Labels: Facebook

Google is inviting another 100,000 people to play in the Google Wave test pool. The developing duo of Jens and Lars Rasmussen envision Wave revolutionizing online communication and collaboration. I am not sure it will be revolutionary, but at first blush it seems at least evolutionary and worth taking a closer look at.

Google Wave is part social networking, and part unified communications, and all Google. Wave combines email, instant messaging, blogging, document sharing, wikis, and multimedia content to provide a seamless communications platform.

Unless you're one of the lucky (relatively) few invited by Google, you can't play with Wave just yet. But, I'll give you five reasons you should be anxiously looking forward to giving Google Wave a try:

1. Single Point of Access. Many of the functions of Google Wave already exist, but require logging into separate applications- email, instant messaging, office productivity, blogging, etc. Google Wave will provide you with one platform that ties all of these separate applications together.

2. Next-Generation Communication. A Wave is part email, part instant message, and part document. It combines text, photos, video, maps, and other elements into a single communication stream, enabling richer, more dynamic conversations.

Wave really blurs the line between the various methods of communication you are used to. You can instantly add new participants to a wave by dragging them from your contact list. You can also link to other waves, photos, and other content elements by simply dragging them into the wave.

3. Real-time Sharing and Collaboration. Arguably the most compelling aspect of Google Wave is the real-time collaboration functionality. Wave participants can comment inline and the statements are accompanied by the user's avatar and a timestamp allowing you to easily identify who said what, when.

Users can see text appear in the wave as it is being typed- even as they typo and backspace to correct the text. Wave participants can view and edit the same content at the same time-collaborating in real-time.

Even cooler is the Playback function which allows new participants who just joined the wave to play the wave stream back post by post. They can add comments and edit text as they go through the stream and get caught up on their own schedule so they can join the real-time conversation.

4. The Wave Lives On. A wave is like an email or instant message on steroids. The entire wave has a life of its own. Participants on the wave are notified as the wave is updated or modified, and the wave can be easily searched based on any content of the wave-dynamically updating potential results as you type.

You can link to waves from other email and instant messaging clients, and you can also embed waves within web sites or social networking services using Google Wave API's.

5. Its in the Cloud. One of the things that Google has always brought to the table is Web-based access. Not only is it nice to combine email, instant messaging, and other online communications in one place-it is also nice to be able to access the platform seamlessly from anywhere in the world. Have Web access? You can Wave.

It still remains to be seen if Google Wave is a competitor for social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, or if it's a unified communications tool competing against Microsoft and Cisco. If it's as revolutionary as Google makes it sound, perhaps it is all of the above and none of the above at the same time.

Labels: Google Wave

Microsoft says that rather than struggle to fix their own PC problems, computer owners have proved themselves more than willing to just click a "Fix it" button and let the computer take care of itself.

Since about January, Microsoft has been adding the automated fixes for an array of PC problems for which there is a single known solution. In the past six months, it has added more than 300 "Fix its" to automate the steps needed to solve problems, change settings, and even protect against viruses.

Recently, Microsoft used the approach to help people defend against a serious unpatched flaw.

"If we know what those 15 steps are, why shouldn't we just script it," Lori Brownell, Microsoft's general manager of product quality and online support, said in a February interview.

The effort is working, Microsoft said this week, noting that more than 7 million people have used the automated fixes and in 95 percent of cases, the "Fix it" button completely solved the issue.

Microsoft said the fixes are now available in 23 languages and have shown up in the company's advertising. There's even a "Fix it" page on Facebook and a feed on Twitter.

Labels: Microsoft

That Dell is releasing a new laptop for business customers is the opposite of surprising. But the fact that it contains notable features not seen in any other laptops certainly is.

Most everything about the new Latitude Z is expected: It's yet another very thin notebook (a metric which PC manufacturers keep using to try to one-up each other), with a different kind of exterior finish (soft-touch, in this case), and comes in a black cherry. It measures 16 inches across, and is 14 millimeters thin at its most narrow point.

But you probably wouldn't guess that the Latitude Z charges wirelessly. And as far as we can tell, it's the first laptop to do so. Surprised that this is coming from Dell? You're not alone.

