OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Triple Threat to Mac OS X Largely Academic

Thom Holwerda 2006-02-27 macOS 17 Comments

At first blush, the past two weeks have not been good for the image of Apple's Mac OS X: Public descriptions of two worms and a trivial exploit for a serious software issue in the operating system appeared on the internet. However, the three programs are hardly a threat to systems running Mac OS X, according to security professionals. CNet covers the same topic.

MS, Intel Gear up to Unveil Ultra-Mobile Tablet PC

Thom Holwerda 2006-02-27 Wireless 11 Comments

Microsoft's so-called Origami Project, due to be launched on Thursday, appears to be its early version of the ultra-mobile PC concept Intel has been touting of late, if an allegedly leaked Flash version of a promo video of the product is anything to go by. Quite apart from being a potential iPod competitor, the device could well prompt some interesting techology ownership questions.

Microsoft Monad Shell Beta 3.1 Released

Thom Holwerda 2006-02-27 Microsoft 22 Comments

Microsoft has released beta 3 of their Monad shell. "Windows 'Monad' Shell is a new interactive command-line and task-based scripting technology in Windows that enables administrators to more efficiently and securely automate and control system management tasks on both desktops and servers. 'Monad' Shell provides powerful task-based control (via built-in command line tools and utilities) and a powerful scripting language that enables comprehensive scripted control of the Windows operating system and applications."

IBM POWER6 Sub Torpedoes Itanium Montvale Cruiser

Thom Holwerda 2006-02-27 IBM 1 Comment

"Since its ISSCC talk early this month, IBM POWER6 did capture the imagination of quite a few processor buffs around there - not me, yet, as I'm used to see great CPUs failing since the Moto 68K and Alpha days - and also raise debates on several tech forums. While IBM still keeps most of the official POWER6 data closely guarded - I'd expect more during Hot Chips or Fall Processor Forum some six months from now - there is enough right now to assemble a rough picture of what may be in for the users of the new chip."

Submitted by Mystic TaCo 2006-02-27 Microsoft 17 Comments

"For the past few months, little noticed by the outside world, a team on Microsoft's campus has been running tests with one of the swankiest machines ever to use the company's software. Rather than sitting on a desk, this piece of hardware gets parked in a garage. It's a 2006 Alfa 159, and it represents a new step in Microsoft's effort to spread its technology beyond personal computers." My take: Any petrol-head knows that this is like a match made in heaven-- taking Alfa Romeo's notorious track record concerning reliability into account. Note that this is a joke, so easy on the flames, please. I happen to be a great fan of Alfa Romeo (which self-respecting petrol-head isn't).

Is AMD Doomed?

Submitted by Nehru 2006-02-27 AMD 50 Comments

"The thing I find most interesting in battle of silicon supremacy is just how unbelievably thick (or perhaps slow) AMD has been lately. For the entire life cycle of the Pentium 4 family, AMD was far ahead. The company made the best processors in terms of performance with cost efficiency in mind. However, it had a nice 1-1.5 years of time span where it could've evolved or innovated enough, but it didn't. Granted that AMD is still leading the desktop and server markets in terms of performance, it's not the point. The point is the lack of evolution and innovation from AMD."

SSI UNIX – Amadeus OS

Submitted by David Moore 2006-02-27 Unix 10 Comments

"The Amadeus project was initiated by USL as a successor or alternative to UNIX. As well as SCO other industrial contributors include USL, Novell, Chorus Systemes, Unisys1, Fujitsu and Sequoia. Amadeus has existed as a labs project for many years with Unisys being the first to put it into production usage in their OPUS high end database server." Read more .

Testing and Measuring the TAMS 3011

Submitted by anonymous 2006-02-27 OS News No Comments

"The eCos embedded operating system offers an alternative to UNIX-style operating systems for development work. This article examines how its architecture influences the development process, building a sample application and exploring the differences in architecture between eCos and UNIX."

Submitted by sereda 2006-02-27 Bugs & Viruses 7 Comments

"Virtual Bugzilla server is a virtual machine with pre-installed Bugzilla. Instead of spending hours (sometimes days) installing Bugzilla, why not just download a ready-to-use server? Virtual Bugzilla server is a VMWare virtual machine. You will need a free VMWare Player to run the server."

Submitted by fsmdave 2006-02-27 Wayland 37 Comments

3D graphics on X11: XGL vs AIGLX. This article delves into the inner workings of XGL and AIGLX. It shows that there are many similarities between these two competing/co-operating "rivals" and plenty of room for growth.

