Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols on Computerworld analyzed a report from the Linux Foundation on who writes Linux and found that Linux is written by big companies for big companies.

Here’s the top ten contributors to Linux:

1. Red Hat: 12.3%
2. IBM: 7.6%
3. Novell: 7.6%
4. Intel: 5.3%
5. Independent consultant: 2.5%
6. Oracle: 2.4%
7. Linux Foundation: 1.6%
8. SGI 1.6%
9. Parallels 1.3%
10. Renesas Technology: 1.3%

Big businesses write Linux because big businesses use Linux.

No Google product seems to have such a loyal chorous of haters as Street View in Google Maps.  With this feature selected in Google Maps, you can not only see a location on a map but actual see a  full 360-degree view photography of the location.

The 360-degree  images are taken by Google camera-mounted cars that roam streets snapping photographs.    Google stirred  the pot of controversy in Northern California last summer when Google Street View cars were accused of photographing on private roads in Sonoma and Humboldt counties.  Since Humboldt one of the major cash crops of Humboldt County is pot, those drivers better be careful.

Now Street View is available in the United Kingdom where it recently met annoyance. in the form of an angry crowd.  It seems that a Street View car  was spotted in the  upscale village of Broughton about an hour out of London.  The village had recently been victim to a number of house robberies.  The residents of the village resented being photographed without their permission and felt the pictures might aid burglars, so in  a bit of volunteer civic action, neighbors blocked the road so that the Google car could not pass.  The driver eventually made a U-turn and left the area.  Actually Google is within its rights to take photographs with permission as long as the car remains on public roads

One of  the  practical uses for the Street View feature is to use it when looks for new houses or apartments –  check out areas without needing to visit in person.

The 360-degree car-mounted camera used by Google.

My street in Mountain View, CA via Street View

Related articles

• Google Street View Captures Dudes Peeing Together in the Middle of a Busy Highway [Pee Party] (i.gizmodo.com)

Microsoft has announced the demise of their Encarta encyclopedia.  The software products have been discontinued and the Encarta sites will be history by 31 October.

The explanation according to an FAQ published on the Encarta sites, says

“Encarta has been a popular product around the world for many years. However, the category of traditional encyclopedias and reference material has changed. People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past. As part of Microsoft’s goal to deliver the most effective and engaging resources for today’s consumer, it has made the decision to exit the Encarta business.”

This corporate-ese might be translated as

• The free Wikipedia ate our lunch, 
• Tough economic times are a good time for businesses to get rid of old baggage,
• You don’t need a weather man to know which way the wind blows

Read the Encarta FAQ.

Here’s a short video from CNN that can give you a fast reading as to whether you need to be concerned for your computer

Actually, if you want something to worry about, probably better spend your energy on the economy.

As we hurry towards the holidays, the quantity of tech news decreases daily.  This isn’t the time of year to launch new products.

Here’s our occasional brief look at what’s news and is being watched in EM-world.  Don’t blame the messenger if it looks like only Google and Apple are working this week.  I’ve also thrown in a couple of non-tech extras.

Here goes tech list:

• Gmail Integrates Google’s PDF Viewer -  If you’re using Gmail, and you should be, you no longer need an external PDF Viewer for viewing attached PDF documents, now Gmail has its own.
• Google Chrome 1.0 Released – If you were waiting for the Google Chrome to be out of beta before you gave it a try, the time is now.  Google has removed the beta label.
• Gmail SMS – Send SMS messages from chat in Gmail (You are using Gmail aren’t you?)  Replies will appear in a chat Window.
• Export a Gmail message to Google Docs – Here’s my favorite (sorry, it’s Gmail again) — you can now convert any email diretly into a Google word processing doc that can be easily modified.  Imagine the possibilities
• No Jobs means no Macworld splash – Not only is Steve “the life of the party” Jobs not going to give the keynote speech at the SF MacWorld in SF next month, this is the last year Apple will attend.  Smart move, these things are expensive.
• Rumor: New Mac Mini Coming to Macworld 2009 – MacWorld’s means new Apple product releases.  Probably not going to be laptops or iPods, they’ve been announced recently.  One guess is that Apple is going to update the low-end Mac Mini.

