Mandriva Linux Pwned by Microsoft

Mandriva LinuxFrancois Bancilhon, French editor of Mandriva Linux, recently published an open letter to Steve Ballmer on Mandriva’s corporate blog.

In his letter, he relates that a few months ago, his corporation won a deal where 17000 PCs destined to Nigerian Schools would be equiped with his Linux distribution.

We recently closed a deal with the Nigerian Government. Maybe you heard about it, Steve. They were looking for an affordable hardware+software solution for their schools. The initial batch was 17,000 machines. We had a good deal to respond to their need: the Classmate PC from Intel, with a customized Mandriva Linux solution. We presented the solution to the local government, they liked the machine, they liked our system, they liked what we offered them, especially the fact that it was open, and that we could customize it for their country and so on.

Strangely, the Nigerian government recently changed its mind and even if they’re still buying Mandriva’s solution, they’ll be replacing the OS on each system with Windows right after receiving them.

We actually closed the deal, we took the order, we qualified the software, we got the machine shipped. To conclude, we did our job. And, the machine are being delivered right now.

Now, we hear a different story from the customer : “we shall pay for the Mandriva Software as agreed, but we shall replace it by Windows afterward.”

Wow! I’m impressed, Steve! What have you done to these guys to make them change their mind like this? It’s quite clear to me, and it will be to everyone. How do you call what you just did Steve? There is various names for it, I’m sure you know them.

Anyone feel like expressing their thoughts on this?

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Introducing the gPhone (Video)

We’ve all heard about the gPhone in the past few months, and up to now, most people were thinking that this Google powered phone was only a myth. Well lo and behold, it’s not!

Yes, the gPhone isn’t really a phone, it’s a software platform for mobiles, which could revolutionize the way people use their cell phone forever.

Interested in learning more? The Open Handset Alliance Website has more details on the subject.



[GAS] “How to” Contest – Full Submission List

Teresa will be drawing the names of the lucky winners in the next few days. Meanwhile, here’s the full list of every entry submitted to our contest. There’s a few gems in there, so please take the time to check them all. If you entry is missing from this list, please let us know as soon as possible.

–How To: Build An Image Map with CSS by Douglas Karr
–How To Add Your Videos to the Itunes Podcast Directory by Mark
–How To Be a Geek and Get Your Sexual Groove On by Adam A. Hirsch
–Blog Tip: Create a Link Post in 3 Seconds by engtech
–Technical Difficulties? 5 Ways To Cope by Naomi Dunford
–How To: Separating Your Author Comments (In WordPress) by Kyle Eslick
–Heritage of a geek, or how to run DOS games by Alex Kohler
–How to Be a Geek (And Why You’d Want to Be) by CSS
–Reinstall Windows and outfit your system with all freeware programs by Fish
–HOW TO: Cheap Wireless For Your Xbox 360 by David Peralty
–How To: Be prepared for that big presentation, an IT guy’s perspective by Rob
–How to Overcome RSS Feed Overload by Karthik Ramadoss
–How to keep you data save with Truecrypt by Ingo Flink
–How To Convert Tab Delimited Text To HTML Using AWK by J.F.
–How to command your iPod Shuffle to play what you want by Jennifer D
–How To Export And Import Bookmarks by NimrodJO
–How To Get 1261 RSS Subscribers In Less Than 3 Months by J-C. Phillips
–How to Read all your Emails from Gmail by Vijay M
–How to Get More Google Traffic to Your Blog by Dee
–How To Thoroughly Game Alexa by David Wilkinson
–How To Enjoy Comic Book Conventions by Great White Snark
–How to Have the Worst Blog Contest Ever by The Prize Blog
–Custom Halo 3 Emblem in Gimp by KennyD
–How to Find a Blogging Job by Yehuda Berlinger
–How To Become an Affiliate Marketer by Chris “Egon” Burdick
–Turn Your Blog Into a Community by Marcos
–How to Structure the Perfect Blog Post by Brett Evans
–How To Win Stuff Off The Internet Using Your Blog by Jamie
–How to Blog about Contests by Sensei
–How to run a viral contest by Monica
–How To Switch To a Mac by Jason Scoldes
–How to invent something cool this year by John A Ciampa
–How to Find and Enter Blog Contests by Contestu
–How to connect to IRC using mIRC by fcmk
–How To Rent A Domain Name by Bucky
–Laptop Batteries : How To Make them Work Even Longer by Fauzi
–WordPress Widget Plugin – How to add the additional text-widgets for your sidebar by Michael Sync
–How to quickly run frequently used apps without the pesky mouse by Michael Sullivan

