Well, at least the schedule says that:

2009-05-26
2009-06-02
2009-06-09 Fedora 11 Final Release

I am running the release candidate and have no issues – Linux just keeps getting better and easier.

Creates a leading commercial vendor of cross-platform, embeddable software libraries

BOULDER, Colo., May 5, 2009 – Rogue Wave Software, Inc., a Battery Ventures portfolio company, today announced that it has acquired Visual Numerics, Inc., a privately held advanced analytics software company based in Houston, Texas.

For more than three decades, Visual Numerics has provided numerical analysis and visualization software solutions that help users understand complex data from a variety of sources and build business-critical applications.

The company offers two product lines: the IMSL® Numerical Libraries for powerful mathematical and statistical analysis and the PV-WAVE® visual data analysis development environment. This acquisition complements the Rogue Wave product families of software development tools, components and frameworks by adding industry-leading advanced data analysis and visualization tools. According to IDC the market for advanced analytics tools grew 13% in 2007 and usage is expected to become much more pervasive.

“For the past 38 years Visual Numerics has been a leader in advanced analytics. The addition of their rich suite of numerical libraries and data analysis tools, along with an exceptional team enhances Rogue Wave’s leadership position in software development components and infrastructure,” said Brian Pierce, CEO of Rogue Wave Software, Inc.

The combination of these technologies with Rogue Wave® Hydra and SourcePro® C++products will enable customers to deliver advanced analytics applications in scalable, distributed computing environments. This will enable high-throughput data analysis using lower cost, power-efficient multi- and many-core hardware.

“We believe that the combination of technologies from these two companies will lead to exciting new application possibilities for our customers,” said Phil Fraher, CEO of Visual Numerics.

The acquisition adds to the list of Rogue Wave’s worldwide clients with a well established business and customer base in North America, Europe and Asia.

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About Rogue Wave®
Rogue Wave Software, Inc. is a Battery Ventures portfolio company and the leading provider of enterprise class C++ components and infrastructure that enable organizations to build and deploy high performance applications. Only Rogue Wave provides the most complete C++ technology stack including C++ components, UI components, Eclipse-based development, run-time infrastructure, and services. Today, thousands of organizations worldwide have chosen Rogue Wave. For more information go to www.roguewave.com.

HPCWire is the publication of choice for the global community of business and technology professionals interested in computationally- and data-intensive computing, including infrastructure topics such as software, middleware, hardware, networking, storage, tools and applications. HPCWire delivers daily news and information, event-specific coverage from around the globe, and exclusive interviews with industry leaders on topics ranging from business and economic issues to advanced and emerging technology directions for supercomputing in academia & research, financial services, life sciences, government, manufacturing, oil & gas, and the retail industry sectors, all in a timely and easily-accessible Internet format. With a powerful combination of email distribution and a web site portal, HPCWire is enjoyed each week by several hundred thousand readers.

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Cloud is a browser operating system that combines beautiful design with sophisticated technologies to make the PC faster, safer, and easier.

Wow – welcome to the 1960s. Not that I think it is a bad thing – there is a lot of good reasons to centralize compute resources. There are also a lot of good reasons to distribute them. I have not tried it yet, but I expect it would be worthwhile for someone who doesn’t need special programs and only has access to public computers – not one that they own. If you own a computer, use it – I don’t think you need a browser OS. Evolution – I love it, but some things will fail and Cloud might be one of them.

Well, I had been waiting to watch (via the web) Larry Ellison’s big keynote speech at Oracle’s Open World this week, then promptly forgot all about it as it was happening. The had been a lot of speculation about what the big X announcement was going to be. It sounds like a super duper data warehouse appliance, but I have not grokked everything I have read yet. Here are some stories from the front lines:

HP-Oracle Exadata Server Announcement = Extreme Performance

Oracle Soars into Petabyte Stratosphere, Puts HP-Powered Grid Storage at the Heart of its New High-End DW Appliance

Oracle Open World Larry Ellison – Extreme Performance

Oracle Introduces The HP Oracle Database Machine: Delivering 10x Faster Performance Than Current Oracle Data Warehouses

Hmmmm… 10x performance gain? That sounds good, I will have that.