The wireless charging is handled elegantly enough. An inductive pad that's built into a laptop stand can accomplish a full recharge in "about the same amount of time" as a standard-issue cabled charger, according to Dell. While smartphone maker Palm has a similar (albeit smaller) wireless charging system for the Pre, and companies like Visteon and Wild Charge have debuted wireless charging accessories for phones, no PC maker has incorporated the idea until now.

The wireless charging stand.

(Credit: Erica Ogg/CNET)

It's part of what Dell is terming its new "wireless eco-system." Besides being able to get juice without wires, the Latitude Z will also be able to dock without them. A smaller separate adapter can hook up the laptop with any accompanying monitor, whether it be one in a cubicle, or in a conference room.

Both cost extra, and are by no means cheap ($199 for each), but the intention is for companies to buy, not necessarily individual consumers.

Other cool things Dell is introducing: touch-sensitive controls on the screen's bezel, and its first take on "instant on."

The sliding touch controls--not visible to the naked eye--are located on the right side of the bezel and appear when contact is made. Any controls can be customized and placed there, such as screen brightness, volume, or easy access to specific applications. When controlling an application like Excel or a Web browser, the right side of the bezel can be used as a sort of touchpad for scrolling through a spreadsheet or Web page.

The instant-on capability works exactly the way it sounds. Instead of waiting for Windows to boot up, the computer uses a second smaller motherboard and a separate ARM processor. Through a separate, non-Windows interface, it allows e-mail, contacts, calendars, and a Firefox-based Web browser to be accessed right away. E-mail, contacts, and calendars are always running in the background and are constantly being synced.

The ARM processor doesn't have access to the main motherboard or the ports, which should alleviate security concerns, according to Todd Forsythe, vice president of Dell's commercial client product group. The secondary processor--used mostly in smartphones--also draws much less power than a more robust desktop or notebook processor and so while it's running in the background it doesn't drain the battery as fast: using just the instant-on mode will provide up to two days of battery life; when using Windows and the accompanying Intel Core 2 Duo processor, it will get four hours.

Companies like DeviceVM and Phoenix have built businesses out of instant-on capabilities--basically a quick-booting interface built right into the computer's BIOS that isn't dependent on Windows. Dell said it decided not to go with either of those because they wanted to use the separate low-power processor for the background syncing.

What Dell, and DeviceVM, and Phoenix, and plenty of others are doing is part of a trend that's gaining steam: doing a sort of end-run around Windows. HP came out with its own interface on Touchsmart PCs last year that allows for quick sorting between photos, e-mail, and Web browsing on a few models. Lenovo recently introduced a new touch-screen interface for its tablet, and Asus has its own for its popular Eee PC Netbooks and touch-screen desktop called TouchGate.

Most people aren't used to seeing Dell trying new things like this, some of it actually ahead of competitors. Last year, we wrote about how Dell was starting to be a little more risky about the types of products it was trying out. Not new to the market, just new to Dell, which has traditionally had a habit of waiting, analyzing the market's response to new products, and jumping in later with a more efficient, and less expensive way of making that product.

But that way of doing things is over for Dell now. The company has struggled to find the right mix of products and now has less opportunity to be picky. But it's a good sign that the company is trying out smaller, more innovative, and more practical ideas like wireless charging, docking, instant on, and touch interfaces. Though it's only in the Latitude Z right now, we hear these features are stirring a lot of interest in other product groups at Dell. It's easy to see how, for a cheaper price (the Z starts at $1,999), these new features could find much broader acceptance with retail customers.

Labels: Laptop

A rise in malware has caused the number of infected PCs worldwide to increase 15 percent just from August to September, says a report released Tuesday from antivirus vendor Panda Security.

Across the globe, the average number of PCs hit by malware now stands around 59 percent, an all-time high for the year. Among 29 countries tracked, the U.S. ranked ninth with slightly more than 58 percent of its PCs infected. Taiwan hit first place with an infection ratio of 69 percent, while Norway came in lowest with only 39 percent of its PCs attacked by malware.



