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Linux Ready for Prime Time, Intel Says
Chat About Linux With Roblimo
Slashdot.org fans know the moniker "Roblimo" well: Robin Miller is an experienced technology journalist who has been writing about Linux open-source software since 1997. His new book, "Point and Click Linux" (Addison-Wesley), is aimed at the Linux beginner, offering a step-by-step path to installing and running the software. Roblimo will be online next Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET to talk about his book. Submit a question or comment now.
Netscape's Revenge
The open-source movement has one more thing to cheer about these days -- the rising fortunes of the Mozilla Foundation's Internet browser Firefox. The latest version of Firefox is cutting into the lead of Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
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"As Firefox marks its 5 millionth download and moves to retail stores, a survey showed Microsoft's heavyweight Internet Explorer slipping below 90 percent market share. OneStat.com, an Amsterdam, Netherlands-based provider of Web traffic measurement services, said that according to numbers gleaned from 2 million Web surfers around the world, the Mozilla Foundation's new Firefox releases appear to be cutting into Microsoft's still commanding lead in the browser market," CNET's News.com reported. eWeek runs the numbers: "Global usage share numbers released Monday by OneStat.com showed Mozilla Foundation browsers increasing to a 7.4 percent share from 2.1 percent in May. Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer dropped 5 percentage points to 88.9 percent during the same six-month period. OneStat.com, an Amsterdam-based Web analytics vendor, based the usage share number on a sample of 2 million visitors across Web sites in 100 countries."
• CNET's News.com: Firefox Cutting Into IE's Lead
• eWeek: Another Survey Says Mozilla Up, IE Down
Microsoft is scrambling already, according to published reports. "The decline prompted the software giant to contact clients, urging them to think twice before switching to free alternatives to its own products," The Times of London reported. "The news came as Mozilla recorded 5 million downloads of its new Firefox browser. Firefox 1.0, a descendent of Netscape, the former market leader, was released earlier this month. Earlier versions of the software had gained a cult following by supporters who have claimed it is more reliable than Microsoft's. Such has been the software's appeal, users banded together to raise $250,000 and advertised this month's release of Firefox 1.0 in The New York Times."
• The Times of London: Microsoft Feels Firefox Browser Heat
More stats on current standings in the browser wars: "OneStat.com has Firefox pegged at 4.6 percent of browser usage, with Mozilla accounting for 2.8 percent. As recently as May, the Mozilla Foundation's total share -- the foundation produces both the Mozilla browser suite and Firefox -- stood at just 2.1 percent. OneStat's numbers come on the heels of another report by a U.S.-based competitor. In late October, WebSideStory published its own usage results. Although the San Diego, Calif.-based company also noted an IE slide, its numbers showed a less dramatic drop in IE and a less substantial boost in Firefox. WebSideStory had IE at a 92.9 percent share, 4 points higher than OneStat, and Firefox at about 3 percent, a number 1.5 points lower than OneStat. According to WebSideStory, IE has lost only 3 percent of the market since May," Information Week reported.
• Information Week: Firefox Browser Takes Market Share from Microsoft's IE
Extra Holiday Cheer Needed Here!
A few thousand tech workers are going to need some help being thankful this year, thanks to the latest round of pink slips.
Cingular Wireless, freshly merged with AT&T Wireless, said it plans to cut 7,000 workers, or about 10 percent of its staff. "The company, based in Atlanta, said that most of the cuts would come in administrative and managerial positions that were duplicated as a result of the $41 billion buyout, which was completed in late October. Retail outlets or customer care centers that deal with the company's 47 million subscribers would be less affected, the company said," The New York Times reported. "The layoffs were widely expected, because Cingular has said it wants to cut billions of dollars in costs. Until yesterday, however, the company had said only that it was still evaluating where the cuts would be made and that no jobs would be eliminated before the end of the year."
• The New York Times: Cingular To Cut 7,000 Jobs To Trim Costs After Buyout (Registration required)
But Cingular executives have a heart, saving workers from pink slips flying right now. "No cuts are expected until January to prevent disruptions during the key holiday-selling season. Company officials are still working on the exact numbers, and the cuts will be spread out over more than a year, [CEO Stan Sigman] said," the AP reported.
• The Associated Press via washingtonpost.com: Cingular To Reduce Workforce By Roughly 10 Percent, CEO Says
Hewlett-Packard is also making cuts, though the company is being cryptic so far of just how many workers will be affected. HP "is planning layoffs over the next six months that will cost about $200 million, or 4 cents a share, the Palo Alto company disclosed Tuesday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission," the San Jose Mercury News reported. "HP said its planning assumptions include 'workforce cuts across HP's businesses,' but it was not more specific about how many employees will lose their jobs or where those layoffs might occur. Company spokesman Bob Sherbin said that while HP plans job cuts as part of routine reviews of its operations, the company's overall number of employees is expected to grow." How's that for spin?
• The San Jose Mercury News: HP Plans Layoffs Over Next 6 Months (Registration required)
"Analyst Martin Reynolds of Gartner said the announcement highlights HP's battle to keep its costs down in order to remain competitive against rivals, especially Dell Inc.," the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
• The San Francisco Chronicle: Job Cuts Will Cost HP $200 Million Next Year
A Bit of IT Merrymaking
Here's a glimmer of hope for the IT workfoce: Merrill Lynch is out with a bullish new report: "Chief information officers in the United States and Europe plan to increase their information technology staff rosters next year, according to the report, which was released Tuesday. Of the 75 U.S. and 25 European CIOs surveyed, 47 percent said their IT staffing will be up in 2005. Another 44 percent expected flat IT staffing, while 9 percent said it would be down," CNET reported.
• CNET's News.com: Take Heart, Tech Workers
Gobble Gobble, Martha Martha
Thanksgiving is all about turkey dinners, watching football and being thankful. Just ask Martha Stewart, who is expressing thanks from the slammer ... via her Web site. Stewart's Thanksgiving message, available at Marthatalks.com, makes clear that she's not suffering too badly while she does her stint for white-collar crime: "As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, I want to extend my deepest thanks and appreciation for the steadfast support I continue to receive from so many of you. I am told this web page has logged nearly 8 million hits since I began serving my sentence last month, and that supporters have sent more than 15,000 emails. I have also received thousands of letters. I cherish them all," Stewart wrote. "I am pleased to report that, contrary to rumors you might have heard, my daily interactions with the staff and fellow inmates here at Alderson are marked by fair treatment and mutual respect."
Stewart surely won't be indulging this year in Americans' favorite Thanksgiving pastime -- shopping. But maybe she can shop from her cell. Reuters reports that the "online holiday season is off and running with traffic up 60 percent for the week ended Nov. 14 from the prior seven-day period, Nielsen//NetRatings said on Tuesday. The Internet audience research firm, which unveiled its sixth annual Holiday eShopping Index on Tuesday, said shopping visits to Web sites in the home and garden, books/music/video, and toys and video games led traffic growth."
• Reuters via washingtonpost.com: Online Shopping Traffic Up 60 Pct-Survey
Happy Thanksgiving!
Filter will taking the rest of the holiday week off. The column will resume on Monday, Nov. 29, with Robert MacMillan filling in. I'll return on Tuesday. Happy holidays! Read past Filters here.