Articles by Jack M. Germain

The Linux OS is free, but that doesn't mean it won't cost you more than pocket change to keep it working in your office Depending on which of the many consumer or enterprise flavors you select, the price tag for support can range from your own invested hours scouring community help forums to spending thousands of dollars per month in IT salaries or...

Consumers are enamored with HD entertainment devices. What consumers abhor, however, is the quagmire of cabling that tethers their HDTVs, high-def DVD players, gaming consoles and surround sound systems together Hudson, Mass.-based Radiospire Networks is banking on consumers clamoring to its breakthrough technology to replace that cabling nightmare...

Growing concerns over migrating to Vista may push companies to adopt alternative operating systems. A study released in late November revealed that 90 percent of the Windows users polled reported concerns about migrating to Microsoft's newest operating system Forty-four percent of those polled said they would consider deployment of alternative oper...

Companies that fail to prevent data breaches will pay higher costs to repair the damage in 2008, according to a recent report. Data breach incidents will also cost these companies additional revenue from lost business opportunities and reduced customer retention Data breaches cost companies US$197 per compromised customer record in 2007, compared t...

The video gaming industry has seen huge growth over the past few years with the emergence of the massive multiplayer online (MMO) model. These video games, examples of which include "World of Warcraft" and "Everquest II," allow thousands of players to interact simultaneously over the Internet in a persistent virtual world Free multiplayer games abo...

The holidays are coming, and there's no better time of year to consider buying a computer for yourself or as a gift. It is also a good time to consider a PC loaded with Linux What's that you say? Run Linux instead of Microsoft's Windows Vista? Does anybody really do that?...

When it comes time to upgrade to a new version of proprietary software -- take the Windows OS, for example -- many users are less than thrilled. Upgrades can mean an added expense for anything more extensive than a bug fix or minor feature upgrades Even free minor version upgrades of a software product can cost a considerable chunk of time backing ...

Terra Soft Solutions, the developer of Yellow Dog Linux, has teamed up with Circle-S Studios to create Y-Film, a suite of VFX (visual effects) management and productivity tools coupled with DNA Research's 3Delight RenderMan compliant rendering engine and Terra Soft's Y-HPC cluster construction suite Terra Soft will display the alpha version of its ...

The growing popularity of Web 2.0 applications is creating new worries about network security for IT managers and program users alike. One of the biggest concerns is the lack of attention by some product developers and the users themselves to regularly scan their computer systems for holes The recent acquisitions by IBM and HP of two companies that...

After the initial warranty period has expired on a desktop or laptop computer, consumers, SOHO (small office/home office) users and SMBs (small- and medium-sized businesses) may find themselves stranded when computer woes strike. Without costly warranty extension plans or an IT department, there is little to do but pay up An alternative to costly l...

In what may well be one of the most unusual computing tasks performed by the Linux operating system, Terra Soft Solutions integrated its Yellow Dog Linux distribution and the Sony PlayStation 3 to guide a specially designed driverless car competing in the qualifying rounds for the DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) autonomous vehicle challenge in Victorville, Calif...

HP on Thursday began offering new Multi-Level Security (MLS) Services for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 The five support services are the first of their kind offered on the Linux operating system, according to Erik Lillestolen, government program manager for Open Source and Linux Organization at HP. The company made the announcement at the Red Hat Gov...

Consumers and small-office and home-office (SOHO) workers often buy their computers from online stores or discount warehouses. They often reject add-on support packages at checkout to keep the purchase price low. If the computer breaks within 60 or 90 days, the manufacturer will handle the repairs, they reason However, when the initial warranty per...

Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), a staple in enterprise settings, are starting to gather momentum as a way to connect remote users and branch offices securely to the networks of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Smaller companies are finding VPNs cheaper to operate than more costly dedicated T1 phone lines SMB players have been slow to move...

Curl plans to release much of its code for the Curl Rich Internet Application (RIA) platform to the open source community to enhance the development of Web 2.0 applications The company announced Monday the first step in its open source strategy -- the creation of a common repository of open source component libraries to support the rapid developmen...

Citrix Systems, a provider of application delivery products, unveiled on Monday its expanded virtualization technology strategy, which it said will extend its reach from datacenter to desktop The company's new virtualization strategy allows it to offer an application delivery infrastructure that leverages server, applications and desktop virtualiza...

The third version of the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPLv3), released last summer, is on the slow road to acceptance. The new licensing conditions usher in numerous changes in how open source software developers regulate what users of their freely distributed programming code are legally able and unable to do The latest license option was...

Virtual private networks (VPNs) are common in enterprise settings as a way to connect remote users and branch offices securely to the corporate network. VPNs extend a corporation's reach to support worldwide locations The same usefulness is gaining the attention of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Smaller companies are finding VPNs cheaper...

Memo to small business owners: If you are spending a fortune on software to run your business, you'll be interested to know you may be able to get almost everything you need for free With more than 25.8 million small businesses currently in the U.S. and 671,000 new companies getting started every year, purveyors of free business software have lots ...

Skype hardware maker Ipevo announced on Tuesday the U.S. launch of the Solo, a desktop Skype phone that makes phone calls over the Internet without being tethered to a computer Ipevo officials hope the stand-alone device will catch the fancy of users who shy away from computers. The always-on phone, however, requires a broadband Internet connection...