Features
The next step for Java EE 6 was planned to be cloud support but the collapse of ambitious developer plans has meant Java EE 7 arrived with few fundamentally new aspects, representing more a consistent effort to round off existing features
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The problem of creating funding in a new software business is a major one, and doubly so for open source based companies. Michael Widenius recently described his solution to the problem, "Business Source", claiming it delivers "most of the benefits of open source". The H took a look to see how that held up
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Linux 3.10 sees improvements in the way lost packets at the end of TCP transactions are handled, speeding up HTTP data transfer. It also sees the addition of support for VLAN stacking and Realtek's RTL8188EE wireless chip
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Although Google continues to support a variety of open projects and people, Glyn Moody notes that, following recent changes to Google Code and Google Talk, concern is growing that something fundamental has changed
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Developing configuration programs and desktops for just one distribution creates lone wolves, limits users and slows down progress
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The Linux Mint project has announced "the most ambitious release since the start of the project". Linux Mint 15 promises a focus on the desktop that Ubuntu has been neglecting lately. The H investigates whether the release delivers on these ambitions
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The H Community Calendar presents the coming month's events in various open source, development, Linux, Unix and other communities, from multi-day conferences to user group get-togethers
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An application's version-controlled source code is stored in the repository. Why not that of the database? To reproduce arbitrary database states in development, test or production environments, two powerful Java libraries are at hand that can be seamlessly integrated into a build for an agile Continuous Delivery
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Our associate's discovery that URLs sent through Skype are then visited by Microsoft has caused quite a stir. A little more information has now emerged and leads to even more questions
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The rapid rise in the number of mobile devices has led to a concomitant rise in the amount of location data available. Proprietary services are emerging to take advantage of that data, but open source has a strong foothold in the form of OpenStreetMap
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The H spent some time with CTO of 10Gen and MongoDB developer Eliot Horowitz to get a feel for the technical philosophy behind the NoSQL document database and where the hands-on coding CTO is planning on taking it
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Open source has changed how programming languages are created and that, in turn, has changed what languages are used to create open source. The effects are deep, but also important and are changing what it means to be a programmer
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Trademarks, names and reputation. Glyn Moody looks at the problems that arise when trying to keep control of your reputation and the different approaches taken by open source software projects.
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The Linux kernel is finally able to use SSDs as hard-disk cache. Changes to the network subsystem promise to improve the way server jobs are distributed across multiple processor cores. Linux 3.9 also includes drivers for new AMD graphics chips and soon-expected Wi-Fi components from Intel
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The latest version of Ubuntu has arrived and seems to be as much characterised by the features that did not make the cut as by the new additions to the desktop. The H looks at what has changed in this release, which its developers tout for its stability and speed
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The H Community Calendar presents the coming month's events in various open source, development, Linux, Unix and other communities, from multi-day conferences to user group get-togethers
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Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter are helping start-ups raise millions for their ideas; Fabian Scherschel looks at what it takes for open source software projects to duplicate this success and the unique challenges these projects will face
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NVIDIA's graphics driver supports hybrid graphics now. As in other areas, NVIDIA took it easy, waiting until other people had done the dirty work building the necessary foundations
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Linux 3.9 includes drivers for new AMD graphics chips and for Intel Wi-Fi chips that are expected to become available this summer. Changes to the network subsystem will enable the kernel to be more efficient when distributing network traffic across multiple processor cores
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From now on the help text for shown during configuration will indicate if a kernel feature is experimental. Linux now has the ability to "suspend freeze" and can throttle Intel CPUs with power napping. The KVM hypervisor now supports ARM cores.
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The 15th anniversary of Mozilla also saw moves in the browser ecosystem that are laying out the technical future of the web. But where next for Mozilla asks Glyn Moody
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Consistent unit testing is a basic quality requirement in modern software rdevelopment. Mocha is a framework for writing and executing such tests in Node.js
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There's a lot of activity in the MySQL ecosystem currently. Andrew Hutchings takes a look at MySQL and the various forks and spinoffs to give an overview of where MySQL's community and close competition is currently at
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The Linux kernel can now be set up to use SSDs as cache for hard drives; Btrfs has native RAID 5 and 6 support. The kernel development team has also resolved two performance problems caused by previous changes
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For a large number of internet users the current challenge is finding a replacement for Google Reader. The H's Fabian Scherschel has looked at the functionality that made Google Reader popular and the current best alternatives to the Reader experience
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