Jeremy Allison leaves HP to go to Novell

Allison is the chief engineer of Samba. Novell is really moving along nicely in their SUSE Linux offerings, and this won't hurt that one bit!

VoIP growls on OS X

From Om Malik's weblog:
If you love OS-X, then there is more good news coming your way, thanks to yeoman’s effort by Benjamin Kowarsch, the genius who developed an OS-X installer for Asterisk, the open source PBX system. (You can download it from here!) VoIP Weblog points out that Benjamin is now leading an efforts to create device drivers for Digium’s Zaptel telephony cards. The stability and ease of use of the OS-X platform, makes it ideal for VoIP some believe. More here! Also check out Scott’s primer on how to use Asterisk with the OS-X Address Book, and making cheap phone calls. It is not going to be easy, but quite do-able.

VoIP: Cisco buys Sipura for Linksys

Should be interesting, although I favored Sipura's wares over Linksys - I wonder if they will lock them to a VoIP vendor like the existing Linksys ATAs or keep them open?

From the press release: Cisco Systems today announced a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Sipura Technology, Inc. This represents Cisco's first acquisition for its Linksys division, the leading provider of wireless and networking hardware for home, Small Office/Home Office (SOHO) and small business environments. Sipura is a leader in consumer voice over (VoIP) technology and is a key technology provider for Linksys' current line of VoIP networking devices. In addition to Sipura's valuable technology and customer relationships, their experienced team with extensive VoIP expertise will help build a foundation for Linksys' internal research and development capabilities in voice, video and other markets.

Buslink USB GPRS/WiFi adapter

Interesting gadget from Buslink provides GPRS and WiFi via USB:

Quick & Easy to connect: Simply plug into any PCs w/ USB port for Wireless LAN connection or slide in your cell phone’s removable SIM card
- Features Wireless Network connection, allowing networking where other 802.11b devices may be present
- for use on your wireless cellular carrier’s network.
- Provides users w/seamless wireless Internet connection.

isolinux.cfg tweak for bootable CDs

I ran across this interesting article on configuring the isolinux.cfg on ZenWorks imaging CDs to allow booting to the local hard drive after a timeout.

Font fights dyslexia

There is a new font out called Read Regular, that has the interesting goal of making it easier for dyslexic people to read. From the looks of the samples, it should be easier to distinguish a b from a d. While this font should be significantly easier to read, it would also be much harder to teach to emerging writers - making me wonder if it will be confusing for children to learn to write one font and read another. I also wonder why they didn't make more difference between the o and 0 (letter o and zero) which I have always thought were way too similar.

New report to say that schools save $ with open source software

Apparently they can't release the report right now due to restrictions on government announcements during an open election, but the preliminary findings released so far sound good. From the Register story: "The landmark report will show that OSS can be implemented successfully in schools and present documented examples of cost savings from its use. Becta's report, based on a study of 15 schools, will state that open source office products have been demonstrated to offer schools a cost-effective alternative to proprietary software."

You could have told me that, right? It will be interesting to read the full report when it comes out and see what they have to say.

StompBox - Mobile 3G/WiFi Router Project

The StompBox (Mobile 3G/WiFi Router Project) caught my eye as being one of those projects that is truly cool and makes a huge difference in the creator's use of technology. I can't wait until there is an $80 Linksys device that does this like the creator speculates. That and unlimited mobile data not being $80/month, and I'm all over this setup.

Terastation update

My earlier post on the Buffalo TeraStation has been one of the biggest draws to my blog to date. Obviously a lot on interest on it!

At least, enough for someone to set up a Wiki on hacking (or working with open-source firmware ) it at http://terastation.org. As they posted in my comments "Nothing much yet, but it's a start". So far it looks like they have a how-to on adding a serial console.

It will be interesting to see what progress they will make - it would be a great mini-server if they get it going!

Essays marked by computer program

The University of Missouri is testing a program called Qualrus, that scores student essays. Sounds like it will save teaching staff a lot of time, but how long is it until the students develop a program that writes essays Qualrus likes?

Philadelphia's city-wide WiFi plans

Looks like Philadelphia's going ahead with it's city-wide WiFi plans after all. I know my city has been holding off vendors for over 7 years now - long before 802.11 was standarized. Our bigger neighbor to the northwest, however saw value and executed on it. I hear it's very nice!

Interesting take on the "Open Source War"

eSchool news has an interesting editorial on the "Open Source War" between Linux and Microsoft. Food for thought...

