"Since the second computer was built, users have compared the performance of different computers. Performance matters. Sometimes, a performance difference is just a question of whether a job will be done sooner or later; in other cases, a performance difference might prevent a job from being done at all. Measuring performance of a particular task is not too daunting, but developing a prediction of how quickly other tasks will run can be nigh impossible. A benchmark is a task designed such that a measure of performance on this particular task will be a good proxy for performance across a wide variety of tasks."

Greg Kroah-Hartman has announced the availability of a Linux Device Driver Kit; a CD image with a copy of the "Linux Device Drivers" book, pre-built copies of all in-kernel docbook documentation, and a copy of the Linux kernel source to build external modules and to take a look at the source. In coordination with the FreedomHEC, the attendees at said conference in Seattle will get a free copy.

At WinHEC, Microsoft CEO said Vista might be pushed back a few weeks, depending on the feedback received on Vista Beta 2. "We think we are on track for shipping early in ," the Microsoft CEO said. "We've talked about the month, but we get a chance to critically assess all of the feedback we'll get from this beta release then confirm or move a few weeks. We put the beta out today... So we should start getting feedback right away." Other than that, Bill Gates said Microsoft will focus its products on 64bit, starting later this year.

"Earlier this month, Intel held a 'reviewer's workshop' event where they invited a number of representatives from hardware review sites to spend a few days benchmarking and learning about their new Core 2 microarchitecture. The star of the show was Woodcrest, which is the top end of the Core 2 lineup and will be replacing the last Netburst-based Xeon processor in June. The participating reviewers got to benchmark both Dempsey and Woodcrest, and the results of those benchmark runs are now available. In all, Woodcrest looks like a stellar performer that massively improves on its predecessors in both raw horsepower and power efficiency."

"eWEEK Labs' evaluation of Microsoft's Office 2007 Beta 2 unearthed compelling features and tools, and reminded us why enterprises continue to rely on the productivity suite. During tests of the second beta of Office 2007, we were impressed with the suite's collaboration features. In fact, we believe they will be the impetus for dedicated Windows shops to upgrade when Office 2007 ships later in 2006. The suitewide attention to collaboration will enable users and enterprises as a whole to work with information in new and more creative ways." My take: I've been testing Office 2007 for a while now, and all I can say is this: the new interface is excellent. Try it before judging it, please.

Belenix 0.4.3a has been released. "Another release of the LiveCD this month. The significant feature of this release is the inclusion of JDK 1.5 under the new Distributors License for Java as announced by Sun on May 16th in JavaOne. See the JDK Distros Project for more details."

Christopher Blizzard, one of OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) developers posted on his blog the picture of the working OLPC prototype running a stripped Fedora Core 5 and the test board provided by Quanta Computers. More pictures available. This demonstration shows Fedora Core 5 running on a 500mhz processor, 128 MB of RAM, and a half a GB of flash storage.

Microsoft is sponsoring a contest that challenges developers to use Windows CE Shared Source in a real-world project, and offers Xbox 360 game console prizes. The grand prize includes the Xbox 360 console, a 34-inch HDTV, games, and accessories.

"Five months after release of X11R7.0, the modularized and autotooled release of the MIT Licensed X Window System source code, the X.Org Foundation has issued its first modular roll-up release. X11R7.1 supports Linux, Solaris, and BSD systems. It includes important new server and driver features for embedded systems, 64 bit platforms, enhanced operating system support, and accelerated indirect GLX support. It most importantly demonstrates to developers and industry immediate benefits of modularization."

"The KOffice team today released the first bug-fix release in their 1.5 series. Critical bugs in KSpread, KWord and Krita were fixed, thanks to the helpful input of our users. We also have updated languages packs. You can read more about it in the press release and the full announcement. A full changelog is also available."

"Windows Vista Build 5384 has been released to Tech Beta testers at Microsoft Connect. Build 5384 is the real deal: Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 Milestone Build! Contrary to public opinion and 'leaked' information, Windows Vista Beta 2 is not a mere recompile of Vista 5381.1 and it isn't 5381.4; Vista 5384 is Beta 2 and it's official! Microsoft has already launched the public download site for Vista Beta 2, but no more than that, only the site is live, but the build is not ready for download to non-techbeta testers yet." eWeek reviews the Beta ("Windows Vista Beta 2 shows steady progress, but the new 3D Aero Glass user interface in particular still flakes out"), and also has a slideshow.

During the Bill Gates keynote at WinHEC 2006 Microsoft demonstrated the new Windows Hypervisor (codename Viridian). In the demo two unique features for a virtualization platform were demoed: 4 virtual CPUs per virtual machine and live modification of virtual hardware while the virtual machine is powered on (i.e. adding a NIC or more virtual memory while the guest OS was still running).