"A computer process is a running instance of a program, including all variables and other states, or simply it’s defined as a program in execution. Now we will see how this task or process is implemented in Linux kernel. The description of the characteristics of a process is given in the structure task_struct."

As expected processor licensor ARM Holdings and Handshake Solutions NV, a Royal Philips Electronics subsidiary, have developed an asynchronous processor based on the ARM9 core. The ARM996HS is thought to be the first commercial clockless processor and is being described as particular suited to use as an automotive microcontroller. Because clockless processors consume zero dynamic power when there is no activity, they can significantly extend battery life compared with clocked equivalents.

"It's the year 2006, and installing applications in GNU/Linux can still be a nightmare (especially if they are not available in your distribution's repository). Simon Peter is the developer of Klik, a piece of software that tries to resolve this problem. Simon kindly accepted to answer a few questions for FSM."

"Chances are that you think Linspire lets you run Windows applications, that you have to run it as root, and that it's really not quite a proper Linux. Wrong, wrong, and wrong. At LinuxWorld in Boston this week, CEO Kevin Carmony explained what Linspire Linux is, and isn't, all about."

"This article is about the 'Hits Per Day' score on Distrowatch, what it can be used for and how you can read a lot of different information out of it. On Distrowatch you can follow the 'popularity' of almost any distro of your choice. I put quotes around the popularity because you can question what the score actually means."

"If it's the number of cores that gets computers excited these days, then IBM may have its hands on the ultimate processor. Together with Rapport, a Silicon Valley startup, the company previewed the Kilocore1025, a processor with a total of 1025 cores that promises not only to boost processing speed but also to operate at low power levels."

For the first time this year, NVIDIA has officially published new Linux and Solaris display drivers for their GeForce and Quadro products. These drivers, versioned 1.0-8756, bring a couple new features such as GeForce 7600/7900 support as well as a new nvidia-auto-select program. This does mark their first alternative OS official release in nearly four months. No FreeBSD equivalent of these 1.0-8756 drivers are currently available. Phoronix takes a look at these new drivers.

Microsoft's Windows Vista will run on just about any PC available today, but it will only show its true colors on about half of them, according to a new report from Gartner. While Microsoft is currently suggesting a minimum of 512MB, the new OS will require at least 1GB of dual-channel memory to provide its full capabilities, Gartner said in the report. However, all recent discrete solutions from major graphics makers such as ATI and Nvidia, for both desktops and notebooks, are expected to be able to support Aero, Gartner said in the report. My take: After toying with Vista myself, it becomes quite clear what you need to run Aero glass: 512 MB of fast RAM, and a DirectX9 compatible videocard with 128MB RAM. I also found that even non-DirectX9 videocards can run Aero Glass comfortably.

Rumors were swirling around the halls of LinuxWorld that the often troubled DCC Alliance was going to fold its tents and disappear. What actually happened was that several of the members met quietly and agreed to a tenuous plan to move forward under a new president pro tem, Kevin Carmony, Linspire's CEO.

A RealNetworks executive has claimed that Linux risks being excluded from the consumer market if it does not add support for copy-restriction technologies. But the Free Software Foundation Europe countered this claim on Thursday, saying that consumers have made it clear that they do not want DRM restricting their use of digital media.

"We present several ways of installing BSD on the IBM Netvista S40, a so-called legacy free computer. Difficulties arise because the machine has no standard AT keyboard controller, and the subroutines controlling gate A20 and the keyboard create inappropriate results. We discuss replacement bootstrap code, which more carefully deals with the A20 issue. Some simple modifications to the FreeBSD kernel code are considered too. A manual method for preparing a bootable installation CD, suitable for both Netvista and all standard configurations, is examined. Installations of DragonFly, NetBSD, OpenBSD and OS/2 are also discussed."

Heise, an influential German tech website, stirred the BeOS community up today by reporting that YellowTAB filed for bankruptcy -- however, this bankruptcy was not filed from within YellowTAB, but by a 3rd party, possibly to damage YellowTAB. This news quickly spread accross BeOS related websites, but none of them could confirm the story. I emailed Bernd Korz, YellowTAB's CEO, and he confirmed that indeed someone from outside the company filed for bankruptcy, but that YellowTAB is in fact not bankrupt. Bernd could not disclose full details yet, as the company was still discussing this with its lawyers. Bernd did confirm that within a few days, the company will release an official statement concerning the issue.

"All too often the desktop operating system market is looked upon as some sort of epic struggle between Microsoft and Linux. This 'versus' mentality is fun to perpetuate, it is not helping anyone in the long run. Since it is clear that each party is going to be around for a long time, what is needed a bit of mannerly coexistence. While the name calling may persist, it is more important that efforts are made to enable the two operating systems to work together more efficiently than they do now."

"Here are 10 steps to set up a CD-less install server if you are using the Solaris 10 03/05 OS for x86 platforms or a version of Solaris for x86 platforms with GRUB. Booting off the Pre-boot Execution Environment is a lot easier and painless now, as this example shows. This process does not include profiles so you will have to sit through the install process and answer questions. It is just a quick and easy way to get the Solaris OS for x86 platforms installed on a remote machine without burning CDs."