OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

AMD To Demo Quad-Core Processors on Current Server Platform

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-27 AMD 20 Comments

Advanced Micro Devices is working to ensure that no platform change will be required to move from its next-generation dual-core processors to quad-core processors. When AMD rolls out dual-core processors with built-in virtualization hooks midyear, the company also aims to show that quad-core processors can also run on the same socket on that platform, said Marty Seyer, senior vice president of AMD's Commercial Business and Performance Computing, Microprocessor Solutions Sector unit.

EC Accuses Microsoft of Source Code Song and Dance

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-27 Legal 34 Comments

A representative of the European Commission faced down a Microsoft exec on the BBC Radio 4 programme this morning, accusing it of holding a press shindig in Brussels but not popping round the corner to tell it what was going on. Microsoft may have briefed hacks and others on the elements of source code it is prepared to give its competitors, said an EC representative, but as far as the organisation was concerned it has still not complied with the terms of the agreement.

Next Itanium Consumes Less Power

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-27 Intel 17 Comments

Intel's forthcoming 'Montecito' member of the Itanium processor family will consume 100 watts, a significant drop from the 130 watts of current models and an advantage in an era when power consumption is a top enemy. Intel spokesman Scott McLaughlin confirmed the figure at an Itanium Solutions Alliance meeting here. The change means Itanium will have about 2.5 times the performance per watt of the current Itanium 2 9M model.

Apple’s Switch to Intel Could Allow OS X Exploits

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-27 Apple 25 Comments

"The recent move by Apple Computer to begin shipping Macintosh computers that use microprocessors from Intel could open the door to more attacks against computers running the company's OS X operating system, security experts warn. The change could put more pressure on Apple to build security features into OS X, according to interviews conducted by eWEEK. Apple declined requests for interviews. In an e-mail statement, the company said that the security technologies and processes that have made Mac OS X secure for PowerPC remain the same for Intel-based Macs." Update: Here's a rebuttal.

The GNU-Mach Revival Project

Submitted by Thomas Schlesinger 2006-01-27 OS News 16 Comments

"This page is a place to keep track of all those things that we need to improve in GNU Mach, so that it is a reliable microkernel for The Hurd, both in terms of stability and performance. If you find anything missing here, please feel free to add a entry with a short description."

Is Unix Dead? I Think I Hear It Laughing

Submitted by anonymous 2006-01-27 Unix 25 Comments

"Is Unix dead? My answer is no, it's not dead. As a matter of fact, I think I hear it laughing on its way to the bank. Fewer Unix systems are being shipped, but they're commanding a higher premium than ever. Unix still represents a $2 billion market, the largest operating-system market by far. Despite Windows Server recent gains, it still represents about $1.6 billion , when you're looking at operating system-only revenues. And Linux in terms of revenues represents one-tenth of what the good, gray Unixes combined represent. Granted the future belongs to Linux, but as a $2 billion market, is Unix dead?"

Review: Parsix GNU/Linux 0.75

Submitted by Josh King 2006-01-27 Linux 4 Comments

"Parsix GNU/Linux is a new twist on an old theme. It is one of a number of remixes of the Kanotix/Knoppix line, but with some very interesting differences. First off is the fact that it is centered around, and tailored to users of Persian languages and keyboards, while also being very usable in English. The next big difference is that Parsix uses the GNOME desktop instead of the standard KDE Desktop found in most of these remastered distros. But is there more to Parsix than just a different DE and language? The answer to that question is a definite 'yes'."

Submitted by fsmdave 2006-01-27 General Development 2 Comments

"The GRand Unified Boot loader, or GRUB, has all but replaced the default boot loader on many GNU/Linux distributions. It includes some conveniences over LILO, the LInux LOader. One advantage is not having to remember to run /sbin/lilo every time you make a configuration change. It also can function as a boot loader for removable media such as floppies, CD-R/W and USB flash memory keys. It is short-sided to view GRUB only as a boot loader to be installed on a hard drive of a GNU/Linux system. Combined with a few other utilities, GRUB can be a powerful and good-looking tool for your home, organization or workplace."

The Story Behind Apple’s 1984 Ad

Submitted by Saad 2006-01-27 Apple 11 Comments

"Apple became a household name in the third quarter of SuperBowl XVIII when it aired the enormously popular 1984 ad promoting the upcoming release of the Macintosh. Apple's PR firm, Chiat/Day, had pitched a similar ad in 1982 to promote the Apple II. The basic premise was that the Apple II would only enable people, and not hinder them with inane commands and hard to understand interfaces. No executives were particularly enamored with the spot, and it was filed away for possible later use."

Visopsys 0.61 Released

Eugenia Loli 2006-01-27 OS News 15 Comments

This Visopsys 0.61 maintenance release adds Disk Manager support for resizing NTFS filesystems and arbitrary partitions, purely unprivileged user-space processes, I/O port permissions and protection, IDE block mode I/O, Linux swap detection and clobber, improved atomic kernel locks, many C library additions, a calendar program, and bugfixes.

