Linux talent shortage drives up salaries
It pays to be a Linux expert, and if you have any needs that are not being met by your employer and you have Linux skills, now might be a good time to start making some demands.
The Linux Foundation, the non-profit consortium that fosters the expansion of Linux and which gives Linus Torvalds his paycheck, tag-teamed with Dice Holdings, the jobs posting site, to get a handle on what's going on out there in the Linux workforce in terms of salaries, benefits, and working conditions.
The deep sort on Dice's Linux-related data has been put together in a Linux Jobs Report by the foundation, which you can get here (PDF). The report is based on data from more than 2,300 IT managers in the corporate and government sectors and headhunters from around the world.
Across the respondents, 81 per cent told Dice that demand for Linux techies is on the rise, but finding Linux experts is "somewhat difficult". When demand exceeds supply, prices rise, as we all know from our Microeconomics 101 courses. Read more...
Cupertino to ban permissionless address book copying
Apple – arguably a villain in the “Path copies your address book” brouhaha – has, under pressure from US lawmakers, decided to require that apps prompt users before accessing their address book data.
According to Reuters, the decision came after members of the US House Energy and Commerce committee asked Apple to provide the committee with information about its privacy policies. The request came from Democrat representatives Henry Waxman of California, and GK Butterfield of North Carolina, who asked Apple to “clarify its developer guidelines”.
The spreading privacy scandal began when an app called Path was discovered uploading users’ address books without their knowledge (many outlets are now toning down this accusation to say “without their consent”. El Reg doesn’t understand this kindness: if you don’t tell someone it’s happening, they don’t have any chance to give or withhold consent).
Path wasn’t on its own for long: as soon as the world realized developers were given the chance to swell the value of their databases by treating their users as data entry clerks, it quickly emerged that Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and others pulled the same trick, in some cases without permission. Read more...
IBM’s top network exec talks strategy
IBM reversed course on networking in 2010 when it acquired Blade Network Technologies, one of its key network suppliers. Network World Editor in Chief John Dix and Managing Editor Jim Duffy recently caught up with Vikram Mehta, founder of BNT and now vice president of IBM System Networking, for an update on IBM's network visions going forward. Read more...
Google reportedly to release Android 5.0 ‘Jelly Bean’ by June 2012
Before Ice Cream Sandwich has managed to reach more than 1% of Android devices, reports are suggesting that its successor, Android 5.0 ‘Jelly Bean’, could launch as soon as June.
The news comes in the form of a Digitimes report, which is known for being hit-and-miss with its accuracy, but cites supply chain sources that state the search giant will seek to release its new Android platform to provide competition to Microsoft’s new Windows 8 operating system, which will debut in the third quarter.
With Android 5.0 thought to deliver yet more features for tablet devices, Taiwanese suppliers are already to deliver dual-OS tablets and notebooks, which will be able to instantly switch between Google’s and Microsoft’s mobile-friendly platforms. Read more...
Apple to ban stealthy iPhone contact data harvesting
Shortly after two U.S. Congressmen asked Apple to answer questions about iPhone and iPad apps that snatch users' contact lists without permission, the Cupertino, Calif. company promised it will address the issue with a future software update.
Earlier today, Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook asking him about iOS apps that have harvested users' address book information without permission.
Waxman and Butterfield cited reports that Path, which sells an iOS online journal app, was grabbing users' address books and uploading them to its servers. After the allegations went viral, Path's CEO apologized and said the company deleted the collected address books from its servers. Read more...
Whitney Houston fans to follow funeral on Internet
They won't be there in person, but singer Whitney Houston's millions of fans worldwide will be able to share in her homecoming service Saturday as they watch her private funeral on the Internet.
It will provide a much-needed connection for fans who have lacked a formal place to eulogize Houston, one of the world's best-selling artists who died in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Saturday at the age of 48.
Some have gathered and placed flowers outside the Newark, N.J., church where the funeral will be held by invitation-only at the request of Houston's family, who wish to maintain some privacy. Others have stopped by the funeral home. But many have longed to share more fully in commemorating the superstar's life, and have shown their grief in one of the few ways available to them — by buying her music. Read more...
MSN adds new feature to take Internet’s pulse
Microsoft is hooking up MSN.com with a hipper sidekick to broaden its appeal and stay on top of the Internet's hottest topics.
The trend-tracking service, called "msnNOW," tunes into the buzz by sifting through millions of Internet searches and links circulating among the hordes on Facebook and Twitter. The chatter is then distilled into the equivalent of a digital water cooler — a place where people can go to keep in touch without taking up a lot of their time.
After months of development, the new feature debuts Thursday at http://now.msn.com.
The service is primarily aimed at college-age teenagers and young adults who are increasingly relying on smartphones and other mobile devices to remain plugged into what everyone is talking about from one hour to the next. It's an "information-snacking" addiction that msnNOW is looking to feed with a smorgasbord of morsels served up a team of about 20 editors who will write 100-word summaries of the stories driving online conversations, said Bob Visse, MSN's general manager. Read more...
Sony apologizes for Whitney Houston album price hike
After negative backlash from fans outraged about Sony Music raising prices on Whitney Houston's digital albums within hours of her death Saturday, the music label has now apologized for what it says was a "mistake" on its part.
The New York Times reported on a statement issued by the label admitting to its error and by Sunday night, Sony had changed the prices back:
“[The] Whitney Houston product was mistakenly mis-priced on the U.K. iTunes store on Sunday. When discovered, the mistake was immediately corrected. We apologize for any offense caused.”
It appears the alleged mistake was made by a Sony employee in Britain "and that the company gave no orders for prices to be raised on Ms. Houston’s music." Read more...