10 Linux Predictions for 2009

Everyone wants to know what’s going to happen in the new year as if anyone can accurately predict these things. However, one can deduce, with reasonable accuracy, that there will be innovations that are designed to get our attention. This is my list of Linux-oriented predictions for 2009.
The keyword for 2009 is Innovation.

1. Buyouts/Mergers - 2009 will see its share of company buyouts and mergers–all innovation-related. Larger companies will buy up smaller ones with innovative products and services. Many new open source millionaires will be created through these transitions.

2. Gadgets, Gadgets, and more Gadgets - This will be the Year of the Gadget and they’ll be Linux-powered. You’ll see dozens of new gadgets from phones to home appliances to weather stations come out in 2009 all designed to attract your attention and your money. Watch for rapidly falling prices on these little gems along the way too.

3. Virtualization - Linux-powered virtualization in the form of virtual appliances, virtual services, and hosted solutions are going to overwhelm even the most enthusiastic virtualization afficianados among you. I will have plenty of fodder for my Virtualization column at linux-mag.com as well as posts here on DaniWeb. I expect to see weekly announcements for new products, new services, and new companies popping-up to solve our problems.

4. Desktop Innovations - Ahh, the pet peeve of every IT jock in the business: Desktop Linux. Well hold on to your shorts nays…

Will Ethernet AV help unify home networks?

While the consumer electronics industry is yet to find a clear technology winner for digital home media distribution, some are clearly betting on Ethernet to become the answer for home networks by late 2009 and beyond.

IEEE 802 working groups are in the process of completing Ethernet AV, a set of modifications to existing Ethernet standards to make the protocol “rock solid” for transmitting streaming audio and video “with no clicks or pops,” according to Rick Kreifeldt, vice president, Harman Professional Systems Development & Integration Group.

Today, common IT-oriented Ethernet networks, by design, use a best-effort protocol. They promise that data will traverse the network with zero errors, but offer no assurance that it will arrive in a timely fashion.

In contrast, emerging Ethernet Audio/Video Bridging (AVB) specifications — consisting of 802.1AS, 802.Qat and 802.1Qav — promise all of the following: 2 milliseconds guaranteed latency through seven Ethernet bridges; reservations for guaranteed bandwidth; and precise timing and synchronization services for timestamps and media coordination.

“There are two diverging drivers pushing Ethernet AVB,” said Tony Jeffree, chairman of IEEE 802.1 Working Group.

One group, represented by companies like Harman and BMW, is hoping to build a standards-based reliable method of piping audio video for professional studios, concert stages and automotive applications, he said. Another is driven by Ethernet and WiFi router…

Intel births Meltdown-friendly mobile quad core

Intel has birthed a recession-friendly quad core mobile processor. And you can find one at the heart of a new Acer laptop. Maybe.

According to the Intel’s latest processor price list, the chip giant is offering five new mobile CPUs as of December 28: one ultra-low-cost quad core and four high-end dual cores.

The new quad core - dubbed the Intel Core 2 Extreme Q9000 - offers 6MB of level 2 cache, a 1.066GHz front-side bus, and a 2GHz core clock speed. Yet it sells for only $348 (in quantities of 1,000). All other Chipzilla mobile quad cores sell for at least $851, with the top-of-line QX9300 priced at $1,038.

It would seem that the Q9000 drives Acer’s Aspire 8930G-7665, an $1,800 notebook that hit stores just this morning. But Acer refers to the Aspire’s CPU as the “Intel Core 2 Quad Mobile Processor Q9000″ and claims it offers 12MB of L2 cache and a 2.53GHz clock speed. Those specs match up with the more-expensive QX9300.

We’ve asked Acer for clarification, but the company has yet to provide it.

Though we question its trustworthiness, Acer’s press release also says the new Aspire includes a 18.4-inch display, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 500GB hard drive, a Blu-ray/DVD double-layer drive, a 6-in-1 digital media card reader, and a 802.11a/g/Draft-N WiFi adapter.

