OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Good Person, Bad Person

Thom Holwerda 2006-05-15 Open Source 89 Comments

"I also don't have a lot of interest in being a good person or bad person, from what I can tell either way you are screwed." This is what Georgia Lass, lead character of my favourite television production "Dead Like Me", says, when she introduces herself in the pilot episode. I cannot speak for the developers behind the Kororaa Xgl live CD, but I'd think Georgia nailed the situation they must be in pretty well. Note: this is the Mon... Err, Sunday Eve Column. My apologies for the delay, but I was... Incapacitated yesterday eve.

Out the Window

Submitted by J.R. Smith 2006-05-15 Linux 104 Comments

"Can the ordinary computer user ditch Windows for Linux? The question came up when I decided that my six-year-old version of Microsoft's Windows operating system had to be replaced. My Sony Vaio computer was still too young for the trash heap. And I was hesitant to spend $200 on the Windows XP operating system, especially with Microsoft planning to launch XP's replacement, Vista, in January. So, I decided to give the operating systems that run on Linux technology a try."

Dual Booting AIX, Linux

Submitted by anonymous 2006-05-15 IBM 8 Comments

"This mini how-to shows you how to dual boot between AIX and Linux operating systems in a clustering environment, where available hardware resources are limited. The information presented in this document is based on actual experience. It should be used only by those who have some knowledge of system administration and skills in working with the IBM System p5 architecture."

Submitted by Robert Escue 2006-05-15 Privacy, Security 22 Comments

Trusted operating systems have been used for some time to lock down the most sensitive of information in the most sensitive of organizations. But with security concerns rising and changing by the hour, it's now a matter of trust for any organization looking to tighten its computing ship. Several vendors, including Red Hat, Sun Microsystems and Novell, are responding by adding and/or improving trusted elements in their operating system offerings.

Tanenbaum-Torvalds Debate: Part II

Submitted by Andy Tanenbaum 2006-05-15 OS News 124 Comments

And no, the microkernel debate is not over yet. In a reply to various comments made over the past few weeks, Andy Tanenbaum has written an article to address these. He first clearly states he respects and likes Torvalds, and that "we may disagree on some technical issues, but that doesn't make us enemies. Please don't confuse disagreements about ideas with personal feuds." The article states: "Over the years there have been endless postings on forums such as Slashdot about how microkernels are slow, how microkernels are hard to program, how they aren't in use commercially, and a lot of other nonsense. Virtually all of these postings have come from people who don't have a clue what a microkernel is or what one can do. I think it would raise the level of discussion if people making such postings would first try a microkernel-based operating system . Has a lot more credibility."

Bounty for Vista Coders Who Squish Bugs at Home

Submitted by Mica Schunarez 2006-05-15 Windows 55 Comments

A top Microsoft engineer has thrown out a weekend challenge to the Windows Vista team: find and fix a bug in the current code and earn US$100. The employee who installs the latest Vista build at home and squashes the most bugs before Monday will get an extra US$500. Brian Valentine issued the challenge Friday in an e-mail to members of the team working on Vista, the next update of the company's Windows operating system.

Pane Relief: Virtual Operating Systems

Eugenia Loli 2006-05-14 OS News 14 Comments

Hypervisor virtualization has broken out of the software development community and is rapidly becoming part of the mainstream for Windows installations. Rick Cook talks about who's hot and who's not quite there yet.

The C++ Interpreter Pattern for Grammar Management

Eugenia Loli 2006-05-14 General Development 9 Comments

The world is rapidly moving away from technology-based solutions toward end-user facilitation. Simple grammars provide a surprising solution to the problem of "driving" IT infrastructure to achieve business ends. In this article, Stephen Morris shows you how to use the interpreter design pattern to create a simple C++ grammar, which can be extended to produce surprisingly powerful capabilities.

Unix to Linux Porting

Eugenia Loli 2006-05-14 Unix No Comments

This chapter supplements currently available project management materials and books about application porting projects. Topics such as how to use formalized requirements processes, how to better communicate between software developers, and how to practice extreme project management are topics that modern-day project managers are already well informed of. However, because software development is not exactly the same as porting and migrating software, a gap exists in current publications—a gap that this chapter addresses.

Understanding MDI Applications in .NET

Eugenia Loli 2006-05-14 .NET 14 Comments

The multiple document interface (MDI) is handy when your program needs to open multiple documents of the same kind. Peter Aitken shows how to take advantage of the MDI support built right into the .NET Framework.

Drawing Primitives in OpenGL

Eugenia Loli 2006-05-14 3D 2 Comments

Computer-generated animation in film and television, as well as state-of-the-art video games, features realistic water, fire, and other natural effects. Many people new to computer graphics are astounded to learn that these realistic and complex models are simple triangles and pixels as far as computer graphics hardware is concerned. In this chapter, OpenGL Distilled covers the OpenGL primitive types and how to control their appearance with several basic rendering features.

