This product has been tested on the following operating systems: Ubuntu Linux and has a average rating of 5

The last rating (5) has been submitted on 2008-05-16 15:09:25 by Anonymous running Ubuntu Linux:
Works perfectly right out of the box. I'm using Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron. No problems whatsoever.

This product has been tested on the following operating systems: Fedora Core,Gentoo Linux,CentOS,Slackware Linux,Ark Linux and has a average rating of 4

The last rating (2) has been submitted on 2008-05-16 15:09:11 by Anonymous running Fedora Core:
Bult-in Network card on Asus P5B motherboard. Downloaded and installed the r1000 v1.05 driver from the vendor, but the card is not working properly at neither speed 10 or 100 half or full duplex. I have not had the opportunity to test it at speed 1000. The ping times on the local network varies from 0.1 ms to many seconds with a high average. Many packages are lost, so the card is useless in practice.

Searching information -- really, how hard can it be? So, why wouldn't you go out and get a search engine that's for free? Well, to stick to the analogy of "free beer," you might wake up in the morning with a headache, only to find your wallet gone.

Of course, I'm paraphrasing the definition of "free software". Richard Stallman's example is used to point out the ambiguity of the term "free" in the English language. With free software, "you should think of free as in free speech, not as in free beer." Nevertheless, you should be warned: both open source beer (now in version 3.3) and free commercial beer have the potential for leaving you with a bit of a hangover.

If you really think enterprise search is a simple commodity -- and I will only comment on that with the obligatory statement that readers of our Enterprise Search Report will probably know better than that -- getting a free product would be ideal to get your feet wet (albeit somewhat sticky). I get invited to BYOB enterprise search parties a lot, and usually come up with Apache Lucene, IBM Omnifind Yahoo! Edition, and Microsoft Search Server 2008 Express. Let's get a closer taste of each.

Apache Lucene. Lucene is open source, which you are free to use. The problem is, it's not a complete enterprise search product -- it's a "text search engine API." What you get is a Java JAR with the core functionality of a search engine. In typical hardcore Java developer understatement this is described as "you write the easy stuff, the UI and the process of selecting and parsing your data files to pump them into the search engine, yourself." To developers that doesn't sound too difficult -- it's a library they'd be able to use to create search functionality for many applications. As they embark on that journey, however, many will find out they'll have to become experts on enterprise search to get their implementation to perform basic tasks any Google user has come to expect. Index Word documents? You'll have to convert those to text first. Remove stop words or perform spell checking? You'll have to get some more jars to fit that in. And that familiar user interface isn't so easy to replicate, either.

Of course, there's a couple of more "pre-packaged," Lucene-based engines (such as Nutch and Solr), but they'll only take you so far on that long and winding road. There's some excellent examples of what you can achieve with Lucene, but many more of how hard it can be to get there.

IBM Omnifind Yahoo! Edition (or OY!E). The Google appliances have the Google brand behind them, which must have got the IBM people thinking the Yahoo! brand would be excellent marketing for their free-to-use search engine. In fact, it's neither IBM nor Yahoo's technology, but Lucene wrapped in other open source software. A few commercial bits thrown in create a product that's easy to install and run. It will actually do many of the things Lucene will make you work hard to accomplish: it comes with support for several languages and quite a few source content filters. For users, it looks like a regular web search engine; for admins, there's a nicely designed and intelligible interface. In short, it does most of the things a Google Mini appliance will do -- but for free.

So what's the catch? Well, the license (by the way, what license?) limits you to 500,000 documents and 5 collections. After that, you can "upgrade" to other Omnifind products. But since the technology across the Omnifind line-up is completely different, this is the same as starting from scratch, and you'll pay for the privilege. I've been critical of the limitations of Google's appliances in the past, and sure, the 50,000 document limit of the entry-level Google Mini is a lot less than OY!E's half a million. But that comparison isn't really fair, considering the fact the Mini actually comes with the hardware to run the queries on for a mere $2,990. And don't think you'll be able to run IBM's software on an old abandoned test server you have available -- OY!E will need more power than the single blade Google Mini or Thunderstone Appliance to match the performance. Tellingly, I wasn't able to dig up an example of an OY!E implementation to mention while researching the Enterprise Search Report (if you know of one, let me know).

Microsoft Search Server 2008 Express. Microsoft's free offering is basically the same software as the non-Express version, but then there's the seemingly innocent limitation: one server only. I wouldn't want to continue the theme of this post by saying this is akin to handing out free samples of beer to get you hooked; suffice it to say that if you start to run the Express version in a production environment, there will, no doubt, come a time when a single server won't be enough anymore. When you've come to rely on the solution, you'll suddenly have to shell out for the licenses. As I've said before, having a free lunch isn't necessarily a bad thing; just remember that you'll probably have to pay for the beer the lunch comes with.