In any event, Intel has also launched four Core 2 Duo dual core mobile chips: the $530 T9800 (6MB L2 cache, 2.93GHz, 1.066MHz front side bus), the $348 P9600 (6MB L2 cache, 2.66GHz, 1.066MHz front side bus),…

LG debuts dual-SIM KS660 phone

LG is getting ready to debut a dual-SIM card phone: the KS660. The phone features a touchscreen and includes a 3-inch 400 x 240 resolution display, an integrated multimedia player, FM radio, 50MB of internal memory complete with a microSD expansion slot, 5MP camera, integrated accelerometer, video recording capabilities, Bluetooth 2.0, USB support, tri-band GSM connectivity and EDGE data. However, it lacks 3G and WiFi capabilities.

The phone is aimed towards business people that have a need for more than one phone. It will allow them to manage their lives much easier. Unfortunately, Americans won’t be able to get their hands on it. In fact, you won’t find this one outside of China, Russia and a few nations in Europe when it launches in February.

Refurbished iPhones going for $49 until Jan. 1st

AT&T is now selling refurbished 8GB iPhones for $99. The phones are a full $100 less than their newer counterparts, though they are still attached to a customary two-year contract. AT&T is similarly offering refurbished 16GB models for $199, in both black and white colors.

Buyers of the 8 or 16GB models should additionally get free, two-day priority shipping, though this does not apply during holidays. This helps make the refurbished phones the cheapest legal way of buying an iPhone, as even Walmart is charging a minimum of $197.

Update: Through December 31st, AT&T is offering an additional $50 discount, bringing iPhone prices to as low as $49 and $149.

X58 is flavour of the week

A Boxing Day weekend’s weight of wibblage awaits, to wit:

Leo at Thrusting Reviews is testing the MSI X58 Platinum. It’s a sort of budget X58 motherboard that does some nice overclocking.

HardOCP is also testing an X58 motherboard, the Gigabyte EX58 Extreme. It seems overclocking isn’t HyperThreading-friendly.

With Quadfire+SLI-capable motherboards coming into sight, Guru of 3D is giving fans a look into their next-gen Core i7 test base… always worth a gander.

German-language Hardware Mag rounded up 7 high capacity HDDs (Googlenglish) for a spin. Samsung and Seagate get you the biggest bang-for-buck ratio.

VR-Zone is testing Samsung’s S2 Portable 160GB USB HDD. Odd CPU utilization rate going on, but it seems otherwise very usable.

TweakTown gives the Thecus N4100PRO NAS server a going over. The unit sports 4 storage bays and is quite upgradable for a NAS.

CPU3D has an interesting review of an Asrock Frankenboard, errr, K10N780SLIX3-WiFi motherboard. This will enable very cheap Tri-SLI for your PC.

Puissance PC is doing a review on the Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 450W (Googlenglish). Modular and silent, although a bit pricey.

Legit Reviews is looking at how Asrock’s “instant-boot” feature works. It looks quite simple, and we should see other mobo makers adopt something like it in no time.

Optoma’s GameTime GT7000 DLP projector is available at Thrusting Reviews. Native HD for £429 doesn’t seem at all bad.

The Asus R50A is a new MID that bears th…

2009: Netbook or notebook?

2009 may be the year of the Netbook. But there’s a big if.

Here’s the choice: Will consumers buy a thin, light, relatively fast $1,800 MacBook Air or a thin, light, ultrasmall, not-as-fast $450 Hewlett-Packard Mini 1000 Netbook? (Correction: the HP Mini 1000 configuration cited here was originally stated incorrectly as $700.)

If many people, fully aware of this choice, opt for a Netbook then we have the foundation of, at the very least, a rethinking of the pricey ultraportable.

At most, we have many more consumers buying into the Netbook concept–particularly if 3G broadband wireless comes as a standard option.

Here’s the dilemma in more detail: Do you want an ultralight subnotebook replete with a Core 2 Duo processor, 64GB solid-state drive, and 12-inch (or 13-inch) LED screen that will set you back at least $1,800?

Or do you want a Netbook with an Atom processor, 16GB solid-state drive, and a 10-inch screen for $450 to $500? (Clarification: Netbooks are generally thought of as sub-$400 designs; but for comparison’s sake, upscale Netbooks with 10.2-inch screens are cited here.)

The dimensions and weight are the key to both the Netbook and the ultraportable, and differentiate them from standard laptops. Both are small and light. But here’s where Netbooks become disruptive. To date (that is, for at least the last 10 years), consumers have had to pay a big premium for smallness and thinness (and still do with the Air, Dell Latitude E4200, and Toshiba Portege, …

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