The study found that in the U.S., Trojans and Adware were the two most pernicious types of malware, followed by worms and viruses.



"This is a clear sign that hackers are becoming more and more sophisticated," said PandaLabs Technical Director Luis Corrons. "Cybercriminals have found news ways to spread their creations, frequently exploiting the latest news stories to launch attacks through social networks, videos, and e-mail. The huge amount of Trojans in circulation is due to the spectacular increase in the number of banker Trojans aimed at stealing user data."

The company based its results on data taken from users who scanned their PCs with the free Panda ActiveScan online tool. The results for September were gathered from August 28 to September 28 and compared with the results from July 28 to August 27.

Labels: Malware

If you can't wait to get your hands on Microsoft's upcoming free antivirus app, and you missed the limited public beta period, you won't have to wait any longer. Microsoft has confirmed that its Security Essentials antivirus software will be publicly available tomorrow, September 29.

The download isn't yet available as of this writing, but you'll be able to get it from Microsoft's Security Essentials site. It'll be avaliable for users of Windows XP, Vista, and 7.

Microsoft first announced Security Essentials--code-named "Morro"--late last year, as a free replacement to the paid Windows Live OneCare. The announcement shook up the free antivirus market, and led some to wonder if Microsoft would ultimately end up dominating the desktop security market.

In late June Microsoft offered a limited public beta of Security Essentials. In my initial hands-on, I found the Security Essentials beta to be well designed and easy to use. The main interface uses a single window with four tabs, and a color-coded status bar across the top, so you can see if your PC is protected at a glance.

The Security Essentials public beta also took fourth place in our recent roundup of free antivirus software. Microsoft Security Essentials beta detected 97.8 percent of malware in tests conducted by AV-Test.org, which is decent score compared to other, similar free antivirus tools. Malware scans were a bit on the sluggish side, though, taking longer to scan than a number of competing products.

But Security Essentials has a lot going for it, though it isn't perfect. As our reviewer Erik Larkin put it when he looked at the beta, "If Microsoft can improve the detection rate a bit--and rev up the scan speed more than a bit--before the program's final release, Security Essentials could turn out to be a real contender in the free antivirus arena".

Labels: Microsoft

Microsoft Office PowerPoint is a terrific medium because it allows you to reinforce your message with visual prompts. But too often, the power of PowerPoint is lost because the speaker doesn't use it to help viewers focus on the message. Instead, PowerPoint itself becomes the focus.

If you want to feel more relaxed and confident the next time you're using PowerPoint to deliver a presentation, try these three tips to maintain the focus on your topic-not the medium.

Be consistent on all pages by using the Master View

If you're tired of typing the date, presentation title, or page number on every page in your presentation-or changing bullet styles and indentations-listen up. PowerPoint will do this for you! The Master View feature allows you to enter information once on either the title page or an interior slide page. Once entered, the information is used consistently throughout the presentation, and remains there until you change it.

I use this feature in every presentation I create. It makes my life a little easier to know that each page will be consistent without much effort on my part. Let's take a look specifically at how PowerPoint can automatically take care of the date, footer, and page numbers for you.

From anywhere within your presentation, go to the View menu, click Master, and then click Slide Master. You will now be in the Master View mode, as shown here.

Note four key areas in this view, which shows you the presentation's title page.

1. On the slide itself are two large boxes that allow you to edit the Master title and subtitle styles.

   Less obvious are three remaining areas, which I've circled in red.

2. In the left navigation bar, you will see two thumbnail slides. One is the Title Slide view, and above it is the slide view for the rest of the interior slides. In the example above, you can see that I have selected the Title Slide.

3. A small, useful toolbar called Slide Master View appears as well. In this article we use only Close Master View.

4. Finally, note the bottom portion of the slide. It shows the date, footer, and number areas.

To include the date from the Master title page:

1. In the Date Area box, highlight </DATE time>and enter the date you wish to use.

2. Click Close Master View on the toolbar.

You should now see the date automatically noted on your title page, as shown below.