So, this might all start sounding like advice your mother gave you: never take anything from a stranger, and certainly no free alcoholic beverages. Don't forget, however, that I'm Dutch, and I've certainly developed a taste for enterprise search. Free beer sounds too good to be true, but it could certainly get your party started; just remember to drink in moderation, and never, ever, drink and drive.

I just spent a couple of days in Chicago at BEA's (oops, Oracle's) "Participate" user conference. This is where AquaLogic (née Plumtree) Portal/Collaboration/BPM customers come to meet without any pesky WebLogic enthusiasts around.

Of course the big question surrounding the whole event was the "roadmap" for these products going forward. We've blogged previously that Oracle finds itself in possession of no less than four portal products. As Enterprise Portals Report readers know, all four systems are all really quite different. (That ought to tell you something about the current marketplace.) Oracle, as vendors are wont to do, will likely tell customers that the benefits of using multiple portal products are additive. BEA customers should expect a new set of sales calls at some point this year.

Oracle itself says they can't make any official product announcements pending conclusion of a "quiet period" as they head to the close of their fiscal year at the end of Q2. I would guess that, except in general terms, they don't have specific plans for the BEA product lines, except to continue to sell and support them and see what the marketplace wants to do. Doubtless Oracle will come out with some general guidance about the future of the product -- if only to feed the insatiable industry analyst maw -- but roadmaps created in the immediate aftermath of large acquisitions should be treated with more than a usual dose of skepticism. In the meantime, Oracle says it will undertake a 50-city BEA customer love-fest around the world.

Still, an Oracle exec talked at the conference about how much Oracle was interested in BPM generally (BPM was a growing segment at BEA) and Oracle seems enthusiastic about the social software components around AquaLogic. Those remain a bit disjointed, but are still much more productized than what Oracle offers in its would-be enterprise 2.0, platforms, Oracle WebCenter (OWC) and "Beehive," the latest version of it's groupware suite.

As always any Oracle acquisition raises the question of culture. (See our earlier discussion of Stellent). The AquaLogic team strikes me as much less buttoned-up than Oracle (they certainly don't dress the same), and its customers are fiercely independent. Those customers previously rebelled when dumped into the larger BEA World conference, which prompted the vendor to develop the separate AquaLogic event. I did not sense great enthusiasm for joining 43,000 other Oracle users at OpenWorld later this year. But I didn't sense panic either: everyone knows Oracle loves maintenance revenue, and there is a lot of that to be had among the AquaLogic product set.

Broadband Reports points us to a rather unique attempt by Missouri University of Science & Technology to deal with the fact that the RIAA/MPAA are upset with students at the university for using file sharing apps. It's using traffic shaping apps to block access to P2P systems... but, it will give students timed access if they first successfully complete a quiz about copyright issues. You need to get a perfect score (or no BitTorrent for you!) and you get six hours, which they hope you're now using for legal file sharing (though, they don't check). If you want more time, you need to ace the quiz again (the questions change). You can get up to 8 "passes" per month.

It's definitely different... but hardly likely to be very effective. I'd imagine that students who really want unauthorized material will find ways around the block, using VPNs or proxies or something. Also, as Broadband Reports notes in its writeup, students who do get in can download unauthorized material and then share it internally across the network using different systems. But, most importantly, this is (yet again) based on the idea that everyone is being treated as a criminal first. Their may be legitimate academic reasons for using P2P systems, but the Missouri University of Science and Technology won't be participating in many, because it's put up a barrier to usage.

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As you know at CMS Watch we write critical product evaluations to help you avoid expensive procurement and deployment mistakes. We write reports that detail both the warts and merits of big vendors like EMC, Oracle, Xerox and IBM -- through to smaller specialist vendors like Hyland, Autonomy and Nuxeo. Readers of our reports often ask me "what did vendor x say when they read that!" The assumption, sometimes correct, is that vendors freak out on reading such criticism.

In an industry whereby most of the "independent analysts" are heavily dependent on revenues from the very firms they claim to be "independent" of, it's unusual to see truly critical research get published. So it becomes a surprise to both buyers and sellers when they read such criticism. In our reports we widely distribute the compliments and brickbats -- if something is truly terrible we will tell you.

But most of the time it is not a case of bad technology versus good technology. Rather it is a case of good fit versus bad fit: a product that could become an outstanding performer in a larger legal firm may make a terrible fit in a mid-sized manufacturing and ERP-centric environment. Hence we urge you the reader to study all the alternatives and balance them out, rather than look at one preferred vendor in isolation.