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Beyond your standard Windows desktop, finding an SSH client for a mobile device is an even greater challenge. In this modern era of mobility, system administrators have broken the chains that restrict them to the dark basements (where most servers are kept) of their employer’s buildings and actually roam free. Not only do they connect to the machines that they are responsible for with desktops and laptops, but also high mobility devices using the Windows CE 4.2 and 5.0, Pocket PC 5.0 and Windows Mobile 2003, 2005 platforms. The Pragma PocketVT
SSH-Telnet Client gives the system administrator SSH connectivity – when a secure connection is needed – as well as TELNET capability. These capabilities allow for more efficient use of human resources by not restricting people to spending unproductive hours in front of a computer, when they can handle emergencies over a mobile device.

RemotePC can also be a boon to your small business. Instead of storing all of your files on flash drives or external hard drives, simply access the files on the computer when you get to your meeting. No more lost files because of lost or stolen flash drives or hard drives. RemotePC also offers up to 100 host computers for your small business to use for a single account.

RemotePC also has a number of new features with it. One is compatibility with Windows Vista for newer computers. Another is a remote meeting option, where up to ten users can access the same desktop at once. So if you need remote access to your PC, RemotePC is the product for you.

Google has confirmed it is working on a desktop linux project called Goobuntu, but declined to supply further details, including what the project is for.

Their distribution would be based on Ubuntu desktop Linux. Maybe it is time to take a look at a distribution other than Fedora.

Just out of college, I was working at AMS – American Management System (now gobbled up by CGI). Things were a little slow in the group I had been hired to work in, so I was helping out another group. This other group was the Pen Computing or mobile computing group – relatively small, but very motivated group of people. The first thing I worked on was a user manual for one of their applications. I have to say – writing user manuals is not the most fun activity that I can identify. Luckily, I did a decent job on the manual and was given a one-man project to work on.

Being the mobile computing group, they had access to some pretty neat hardware. Back in the early 90’s there was a Pen Computing version of Microsoft Windows and Toshiba had a tablet computer that took advantage of the additional functionality in that version of Windows. The application was perfect for the pen computer – asset tracking. You would think that the asset management team would have been using asset tagging labels with bar codes – well, they were not (at least, not at the time). Originally, the team would go out to all the offices with pen and paper – track down the little label with the asset serial number on every computer, desk, chair, etc – and write it down – noting where the asset was located. After a full day of capturing serial numbers and locations – the data would have to be entered into a database. Think about it – that is effectively doing the same think two times.

Using the tablet computer, I wrote a simple application in Visual Basic that allowed them to do the same job much more quickly. I put their database on the tablet computer and basically allowed them to confirm or change the location of an asset. No more writing down long serial numbers (most likely with errors at times) – just check the label and confirm that asset was in the right room or location. Why a pen computer? A keyboard was not really needed in this situation – 90% of the time it was using dialogs to pull up a room and confirming all the serial numbers – point and tap. The other 10% of the time when a serial number needed to be entered or changed – there was a pop-up keyboard that the user could “tap” on to enter data.

It was my first real application that was deployed to users – nothing extraordinary, but it served a purpose. I imagine now they use bar codes and scanners to do the job – but you never know!

“Measure twice – cut once.”

Unfortunately, I did not inherit the carpenter genes, but the saying still holds true today – especially for those who are highly dependent on their computers. My grandchildren will remember the following sound advice from me:

“Backup.”

Okay, well – not exactly as clever as my grandfather’s advice, but no less important. And I have backups. Lots of backups – mostly of data, but also of source code. Generally not any backups of applications – those are easier to just re-install. I have 5 1/4 inch disks, 3 1/2 inch “floppies” (which are not exactly floppy), Zip disks, external hard drives, USB drives, CD ROMs and DVDs. So, I have followed my own advice – right? Well, sure – but if there is a house fire – guess how good those backups are going to be? I am going to guess – not very good.

