Rackspace IPO Almost Here

On August 4, Rackspace will go public.

I have mixed thoughts on this particular IPO for a variety of reasons. On the one hand, I like it because if there is a solid webhosting company that can go public and thrive, it’s Rackspace. On the other hand, what will answering to finicky demands of more shareholders and the markets do to a company whose model has been based around Fanatical Support ® in the long run?

I suppose any company reaches a point where it has to weigh decisions about whether or not a particular risk is worth the potential payoff. Hopefully, the company has a good plan in place to ensure that it has nowhere to go but up and on towards bigger and better things. Otherwise, stockholder driven corner-cutting is the thing most likely to destroy Fanatical Support ® when you get right down to it.

Do I like the idea of putting the very heart of one’s business model on the line for increased funding when that business is already making healthy profits and has no pressing need for the risk? Not particularly. I would consider improving hiring quality and better ideas and practices and strategic thinking avenues—and pursue them until there was absolutely no gain left to be had in those areas.

And maybe they have.

Of course, I have a lot of high hopes for them on this one. A friend of mine is a one of the guys who helped get the company up and running after he left the Army, and I would love to see the company he’s been part of for so long do even better. So, of course, I’m going to be wishing them all the luck in the world.

Not so sure about the auction for buying shares though…seems like that could hurt them more than help. We’ll see. Good luck, Rackspace!

OpenSuse 11.0 Just Around The Corner

Okay, if you have read any of my posts on open source, you know that I have taken issue with Suse and Novell for their Microsoft deal. However, I am curious to check out the upcoming release: OpenSuse 11.0 should be out Thursday, June 19th.

Why?

Well, while I don’t like that Novell caved in to Microsoft and bought into their fear-mongering tactics, I can appreciate the direction of the OpenSource distro and the progress it has made. One thing I can say from first-hand experience is that Suse will install more smoothly on more systems and has the polished look and feel that makes it a prime candidate for luring corporate/office users away from Microsoft’s ailing platform.

So, I’m going to take a hard look at OpenSuse 11.0, put it through its paces as I consider what distro I should recommend to folks. This is, of course, an ongoing issue/challenge when it comes to Linux as I look for a good SOHO distro that also has the potential to step up and handle the duty at the SMB and Enterprise levels…all while staying user friendly and easy to use.

And, since I am going to take another look at OpenSuse, I might as well give XandrOS another look (I had written it off as well since it climbed in bed with Micrsoft also). Then again, maybe not. I understand the need of businesses to work with integrated networks and can appreciate the difficulties and justifications of cost and ROI when facing the prospect of phasing out legacy systems…but some of the XandrOS licensing and pricing schemes/tiers are starting to look an awful lot like those that come out of Redmond’s greedy resident.

Others I’m about to test include Mandriva Spring 2008, Zenwalk Linux 5.0, Simply Mepis 7.0, Freespire 2.0.8 and the latest Fedora release (which I have put off trying out for some time because of lingering memories of how the Fedora project was being run).

I have run across a lot of fun distros, a lot of slick distros, and some really dismal ones as well over the past few years. A lot of distros have great potential, but there seems to be a common underlying theme of poor project management, lack of focused direction, and ego clashes…with far too little marketing and business sense in the mix. Just when you feel like one distro might make a nice home on the digital range…something comes along to spoil the idyllic moment.

It is my great frustration that I’m not a programmer or I would have started my own distro by now. In the meantime, it gives me something to do on slow days when caffeine levels are climbing, this constant installing and kicking around under the log-on prompt.

Yahoo! Has Opportunities And Something Other Brands Only Wish They Had

Pundits have been decrying Yahoo! for fighting off Microsoft’s takeover bid. Now, Carl Icahn, the self-righteous “I know what’s best for the Internet and investors” guy is trying his own version. I say hats off to Yahoo! for doing what is best for the end user of their product and stockholders.

