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- ZDNet Author Biography
Originally a Math/Physics graduate who couldn't cut it in his own field, Paul Murphy a pseudonym became an IT consultant specializing in Unix and related technologies after a stint working for a DARPA contractor programming in Fortran and APL. Since then he's worked in both systems management and...- more about Paul Murphy »
ZDNet Resources
- The brutal truth - but not, I think, about Vista.
- A lawsuit alleging that workers are being forced to contribute unpaid over time because their PCs record start times only after long boot periods has that laugh until you cry feel to it because it's more revealing about the organization than about Vista. by Paul Murphy
- Tags: PC, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows Vista (Longhorn), Operating Systems, Microsoft Windows, Software, Paul Murphy
- Blog posts 2008-11-22
- From Chapter Three: The Windows Culture
- The history of Windows, from 3.11 to Vista, is one of ad hoc adaptation to market conditions and expectational change among customers. To a large extent it's been about playing catch up to Unix and the Mac - with fascinating devolutions along the way. by Paul Murphy
- Tags: TCP/IP, Application, Client-server, Stored Procedure, Network, PC, Microsoft MS-DOS, Microsoft Corp., IBM Corp., Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Desktops, Databases, Networking, Software, Hardware, Enterprise Software, Data Management, Paul Murphy
- Blog posts 2008-11-21
- Which check to write? when open source means Jack
- One of the side effects of recession is an increased focus on cost. Where previously non IT management tolerated high IT costs, they're now going to be motivated to look - and when they do, they'll often face a choice: go open source and keep an extra IT guy or...
- Tags: Information Technology, Strategy, Open Source, Management, Paul Murphy, MySQL, Microsoft Corp., IBM Corp., Storage, Databases, Hardware, Enterprise Software, Software, Data Management
- Blog posts 2008-11-20
- Dick, Jane, and MySQL: why recessions favor open source
- Recessions are good for open source simply because they force non IT management to face the costs of IT -and think a bit about what they know it can do for the business. by Paul Murphy
- Tags: Recession, Information Technology, MySQL, Open Source, Paul Murphy, Bank, Accounting, Server, Times, Richard, Sales Strategy, Financial Services, Sales
- Blog posts 2008-11-19
- Windows 7, undigested red meat, and a delicate sensibility
- Sometimes actually rather too often for comfort I read something and I just don't know what to make of it - so a "compare and contrast" on two opposing blogs by other people about the miracle, or otherwise, of adding a not-a-lock lock to Windows and the reality that...
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Blogging, Software, Internet, Paul Murphy, Sun Microsystems Inc., Russinovich
- Blog posts 2008-11-18
- How Intel's Nehalem will benefit AMD
- Although enthusiastic benchmark claims for Intel's Nehalem have been available for over a year now, the actual product ihas only recently made it into early production servers featuring the new motherboards and firmware needed to make use of technology AMD has had for years but couldn't get integrated into...
- Tags: Benefit, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Intel Corp., Servers, Hardware, Paul Murphy, Motherboard, Nehalem, Corporate Governance, Business Operations, Corporate Law
- Blog posts 2008-11-17
- Storage Analytics meets Tufte
- The most powerfull thing about Sun's new line of storage appliances isn't its price, its capacity, or anything else involving the hardware - it's the general applicability of the command and control software that's really exciting to anyone who's ever had to guess how his data center was performing. by...
- Tags: Storage, Data Centers, Hardware, Data Management, Paul Murphy, Network, Analytics, DTrace
- Blog posts 2008-11-15
- From Chapter Three: The Windows Culture
- The pivotal machine in the emergence of the Wintel culture was probably the IBM PC/AT. It sold in sufficiently large quantities to IBM customers to create its own software markets, and was sufficiently poorly engineered and over priced to ensure that its buyers didn't perceive it as a threat to...
- Tags: Culture, IBM Corp., Mainframes, Microsoft Windows, Servers, Hardware, Operating Systems, Software, Paul Murphy, PC, Board, Graphics, BASIC, PC/AT, Corporate Governance, Desktops, Tools & Techniques, Business Operations, Corporate Law, Management
- Blog posts 2008-11-14
- Working at 99% CPU utilization
- If you're reading zdnet blogs you're almost certainly not a typical corporate PC user and thus you won't naturally share that person's perceptions of IT things. To see just how something like virtualization appears to that average user - share the experience: commit 99% of your PC resource to something...
- Tags: PC, CPU Utilization, Blog, CPU, Blogging, Virtualization, Desktops, Internet, Hardware, Paul Murphy, Data-processing, Data-processing Management
- Blog posts 2008-11-13
- Obama: good news for Sun
- Obama has promised to shut down new coal and nuclear generation while offering car makers incentives to produce electrically powered vehicles. The resulting supply crunch on power is tailor made to benefit Sun - because,on SWaP, Sun has by far the most energy efficient technologies on the market. by Paul...