To make similar changes on slide pages that follow the title page, simply select the slide page thumbnail on the left within the Master View. You can then make changes to the bullet styles and indentations PowerPoint automatically sets up for you. Don't like a bullet color? Select the interior slide Master View and change it to the color you want. The example below shows some of the items you can change on the Master slide.

Tip  Page numbers are added by default. However, if you want to remove page numbers from your presentation, remove <#> from the Number Area.

Note  If you want a date to appear on both your title and interior slide pages, you must edit each page type from within the Master View.

Reinforce your message with automated charts and graphs

You've probably seen presenters who have very cool graphs and charts within their presentation. You can import these from other programs such as Microsoft Office Excel, but did you know you can perk up your slides without importing from those programs?

People retain information in different ways-by reading text, by seeing graphical representations, and by listening to what you say. So, if you want your audience to really remember your message, it's important to learn to create at least simple charts or graphs in PowerPoint. With the automated formats it provides, you have literally dozens of ways to build a unique presentation and make your message memorable.

To insert a chart or graph in your presentation:

1. Go to the Insert menu, and click Chart. PowerPoint will drop in a preformatted basic chart for you. If you like the format it chose, simply type in the text you need in the datasheet box provided for vertical and horizontal axis. Click anywhere on the slide and your chart will appear on the slide with your information. That's it!

   

2. To change the format, right-click within the chart. In the example shown, you would right-click the area outside the colored bars, but still within the chart-not in the datasheet box. You'll know you've clicked the correct spot because you will see the menu below pop up. If you don't, move your cursor to a different spot and keep trying until you see this menu.

   

3. On the menu that appears, click Chart Type to choose from 34 different chart options such as bar, pie, and bubble.

   Note You can choose from Standard or Custom Types.

4. Once you have selected a Chart type and option, choose a Chart sub-type you like. (Each chart option offers several different color and visual styles.) Want to see the style in a larger view? Select Press and Hold to View Sample.

   Note Custom Type charts do not have this viewing option.

   

5. Once you have made your selection, click OK.

6. Type in the text you need in the datasheet box provided for vertical and horizontal axes. Click anywhere on the slide and your chart will appear on the slide with your information.

   

Jump easily between pages

If you didn't know how to use a hyperlink, you wouldn't be reading this online article. You may already use hyperlinks for quick and easy access to the Web if you are connected to the Internet while making your presentation. Too often, however, a cool way to use hyperlinks within a presentation is overlooked. It happens when presenters include additional information at the back of a presentation as "back up" slides and then never refer to them because it's too difficult to navigate to the end and return to the main portion of the presentation. But if the information is important enough to reference in back up, why ignore it?

With PowerPoint hyperlinks, you don't have to because it's easy to jump between slides.

To insert hyperlinks between slides in your presentation:

1. Locate the first slide you will be on when you want to briefly jump to another slide. On this slide, highlight the word or phrase that is the most obvious descriptor of the second slide. On the Insert menu, click Hyperlink.

   

2. In the Insert Hyperlinks dialog box, under Link to, click Place in This Document.

3. Under Select a place in this document, click the slide to which you want to jump. Use the Slide Preview to ensure that you are selecting the correct page. Click OK. Your hyperlink is now in place on the text and page you selected.

   Note  Trying to check whether your link works? Hyperlinks can only be used in the View Show mode.

   

4. The final step in this process is to go to the second slide you selected (in this example, page 3) and insert another hyperlink that allows you to jump back to the first slide. Follow steps 1-3 to do this. Once complete, you now have two hyperlinks within your presentation that allow you to move back and forth between slides like a pro.

If you've been using your computer for more than 6 months, it's probably safe to say that you don't need all the files and e-mail messages stored there. When left untreated too long, an unorganized computer will perform slower and make it more difficult for you to find the information you need. If that's the case, it's a great time to make sure your computer is cleaned up and ready to roll for your next upcoming project or assignment. This article can help you get started.

Clear out your old, unnecessary files

So how long should you keep old files on your hard drive? It's kind of like cleaning out a closet?if you haven't used a particular file (or sweater) in a year, you're pretty safe storing it somewhere else.