Your extras:

• David Allen’s Making It All Work a New Look at GTD – Mister “Getting Things Done” (he literally wrote the book on it) David Allen has a new book about how to be a better self-manager.
• The High Price of Cheap Eats – A nutritional review of five “value” meals from the top fast food restaurants — “Jack in the Box’s junior bacon cheeseburger topped the list as the worst offender. The burger costs just one dollar but is packed with 23 grams of fat, including 8 grams of saturated fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol and 860 milligrams of sodium and just one gram of fiber.”

PC Magazine  paper-edition bites the dust – Ziff Davis Media, publishers of the 27-year old PC Magazine will stop printing it in January and only provide it digitally.  Remember we told you about The Christian Science Monitor going the same way?

Gmail adds themes -  If you use Gmail (and why  wouldn’t you?), you can now jazz-up your Gmail reader with colorful themes.

Microsoft to give away Virus protection – Beginning in the 2d half of 2009 Microsoft is going to be giving away to consumers,  “comprehensive, real-time anti-malware protection, covering such threats as viruses, spyware, rootkits, trojans, and other emerging threats, in a single, focused solution.”  Bet Norton likes that.

Scared of Technology?  You’re Old! -  According to a Pew Study, if you’re over 30 and start to have problems with your computer, or a cell-phone kind of gadget, 52% of you will be discouraged, but not so if you’re younger – then 85% of you are confident you can fix it.  Don’t worry if you’re over 30, that’s why you read Enquiring Mimes.

Order pizza through your Tivo – A deal between Tivo and Domino means you can order a pizza and only have to get off the couch to pay the driver in cash.

Related

• Dominos can now be ordered via TiVo
• Iconic PC Magazine to shut down

Fact(actually exaggeration): Every technical publication in the universe (except here) has been publishing previews of what’s coming in the new operating systems.

Fact: When will they be available? No time soon.

The Onion, the satirical site, published a side-by-side comparison that makes as much sense as many of the others I’ve seen and is much more entertaining.

Here’s a side-by-side sample OSX first then, Vista.

Go to The Onion and read the article, you’ll enjoy it even if you’re like most people and don’t care anything about operating systems.

Actually it’s because, at my advanced age, I finally got to vote for someone because I wanted them to president, not because they were “at least better than their opponent.”

Congratulations to President Obama.  Congratulations to the people of the U.S. for showing they can rise above prejudice.  Congrats to us all in the world.  This changes everything.

Now back to tech.

Celebrating a success is always fun. If you try and write everyday on one of the technology-blogs things, sometimes you walk away feeling really good. Feeling like you hit a homerun.  You look at that entry the next day with a feeling of pride and your chest puffs.

Write often enough and you’ll do the other kind, too.  Those are the posts that you hope to goodness no one comments on.  When you happen to flash through it on your site you feel embarrassment and pain.  How did I ever write that?  Why did I bother?  Why did I ever think anyone would care?  Could I be more pompous?  How did I get sucked in?

Today let’s highlight two of our worst posts from Enquiring Mimes for October and one (dis)honorable mention.  Monday we’ll celebrate victories.

It used to be called dialing while drinking I hate this post.  It was about a new Gmail feature that if you tried to send email during “dangerous times” when you might be drinking, Gmail would challenge you with math problems.  Google Goggles is silly and the post was worse all the way down to the coy explanation of “beer goggles”.

Obama on Expectations This mini-post praising a quote Barack Obama’s misses the mark.  Note to self:  If you like a politician, just say you like ‘em.  Don’t stretch.  Don’t write if you don’t have something to say.

More help for our aging brains — Tip of My Tongue – (dis)honorable mention – The post isn’t so bad, but the website is silly for it’s intended use.  Helps you find a word you know you know but can’t remember from a partial word.  Who would go to this trouble?  Just use a different word.  The site isn’t bad for solving word games, though.

Now you may consider this post to be the beginning of the drivel for November, if so sorry.  If you found another Enquiring Mime post even more annoying.  Use the comments to explain.