In the Spirit of Gutenberg: Blogs and the Democracy of Ideas

By Lyle Bateman
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

Johannes GutenbergFrom a perspective of some six centuries later, it’s pretty easy to see the revolution inherent in the idea of movable type and the printing press. Once a hugely expensive endeavor confined to the scriptoriums of only super-wealthy patrons, book production was suddenly a fraction of the cost.

Books, once highly valued original works of art, could now be copied en-masse… once the valued property only of the rich, the printing press brought books, language, and learning within reach of the masses. The first printing press was to books and literature what the first assembly line was to Ford and automobiles… the means to mass-produce what was once a unique work of art. Through that mass production, the democracy of ideas took a huge step forward.

Continue reading ›

Amazon S3 Exceeds 99.99% Uptime

Amazon S3 Web ServiceBy David Peralty
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

As more people look for better hosting and better data services, Amazon’s S3 is the one that everyone continues to buzz about. They recently reported that during October, they were able to maintain more than 99.99 percent uptime, something that most hosting companies would not be able to match.

This exceeds the performance required by their recently introduced service level agreement. Starting in October, Amazon set up a SLA for their service so that users were guaranteed at least 99.9 percent of uptime. If Amazon’s S3 went below that mark, their customers could apply for a service credit of up to 25 percent of their total charges for the month, depending on how much Amazon fell below their 99.9 percent mark.

Continue reading ›

Penny Arcade’s Child’s Play Launches Charity Drive 2007

Child's Play CharityBy David Peralty
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

My favorite web based comic, Penny Arcade, is starting their Child’s Play initiative once again. This is their fourth year of running the charity, and I hope to see it continue growing bigger and bigger every year.

The premise of the charity is simple, give gaming technology to hospitals to improve people’s stay at an otherwise not so fun-friendly place. Since 2003, the initiative has been able to give over $2 million in games, toys, and cash to hospitals worldwide.

From their site:

Now in its fifth year, Child’s Play has expanded its network of beneficiary hospitals to over 25 states and five countries across the globe with additional partner hospitals being added each month. Child’s Play works in conjunction with Amazon.com to create wish lists for participating hospitals. Individual donors can choose to give new items ranging from toddler toys to music CDs, videogames, game consoles and accessories. Gifts are delivered directly to hospitals in need and are tax deductible as denoted by law.

The annual Child’s Play Fundraiser Dinner Auction will be held Tuesday, December 11, 2007 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington. The semi-formal evening features a silent auction, dinner and live auction. In 2006 the dinner raised over $200,000 in one night, with all fundraising proceeds going directly to the Child’s Play network of hospitals.

I really believe that this charity is doing great things for children’s hospitals around the world, and I hope that if you can, you will help by promoting the project, or sending a contribution to it. The Child’s Play Charity deserves your support and once you are done donating, be sure to read Penny Arcade.

How long until “Whois” dies?

ICANNThe Whois service, which reveals the identity of Web site owners, could soon be a thing of the past.

The service, even if highly useful to many, has been highly criticized by privacy advocates, who say individuals should have the right to remain anonymous on the Web.

I have to say that I use the service quite often, mostly to track and contact people who steal content from [GAS]. Most of the time, these people leave no contact information on their Web site, so Whois is often the only way to get in touch with them.

The Whois database falls under the responsibility of the ICANN, the organization responsible for managing domain names on the Web. Last Wednesday, ICANN called a meeting to analyze whether or not they should disband the service. Unfortunately, even after 7 years of debate, it was decided further discussions were needed before a decision could be taken.

So with this debate in mind, here’s a question for you readers: Do you think a service such as Whois is a necessary evil on the Web? The comments section is open and we’re eagerly waiting to know your opinion on the matter.