Firebird 2.1 creates databases with an ODS of 11.1. It can read databases of lower ODS but most of its new features will be unavailable to such databases. Firebird 2.1 is a full version release that builds on the architectural changes introduced in the V.2.0 series.

Thanks to a recent column by my friend Andy Patrizio, I found out that there’s “been an ongoing debate among bloggers and industry observers over one simple question: Where are the open source billionaires?” OK, I’ll buy that some people think that’s a real question, but I think it says more about they don’t understand the connection between software development genius and what it take

Administrators can use SafeSquid to granularly distribute bandwidth across the network, depending on user, group, website being visited, mime or file type being accessed, and time / date range. This is achieved by defining the desired situation, by creating a profile under the Profiles section, and then allocating a specific bandwidth (QoS) to that profile.

Ultra-Mobile Personal Computers (UMPC) are so hot right now that major PC manufacturers are competing to create the lightest, fastest and sexiest-looking portable machines imaginable. Most of these emerging sub-notebooks are pre-installed with Linux, and I wasn't surprised.

Docks became popular when Mac began using them in their operating system. But these days docks are available on all platforms.

Which path should you follow? Should you take advantage of Ubuntu's package manager and use it to upgrade your system to the latest 8.04 Hardy Heron release, or should you download a CD or DVD ISO image and do a clean install?

Sifting through the news from JavaOne this week, I can't help but wonder when we'll stop developing our personal silos and truly get into community. Sun is a wonderful company, but I'm with Zonker on this one: Do we really need another operating system, application server, RIA platform, etc.