How can you tell how old a file is? Rest your mouse cursor over the file to see when it was last modified. For more information right-click the file, and choose Properties. You can see when the file was created, last modified it, and most recently accessed. If a file is old, not important, and hasn't been accessed in more than 6 months, it might be time to clear it out.

You're the best judge to determine which files to keep, but here is a list of items you might want to consider saving:

• Tax and legal information

• Project-related files

• Favorite digital images from the year

• Plans you could leverage for future projects

• Important e-mail messages

• Customer information

  

  By looking at the properties of a file you can see when the file was created, last modified it, and most recently accessed.

Once you've gotten rid of your files, learn 7 ways to manage your files better.

Tip   To view your files in a folder by the date they were last modified, open a folder and on the View menu click Details. On the top of the column, clickDate Modified.

Quickly find old files by organizing them by the date they were modified.

Back up important files

The next step is to copy selected files to another storage medium, such as a writeable CD or DVD or an external hard drive. For your most important files, such as project files, key presentations, or large e-mails, you'll rest a lot easier if you have a backup copy stored safely away from your computer. Backing up your files to CD or DVD will allow you to safely store these disks should you happen to lose your computer or if it should fail.

To back up your files it's ideal to have a CD or DVD burner or a hard drive you can connect to your computer through a USB or FireWire port. Learn more about how toback up your files with Windows XP. Also, learn more about how to back up your Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 e-mail messages.

Tip   If you're backing up your information to a CD or DVD, be sure to create labels for your CDs that in some way describe their contents. For example, you might title the CD "2005 Archive" or be more specific with something like "2005 Presentations."

Clean out your e-mail

Do you have a system for weeding out and organizing your old e-mail messages? Here are a few quick ideas for taming your Inbox and getting ready to handle those messages in the months to come:

• Create folders to store messages according to sender, topic, or date.

• Create e-mail rules to file and manage your messages automatically. For example, you can create a rule to send all messages from your manager to a special folder. Learn more about managing e-mail messages with rules.

• Go through your Sent folder in Outlook in and delete items you no longer need (especially those with large file attachments).

• If you're sure you no longer need e-mail you've deleted, empty the folder that contains it.

For more help keeping your e-mail in check, learn 4 ways to take control of your e-mail Inbox. Or watch a demo about how to manage the size your Inbox.

Organize and clear out your Internet files

If you're like the average person, you've been doing a lot of Web searching and your Internet Explorer Favorites folder may be bursting at the seams. It could probably use some weeding out and organizing. To organize your Favorites in Internet Explorer, on the Favorites menu, click Organize Favorites.

While your tending to your Favorites folder there's some additional clean up that's easy to do. Start Internet Explorer and on the Tools menu click Internet Options. In the General tab of the Internet Options dialog box, you have two cleanup choices. These steps can help reduce some unnecessary files on your computer.

1. In the Temporary Internet files section, click Delete Files to remove all temporary files. (You can also elect to remove all offline content downloaded from sites you've visited.)

2. In the History section, click Clear History to remove the list of sites you've previously visited. Also make sure that you have the Days to keep pages in history: set to where you would like it.

   

   Clear out Internet Explorer using some of the options on the Internet Options dialog box.

Many companies are making the leap to wireless networks in the office for both financial savings in overall equipment and sheer convenience for their employees. They also often provide mobile PCs with wireless capabilities to their employees so that they can be productive anytime anywhere, hence enhancing the company's bottom-line.

In this article, I will explain what WiFi is and how it works. I will also discuss what you need to start working wirelessly as well as what you can expect to gain from doing so. Finally, I'll discuss the precautions you should take when working on the go.

What is WiFi? Learn the lingo

Wireless, or WiFi, technology is another way of connecting your computer to the network using radio frequency and no network cables.

Wireless works similarly to cordless phones; they transmit data from one point to another through radio signals. But wireless technology also requires that you be within the wireless network range area to be able to connect your computer. There are three different types of wireless networks:

• Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN): WLAN are wireless networks that use radio waves. The backbone network usually uses cables, with one or more wireless access points connecting the wireless users to the wired network. The range of a WLAN can be anywhere from a single room to an entire campus.

• Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN): WPANs are short-range networks that use Bluetooth technology. They are commonly used to interconnect compatible devices near a central location, such as a desk. A WPAN has a typical range of about 30 feet.

• Wireless Wide Area Networks (WWAN): WWANs are created through the use of mobile phone signals typically provided and maintained by specific mobile phone (cellular) service providers. WWANs can provide a way to stay connected even when away from other forms of network access. Also, be aware that additional charges are often associated with the usage of WWANs in some locations.

How do I get started?

The only thing you really need to go wireless (in addition to a mobile PC) is a wireless PC Card. Depending on the age of your mobile PC, the card is either built-in or needs to be inserted in the PC Card slot and includes an antenna. In addition, you can also use wireless keyboards and mice, which can provide more freedom and flexibility when you're working in your office.

It's always good to research the available hotspots in the area you're planning on visiting (whether a neighborhood in your city you're not familiar with or a city on the other coast). Locate hotspot identifiers using the links at the bottom of this article,hook up to a wireless hotspot.

As you head out in this brave new world of wirelessly connectivity, here are the steps to follow to connect to a wireless network (whether at home, at work, or on the go):

1. Locate available networks: Right-click the wireless network connection icon in your taskbar, and then click View Available Wireless Networks.

   

   Find the wireless network you can use.

2. Connect to one of the available wireless networks in range: In the Wireless Network Connection dialog box, click the name of the network you want to connect to and click Connect.

   

   Choose the wireless connection you want to use.

   Note  If you're using Windows XP SP2 and the network you're connecting to is security-enabled but does not support Windows Provisioning Service, you may be prompted to enter a key.

3. Get things done: Windows XP will briefly change the network's connection status to Acquiring Network Address, and then to Connected. You are now free to surf the Web, download and respond to e-mails, or put the final touches to the presentation you'll be giving later in the day.

Working wirelessly: What's in it for me

Working wirelessly can offer you the following benefits.

• Flexibility: The lack of cables that comes with wireless networking enables you to roam with your mobile PC. You can roam from your office to a nearby conference room for a meeting, or from the couch in the living room to a kitchen for a snack. For example, if you're working wirelessly in a meeting you can printout a report for a co-worker without having to leave the meeting.

• Time-saving: If you're waiting for an important response you can use your mobile PC to monitor your e-mail even when you're in meetings or at lunch. As soon as you get the data needed, you can promptly forward it to your customer rather than wondering whether the information has come in while you were away and having to run back to your office between meetings and other commitments.

• Increased productivity: Working wirelessly enables you to turn down times between meetings or while in transit into productive time. For example, you may be attending a conference and just found out that one of the sessions you were planning on attending has been cancelled. Rather than waste the next hour, you can check e-mail, start compiling your trip report, or order your son's birthday present.

• Easier collaboration: Using wireless mobile PCs, you can easily share files and information with others. For example, you can collaborate on a presentation with colleagues during a flight delay in an airport lounge, or you can share the syllabus of a course while attendees so that they can take more digitally during the class.

What should I worry about when working wirelessly?

When working wirelessly from hotspots and public places, you are responsible for ensuring the security of your files and your mobile PC.

To make network access easier for their users, public hotspots typically leave all security turned off. This means that any information you send from a hotspot is most likely unencrypted, and anyone within range of the wireless LAN-whether at a next table or in the parking lot-can access and use your Internet connection, and look at your unprotected information.

For more information, see tips for working securely from hotspots.

WiFi gives you the freedom to go anywhere and still be connected to your office, your family, and other important aspects of your life. Your virtual office can now be a ice cream parlor in a seaside resort. Embrace and enjoy the flexibility that WiFi affords you.

Labels: Processors

Support for extensions to customize Chrome, the top-requested feature for Google's browser, has begun arriving for adventurous users.

Previously, extensions worked only for those who enabled the feature with a command line switch. Now the feature is enabled by default in the developer preview version of Chrome on Windows, Aaron Boodman, the Google engineer who oversees the extensions work, said in a blog post Wednesday.

"We're ready for a few more people to start using extensions--the kind of adventurous people who populate the dev channel," said Boodman, who earlier in his career developed the Greasemonkey tool that permitted extensive customization of Firefox.