Speaking of isolation, the marketing groups of some vendors seem to operate in in a kind of vacuum. I guess it's part of the job for them to drink their own Kool Aid, but some of them seem to think it's part of their job to attack and stop any criticism of their product or company. At CMS Watch we're often on the receiving end of that wrath; that stinks sometimes, but so be it. Just as it is the vendor's job to wax lyrical about the joys of their product, so too is it ours to unearth the reality. If you want to get an insight into this particular dynamic, whether you're a curious end user or a vendor AR (Analyst Relations) person, check out the article I published today.

CMS Watch principal Alan Pelz-Sharpe takes a break from advising technology buyers to share a few bits of advice for vendors trying to influence independent analysts. Vendors are always trying to pitch "a story," and often fight vigorously to enforce a party line among analysts, but the real story, Alan argues, comes from the people who matter most: the technology customer...

Before we get into the details, I think everyone can agree that the story of Megan Meier is quite tragic. She was the 13-year-old girl who was "friended" on MySpace by a boy with whom she became close online. After a certain amount of time, the boy turned on her, trying to end the friendship and saying that "the world would be better off without her." After receiving this message, Megan committed suicide. Later, it was discovered that the boy in question never existed -- and was part of a hoax perpetrated by some of Megan's friends/neighbors, including the mother of one of Megan's former friends. The story is, most definitely, sad and tragic -- and it's no surprise that there are people out for vengeance, with the main target being Lori Drew, the adult who participated in some manner in the hoax. However, as we said back when state prosecutors in Missouri couldn't find any law to prosecute, being a total jerk online is not a crime. As stupid as the prank was, it wasn't designed to make the girl commit suicide.

But, of course, when you have a high profile case that includes a 13-year-old girl committing suicide after being misled, people are still going to push for something to be done (or they end up doing something themselves). So with state prosecutors failing to find anything, federal prosecutors stepped in, and have now indicted Lori Drew on a number of different charges, relating to "conspiracy and fraudulently gaining access to someone else's computer." This seems like a serious stretch. It's an effort to twist existing laws just to punish this particular woman because people are upset by the outcome. Legal scholars are already quite worried about how the indictments appear to twist the law in potentially unconstitutional ways.

Why? Well, some of the charges are based on computer anti-fraud laws that prevent "unauthorized access." And, here's where the prosecutors got creative: they claim that in not providing truthful info to MySpace when registering (i.e., in breaking the terms of service), effectively Lori Drew "hacked" into MySpace's computers in an unauthorized manner. Now, no matter what you think of what Lori Drew did (or what happened as a result), this would basically make anyone who fails to follow the exact terms of service of an online service a potential felony hacker. That is a problem. I recognize the desire to punish someone for what happened to Megan -- but twisting the law this way will have very dangerous consequences.

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I’ve often taken a snarky approach when it comes to people who set up blogs for their pets. I barely want to read about humans’ mundane lives, let alone issues with litter and pooper scoopers. However, there might be a new reason to subscribe to Lucky, Fido or Buddy’s blog.

Animals’ ability to prognosticate goes far beyond the annual Groundhog Day ritual. Since the beginning of time, many have believed that little furry creatures (and fish!) can tip off humans to imminent natural disasters.

…an earthquake specialist from the US Geological Survey in San Francisco kept a record of the numbers of small ads for lost pets in the local newspaper. He found there was a dramatic upsurge in missing pets weeks before a quake. How animals could forecast earthquakes is not known.

Animals also seem to forecast severe weather. There were many reports of bizarre animal behaviour before the cyclone that devastated Bangladesh (then called East Pakistan), in November 1970. For example, dogs howled endlessly for days, cattle became restless and stopped eating and ants moved to higher positions.

Given the recent disasters in Myanmar (Burma) and China, it might be time to start monitoring the moods of our four-legged companions.

Read more here.

“Waiter,” Boston Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Ben Zander exclaimed, “I have a perfect life, but I don’t have a knife.” He was having breakfast in a restaurant with a friend at the time. As he uttered those words, he heard a girl nearby giggling. They made eye contact, smiled together, and he went back to his conversation.

The next day, he happened to cross paths with the young lady again, this time they exchanged words.

“Good morning, how are you today?”

“Perfect,” she said.

As she left the room accompanied by her parents, he called out to her “Have a perfect day!”

“I will,” she replied, as if it were the easiest, most obvious choice she could make.

I paraphrased the opening of Roz and Ben Zander, The Art of Possibility. The book, is about turning life’s obstacles into possibilities. It is also about marketing - what is becoming the future of marketing.

Lesson # 1 - It’s All Invented

A person looking to start a blog on social media today may feel overwhelmed. There are so many blogs on social media, one for every flavor, literally. She may think: it’s hopeless, I could never break through. No one will read yet another blog on social media.

