I've updated my Open Source License Popularity page with the latest data from Black Duck Software. The GPL/LGPL still rules the roost but with less of an advantage than before. This could be due to overall growth in the MIT/BSD space or proliferation of forks of such projects on sites like github (where a project like the MIT-licensed bootstrap has over 24,000 forks due to the ease of forking even if nothing is changed).
I've updated my .NET Availability & Viability With Portable Apps article with last month's stats from Net Applications. It discusses and anlyzes whether using .NET-based applications is a viable solution in a portable scenario (running apps from a USB drive, cloud drive, etc). While the news is good for overall compatibility and for spread of the later versions of the framework, it's fit as a solution in the overall portable environment continues to decline. This is primarily due to Microsoft's decision to disable .NET 2.0 through 3.5 apps on Windows 8, 8.1, and 8.1 update 1. For example, using a .NET 2.0 portable app like on Windows 8 requires an admin to manually enable .NET 2.0 support; something that won't happen on a PC that's not your own. So, even if you base your app on the now-outdated .NET 2.0 framework, it will run on Windows Vista and Windows 7 out of the box, but it will fail on Windows 8 and later unless an admin enables it. And, as Windows 8 and later continue to increase in market share (13.49% and growing), this will be an even larger issue. In short, .NET is a bad solution for portable software unless all the PCs you will be coming in contact with are either under your control (where you can install or enable .NET yourself via admin rights) or known quantities (you know ahead of time what .NET frameworks are installed or enabled on every PC).
I recently got a Sony Xperia Z1s from T-Mobile here in the states. Despite the slightly dull screen, it was my favorite of the available phones. Unfortunately, the phone I got as well as the one my girlfriend got have an intermittent touch screen issue. In attempting to research and troubleshoot it, I was able to confirm that it is an ongoing issue, that Sony knows about it, and that a fix is due in an upcoming firmware update. Unfortunately, Sony does not yet have a release date for the update.
As a few people have asked about helping support my development efforts and recent medical bills directly, I've added a donations page with options including PayPal, credit cards, bitcoin, litecoin, dogecoin, Gittip and Flattr. Thank you for your support.
I've set the live version of my popular Obfuscate Mailto tool live again after transitioning to my new host. You can now obfuscate mailto addresses right in your browser in addition to downloading the open source code in PHP or ASP.
I've updated my Open Source License Popularity analysis page with the current data from Black Duck Software. GPL/LGPL is still the most popular license by a wide margin and between 72% and 91% of all open source software is GPL compatible.
In honor of International CAPS Lock Day, I've updated the portable version of the Billy Mays Caps Lock tool to the latest PortableApps.com Format package. This will make it easier for folks to install on the current version of the PortableApps.com Platform and on modern Windows OSes. Enjoy!
Get the Billy Mays Caps Lock utility now.