Kororaa Accused of Violating GPL

Submitted by Matthew Oliver 2006-05-14 Open Source 145 Comments

"We have received an email claiming that the Kororaa Xgl Live CD is in violation of the GPL. I have been researching this as much as I can, asking many prominent people in the Linux world for their opinion. So far, no-one has agreed with the email, however a few have said to seek legal advice, which I cannot afford to do (but can't afford not to do, if I want to continue the Live CD). As such, the Live CD has been put on hold, until I can sort this out. If I cannot sort this out I will be forced to cease work on the Xgl Live CD."

The Evolving ODF Environment: Spotlight on OpenOffice

Submitted by Andy Updegrove 2006-05-14 Office 22 Comments

After interviewing members of Koffice's team, Updegrove now interviews OpenOffice.org's team. "Today, it's the turn of OpenOffice - the other well-known open source implementation of ODF, and the most implemented of all software packages that support ODF. The interview that follows is with Louis Suarez-Pots, OpenOffice's Community Manager, and John McCreesh, Marketing co-lead."

Book Review: User Mode Linux

Submitted by anonymous 2006-05-14 Linux 5 Comments

User Mode Linux is a virtualization technology which can be used to create Linux virtual machines within a Linux host. What is unique about UML is that unlike other virtualization technologies, the UML patch has been already incorporated into the official Linux kernel source. This is a review of a book on User Mode Linux authored by Jeff Dike. The fact that Jeff is the creator of UML lends some credibility to this book which pursues a niche area.

43 Flaws Fixed in Mac OS X, QuickTime

Thom Holwerda 2006-05-13 macOS 146 Comments

Apple's security update train rumbled into the station late May 11 with fixes for a whopping 43 Mac OS X and QuickTime vulnerabilities. The company's Security Update 2006-003 patches 31 flaws in the Mac OS X, most of them serious enough to cause 'arbitrary code execution attacks'. Apple also shipped QuickTime 7.1 as a major security overhaul to correct 12 code execution and denial-of-service flaws.

Vista Search Seems Fair, Regulators Say

Thom Holwerda 2006-05-13 Legal 32 Comments

"The US government has given its thumbs-up to Microsoft's search box plans for Vista, shrugging off concerns raised recently by Google. While criticizing Microsoft for its implementation of its existing antitrust accord, regulators appear satisfied with the software maker's plans for Windows Vista, including a new search box that is part of Internet Explorer 7." On a related note, "the Justice Department is seeking to extend the term of its landmark antitrust settlement with Microsoft by two years, blaming Microsoft's slowness in providing technical documentation to rivals."

Belenix 0.4.3 Released

Thom Holwerda 2006-05-13 Solaris 12 Comments

Belenix, a live CD based on OpenSolaris, has seen the release of version 0.4.3. The Belenix people say this release is major performance upgrade, and includes several fixes such as a new file sorting algorithm to process the DTrace output, some stuff regarding Xserver which leads to boottime being decreased by 20 seconds, various installer bugs, and much more. Rejoice. By the way, here is a chart comparing ZFS with Linux RAID/LVM options.

Submitted by Valour 2006-05-13 FreeBSD 27 Comments

SoftwareInReview, well, reviews FreeBSD 6.1, and concludes: "Overall I found FreeBSD 6.1 to be another step in the right direction, and I think it's encouraging that there weren't any revolutionary base system changes in this release. Sometimes big changes are unavoidable, but historically the FreeBSD team has bungled such leaps as the switch to the ULE scheduler, the introduction of SMP, and the liberation of the base system from the big giant lock. Sometimes you have to stop and make sure that what you presently have is working properly, and it looks like now is that time for FreeBSD. I applaud their efforts with 6.1 and look forward to testing 6.2."

Submitted by Varg Vikernes 2006-05-13 Apple 51 Comments

"Macs 'just work' so often, and so well, that I'd rather just use my computer than spend all my time maintaining it. There are already scores of religious fanboy zealots who are going to tell you how great the Mac is, and why you should switch. I'm not going to. I'll let them convince you. But beware. Just because the Mac is an excellent computer, that doesn't mean it's panacea. Here are some things you're going to want to pay attention to as you switch."

Creating Scripts with Monad

Submitted by John Mueller 2006-05-13 .NET 8 Comments

"Microsoft's Monad provides a new command processor and a new way to create batch tasks. They leave the antiquated batch file in the dust. Monad offers you the full power of the .NET Framework to create your batch files. Its depth of functionality makes it part batch file and part application environment. Theoretically, you can create a full-blown application using just this scripting environment."