While short-term stock holders might be unhappy, long-term stockholders will benefit. How? Yahoo! has earned itself the kind of credibility in some circles that no PR firm can generate for you. All they have to do now is find the right angle to work it. What exactly am I talking about? Let me explain…

Microsoft has been dropping the ball lately with several products. Not the least of which is Vista. How many times have you seen an operating system hit the market where customers ended up looking for downgrade licenses?

My point exactly…

Gentoo Flavored SystemRescue CD 1.0.0 Now Available

I was just catching up on what’s new over on DistroWatch.com—as I hadn’t been in several days—and saw the news. This distribution has a wide variety of tools you need to repair and recover a system after a crash.

It is a bootable CD-ROM based on Gentoo Linux, so be sure to check it out: SystemRescue CD

It’s a great idea, really. I have been using a couple bootable Linux live CD’s with great effect even when recovering data on Windows systems. PCLinuxOS comes in handy for just that reason and is my personal favorite. I can boot a Windows system that has crapped out with a PCLinuxOS CD—and since it will readily recognize USB drives and FAT/NTFS partitions it is a simple matter to drag data in need of recovery to an external USB drive.

Then I can quickly go about doing what fixes Windows best…reformatting a hard drive.

Back to my point. Check out the SystemRescue CD distro!

How Do You Tell If A Community Embraces Open Source?

Have you ever wondered if there was a quick and easy way to tell whether or not a smaller city or town is apt to be geek friendly and familiar with Open Source? Perhaps you are considering relocating and want to gauge the odds of finding a home for your Open Source skillset?

There is a surprisingly easy way to do so.

[Note: Click on image below to see it in its entirety.]

Head to the office supply stores or computer stores. There is one item you will be looking for…

Groups Condemn Microsoft Vista: World Needs GNU/Linux

Environmental and various social justice groups condemned Microsoft Vista and suggest that the world needs free software to be a better place. In order to safeguard the environment and foster open, freer communication among people, they want people to adopt free software.

The view is that proprietary software is created to come between people (which I agree with), and that it is driven by money and companies that hinder social activism by making those seeking social change “dependent upon software owned and exclusively controlled by entities that design their software in ways directly opposed to grassroots social change.”

Here’s a brief quote from the article by which I discovered this on the Free Software Foundation’s website about the statement and why the various groups feel it is necessary:

Derek Wall, Green Party principal speaker said, “Free software offers social activists an alternative to what Vista represents. Using free software we can further social and environmental justice without supporting growth based on waste, control and short-term profit.” He continued, “I would urge social movements to develop a migration strategy, including a commitment not to move to Vista.”

The statement highlights the disposable-computer mentality embodied in the excessive hardware requirements of Microsoft Windows Vista. Often new hardware is necessary to support new software features, but the coalition says in this case, Vista’s requirements are to enable the operating system to more effectively restrict the user at the request of media companies seeking to prevent copying of music and video files.

It is more of the sort of social conscience millions of computer users need to embrace.

AT&T And Other Telecoms Crying Over Google Competition

Nobody likes a crybaby. Especially when they’re crying because they cannot have everything their way.

The future of the 700MHz frequency band is up for grabs, and Google is looking to get in on the action. The major telecoms are unhappy about Google’s foray into their territory because—like most telecom industry giants with monopolistic aspirations—they don’t want competition.

Google has written to the FCC and stated they would bid the minimum reserve if the government enforces some principles that would favor giving consumers more choice. Telecoms on the other hand don’t care about customers and would rather have more control so they can limit what you can and can’t do in the realm of communications…

Linux Loaded PC’s? USB Worm And AIDS? Microsoft Home Invasions?

It used to be hard to find a PC loaded with Linux, but that is no longer the case. The big news, of course, is Dell. The PC manufacturer has officially opened the open source shop, offering factory loaded and Dell supported PC’s with Ubuntu and FreeDOS.

