InfoWorld: Linux users worry that Sun's purchase of MySQL will mean a de-emphasis of Linux and the LAMP stack in favor of Sun's Solaris ecosystem

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"At day's end, what I found was that Vista SP1 really has not improved that much from Vista. The Linux desktop, on the other hand, has improved since I first compared MEPIS 6 to Vista. It's not so much Linux has improved its performance as it has increased its ease of use and hardware compatibility. The Linux desktop of early 2008 is clearly better than the Linux desktop of early 2007. The same cannot be said of Vista."

- Steven J. Vaughan-Nicholas, "Vista SP1: Still lagging behind the Linux desktop", DesktopLinux.com, March 4, 2008

I have a long history of using Windows and Linux systems at my place of work. I'm not into Windows bashing as the operating system and other Microsoft software historically has been a much needed standard for the business world. When my workplace had a choice of either installing a Windows 2003 server or a Linux server to support administrative functions, I chose Windows over Linux. However, as much as I wanted to see Windows Vista succeed in the office, I just don't see a future with Vista. Vista reminds me too much of Windows ME.

Alfresco Software released a press release on the results of a survey by them intended to help determine "how companies evaluate and deploy open source and proprietary software stacks in the enterprise". There is some very interesting numbers summarized in the press release that should be of interest to not only using those Alfresco products, but to almost anyone using enterprise software. Some of the more interesting numbers and statistics pulled from the study:

• 
  Operating system: “Users evaluate on a Windows
  laptop and deploy on Linux” – 41% of evaluations were on Windows,
  dropping to 26% for deployments, whereas 51% of deployments were on
  Linux.
• 
  Linux: “Ubuntu and Red Hat pull away, SUSE remains flat by comparison in the US” – Ubuntu 24%, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 21%.
• 
  Windows: “Users stick with XP and 2003, Vista lags at 2%” – XP 63%, Windows 2003 28%.
• Databases: “Sun still shines on MySQL” – MySQL 60%, Oracle 14%, MS SQL Server 13%.

I especially find it interesting that while open source MySQL is the dominate database used on the enterprise, two propriety database systems (Oracle and MS SQL) follow. I wonder where PostGresSQL falls on the list? But wait, there are two points I want to make about this study.

"Firm's predictions should have Microsoft worried. It sees Apple's
market share doubling, open source rising, and laptops being left at
home."

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"I have been asked to review the XO computers from the One Laptop Per
Child project. This is the first in a series of blog posts about my
experiences, as well as those of some children with whom I will be
working. I could easily gush over it or complain about how small the
keyboard is in a single article, but I think the XO requires a more
in-depth review than that. So I hope you'll join me as I explore these
interesting tools aimed at children."

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Anybody else surprised that IBM took this long to introduce Lotus Notes and Symphony bundle for Linux? Considering their support for Unix and Linux over the years...I sure am surprised this hasn't arrived before 2008. Still this is good new...

IBM
opens the door for Linux-based servers and desktops with a new Lotus
Notes and Symphony bundle for SUSE, Red Hat and Ubuntu Linux.

IBM
has seen the future, and in its vision, Linux-based servers and
desktops will be powering tomorrow's office with Lotus Notes and
Symphony in what it calls an open collaboration client solution. Read more...

My apologies for writing so much about hardware and not content management this week. I suppose though, if Dean Barker at Gadgetopia can talk about content management, I can occasionally discuss gadgets here at CMS Report. Sometimes it helps to take a look at the devices we use to view our content just as much as it helps looking at the software we use to run our Web content management systems. Well, at least this is my excuse for not being fixated so much on content management.

In Thursday morning's Wall Street Journal, Walt Mossberg did a review of the Asus Eee PC. The article, Asus Offers Travelers Small, Mobile Eee PC, but It’s Too Cramped, can be found in his column archive (a Wordpress site). I had been waiting for someone of his stature do a review on this product, but I was a little disappointed to see yet another review of a non-Apple device (this one is Linux based) be so negative.