U.S. Department of State cancels large Kindle contract

Posted on by

The Kindle was identified as the only product that met the department’s requirements, according to the Justification and Approval (J&A) for other than full and open competition. Apple’s iPad was rejected because it fell under the tablet or computer category rather than as a single-function e-reader, and had additional features that “are not only unnecessary, but also present unacceptable security and usability risks for the government’s needs in this particular project.”

via U.S. Department of State cancels large Kindle contract | ITworld.

Disappearing test cases or did another part of MySQL just become closed source?

Posted on by

MySQL test cases were always an important part of the MySQL source tree. They were particularly useful for storage engine developers and for other people extending MySQL, for example, at Facebook, Twitter, and Taobao. But also for Linux distributions which add their patches to the base MySQL, and even to users, who don’t modify the sources — they still want to confirm that a particular bug was fixed or that their custom-built binary has no obvious flaws.

In May, at the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Oakland, Oracle had 7 representatives there, and they promised that Oracle will be more contributor- and distribution-friendly. It is sad to see that instead of that the MySQL source tree is being closed down.

via Disappearing test cases or did another part of MySQL just become closed source? « The MariaDB Blog.

Google’s Motorola Files New Patent Case Against Apple

Posted on by

The complaint at the U.S. International Trade Commission claims infringement of seven Motorola Mobility patents on features including location reminders, e-mail notification and phone/video players, Motorola Mobility said yesterday. The case seeks a ban on U.S. imports of devices including the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers. Apple’s products are made in Asia.

via Google’s Motorola Files New Patent Case Against Apple – Bloomberg.

Motorola Mobility to layoff 4000 nationwide and 700 in the Chicagoland area

Posted on by

The layoffs does not impact the move from Libertyville to the new downtown Chicago location. The move is expected by the summer of 2013. Motorola Mobility will become the landmark the Merchandise Mart’s largest tenant and will occupy nearly 600,000 square feet on the top four floors and the rooftop.

The layoffs will not have an impact on the Motorola Mobility move to downtown Chicago.

via Motorola Mobility to layoff 4000 nationwide and 700 in the Chicagoland area – Chicago CIty Hall | Examiner.com.

Changes coming in Version 1.1 of the Twitter API | Twitter Developers

Posted on by

In the coming weeks we will release version 1.1 of the Twitter API. To help you plan ahead, we’re announcing these changes now, before the new version of the API is available. Changes will include:

  • required authentication on every API endpoint
  • a new per-endpoint rate-limiting methodology
  • changes to our Developer Rules of the Road, especially around applications that are traditional Twitter clients.

via Changes coming in Version 1.1 of the Twitter API | Twitter Developers.

Most individual API endpoints will be rate limited at 60 calls per hour per-endpoint. Based on analysis of current use of our API, this rate limit will be well above the needs of most applications built against the Twitter API, while protecting our systems from abusive applications.

New Apache project will Drill big data in near real time

Posted on by

Because Hadoop uses MapReduce to perform data queries, searches have to be done in batches. So, while you can perform highly detailed analysis of historical data, for instance, one area you would not want to use Hadoop for is transactional data. Transactional data, by its very nature, is highly complex and fluid, as a transaction on an ecommerce site can generate many steps that all have to be implemented quickly.

Nor would it be efficient for Hadoop to be used to process structured data sets that require very minimal latency, such as a Web site served up by a MySQL database in a typical LAMP stack. That’s a speed requirement that Hadoop would poorly serve.

via New Apache project will Drill big data in near real time | ITworld.

Expanding supported query languages will be one area of focus for the Drill project. Another will be adding support for additional formats, such as JSON, since right now Dremel only supports the Google Protocol Buffer Format.

Microsoft Azure vs. Amazon Web Services: Which is Best For You?

Posted on by

But there are a couple of other possibilities. Some open-source wrapper APIs under construction claim to support a whole set of clouds. In fact, here’s one on Sourceforge; I haven’t personally tried it and can’t vouch for it in any way, except to say that it’s just one example of a handful out there (do a Google search).

I suspect we’re going to see more of these open-source APIs that target multiple vendors. With one of those, you can potentially use any number of clouds. As for the APIs themselves—if you’re not worried about vendor lock-in, then both Amazon’s and Microsoft’s platforms are actually pretty easy to use and are in many ways quite similar. I personally rank them both about equal in programmability.

via Microsoft Azure vs. Amazon Web Services: Which is Best For You?.

Using the Google Nexus 7 Tablet as a Phone, For Free (+ a Privacy Hint)

Posted on by

In short, yes, even though the N7 doesn’t obviously have phone-related user interfaces, you can use the N7 as a phone for both outgoing and incoming calls via VoIP, and this can be accomplished completely for free via Google Voice accounts.

The fairly easy steps:

Obtain and install the GrooVe IP Lite (GIPL) app via Google Play. This version is free and has everything you need for this situation. You still might wish to purchase the full version for $5 to support the fine work of the developer.

via Lauren Weinstein’s Blog: Using the Google Nexus 7 Tablet as a Phone, For Free (+ a Privacy Hint).