Linux as the Future Kernel of Mac OS

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.

Microsoft’s Origami Project

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'.

Microsoft vs. EU Continues

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."

Backups with Bacula

"For backups, especially network backups, I have been using, developing, and advocating Bacula, the Network Backup Tool for Unix and Windows. Bacula backs up to tape, disk, DVD, CD, etc. The server runs on Unix operating systems, yes, including Mac OS/X. The client runs on Unix, and on Windows, and has support for VSS which allows you to backup files that are in use (if the application using the file has VSS support)."

What the Other Steve Is Saying About Apple

Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs, made some surprising remarks in an interview. Wozniak says that Apple should spin-off its iPod business to a separate division because it distracts Apple from its core business-- computers. While acknowledging that the switch to Intel was a necessary evil, Wozniak says: "It's like consorting with the enemy. We've had this long history of saying the enemy is the big black-hatted guys, and they kind of represent evil. We are different, and by being different we're better. All of a sudden we're the same in this hardware regard, so it's a little hard to swallow your words from the past." Update: Wozniak now denies having made the claims. Just like politics, boys and girls!

SWT, Swing, AWT: Which Is Right for You?

"Why is there more than one Java GUI tool kit? The best answer is that one size does not fit all, nor is there a one-size-fits-all GUI tool kit to be invented soon. Each tool kit offers advantages and disadvantages that make selecting one more appropriate, given your needs and intended audience. Read descriptions of each tool kit's basic features, and the pros and cons of using each."

OpenSUSE Linux 10.1 Beta 5 Released

Faster than you can count to five, the OpenSUSE team has released beta 1, 2, 3, 4, and now 5. The OpenSUSE team still refuses to put the release notes somewhere for all to see prior to downloading, so I have little to tell you about this new release, apart from the usual bug-fix and overall smoothening between beta releases, which they probably have done. Read it all in the release announcement.

Perl Gets Ported to z/OS

"Perl for zOS is a statically-linked, pre-compiled port of the Perl (Version 5.8.7) scripting language to the z/OS UNIX platform with all known defects resolved. This new porti of Perl 5.8.7 provides a pre-built version of Perl with a dedicated support team to address new problems that may arise."

Review: SWsoft Virtuozzo for Windows

"SWsoft Virtuozzo for Windows is deadly simple to install and manage, with extended virtual servers' centralized management features, and enhanced provisioning capabilities. Anyway you should consider that OS partitioning is different from virtualization. Virtuozzo is less flexible than any VMware or Microsoft virtualization software and you won't be able to consolidate different platforms, or migrate some of them when the new Microsoft codename Longhorn Server will come."

Updates on TriangleOS

The second (beta) version of the TriangleOS' web service, now called Qikx, is online now. Next to providing an online organise/search engine to store, order and share all kinds of content, the goal of the system is to eventually integrate web-storage, publishing and mail interfaces into the OS. Progress has also been made on the OS part, the VFDBS (filesystem), which can now query and read from online VFDBS-disks (such as Qikx). More information and screenshots at the TriangleOS website.

The Complete FreeBSD, Released Under a CC License

Ten years ago, on 24 February 1996, Greg Lehey submitted for publication the final version of the first ever book on the FreeBSD operating system, "Installing and Using FreeBSD". It was later renamed to "The Complete FreeBSD", as is now known and appreciated by the users of this OS. Grog have always retained full rights to the book, and for today he has decided to release it for download under a Creative Commons license. Besides, he doesn't have the time to keep updating it, so he is asking for help. He can't guarantee money, "just" recognition in the preface.

3D Browser Built Upon Firefox 1.5

"uBrowser is a simple web browser that illustrates one way of embedding the Mozilla Gecko rendering engine into a standalone application using LibXUL. In this case, the contents of the page is grabbed as it's being rendered and displayed as a texture on some geometry using OpenGL. You are able to interact with the page (mostly) normally and visit (almost) any site that works correctly with Firefox 1.5."

JBoss Is not Linux

"Most Linux people don't know much about JBoss, the open source firm reported in talks with Oracle about a $400 million purchase. That tops any free software deals I can recall. Novell paid $210 million for SUSE in cash. So, what about this JBoss company? They did it without any initial outside funding, generated revenue and self-funded and stayed true to open source 100% while selling services."