- Tags: Sun Microsystems Inc., Obama, Manufacturing, Sales Force Management, Sales, Paul Murphy, Intel Xeon, Processors, Servers, Semiconductors, Hardware, Components
- Blog posts 2008-11-12
- The need for a mixed load benchmark
- The right way to do virtualization is almost always just to avoid it - and let the Unix scheduler handle resource allocations among multiple applications and users as service demands change. Unfortunately people who want to do this face an unexpected problem: no good way to size the hardware short...
- Tags: Paul Murphy, Resource Allocation, Virtualization, Cloud Computing, Storage Management, Utility Computing, UNIX, Operating Systems, Hardware, Storage, Software, Operating System, Data-processing, Sun Solaris, Servers
- Blog posts 2008-11-11
- SPAM and the free lunch
- The Air Force wants people to submit ideas for improving internet security - with particular regard to phishing, spam, and network based attacks. I don't believe that a perfect solution exists, but putting unalterable origin identifiers into packet headers has got to be the way to start. by Paul Murphy
- Tags: Phishing, Internet, Cyberthreats, Spam, Security, Network Security, Viruses And Worms, Spam And Phishing, Networking, Paul Murphy, Packet, Router, Network, Routers & Switches, Network Technology
- Blog posts 2008-11-10
- GM, Chrysler, and one specific IT Job
- GM just announced a huge loss, Toyota's American operation is in financial trouble, Chrysler is thought to be the worst off of the them all - what's really causing this, what can be done to help, and who's job is at risk? Roger's job - and in this context we...
- Tags: Job, Information Technology, Chrysler LLC, General Motors Corp., Roger, Recruitment & Selection, Human Resources, Workforce Management, Paul Murphy, Vehicle, Automobile Company, Third World, Manufacturing
- Blog posts 2008-11-08
- From Chapter Three: The Windows Culture
- The origin of the PC culture is unclear - its rise to dominance both an undoubted reality and a largely unexplained one. by Paul Murphy
- Tags: Culture, Microsoft Windows, Desktops, Operating Systems, Software, Hardware, Paul Murphy, ZiLOG, Performance, PC, Microprocessor, CPU, Computer, Intel Corp., IBM Corp., CP/M, Processors, Performance Management, Productivity, Semiconductors, Components, Human Resources, Workforce Management
- Blog posts 2008-11-07
- Blackbox, SWaP, and the z10
- During last week's discussion of IBM's z10 numbers, one contributor claimed that it is both space and power efficient - so I suggested he compare the z10's numbers to those for Sun's project blackbox. Since I doubt he bothered, I've done it for all of us -and the results are...
- Tags: Paul Murphy, Data Center, Network, Sun Microsystems Inc., IBM POWER6, IBM Corp., Data Centers, Storage, Servers, Processors, Networking, Hardware, Data Management, Semiconductors, Components
- Blog posts 2008-11-06
- Domino, cryptology, and response
- On coolthreads servers the performance effect of turning on Domino cryptology can be zero -and that radically changes the cost picture when you compare hosting alternatives for secure installations. by Paul Murphy
- Tags: IBM Lotus Domino, E-mail Servers, Groupware, Enterprise Software, Software, Paul Murphy, Consultant
- Blog posts 2008-11-05
- Speculation on Papermaster's "huh?": IBM, Apple, and Freescale
- If Papermaster is what he appears to be: smart, sane, capable; he cannot possibily have believed that IBM would not enforce the non competition clauses in his employment contract - so why did he announce his intent to break that contract by moving directly to Apple? by Paul Murphy
- Tags: Apple Inc., IBM Corp., Paul Murphy, Blade Servers, Recruitment & Selection, Utility Computing, Servers, Hardware, Human Resources, Workforce Management
- Blog posts 2008-11-04
- Hacking the vote
- If you're out to commit election fraud the vulnerabiity of present evoting machines makes that route look attractive, but in reality success will only get you a few votes. To really cheat effectively, you need to after the opportunities the use of client-server technologies creates in the voting process...
- Tags: Client-server, Hacking, E-voting, Servers, Government, Hardware, Paul Murphy, Fraud, Computer, Machine
- Blog posts 2008-11-03
- A halloween challenge: Windows 7 vs MacOS X
- I've been reviewing what other people say and show about WIndows 7 - and it looks stunningly familiar - almost like I've used this stuff before: on a Mac, say. by Paul Murphy
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS, Operating Systems, Software, Paul Murphy, Challenge, Microsoft Corp.
- Blog posts 2008-11-01
- From Chapter Three: The Windows Culture
- The windows culture, although now merging with data processing, started out to be something else: a user driven movement celebrating personal productivity. So what happened? financial opportunity, corporate resistance, quite a lot of thing go into the making of IT history. by Paul Murphy
- Tags: Culture, Financial, Financial Accounting, Microsoft Windows, Finance, Operating Systems, Software, Paul Murphy, Application, PC, Operating System, Machine, Servers, Desktops, Hardware
- Blog posts 2008-10-31
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