Around the end of last year I decided to diversify my backup routine a little bit. I store some of my media backups at my sister’s house and make sure all my customers have copies of my work. A good start. Then I started to explore the online backup services. One service was free, so I tried that out. I works pretty well, but on one of my slower machines it took seemingly forever to do the initial backup. Of course I needed to re-boot for one reason or another – which required the backup to start over.

For my online backups, I don’t need a great deal of storage. What I need is something that will take care of the items I need most if I needed to bring a computer back to life from scratch. I think IBackup – Online Backup and Storage does exactly what I need in those situations. Being able to quickly and securely reconstitute my email archives is probably one of the most important capabilities I would need. Basically, you can setup IBackup like a mapped drive and copy files to it. I find myself needing to move files from one machine to another – on different networks. Before, I would upload the file to a FTP server and then download it at the other computer. On a Windows machine, IBackup makes the process a bit easier – even for the technical professional. Not to mention the insecurity of passwords when dealing with FTP.

So, remember: “Backup.” But, be smart about how you backup your resources. Use the right tools – CDs and DVDs are great for huge amounts of data – as are external drives. For your tactical day-to-day backups, a good online backup service like IBackup will probably fit the bill for most individuals and small businesses.

• It is a hack or a mod – hacks and modifications are good, as they represent evolution
• I do the vast majority of my work in Java
• Linux is my favorite OS at the moment
• I intend to use MATLAB in the next 20 years or so – just as I had intended to use it in the past 20 years

Check that one article and encourage Keith to keep writing at Mathematical Tools and Programming Languages – several more of my favorite things.

On-site computer training – Training courses are offered in a lab-setting. Trainees can use various options for training – training software, books and hardware if needed. On-site training is a must for the ones that require hands-on experience. For instance, computer techniques who work on A+ certification would benefits from on-site training.

Video-based training – If you are not able to attend a training in a lab or the hands-on experience is not required, Video-based training is more cost effective. For instance, most organizations use video-based training for ISO training.

Training Software – While video-based training lack of interactivity, training software is able to simulate lab settings without physical equipment. Training with interactive software allows trainees do and try things before they perform the same or similar tasks in the lab or in the real working environment.

Online computer training – Compared with training software, online training has a few advantages. Firs of all, online training content is regularly updated by the training vendors. Secondly, you don’t have to own or install training software, and all you need is a computer with Internet connection. The cost of online training is far less than other types of computer based training.

The options of computer training that work best for you is dependent on 1) availability, 2) cost and 3) the subjects of the training. Not all training options are suitable for all types of subjects.

A+ training is the proof that you have received the adequate knowledge in computer hardware and operating systems. A+ certification confirms the knowledge of performing basic computer tasks, such as assemble a computer, install different operating systems and applications, and troubleshooting of computer hardware and operating systems.

Being an entry level computer training, A+ training and A+ certification do not require a determined scholarship to apply or a qualified job in the IT industry. Not all companies haring computer technicians will require A+ training or A+ certification, it will definitely highlight your resume and stand yourselves out from the rest of job applications.

The values of A+ certification training, for many organizations however, is that it provided a standard and effective way for other IT professionals to master the knowledge of computer necessary to be productive in IT industry whether they’re Web developers, or database administrators. For IT professionals other than computer technicians, the value and purpose of A+ training is not about to gain a certification, instead it’s about the understanding of basic computer knowledge. For instance, a software engineer would be troubleshooting in a few minutes rather than waiting for a computer technician for hours for the help. Some study has shown that general computer training, such as A+ certification training, does significantly improve the productivity of overall performance in an organization. In fact, anyone who is enrolled in computer training may benefit from the knowledge acquired with A+ training or getting an A+ certification even just for personal use or to aid an developer.

A+ training and A+ certification also offer the opportunity to people who do not meet the prerequisites of other certifications. The cost for A+ certification is about $150, cheaper compared with other compTIA certifications or IT certifications. People too young or those who have a limited budget or limited time to attend a college may benefit of A+ certification. Whether you need a full-time or part-time job, or just get some computer training, this opportunity is for you and the certification is available either through land-based or online courses.

CompTIA also provides other IT professional certifications for the IT industry. A+ is an entry level one, and more advanced certifications includes Network+, Security+, Server+, and Linux+ certifications.