"VectorLinux SOHO 5.1.1 Deluxe is a superb Linux distribution in my book. While I don't think it's geared toward the masses in a way that SUSE Linux, Mandriva, or Linspire might be, I do feel it has something to offer Linux users everywhere. It's easy enough to install for someone who at least has a basic understanding of Linux, has a robust compliment of applications, performs very well, and is as stable as it's parent distribution, Slackware, from what I've seen during the review."

"RAVEN ('Rule-based Accessibility Validation Environment') is a suite of Eclipse plug-ins used to inspect and validate the accessibility of Java-based, rich-client GUIs (Swing or SWT) and Eclipse plug-ins. RAVEN can be used to validate pre-existing Java GUI-based applications while the GUI is running."

Just as the bragging rights for dual-core chip supremacy are dying down, Intel gave the first glimpse of a quad-core chip coming next year. Clovertown, a four-core processor, will start shipping to computer manufacturers late this year and hit the market in early 2007. Clovertown will be made for dual-processor servers, which means that these servers will essentially be eight-processor servers. The company will also come out with a previously announced version called Tigerton around the same time for servers with four or more processors.

"Although I hate to do it, it looks like we're going to have to slip Fedora Core 5 test3 by a week. There is an ABI change in the gcc/glibc stack that requires a rebuild of the entire distribution. Given that, there is no way that we'll be able to make a freeze date of Monday. So, test3 will now freeze on Monday, 13 February with a release date of Monday, 20 February."

"2006 Is going to be a banner year for Web services in general, and for Java Web services in particular. New third-generation frameworks are being unveiled, which offer much better support for doc/lit SOAP as well as potential performance improvements. This article looks at both the state of Web services today and the major changes coming in 2006, and get an overview of how the new frameworks and technologies relate and interact."

A few weeks ago, I did something crazy and shelled out 50 Euros for a G3 iMac. It was a 333Mhz G3 iMac with 96MB of RAM. It came with a copy of MacOS 9-- and that was what I bought it for. I wanted to experience first hand what OS9 was like. I did not expect I'd use the machine much. However, I was in for a rather pleasant surprise. Note: Read more on the meta blog about the new Sunday eve column!

You probably know that Apple Remote Desktop lets you observe and control Macs across your network, but did you know that it can also count, inventory, and keep track of them for you? In this first of three articles covering the often untapped possibilities of Remote Desktop, Ryan Faas shows you the ways you can use it to significantly improve inventory processes, monitor network performance, remain alert to changes in workstations that might be signs of theft, and prepare customized reports easily on the state of the Macs in your network in preparation for an upgrade.

The Windows registry works like an attic; stuff just keeps getting tossed in there, eventually creating a big, jumbled mess. Rick Cook explains why you need to pay attention to the registry and reviews types of registry tools for doing some spot cleaning.

In a recent Channel 9 video, Scoble interviews Jenny Lam, creative lead on the Windows User Experience team. Lamb is responsible for everything from the new 'gem' start button to the latest bliss wallpapers. Some interesting bits: the GUI is finalized (are they sure this time?), Iconfactory is again designing the icons, and Photoshop and Illustrator are the tools of choice.

"Surya project aims to improve IPv4 forwarding path scalability. Improving forwarding scalability enables a Solaris machine to forward a higher number of packets per second to a greater number of destinations described in the forwarding table. The project delivers a faster forwarding table lookup scheme and a streamlined IPv4 forwarding path. These improvements, when combined with soft-ring (PSARC 2005/654) and Crossbow's polling implementation, will vastly enhance Solaris forwarding throughput performance ."

On Wednesday February 8th, the OpenSolaris Community Advisory Board voted to approve The OpenSolaris Charter. Sun Microsystems also approved the Charter, and the document was signed by Glenn Weinberg, vice president of Sun's Operating Platforms Group.

Mandriva's CEO got interviewed for the Mandriva club. "Right now, the new 'in thing' is Ubuntu. Of course, the situation is a bit different in this case: one person, with a quasi infinite check book is behind the operation. So they can give the system away and spend whatever is needed. Is this the right way for the open source eco-system? I find it hard to believe. One possible worse case scenario is that Ubuntu's plan is to use money to put all other community-based distros out of business and then start monetizing the installed base. If this were the case, they are doing the easy part: increasing their market share by giving away the product. We have found that the second part is a tad more difficult."

Roughly half of today's PCs won't be able to take advantage of the 'Aero Glass' compositor found within Microsoft's upcoming Vista software, due at the end of this year. The estimate was one of the conclusions cited in a report released late Thursday by Jon Peddie Research. The fault, Peddie reported, was that the low-cost integrated graphics controllers customers have chosen process the 2D windows of Windows XP and Windows 2000 just fine, but lack the bells and whistles necessary to process the Windows Desktop Compositing Engine used in Vista. About 63 percent of the 203 million PCs sold used an integrated graphics controller, JPR reported.

Network install over LAN is an essential option for system administrators. Utilizing tools such as Kickstart or AutoYaST, they can create a single file containing the answers to all the questions that would normally be asked during a typical Linux installation, and use it to install the operating system and software on multiple machines. Based on this technology, LinuxCOE makes it possible to create an ISO image which can start an automated installation over the network. Read along for a review.