Linux and Oracle VM – on their x86 Server Computers
Redwood Shores, Calif. – July 29, 2010
News Facts
Oracle today announced Dell and HP will certify and resell Oracle Solaris, Oracle Enterprise Linux and Oracle VM on their respective x86 platforms.
Customers will have full access to Oracle’s Premier Support for Oracle Solaris, Oracle Enterprise Linux and Oracle VM running on Dell and HP servers. This will enable fast and accurate issue resolution and reduced risk in a company’s operating environment.
Customers who subscribe to Oracle Premier Support will benefit from Oracle’s continuing investment in Oracle Solaris, Oracle Enterprise Linux and Oracle VM and the resulting innovation in future updates.
Supporting Quotes
“Oracle Solaris is the industry's #1 UNIX operating system, and is in demand across multiple x86 platforms,” said Oracle President Charles Phillips. “Additionally, more and more customers are building virtual environments using Oracle Enterprise Linux and Oracle VM on x86 platforms. Today's announcement demonstrates Oracle’s commitment to openness and will provide Dell and HP customers with new levels of support, and immediate access to deep product expertise, limiting risk in their IT environment.”
“Dell provides customers with choice and flexibility by offering Solaris, Oracle Enterprise Linux and Oracle VM as well as other operating systems on its x86 servers,” said Joyce Mullen, Vice President of Global Alliances for Dell Inc. “Our joint customers will be able to leverage our award-winning servers and the software assets from Oracle to build out robust, dependable and optimized IT platforms, helping them be more competitive while maximizing ROI on technology investments.”
"Customers need to instantly adjust to dynamic business demands, but many have hardwired stacks of applications and infrastructure that can’t rapidly change,” said Paul Miller, vice president, Solutions and Strategic Alliances, Enterprise Servers, Storage and Networking, HP. “The combination of Oracle infrastructure software and HP ProLiant servers delivers outstanding performance, scalability and virtualization capabilities on x86 servers. Our joint customers can have complete confidence to grow their businesses while also controlling their costs.”
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, visit oracle.com.
Trademark
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Leupold & Stevens Benefits from a Clearer View of Business Operations with the Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:00:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Leupold & Stevens Benefits from a Clearer View of Business Operations with the Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12
Jibe Consulting Assists Sports Optics Manufacturer with Complete IT Infrastructure Overhaul Leveraging Oracle Business Accelerators
Redwood Shores, Calif. – July 29, 2010
News Facts
To help position its growing sports optics manufacturing business for another 100 years of success, Leupold & Stevens, Inc. transformed its IT infrastructure by standardizing on the Oracle E-Business Suite.
By replacing its inflexible enterprise resource planning (ERP) system with the Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12, Leupold & Stevens has achieved major improvements in efficiency, information visibility and demand planning, leading to happier customers and additional revenue.
A midsize, family-owned company in business for more than a century, Leupold & Stevens felt increasing pressure to strengthen its business processes to bolster competition against global conglomerates.
The company had been using a legacy ERP system from Epicor/Avante, but problems upgrading the system led Leupold & Stevens to do a competitive review of IT solutions for manufacturers. After a comprehensive search for enterprise-class applications, Leupold & Stevens chose the Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 over SAP.
To facilitate a fast and on-budget implementation of the Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12, Jibe Consulting leveraged Oracle Business Accelerators, a series of rapid implementation tools, best-practice templates and wizards designed to speed the adoption of Oracle Applications for midsize customers.
The Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 enables Leupold & Stevens to execute demand-based manufacturing, planning and inventory management, driving efficiencies and business results, including:
More effective and accurate tracking of production and repair costs, revenues, discounts and product development costs;
Reduction in the turnaround time of technical requests from six days to one day;
Improved distribution center management for more agile response to sales order demand;
Improved customer service due to accentuated repair planning and cost tracking;
Real-time access to financial information and drill-down variance analysis that previously required manual compilation from Microsoft Excel downloads; and
Approximately 10 times improvement in efficiency of the repair depot’s e-mail correspondence.
These improvements helped Leupold & Stevens expand its lucrative custom products business with further growth anticipated.
Supporting Quote
“To keep our business thriving for more than 100 years, our company has focused on not only creating and delivering the best products, but also offering our customers absolute satisfaction,” said Howard Werth, chief financial officer, Leupold & Stevens. “The Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 provides a flexible, streamlined platform to manage demand, orders and customer needs – helping our growing business continue to execute on these goals as we expand.”
Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Specialized is the latest version of Oracle's partner program that provides partners with tools to better develop, sell and implement Oracle solutions. OPN Specialized offers resources to train and support specialized knowledge of Oracle products and solutions and has evolved to recognize Oracle's growing product portfolio, partner base and business opportunity. Key to the latest enhancements to OPN is the ability for partners to differentiate through Specializations. Specializations are achieved through competency development, business results, expertise and proven success. To find out more visit http://www.oracle.com/partners.
About Oracle Applications
Over 65,000 customers worldwide rely on Oracle's complete, open and integrated enterprise applications to achieve superior results. Oracle provides a secure path for customers to benefit from the latest technology advances that improve the customer software experience and drive better business performance. Oracle Applications Unlimited is Oracle's commitment to customer choice through continuous investment and innovation in current applications offerings. Oracle's next-generation Fusion Applications build upon that commitment, and are designed to work with and evolve Oracle's Applications Unlimited offerings. Oracle's lifetime support policy helps ensure customers will continue to have a choice in upgrade paths, based on their enterprise needs. For more information on the latest Oracle Applications releases go to: www.oracle.com/applications.
About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, visit oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Oracle Launches Oracle + Sun Product Strategy Event Series
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:00:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Oracle Launches Oracle + Sun Product Strategy Event Series
Worldwide Tour Highlights Best Practices for Optimizing Data Center Efficiency
Redwood Shores, CA – July 29, 2010
News Facts
To outline its Oracle + Sun product strategy and to demonstrate how the Company can enable highly efficient data centers, Oracle announced the kick off of its Global Next-Generation Data Center Efficiency road show and Storage Summit event series.
The Next-Generation Data Center road show began in Singapore on July 27 and will consist of nearly 100 events in more than 35 countries from July through November.
The Storage Summit event series features nearly 100 global events and began on July 13 and also runs through November.
Oracle executives and technology experts will outline the Oracle + Sun product strategy and share Oracle’s vision for a fully integrated and optimized data center.
A keynote session will discuss the Oracle integrated Server and Storage Systems strategy, and follow-on sessions will focus on helping customers maximize data center resources and efficiency, and improve application performance and scale.
Experts will discuss how customers can reduce costs and simplify management, while boosting performance, by using consolidation and virtualization, next- generation cloud deployment and integrated systems management.
Experts will outline how customers can achieve cost savings using Oracle’s Sun Unified Storage high-speed products. They will also discuss how Oracle Database 11g can leverage tiered storage (tape and disk) functionality to achieve significant cost and performance benefits.
The events will include customized content for each region, multiple tracks and a Q&A session.
The Oracle + Sun product strategy delivers innovation through integration at every level of the data center—from application to disk.
With its full stack of business software and hardware, Oracle continues to set new standards for efficiency, simplicity, performance and scalability.
Register for the worldwide Next-Generation Data Center events here.
Register for the worldwide Storage Summit events here.
About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's largest enterprise software company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
As a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Cox Communications wanted to support Cox Conserves, an enterprise-wide initiative designed to strengthen the company’s sustainability leadership in the communications industry by reducing its carbon footprint by 20 percent.
To support Cox Conserves, Cox Communications automated the entire procure-to-pay process by leveraging Oracle iProcurement to migrate corporate and cable-system level processes to “one-touch” electronic processes that minimize paper use and increase efficiency across its high volume business.
By capitalizing on Oracle’s Enterprise Application Documents strategy and the pre-integration between financial applications within the Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle Imaging and Process Management, Cox Communications was able to migrate to electronic invoices whenever possible, including the establishment of a more robust electronic routing process, reducing company-wide paper-use by three and one-third tons, the equivalent of 19,740 pounds of CO2 emissions, within the first eight months.
Additionally, by migrating to electronic processes, Cox Communications has been able to significantly increase efficiencies, reducing the cost of processing vendor invoices by up to 80 percent when using new processes and the number of account payable transactions by 26 percent.
To further reduce its environmental impact, Cox Communications is leveraging the Oracle E-Business Suite to pilot a completely online business-to-business procurement process for high volume vendors, yielding access to a customized website to order pre-configured products, secure approvals and submit payment via an electronic invoice.
In the future, Cox Communications intends to extend its new online procurement process to its top 650 suppliers, which represent half of the company’s invoice volume.