Vista’s UI Final – No It Ain’t

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-26 Windows 79 Comments

In an interesting turn of events, Microsoft has said that the current Aero interface in the latest Vista build (the December CTP) is not the final UI, saying: "There are going to be GUI changes in Vista by the time the final release comes." However, not too long ago they claimed the current Aero UI was final. Will the real Microsoft developer please stand up?

OpenSUSE Linux 10.1 Beta 2 Released

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-26 SuSE, openSUSE 21 Comments

The second beta of OpenSUSE Linux 10.1 has been released today. Main changes: "Fixes for a number of bugs - but note that most of the bugs reported against beta1 are not fixed yet; further integration and fixing of NetworkManager; SUSE Linux 10.1 Beta1 comes with the Intrusion Prevention framework; AppArmor 2.0 which is started by default in beta2; updated to KDE 3.5.1 release packages." Downloads locations are in the release announcement.

Windows Server 2003 R2 and Beyond

Thom Holwerda 2006-01-26 Windows 7 Comments

"Shobana Balakrishnan, a program manager on the Windows Longhorn Server team, takes us through the server roadmap and demonstrates Windows Server 2003 R2. Think you know everything about Windows Server? You might be surprised by the innovations this team has shipped and is planning on shipping in Longhorn Server."

Red Hat Plans Linux Distro for MacBook Pro

Submitted by Macino 2006-01-26 Red Hat 39 Comments

Imagine a world where you could run both Linux and Apple operating systems on the same high-performance Mac laptop. That day may be coming sooner than Mac fans think. Red Hat has confirmed it is pursuing the development of a Linux distribution for the new Intel-based Macs. Red Hat is no stranger to Macintosh - Fedora and other Linux distributions support the PowerPC architecture once used by Apple - but there are challenges to bringing Linux to the MacBook Pro. It appears the opportunities outweigh the challenges, though, with potential repercussions for Microsoft if the market clamors for Red Hat Linux-enabled MacBook Pros.

Building a PC to Defeat IBM’s Chess Supercomputer

Submitted by Jeremy 2006-01-26 IBM 14 Comments

"In the 1990s, world chess champion Gary Kasparov played two historic matches against IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer. He won the first match but lost the second by just a single point. As a graduate student at Stanford writing a thesis on artificial intelligence at that time, I was fascinated by the match. I'd been a computer hobbyist since the 1980s as well as a chess buff. Over the years I've tried practically every commercially available chess program on every platform, including Sargon, Socrates, Chessmaster, and others. I used TRS 80 and Apple II computers, and then IBM PCs running DOS, followed by Macintosh and Windows systems. Since that time I've wanted a chess computer as powerful as Deep Blue - my own world-champion-level sparring partner."

Quick & Dirty Caching Fix for Java Memory Leaks

Submitted by anonymous 2006-01-26 Java 11 Comments

"While programs in the Java language are theoretically immune from memory leaks, there are situations in which objects are not garbage collected even though they are no longer part of the program's logical state. This article shows you how Soft references, like weak references, can help applications prevent object loitering by enlisting the aid of the garbage collector in making cache eviction decisions."

ReactOS Suspending Development

Submitted by Sebastian Schildt 2006-01-26 ReactOS 46 Comments

People visiting the ReactOS website today were in for a shock. "Accusations have been made by some of ReactOS' own developers about certain parts of ReactOS code. The project is suspending development pending legal council. The project will resume once the issue has been rectified." I could not find any more information, as the links to the mailinglist archives are dead.

Submitted by Nehemoth 2006-01-26 Apple 28 Comments

Some more news on Apple's Intel Macs. First off, contrary to what OSNews reported on yesterday, a research and investment firm says that sales of the Intel iMac and MacBook Pro are good. Secondly, a contest has been set up to get Windows XP to boot on the Intel Macs.

NetBSD Status Report Q3/Q4 2005

Submitted by Mike M. Volokhov 2006-01-26 NetBSD No Comments

"This is the first quarterly status report of 2006. However, since there was no status report for the last quarter of 2005, this report summarizes the changes within NetBSD over the last six months, which includes the release of both NetBSD 2.1 and 3.0, a summary of the NetBSD Project's participation in Google's Summer of Code and the release of two stable pkgsrc branches, among many other things."

Introduction to Phone Web Browsers

Eugenia Loli 2006-01-26 Wireless 21 Comments

Times change. If Internet was the main tech revolution of 1990's, mobile communications is the revolution of our time. The next step will be to fully merge these two concepts and allow users to browse the web via their phone at very cheap rates. Today, we look at the various offerings found on most phones. Our hope is that we will familiarize you with some of these solutions and so the next time you buy a phone, you actually also check what browser it's using. That will be a good step towards making carriers and phone manufacturers aware that the mobile web users exist!