Data privacy has been a hot topic lately, but for all the talk, solutions are elusive.  The privacy policy decisions of major technology providers and governments is now the stuff of modern headline news. Internet users wait with bated breath for the hollow promises of information stock-pilers like Google and Facebook and who are literally making up the rules as they go.  Clearly, this is not the first time that new technology has invoked urgent inquiry into ethics, and it will not be the last.  I would like to share with you my take on a data privacy dilemma of the past in relation to current issues, and how decentralization of data persistence into small autonomous nodes is an inspiring motif that may bring hope to e-freedom fighters.

Starting in the late 90's, PHP (the language) has made staggering advancements toward offering a respectable Object-Oriented model.  The general PHP user community has slowly embraced the changes, but have not necessarily been motivated to conduct cross-paradigm migrations of existing code.  So the procedural frameworks have lived on... and gotten bigger.  But just when it seems that PHP users really have the hang of this MVC thing, SOA may breathe new life into a drooping Dupal or a tongue-tied WordPress.

Roku is a tiny box that turns your TV into web stream enabled device.  This means that for under $100 you can connect your existing streaming subscriptions (Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, etc.) to your big screen in your living room.  But aside from being a really nifty little gadget, Roku's strong presence in the media streaming device market tells an interesting story.  The guy that brought us the DVR, Anthony Wood, decided that Linux was the best platform for the Roku back in 2002.  It is definitely not the only thriving tech gadget that is Open Source down to the kernel, and that is certainly helping to keep its consumer's wallets happy.  The big story, however, is the Netflix-Linux compatibility, which is leaving many people scratching their heads as to why other Linux devices are not supported.  Some may find it surprising that Microsoft is to blame!

PHP provides some cool bindings to the libssh2 library with an extension called ssh2.  If you are currently reading this post, you are probably already aware of this and having trouble enabling the extension in CentOS.  Don't worry, you've come to the right place.  The ssh2 extension is not usually included in a standard PHP install, and it is less than intuitive to get it up and running in CentOS.  This guide should help you out a bit.

So you love the warm and fuzziness of Mac OS X, or you can not imagine a world without Microsoft Outlook by your side, or maybe you are an Adobe Creative Suite ninja.  You are supporting proprietary software, but you can still be an Open Source enthusiast.  In fact, most of the proprietary software products are influenced heavily by community driven software projects.  For example, Linux holds Windows and Mac to a standard simply by offering a free alternative OS.  Open Source gives software consumers a voice with which to say "We already know how to do that, what else can you do?".