“We are making a huge company-wide push to reduce our environmental impact and set the benchmark for sustainability within the communications industry,” said Bill Fitzsimmons, vice president corporate finance and chief accounting officer, Cox Communications. “In doing so, we have used the Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle Imaging and Process Management as one of the solutions to replace many manual processes and eliminate the need for literally millions of sheets of paper. Within the first eight months alone, this has enabled us to increase efficiencies, reduces costs and save almost 20,000 pounds of CO2 emissions.”
Over 65,000 customers worldwide rely on Oracle's complete, open and integrated enterprise applications to achieve superior results. Oracle provides a secure path for customers to benefit from the latest technology advances that improve the customer software experience and drive better business performance. Oracle Applications Unlimited is Oracle's commitment to customer choice through continuous investment and innovation in current applications offerings. Oracle's next-generation Fusion Applications build upon that commitment, and are designed to work with and evolve Oracle's Applications Unlimited offerings. Oracle's lifetime support policy helps ensure customers will continue to have a choice in upgrade paths, based on their enterprise needs. For more information on the latest Oracle Applications releases go to: www.oracle.com/applications
About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Shoppers Stop Strengthens Sales Performance Capabilities with Oracle Data Integrator Enterprise Edition
Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:59:00 UTC
Oracle Press
Release
Shoppers Stop Strengthens Sales Performance Capabilities with Oracle Data Integrator Enterprise Edition
- Reduces time taken to refresh data from data warehouse from half a day to an hour
- Speeds up collation and cleansing of data for better sales decisions
- Sales reports are generated in as little as minutes as compared to hours previously
Mumbai, India - July 26, 2010
News Facts
Shoppers Stop, a leader in the Indian retail sector and one of the pioneers of large format department stores chain, has deployed Oracle Data Integrator Enterprise Edition as a part of its enterprise data warehouse to enhance its performance capabilities.
With Oracle Data Integrator, Shoppers Stop is able to reduce the time taken to refresh data to its data warehouse from half a day to one hour, which ensures managers receive timely sales, inventory and loyalty data.
It helps the team load data in increments from multiple disparate systems into the data warehouse overnight, cleanse the data, and make it available to associates the next morning.
In addition, they are able to better analyze which products are selling through its 30 stores in 13 cities, and also analyze customer-buying behaviour so they can maintain optimum inventory levels.
With Oracle Data Integrator, the company’s sales teams are able to complete standard reports in minutes as compared to an hour with the previous technology platform. It has also helped improve Shopper’s Stop’s customer loyalty program, ‘First Citizen’, that reaches out to nearly 1.7 million members.
Supporting Quotes
“In a competitive landscape and growing segment such as retail, it is prudent to drive business enablement with technology to improve customer satisfaction‘, said Arun Gupta, Customer Care Associate & Group Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Shoppers Stop Limited. “IT helps optimise business and reduce operational IT budgets and Oracle has been a key component in helping us in our quest towards delivering value to business”.
“Oracle Data Integrator provided our managers with access to timely and accurate data. This helped them to better analyze the sales performance of their stores and develop marketing programs that target different customer segments,” said Avanoor Krishnakumar, Customer Care Associate & Deputy General Manager, Solutions and Technology Team, Shoppers Stop. “The deployment has ensured superior capabilities in real time data movement, data transformations and higher data quality along with improved business intelligence by ensuring scalability, maximum performance and reduced total cost of ownership”.
“We are proud to partner with Shoppers Stop on their growth journey. The deployment of Oracle Data Integrator has enabled Shoppers Stop to quickly integrate vast amounts of data from disparate systems while reducing costs and improving efficiencies”, said Shailender Kumar, Vice President, Fusion Middleware, Oracle India. “We realize managing information is the key in a highly competitive sector such as retail and Oracle Data Integrator Enterprise Edition offers an extensible architecture that meets present and future business integration and expansion needs.”
Oracle entered India in 1987 and set up an India Development Centre in 1994. Today, Oracle has two India Development Centers as well as Indian hubs for Oracle's global support, consulting and financial services operations. Through its extensive network of partners under the Oracle PartnerNetwork Specialised, Oracle India markets the complete range of Oracle products and services across India. Oracle India has more than 7000 customers across the government and private sector. Oracle India is a major partner for E-Governance initiatives of Central and State Government bodies in India. The Oracle-HP E-Governance Centre of Excellence, Oracle Asia R & D Centre and Partner Solution Center are located at Oracle India’s head office in Gurgaon, near New Delhi. Oracle’s Retail Centre of Excellence is located in Bangalore.
About Oracle
Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, visit oracle.com.
Trademarks
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
