Development

Microsoft announced more details of its Azure cloud computing plans for Windows yesterday. Ray Ozzie talked about how Microsoft's going to crush Amazon and VMware into itty-bitty pieces. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers are mostly impressed.
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As the Android wave continues to engulf new markets of electronic devices, developers for the platform may get confused by all of the different hardware variables out there. Android isn't just for smartphones like the Motorola Droid. Device manufacturers are putting Android into everything from digital picture frames to cars. Where can developers find help?

By J Schwan

Too often the Buy vs. Build argument gets turned on its head when enterprises who buy a packaged solution to save money, end up spending more customizing it to fit their business' needs. When I say packaged here I am referring to things like ERPs, CRMs and even newer SaaS based applications. Customizing packaged apps is expensive since you often need proprietary skills and knowledge to make any changes. It gets even more expensive when it comes time to upgrade and many of those customizations need to be refactored or rewritten.

Microsoft admitted that it violated the GPL2 with a recent software release, and is now going to re-release the program under the right open-source license.

Sometimes following the right process or methodology is not the best way to manage a project. In fact, a PMO or a formal project management methodology doesn't always guarantee success either. I think the key to this success is much deeper then the methodology, tools, processes or even the quality of the project manager. I think it has a lot to do with the relationship between IT and the business.

Google has unveiled an interesting programming language. Dubbed Go, it's aimed at making programmers' lives more fulfilling, especially for multi-core or perhaps even clustered computers. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers go wild. Not to mention epic kludges...
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Guess who's been caught with their hands in the open-source jar -- again?

Might Windows 8 or 9 actually have Linux under the hood?

The sign off is sometimes pursued and valued as though it were some kind of ancient idol. It's taken for granted that it's a necessary part of the processes we use to produce product. But what does the sign off really mean?

When I ask developers "what programming language do you use?", the answer I usually get is a single language.  Most developers define themselves as a Java, C++, Delphi, C#, Visual Basic, PHP, Ruby or Python developer.  Some web developers will say they use JavaScript.  In fact most developers, today, use several programming languages.  Who doesn't also use JavaScript, HTML, XML, WSDL, SQL and other languages (domain specific, procedural, markup, functional, object-oriented, etc.).

Did you know that regardless of your infrastructure, you have the largest, most powerful performance enhancing platform in the world at your disposal? This platform is vast, infinitely scalable and most of all, it's free. What is it and how do I sign up? It's the internet itself! Let me give you an example of how to take advantage of this.

President Barack Obama's White House has chosen Drupal to run the whitehouse.gov Web site. They say George W. Bush's old CMS wasn't cutting it any longer. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers resist equating open source with socialism. Not to mention mugshot shirts...

The C++0x language standards committee meeting is taking place this week in downtown Santa Cruz, California, near where I live. 

C++0x is the informal name for the more formal designation: ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG21 - The C++ Standards Committee.  To unpack that:

There are reports circulating that there's been a leak of a beta copy of Google's Chrome operating system is now out and about. Don't believe them.

I love the Linux desktop, but facts are facts. Linux only holds a niche of the greater desktop market. Part of the reason is Microsoft's monopoly, but it's not just the Evil Empire that's kept Linux down -- Linux has done a lot of self-damage.