NoSQL technologies are giving the database landscape a new look as they steadily push a shift from the relational database model. Young entrants to the alternative technology, such as MongoDB, have been gaining traction despite an admitted need to mature with more needed features. “For MongoDB as a part of the NoSQL space, it is a matter of maturity,” said Eliot Horowitz, CTO of MongoDB.

Open source software may hold considerable appeal for software developers around the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s without its aggravations. While no one aspect qualifies as the ultimate reason to oppose writing or using open source code, a significant number of programmers report that poor documentation and problems interpreting licenses rank high on their list of grievances.

Google on Wednesday launched a new Google Maps app for Android mobile devices, just one month after announcing its purchase of social mapping location data startup Waze. The new Google Maps app has many features offered by Waze, such as information on current traffic conditions, reports of problems on a route, and alerts if better routes become available.

Imagine going out to do your shopping errands in a world devoid of standards. What would that be like? Without standard sizes, something as routine as buying clothes would be an exercise in frustration. Finding a replacement bulb or buying tires for your car would require unique parts made only by the manufacturer. That’s why the world of Linux has the Linux Standard Base.

“Space: the final frontier.” These may be the opening words of the Star Trek series so loved by geeks far and wide, but lately, they’ve been on the tip of more Linux bloggers’ tongues than ever. Why? Because Linux recently scored a major victory some 230 miles up in the sky. Specifically, Windows got the big heave-ho from the International Space Station.

The Fedora Project is perhaps one of the hallmark Linux distributions. Fedora is sponsored by Red Hat, the commercial developer of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Red Hat’s investment in the Fedora community is collaborative. As such, Fedora Linux releases often provide RHEL developers with a field test environment that incubates innovative open source software technologies.

Well, CES has come and gone for another year, and not a moment too soon! One more new phone announcement, and Linux Girl’s head would have surely exploded. There’s no doubt it was a mad, mad week — so wild, in fact, that a curious event occurring outside CES could have escaped the notice of more than a few observers.

To buy a flashy new ultra-thin framed 3D TV or not: Like many consumers over the holiday buying hustle, I struggled with that question. I finally gave in and decided to buy one. That decision was not an impulse-only submission, however. I was toying for a while with replacing my aging 42-inch plasma HD “dumb” TV set and finally bought a 55-inch 3D smart TV.