Another person may take stock of the situation and think: this is fantastic, there are so many people writing about social media that I will find an instant community. Then I can specialize in social media for engineers, or for lawyers, or for plumbers. Take your pick. In other words, she sees opportunity galore.

Whenever you are faced with an issue that seems to be a problem, use this simple advice. Remember that it’s all invented. Then you will have the opportunity to dismantle your own assumptions that prevent you from seeing possibilities. Instead, think how else can I look at things? What other choices does that give me?

Lesson #2 - Stop Measuring Everything

When you go down the route of constantly checking how many readers, comments, and page views you have, you find yourself stuck with thoughts and actions that reflect survival and scarcity, comparison and competition, attachment and anxiety. You stop the creative flow in favor of the judgement and evaluation. There is a place for goal setting and tracking towards your objectives.

Yet, when you constantly box yourself inside what others have established as success metrics, you forego your potential, where you could grow. Ask yourself: how are my thoughts and actions, in this moment, a reflection of the measurement world?

Over the long haul, you are more likely to create abundance in your business and life by having the attitude that there are always new readers, there are many more customers out there to engage with. When you express your skill with passion and joy, people will be attracted to you - and when your life does not depend on hitting the jackpot all the time, you will be more open to connections, which in turn create success.

Lesson #3 - Be a Contribution

When you stop obsessing constantly about progress, you lift the veil on contribution. What is it that you bring to the table that nobody else does? What project, form and shape can your ideas take? Any that you decide. The issue with best practices and following standard advice, is that everyone ends up looking and sounding the same.

Nothing could be further from your truth - you are capable of contributing and you can let anyone contribute to your success. If you let your ambition drive you, then anyone who does not think like you, who is not on your side or is on the same list with you, is a competitor.

With the thought of contribution, everything changes. All of a sudden, you can learn from anyone and be a teacher to anyone - even the most experienced blogger. How much you can make and where you stand in the business ecosystem do not disappear. Yet, it’s your attitude that changes, from how can I win, to how can I serve. Watch all sorts of good things happening to you because of that.
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Bottom line, no matter where you stand in the conventional totem pole, remember that it’s all invented, when you stop measuring all the time, you start thinking about projects as potential you can fulfill. You can make a difference, even if sometimes you may not fully appreciate how and why.

Reader Jonathan points us to a story that's also made the rounds on Boing Boing. Basically a blogger who apparently is somewhat well connected in the comic book/superhero world decided to get a bunch of artists he knew together to create comic character-based artwork to auction on eBay with the proceeds being sent to a children's charity who had helped out his own family at one point. The charity auction was announced, a bunch of artists signed up and created superhero-related artwork, and the auctions began on eBay. At some point, Warner Brothers, who owns the rights to many superhero characters contacted eBay to shut down a few of the auctions. This made the guy pull the rest of the auctions and get a bit nervous about whether or not he broke the law. Oddly, after all of this started getting attention Warner Brothers let one of the auctions proceed, but didn't respond to a question from the guy about letting the others move forward. In fact, in an email, Warner Brothers didn't explain its position at all.

On the whole, the legal issue is a bit murky (and it doesn't sound like anyone's making any legal threats here, so this probably won't go any further). The artwork may very well have infringed (though there are reasonable arguments for why it was not infringing as well). However, once again, this does seem like a situation where lawyers jumped ahead of what actually made sense from a business or PR standpoint. A smart company would have seen this going on and would have figured out a way to embrace it and come out of it looking like a good guy -- perhaps sponsoring the charity auction in some manner or another. But in shutting down the auctions, Warner Brothers comes off as a big legal bully who doesn't want to help kids with cancer. One more reason why legal solutions should always be looked at as a last line of defense, rather than an automatic solution.

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I have noticed a great many bloggers I meet are introverted. This is something I can well empathize with as I have had to train myself to be more outgoing. Perhaps communicating online gives us introverts a less intimidating means to connect? The tricky part though is for people who find it hard to connect offline and on.

Fact is, if you want to get anywhere online, increasingly you need to break out of that bubble and connect with people. I am not talking about schmoozing or using people, but talking, doing favors and getting known.

My friend Damian has learned this the hard way. He is a brilliant WordPress plugin developer but until recently nobody knew who he was. Once he put himself out there his traffic has increased and people are now talking about his plugins. The lesson, it doesn’t matter how good you are at what you do if nobody notices. You need the technical skills and the social skills.

• Join Twitter
• Participate in forums
• Comment on blogs
• Take part in carnivals and memes
• Link out - a lot
• Guest post
• Create something useful for the community, for bloggers this would be a widget, theme or plugin

What are you doing to make yourself better known?

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