Work is already under way for some popular extensions, including Yahoo's Delicious for social bookmarking and Xmarks for bookmark synchronization.

Extensions are enabled by default only for Chrome's Windows users right now. "We've also enlisted some help to get extensions up to speed on Mac and Linux," Boodman said.

The extension-programming interfaces have been changing, and more changes are coming to the user interface. Those who want to start developing extensions should look at the new Chrome extension documentation.

Chrome extensions are written with the same programming technologies as are used for Web pages themselves--HTML, CSS, and the like. Mozilla has a related extension effort called Jetpack under way for Firefox.

Labels: Chrome

Labels: Microsoft

Labels: Microsoft

Mozilla's next update for Firefox, slated to ship Tuesday, will check for outdated versions of Flash Player, a frequent target of hackers, the company said on Friday.

Labels: Firefox

New rainbow table distributed computing project aims to create large, free resource for more complete and complex password security.

Labels: Security

Red Hat has released its latest version of its flagship operating system RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) 5.4, and there's a lot to like in this new business Linux.

I've been using RHEL and its twins, CentOS and Oracle Unbreakable Linux, since day one, and I like them a lot for business server use. Of these releases, RHEL 5.4 is the most impressive of the lot, for these reasons:

1) Baked-in virtualization. This edition of RHEL incorporates KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine). KVM, unlike VMware or Citrix Systems' XenServer, isn't an add-on virtualization program; it's actually part of the operating system. Indeed, as the name suggests, it's built right into the Linux kernel.

As Jim Whitehurst, Red Hat's CEO, told John Fontana of NetworkWorld, "KVM makes RHEL Linux deployments look the same whether they are virtual or physical... [so] all of those thousands of man years of work put into processes and management for Linux can be applied to virtual instances."

Red Hat is not the only company to think that virtualization should no longer be an extra but instead, should be part of the operating system. Microsoft is doing the same thing with its proprietary Hyper-V technology in Server 2008 R2. Unlike Hyper-V, though, which the Burton Group for one doesn't think is ready for prime time yet, KVM is ready for both small business to enterprise data center use.

I've used KVM myself, and I'm impressed. Red Hat's KVM supports up to 16 virtual machines, each of which can have up to 256GB of RAM. And, since they work just like real machines, you can control them with the usual RHEL management tools. This is the stuff I want on my datacenter computers.

2) High-end processor support: The new RHEL also includes support for Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Nehalem EP processors and AMD Istanbul platforms. It also includes support for IBM POWER mid-range and System z mainframes. In other words, it supports the kind of hardware needed for high-end virtualization and cloud computing.

3) To really make use of all this power on the processing side, you need to be able to deploy it to clients — and RHEL does this well. It now includes better support for InfiniBand and Fibre Channel over Ethernet for those times when gigabit networking isn't fast enough. RHEL also now supports smart network adapters that include processors to handle GRO (Generic Receive Offload). Network cards with GRO relieve CPUs of the burden of dealing with 10Gb and faster networks. When users, like the high-frequency traders of modern stock exchanges, want deals done in milliseconds every millisecond counts.

4) Improved programming tools. All that new speed and virtualization functionality is great, if you can use it. With RHEL's improved SystemTap performance monitoring toolset, it's gotten even easier to see what's what with your C++ applications. RHEL also now includes some new static kernel tracepoints to make life easier to monitor performance.

5) Virtual desktops ahoy? Although Red Hat didn't make a big deal about it, RHEL 5.4 also includes Solid ICE/SPICE (Simple Protocol for Independent Computing Environments) desktop virtualization and management support. Looking closely at the RHEL release notes revealed that, while there's no stand-alone RHEL 5.4 desktop coming soon, there is support for virtual desktops.

To be precise, you'll be able to boot RHEL 5.4 desktops, which run within KVM server instances, with PXE (Preboot eXecution Environment). This is still a work in progress. For example, these virtual desktops only have "Technology Preview" support at this point. In other words, don't rely on it. I'd hoped for better virtual desktop support from Red Hat, at least the basics are in there.

Labels: Linux