The Federal Trade Commission worries that consumers don’t really understand the privacy implications to storing some of their most crucial data in the cloud, and it wants the FCC to think about such issues when finalizing its national broadband plan.

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FTC Letter on Cloud Computing

(Many technology companies are promoting cloud computing where all your data and information on stored on someone else (their) server computers for a fee, of course. All I want to say is. Do you really want or trust someone else with all your personal data and information?)

Lenovo announced two “smartbooks” that run Linux on an ARM-based Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC. The Skylight is a 10.1-inch netbook. Both devices run Lenovo’s new Skylight Linux distribution (below) on a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. The Skylight Linux distribution is said to supply more than 18 preloaded web gadgets for sites including Google Gmail, Facebook, YouTube, Amazon MP3, and Roxio CinemaNow.

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Google shipped its first branded phone, the HTC-manufactured, Android 2.1-ready Nexus One, and announced a mobile web store. Initially available unlocked at $530 from Google or with a T-Mobile plan at $180, the Nexus One boasts a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen, five-megapixel camera, and voice activated controls.

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Other Related Links:
Google Nexus One Phone Home Page
Google Nexus One Wikipedia Page

The Skylight is Lenovo’s first-ever smartbook, and while we’re still struggling to see what niche these things are designed to fill, we definitely can’t knock the internals. It’s the industry’s first ARM-based, Qualcomm smartbook, and it’s powered by a 1GHz processor. Other specs include a 10.1-inch display (1,280 x 720), a customized version of Linux 20GB (total) of flash storage, 2GB of cloud storage, an 8GB miniSD card, twin USB ports, 1.3 megapixel camera, WiFi and a battery capable of humming along for ten hours on a full charge.

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Smartbooks are a new breed of ultra-mobile computers that are smaller than netbooks, but larger than smartphones. Most smartbooks will run ARM processors and as a result run Linux, because ARM processors only run on Linux.

Other Related Links:
Lenovo Launches Skylight Linux-Based Smartbook
Lenovo Skylight Smartbook Home Page

In the early days of information technology (IT), computers were delivered with operating systems and basic application software already installed, without additional cost, and in editable (source code) form. But as software emerged as a stand-alone product, the independent software vendors (ISVs) that were launched to take advantage of this commercial opportunity no longer delivered source code, in order to prevent competitors from gaining access to their trade secrets. The practice also had the (intended) result that computer users became dependent on their ISVs for support and upgrades. Due to the increasingly substantial investments computer users made in application software, they also became “locked in” to their hardware and software vendors’ products, because of the high cost of abandoning, or reconfiguring, their existing application software to run on the proprietary operating system of a new vendor.

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This article gives the in-depth history of Free and Open Source Software and Linux.

Once the unequalled leader among mobile phone manufacturers, Nokia still returns impressive sales, but ceded its dominance of the smartphone market with the arrival of the iPhone. It’s been playing catch-up ever since, sticking rigidly to a Symbian OS that only seemed to grow older looking with each new device.

Now, with the N900, Nokia is trying something new, with a brand new OS in Maemo 5 – a slimmed down version of Debian Linux – plus a host of top-end features, including a sizeable 3.5in touch screen, slide-out Qwerty keyboard, 5Mp camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, quad-band and much more besides.

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Delivering Linux and/or Windows applications to virtualized desktops and/or web portals.

Ulteo Open Virtual Desktop (OVD) 1.0 was about delivering Linux and/or Windows applications to virtual desktops accessible from within or outside an organization. OVD 2.0 takes this concept even further by providing key additional features:

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Other Related Stories And Links:
Ulteo Open Virtual Desktop 2.0 Features
Ulteo Home Page
Ulteo Blog
Ulteo Wikipedia Page
Ulteo Open Virtual Desktop 2.0 released

(Ulteo virtual desktop operating system is a product from Gael Duval the same man who developed and founded Mandriva (Mandrake) Linux and Mandrakesoft company. If you know anything about the history of Linux and Open Source you will know that Gael is the one person who is responsible for developing and bring to the market a Linux distribution that was easy to install, add software, configure, and use, His new Linux-based operating system, Open Virtual Desktop is a virtual desktop product where you can run both Linux and Microsoft Windows applications. Open Virtual Desktop is for individual users and small, medium, and large business enterprises. Ulteo Open Virtual Desktop is the best product by far for all your virtual desktop needs, What would you expect from the man who started Mandriva Linux. Ulteo Open Virtual Desktop Is Something Very Special!)

Verizon Wireless sold 250,000 units of its Droid by Motorola phone, according to eWEEK, which has also given the Droid a rave review. Meanwhile, the rumor of a Google-branded Android phone, Palm’s CEO trash-talks the Droid, and tomorrow Google will unveil its Linux-based Chrome OS, say various reports.

After the Droid by Motorola’s Nov. 5 launch, Verizon Wireless sold 250,000 units of the smartphone in its first week, making it the fastest-selling Android phone launch to date.

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Other Related Links:
Motorola Droid Wikipedia Page

The Verizon/Motorola DROID is by far the most powerful and versatile smartphone I have yet encountered. My first week with the device was one of geeky joy, adapting to the learning curve of the Android OS as a former BlackBerry user, and understanding the device’s limitations and quirks that come with being an early adopter.

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The Palm Pixi Linux-based smartphone, the little brother of the Palm Pre, has hit the market. The Palm Pixi goes for $99 when you sign up for a service agreement.

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Other Related Links:
Palm Pixi Home Page
Introducing Palm Pixi
Palm Pixi Wikipedia Page