The Yahoo Exodus Continues in a Different Way



It’s not really a Yahoo exec leaving, but it does signal a end to what I like to call “MicroYugo”. Microsoft Exec Kevin Johnson is leaving his job to become CEO at Juniper Networks.

So how is this tied into Yahoo? Well, Kevin was the head of Windows and Internet unit and helped spearhead the attempted Yahoo offering. He oversaw over 14,000 employees and directly reported to Steve Ballmer.

Microsoft will not be replacing Johnson. They will instead be splitting Platforms and Services. The two groups will be reporting directly to Steve Ballmer.


Google’s Alternative to Wikipedia



Google has finally released to the public their Knol reference tool to the public after a 7 month development process. Intended to be a sort of internet encyclopedia, Knol will be filled with articles written by experts in every possible type of field.

Sounds like Wikipedia, doesn’t it?

The major difference between Knol and Wikipedia is that Knol will require submitters to identify themselves. This means that readers of the Knol can then assess the credibility of the information through independent verification, before using it as a reference. Google will not screen submissions, but rely on search rankings to determine if an article is credible or not.

This one difference may make Knol more valuable, in the long-run, than Wikipedia. Wikipedia has long had a reputation of being so submitter-driven, without any sort of verification process or way to double-check the credibility of information published, that it is often not allowed to be used as a valid reference. At most, Wikipedia is a jumping off point to further information.

I am glad to see some sort of competition come online for Wikipedia. As I work with students on a daily basis, I have to explain often that Wikipedia entries alone are not enough to base a paper on; there has to be substantiating information. Knol, with its open references to the authors of the article, along with their credentials, has the potential to be a much more credible source, and therefore make it into mainstream bibliographies, than Wikipedia ever will.


Sony Opening eBook Reader



Sony is pushing a software upgrade to its Sony Reader that will allow it to download books from other sources besides Sony.

Now we’re talking.

One of the reasons I’ve not even looked hard at eBook readers is because of the proprietary nature of their content and delivery. If I buy Amazon’s Kindle, then I can only download from Amazon. But with Sony’s newest change, I can now potentially download eBooks from libraries, booksellers, publishers, and even Amazon. The open Sony Reader will allow access to a host of free downloads, as well.

Opening up the Sony Reader could potentially energize the market, where sales of eBooks has been lackluster at best. If you don’t have to limit yourself by the player’s proprietary downloads, then there is a much better reason to buy and use an eBook reader. I may just be looking at one myself.

I wonder when Amazon will join Sony in the open eBook market?


Google Mail is flagging my Outbound Mail in Google Apps!



I am beyond irritated with Google at this moment. I have all of my domains email utilizing Google Apps Service which includes Gmail functionality for any persons .com address.

I have always used a desktop client like outlook or thunderbird. I run the service in IMAP and have a home machine and a travel machine that I primarily connect to Google to get the email.

The problem I am having is that many times when I am traveling Google starts flagging my mail as spam and people are not getting it. This is even happening in inter domain email aka from @rawvoice.com to @rawvoice.com

The only thing we can think of is that when I am in a Hotel or on my Sprint EVDO account that Google has some of those IP’s blacklisted. Thus when I send the email via thunderbird from one of those services the IP I am sending on gets embeded in the header. This is causing me a lot of concern because email is critical in our day to day operation and now it seems Google is blocking legitimate email and they are becoming a liability.

If I log into the web interface which i hate this problem does not seem to happen. Google you better get your act together on Google Apps or I will cancel the service and move to someone that can move email properly.


SCO Update



Last week SCO faced the day they had tried to avoid when a ruling was finally handed down in the SCO vs Novell case. While they did not lose as much money as they feared the ruling means that they do not own the rights they are claiming too in their case against IBM. I am sure that there will be a round or two of appeals before this all dies a death and there is still the possibility of new life in this sorry tale.

This would not be my preffered way for the SCO saga to end as it does not categorically state that Linux is clear, it rules that SCO does not own the rights to make the claim itself. The possible moves SCO could make from here include trying to swing some of the claims towards Unixware which it owns more completely however this is remote. SCO convinced the court that UnixWare should be considered the latest version of Unix, which protected them from a much larger judgement and having to pay continual royalties to Novell. The evidence would suggest that this argument may not hold up to more detailed scrutiny.

The more probably outcome will come from SCO’s bankruptcy case. The real chance is that SCO will end up being broken up and sold. If this happens the risk is that the rights that SCO do own and the litigation against IBM which is currently on hold will be brought back to life. If that happens we will need to rely on IBM to finalise the litigation rather than settling. Settling would create a negative precedent for Linux rather than close the issue forever.

SCO seems about to become a footnote in IT history, leaving with a whimper rather than a bang. I can’t say it hasn’t been entertaining.