OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Linux Distributed Command Execution

Submitted by anonymous 2005-12-30 Linux 17 Comments

"Many times, you want to execute a command not only on one server, but also on several servers. With the help of tool called tentakel, you run distributed command execution. It is a program for executing the same command on many hosts in parallel using ssh (it supports other methods too)."

Intel Unveils New Logo in Brand Overhaul

Thom Holwerda 2005-12-30 Intel 52 Comments

"The world's biggest chipmaker said on Thursday it will scrap its 37-year-old logo and well-known tagline as part of a major rebranding that will emphasize its shift away from its core PC business and into consumer products. The original Intel logo featuring a lowered 'e' will be replaced with one showing an oval swirl surrounding the company's name." Here is an interview with Paul Otellini, Intel's CEO.

First Issue of the OS2eCS eZine Released

Thom Holwerda 2005-12-30 OS/2 24 Comments

"Welcome to the very first issue of OS2eCS eZine! It has been awhile since the OS/2 community has had an online magazine or newsletter published. The last OS2eZine was published in December 2004 and the last VOICE Newsletter was August 2005! So we here at the OS2eCS Organization decided it was time to get the ball rolling again!" In this first issue articles on WarpVision, eSchemes, and more.

VMWare Player Image for Syllable 0.6.0a Available

Thom Holwerda 2005-12-30 Syllable, AtheOS 64 Comments

"I would like to announce a VMware Player image for Syllable 0.6.0a available in the normal VMware images location. This works fine with VMware Player on Linux. I haven't tried it yet on Windows, but I assume it works fine there, too. This is a default install from the ISO, just like the rest, so you'll have to install Developer's Delight and whatnot by yourself." And before people complain: Syllable is an open-source (GPL) operating system aimed at the home/office user. It is the continuation of AtheOS.

The Year in Review: Apple

Thom Holwerda 2005-12-30 Apple 105 Comments

"There can be no doubt that 2005 was a stellar year for Apple. From record-breaking quarterly financial reports and the release of Mac OS X Tiger to the announced transition of the Macintosh to the Intel platform and new iPods, Apple fired on all cylinders throughout much of the year, creating unprecedented demand for many of its products." Update: Here are photos of the cooling system for the Quad-core PowerMac-- one of those could counteract global warming. Seriously.

HP TestDrive Program

Thom Holwerda 2005-12-30 OS News 12 Comments

"Want to try the latest technologies over the Internet? This program allows you to testdrive some of the hottest hardware and operating systems available today. Have you ever wanted to try out HP's exciting 64-bit Integrity, Alpha, and PA-RISC technology? Get time on SMP x86 and Opteron ProLiant servers? Try out a Blade server. Try different Open Source operating systems."

What’s New in Windows Presentation Foundation

Thom Holwerda 2005-12-30 Windows 2 Comments

"In December 2005, Microsoft released a Community Technology Preview of Windows Presentation Foundation, the new presentation subsystem for Windows that unifies development of documents, graphics, and applications into a common platform. In this article, we take a brief look at some of the new features that are part of the December CTP as well as the changes that have been made since the previous releases."

MirOS BSD #8 Released

Submitted by Thorsten Glaser 2005-12-29 BSD & Darwin 31 Comments

"The MirOS Project is proud to announce the immediate release of MirOS XP, consisting of MirOS BSD #8 and the MirPorts Framework. This release is the first in the MIRBSD_8 branch and still highly experimental in some parts, especially ports, but has been throughoutly tested and deemed stable." You can download this Net/OpenBSD-based operating system here. Note: Don't mention the war!

Submitted by DigitalDame 2005-12-29 Windows 40 Comments

"Microsoft's free Shared Computer Toolkit lets you configure a PC that can be used to search the Internet, look up resources, and run approved programs; it also stops users from making permanent system changes, running arbitrary programs, or introducing malware. Administrators on domain-based PCs have long been able to do this; the toolkit offers a similar level for any PC. You don't need an IT degree - the kit leads an administrator through the steps of locking down a system."

Submitted by Valour 2005-12-29 Hardware 48 Comments

"Over the past several years of computer hardware engineering, raw speed has been the primary goal of hardware manufacturers. This has traditionally come at the expense of power consumption, which has skyrocketed since the first days of the x86-compatible home PC. Just how much electricity does a computer and its related devices use? Are there disadvantages to turning everything off when you're done? This article will give you an insight into computer power usage."

Review: Zenwalk Linux 2.0.1

Guest post by Joseph Ferrare 2005-12-29 Slackware, Slax 50 Comments

I was interested to see how Zenwalk differs from Slackware, and after reading on their web site that version 2.01 is 'the biggest jump in Zenwalk evolution since the beginning of the project', I wanted to see how far Zenwalk has come since it was reviewed here as MiniSlack.