There’s a lot of other interesting news in this post too, like a worm that targets USB drives—to spread information about AIDS and HIV, and the coolest looking Linux PC that fits in the palm of your hand…

Goodbye Zend And XandrOS (Open Source Needs Direction)

I happened across an article on Red Herring yesterday and thought I would go ahead and share a link after thinking on it overnight. I mean, there are open source meetings about strategy and coping with Microsoft pretty regularly these days—so why share yet another link to another article on the topic?

Well, it mentions those open source companies who are striking deals with Microsoft in order to protect themselves against potential litigation in the future by the company. That means it mentions a few companies whose products I won’t be using. Well, at least I had intended not to. But there was one particularly disturbing mention in the list of companies.

Zend Technologies, who handles the PHP programming language recently struck a deal with Microsoft as well. It was bad enough seeing Novel, the makers of Suse, and XandrOS making deals with Microsoft instead of joining the rest of the open source community and calling the Redmond company’s bluff. Now, the company behind the scripting language of choice for a lot of people has joined the unholy alliance out to destroy open source…

Linux Distro Review: Mandriva Free 2007

This one will be short and sweet. Mainly because it was a negative experience (not necessarily bad), but also because I don’t want to waste writing effort and time on this distro review when I’m anxious and excited to get busy writing a few other distro reviews.

I will be adding reviews of Debian ‘Etch’, PCLinuxOS MiniMe, and the RailsLive distro soon. I’m excited about two of the three. I may even throw in a review of SUSE SLED 10 (Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop), though I am admittedly not friendly with Novell as a result of their Microsoft dealings.

My apologies if this particular review is less than what it ought to be. As I mentioned, I’m anxious to write up a couple of reviews of some distros that have me excited, and so I want to make this quick…

Dell Going With Ubuntu

I have been a few days behind on some developments, getting caught up with some work, but was glad to hear Dell will be offering Linux loaded PCs. However, I was a little disappointed to hear they chose to go with Ubuntu.

While Ubuntu is slick, and it can be friendly, it would not have been my personal choice. Still, I am glad to see they are planning to offer a Linux PC at all. Now, let’s just hope they do not use the typical PC manufacturer’s strategy of sticking hardware inside the box that cannot be easily replaced with generic components and will require lengthy service contracts.

Dell says they have not seen any sort of considerable demand for a Linux loaded PC in the USA. No surprise there. A lot of that is because people have been building their own and there has not been any supported, easy to use distro commercially available on PCs in any number to start building demand in the minds of consumers. The other major reason is that Linux vendors and companies that use Linux have made virtually no attempt to target American colleges and universities—the one place there is an opportunity to create not only supply, but demand as well.

Silverlight Not Worth The Money

OK, all this talk about Microsoft ‘rebooting the web’ is just a bit baffling. After a few days, it bugged me enough to write about it.

After checking out what the Silverlight fuss is about, I can only suggest to you that if (a) you like the usual clunky Microsoft interface that has way more tedious and useless functionality standing in the way of what you want to achieve, (b) you have an overwhelming urge to edit video in your browser online, and (c) you have your own T1 or T3 line, perhaps it will be just the thing you should spend a lot of money on and further tie yourself to Microsoft’s proprietary formats.

You could, however, work just as fast and easily for a lot less, with interfaces that make more sense.

A Lot Going On

I wanted to update those curious persons who contacted me concerning the relatively slow posting of late. Have no fear, I shall be posting more regularly as the week progresses. In no time, I will be back to a more tolerable level of readability.

As to why I have been slow the past two weeks, I have simply been busy with life. Several websites have been getting worked on, and I have been preparing some woodworking projects. Oh, and I signed a contract to do some eMarketing consulting for a movie to be filmed this summer…

Build Your Own Blog: How Do You Do It?

Ever wanted to build your own blog? No, I mean code and all—not just installing and tweaking existing blogware. Well, if you have been thinking about it, I happened across just the thing you need.

There is a great four-part series—complete with code—over at WebReference.com on building your own custom blog solution using PHP and MySQL. They just completed the series with the fourth and final installment a few days ago….