Setting up a Linux NFS Install Source for Your LAN

Great howto on setting up a Linux NFS Install Source for SUSE Linux. Aimed a relative Linux newbies (ie: I understood it....)

Two-User PC - a nice fit for schools?

CRN has an interesting story on how VARs are selling schools PCs with additional video cards and using Win XP's multiple user sessions have two users use the PC at the same time. Microsoft seems fuzzy on the legality of doing it this way, but it's an interesting way to stretch a thin tech budget.

Block IE use via Proxy registry settings

Another amazingly simple idea from Novel's cool solutions crowd - blocking access to IE via pushing out the proxy settings in the registry.

SchoolMatters: online data for schools

Standard & Poor's has brought SchoolMatters online recently. They bill it as "a public source for information and analysis about our nation's public schools." It has some very nice data analysis and comparison tools, although I would like it if you could compare more than four schools at once.

Copy between USB devices with no computer?

An interesting writeup of the Sync Box USB II caught my eye. It boasts the ability to copy data between two USB devices with no computer. Would be useful for dumping digital photos to a memory key or similar applications.

More Lessons on Skype

Interesting blog entry on VoIP / Skype: I like his point on branding. This is the 2nd of two posts. The 1st is worth reading as well.

Linux versus XP on the desktop

The Register has an interesting article about Linux vs. Win XP adoption on the desktop in England. The most interesting part is the results, of course (.PDF file)

Installing GroupWise on SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server

Another great walkthrough from the folks over at Novell's Cool Solutions.

VNCon - VNC for lab management

Came across an interesting tool called VNCon that gives VNC some lab management functionality.

Here is a list of the main features included with VNCon:

• Computer Switching: Cycles through the list monitoring activity, and allowing you to take control or send a message at the touch of a button
• Password Support : You can specify a default or a specific password for each connection
  
• Grouping Support: Allows you to group sets of computer for easier management
• Multiple Views: Allows multiple computers to be monitored on-screen at once
  
• Remote Installation: Eases deployment of VNC to remote computers running Windows
  
• Remote Messaging: Sends messages to other computers running Windows NT/2K/XP
• Network and IP Scan : Scans the connected windows networks or IP address range for all connected computers
• UserName Scan: Determines the current user logged onto the remote computer
  

It doesn't look as beefy as commercial offerings like ARD or Vision 5, but it's free, and open source, which is nice.

Is Microsoft a BlackBerry Killer?

Internet Week has an interesting story about Microsoft's aspirations to kill off Blackberry and make it's upcoming Windows Mobile upgrade, code-named Magneto the kind of the handheld hill.

The reasoning is there- why pay for Microsoft Exchange and RIM's BlackBerry Enterprise Server software if you can get all of the functionality from Exchange by itself? However, with RIM adding support for 3rd party devices (like palm PDAs) and supporting Lotus Notes and GroupWise in addition to Exchnge, I don't see them going anywhere soon.

Hacking Treo 650 for Verizon

According to engadget, Verizon customers have started converting Sprint Treo 650s for use on Verizon's network. If if people are willing to go through such effort to geth them to work, they must be good, right? Or are they just another iPod like status symbol?

New FCC chief friendly to schools

According to eSchool News Online: "Kevin J. Martin, President Bush's choice to lead the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) into a new era of digital transmissions, is a firm supporter of the eRate and other telecommunications programs that benefit education, according to an analysis of his voting record and public statements he has made as an FCC commissioner." It will be interesting to see over time what he does to either save or axe E-Rate and other floundering programs.

AstLinux VoIP server

AstLinux 0.2.4 VoIP server is now available. I've looked at this as an alternate to Asterisk@Home. The nice thing about this distro is that it can be booted from Flash ROM, USB, or CD - making it possible to make a VoIP server with potentially no moving parts.

Speakeasy to Launch Business VoIP

It sounds like SpeakEasy will be announcing hosted VoIP with PBX-like features on Monday. The service, purpotedly aimed at businesses, should highlight Speakeasy's advantage of being a high-speed ISP - being able to provide end-to-end quality of service, that other providers can not.

UK reveals 7 point plan to tackle their "digital divide"

BBC News' story has a strong focus on the educational aspects of the plan. Another interesting part of the plan is a "digital challenge" prize awarded to the local authority for giving universal online access to services - sounding similar to the technology X-Prize for local government.

Avaya Touts IP Tech as 'Transformational'

eWeek has an interesting interview with Don Peterson, CEO of VoIP vendor Avaya.