Microsoft Boxes up Vista

Eugenia Loli 2006-02-27 Windows 55 Comments

Although it is still working to finish the code for Windows Vista, Microsoft has reached a decision on which versions of the operating system to offer. Microsoft has settled on six versions, including an Ultimate edition that will combine the best of the company's corporate and consumer features. The company is aiming to have all of the versions ready for launch in the second half of next year.

Gentoo 2006.0 Released

Submitted by mudrii 2006-02-27 Gentoo 37 Comments

The Gentoo Release Engineering team announced the release of Gentoo Linux 2006.0. Gentoo Linux 2006.0, the first release in the 2006 series, represents improvements across many architecture. Major highlights in the release include KDE 3.4.3, GNOME 2.12.2, XFCE 4.2.2, GCC 3.4.4 and a 2.6.15 kernel. This is also the first release with the Gentoo Linux Installer officially debuting on the x86 LiveCD, which will fully replace the Universal and PackageCD set.

How to Access Mac OS X Server Directory Services

Eugenia Loli 2006-02-27 macOS 1 Comment

Data is valuable only if it can be stored and accessed. With multiple vendors of directory services solutions competing for your business, you may worry that their disparate systems will not be able to interoperate and that it will be difficult for clients to support multiple vendors. This chapter will help you to store and access data on Mac OS X server.

What Jaguars and Astons Have to Do with Skinning

Thom Holwerda 2006-02-26 Graphics 71 Comments

I used to really like skinning my desktops to make them look like another operating system. I stopped doing that years ago; and not necessarily because I wanted to do something more useful with my time. I stopped doing it because I somehow saw how utterly pointless it was. Why? I'll explain-- using Aston Martins and Jaguars. Yes, it's time for another car analogy, boys and girls. Note: This is this week's Sunday Eve Column.

Review: Microsoft Office 2007 Beta 1

2006-02-26 Office 46 Comments

ActiveWin reviews Office 2007 beta 1, and concludes: "It's an innovative interface yes, but will the benefits outweigh the changes? That's for users to decide. Yes this early code does have glitches and performance issues left to be ironed out; right now the focus is on reliability and stability. The BETA 2 release should provide us with an early glimpse of what's in store in the final product. My personal say is getting used to interface should not be a problem for many since the familiar tools are organized in ways that makes it convenient for the user, and new tools make the interface more intelligent and more aware of what the user is doing, presenting the right tools for the task at hand."

Linux Distros for Older Hardware

Thom Holwerda 2006-02-26 Linux 23 Comments

"Microsoft lately has been challenging Linux's suitability for older hardware, so it seems like a good time to look at Linux distributions that can run on older machines. I took six distributions for a test run on an old machine, and also tried software that turns old hardware into a thin client. The bottom line: Linux is still quite suitable for older hardware. It might not turn your aging PC into a powerhouse, but it will extend its lifespan considerably."

Running Apache2 with PHP5, PHP4

Submitted by Falko Timme 2006-02-26 Internet 3 Comments

"This tutorial shows how to install and configure Apache2 with PHP5 and PHP4 enabled at the same time. Because it is not possible to run both PHP5 and PHP4 as Apache modules, we must run one of them as CGI, the other one as Apache module. In this document I will use PHP5 as Apache module and PHP4 as CGI, and I will describe the setup for the Linux distributions Debian Sarge and Ubuntu 5.10."

Submitted by subterrific 2006-02-26 macOS 126 Comments

Apple had their pick of kernels when transitioning from OS 9 to OS X, and they chose to create their own kernel based on Mach 3.0. Was that really the best decision or did Apple make a huge mistake? At the time Linux was gaining support and developing rapidly, while development on Mach had pretty much ended two years earlier. This article makes a case for Apple using the Linux kernel in a future version of the Mac OS.

Submitted by gubol123 2006-02-26 Microsoft 24 Comments

With speculation flying about what 'fun new products' Apple plans to announce next week, from video iPods to DVR-enabled Mac minis, Microsoft has its own surprise up its sleeve. The web is abuzz with guesses as to what the Redmond company plans to unveil at origamiproject.com on March 2nd. The site, registered by Microsoft and 'discovered' early this week, provides few hints. A Flash animation pops up three questions: 'do you know what I can do? Or where I can go? Or how I can change your life?' It ends with the text, 'Learn more on 3.2.06'.

Submitted by Varg Vikernes 2006-02-26 Legal 23 Comments

In an unexpected move, Microsoft posted its formal response to the European Commission and correspondence used in the case in the EU's anti-trust case against the company. According to Microsoft, the EC had "not even bothered to read the most recent versions" of and "waited many months before informing Microsoft that it believed changes were necessary". And: "despite Microsoft's substantial and serious efforts to reach the ever-receding horizon of the commission's demands... The commission was not to be deterred from its pre-holiday rush to impose a punitive daily fine on Microsoft."