OpenTangent

Cloud computing is making waves in more than just the biggest technology companies . The concept is undeniably convenient, not just for those who use the cloud but also those deploying them. Until recently, decent cloud deployments were reserved for the Googles and Amazons of the world but as with all good inventions it is becoming increasingly affordable. The next logical step is the ability to privately deploy clouds to keep your internal productivity safely behind a firewall. Why Eucalyptus then? Besides the fact that it's compatible with Amazon's enterprise level EC2 , besides the fact that it defines Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud , besides the fact that it's open source and thus supported by a vast community of developers, when the head of the worlds most important database management software Mårten Mickos , becomes the head of Eucalyptus, that's the signal that this is one to watch out for. Mickos also has his hands in the RightScale pie, which conveniently builds ...

IBM , Canonical and Simmtronics are realising their joint effort to pump low cost netbooks  into the African market . The netbooks will apparently be sold for around US$190 (just under R1500) and will run a Lotus enriched Ubuntu Netbook Edition  which has been named  IBM Client for Smart Work . What's important to note about this package is that it has the productivity capabilities of a desktop solution that would cost three to four times the price. How do they achieve this? With thin client , cloud architecture  which effectively reduces the need for powerful hardware by placing the majority of the work load on the server. Mark Shuttleworth introduces the product below: An ARM processor could have improved the performance to cost ratio in my opinion but overall i think this is exactly the kind of thing that sparked the netbook evolution. I am currently running Ubuntu Netbook Edition 10.04 beta on my EeePC although i use it primarily fo...

We as South Africans are exceptionally proud to be hosting the 2010 Fifa World Cup . I try to put myself in the shoes of the international community to understand what a South African hosted world cup means to them. With the obvious negative perceptions of Africa (albeit largely unwarranted), i wonder if this world cup will just fly under the radar and be an unremarkable event in the history of Fifa world cups. Fortunately this event coincides with the boom in consumer stereoscopy and it has been confirmed that this world cup will be recorded in full stereoscopic 3D. This means that our shiny new stadia, packed with vibrant vuvuzela blasting South African fan culture, will be the first in the world to be seen in immersive 3D creating an unforgettable sporting event for more than just the attending spectators. To have the forefront of consumer entertainment technology brought to one of the largest sporting events ever held in South Africa is for me, an excel...

Julius Malema is a racist swine that will never acknowledge a white woman as his superior . I'm not even going to compare Julius Malema to  Helen Zille  because quite frankly that would be extremely disrespectful to the worlds best mayor of 2008 and the premier of the most highly educated province in the country. Not to mention the fact that she had made a significant impact in the fight against Apartheid by exposing the truth behind the death of Steve Biko . What has boy Julius contributed? Most controversial political commentator? You may want to wipe the faecal matter from your lips when you address your superiors, Julius. One thing we certainly can commend Julius for is his ability to persuade millions of people with school yard banter which can be compared to trash talk found in the wrestling industry. Although it should be noted that this may be because of his followers lack of tangible education rather than re...

A new look for Ubuntu has long been in the pipelines and is a welcomed addition to Lucid Lynx . The Ayatana Project has done an excellent job at modernising the operating system. I can't help noticing the Mac influence although they've managed to keep the Ubuntu feel. It's a clean, modern and consistent style and in my opinion, it's going to have a huge impact on the perception of Ubuntu . Well done to all involved. Hardy Heron (Ubuntu 8.04 LTS): Lucid Lynx (Ubuntu 10.04 LTS):

Steve Jobs has said that Adobe Flash is a dying technology . For the first time ever, i completely agree with him. Many have said that that comment is simply CEO rhetoric which, to be honest i agree with as well. Adobe Flash was accepted early on as the de facto standard for bringing rich media and vector graphics to a text and image based web. Being a Linux fanboy, i'm very familiar with popularity of certain software increasing based on the popularity of that software thereby creating exponential growth through recursive popularity. To translate my developer speak; people tend to favour popular software rather than good software . Flash is an example of this and therefore despite the fact that it is a buggy CPU hog as Steve rightfully points out, it still has a lot of staying power. HTML5 is here to rescue us from a slow, buggy, inflexible and quite frankly, painful Flash filled web experience. Being the influential character that Steve Jo...