What Ever Happened to Linux Media Center PCs?

Thom Holwerda 2005-12-29 Linux 54 Comments

"A year ago, Linux seemed poised to take on the living room, in the form of home media center PCs and systems. But last year's product announcements have not materialized into this year's Linux-based consumer systems. Before losing her job at the helm of Hewlett-Packard, CEO Carly Fiorina peppered a Consumer Electronics Show keynote with word of HP's coming Media Hub, a machine capable of television and display-centric computing that ran on Linux. The machine, announced alongside the company's latest PC-centric Digital Entertainment Center systems running Windows XP Media Center, was promised by fall of 2005. Today, it is nowhere to be found."

Hyperion IRC Session Transcripts

Thom Holwerda 2005-12-29 Amiga & AROS 16 Comments

Yesterday, Amiga-fans could participate in an IRC Q/A session with Hyperion Entertainment, the company behind AmigaOS4. You can read several transcripts, both edited as well as unedited, here. The main news is that AmigaOS4 will not be released this year; with the main reason for this being the lack of available hardware (which is being worked on). An update will, however, be released in January.

Submitted by oGALAXYo 2005-12-29 KDE 306 Comments

"This document was created to show non-KDE people what they're missing - and if you haven't used KDE a lot, you're missing a lot of things and you may interested in reading this page to learn how many wonderful things you've been missing. I promise, this is a subjective analysis of why KDE rules. I was a GNOME user for a long time, one of those users who loved GNOME UI, and I didn't know how much things I was missing with KDE until I tried it."

The J Operating System

Submitted by nick_h 2005-12-29 OS News 43 Comments

"The J operating system is primarily intended for programmers. I've attempted to lower the bar, so amateurs can contribute. I hope to recreate the dynamic environment that used to exist when the Commodore 64 was around and everyone was creating odd-ball software." You can download it from this page.

NVIDIA: a Year in Review 2005

Submitted by Michael Larabel 2005-12-29 3D 9 Comments

"In continuation of our previous piece entitled 'Ati: a Year in Review 2005', where we looked at ATI's features implemented this year into their Linux drivers as well as thoroughly examining the frame-rate performance, today we have turned the tables yet again and are taking another look at NVIDIA's gains this year. In addition, due to popular request, and keeping with the standards set by the previous ATI article, we will also be comparing our results against that of the latest NVIDIA ForceWare Windows display drivers."

Syllable 0.6.0a Released

Thom Holwerda 2005-12-28 Syllable, AtheOS 42 Comments

The Syllable team has released an update to their latest 0.6.0 release-- Syllable 0.6.0a. This release will fix the most pressing bugs found in the 0.6.0 release, which can be found in the changelog. If you have already installed 0.6.0, you can use the upgrade package. Downloads are here.

The Reasons Nobody Gets Any Help

Guest post by Eli Gottlieb 2005-12-28 Office 74 Comments

Right now the situation for developers of minor operating systems seems somewhat bleak. Windows and the Unixes compete in the server world, and Windows and MacOS X compete on the desktop. Linux even gets ported to every embedded device, leaving few niches for the hobbyist or sidelined operating system developer. Some have even gone so far as to say that New Operating Systems Won't Stand a Chance. As anyone who reads OSNews can tell you, however there are a wealth of new systems with new ideas that just aren't taking off. Given all these new ideas some - like capability security from EROS for example - should be good enough to catch on, so why aren't they?

Windows Vista Hardware: What to Buy

Thom Holwerda 2005-12-28 Windows 131 Comments

Microsoft has published a set of guidelines on which decisions to make now, so that your computer will be ready to run Windows Vista. They claim that any mid-range AMD or Intel processor will do, and even low-end ones will pack enough power to run Vista. 512 MBRAM is advised, but for more advanced users, 1GB is recommended. As for graphics card: "If you are building or buying PC today, you probably want to avoid the low end of the current GPU range and make sure you get a GPU that supports DirectX 9 and has at least 64 MB of graphics memory." My take: I can confirm that the Windows Vista December CTP, with all the effects turned on, runs more than fine on my aging AMD Athlon XP 1600+, 512MB SD-RAM, Ati Radeon 9000 128MB DDR-RAM (DirectX 8 compatible card, so not a DX9 card). Just so you know.

Jeff Waugh on GNOME, Ubuntu

Thom Holwerda 2005-12-28 Ubuntu 25 Comments

Jeff Waugh is an employee of Canonical Limited, the firm behind Ubuntu Linux. In his spare time he works on the GNOME window manager program. Jeff formerly was the release manager for GNOME. On November 7, 2005, Jeff Waugh was far away from his native and current home in Australia. He was at the University of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, as part of his BadgerBadgerBadger tour. Jeff offered his insights into GNOME and Ubuntu in a talk titled 'Running with Scissors'.