E4X is an extension of JavaScript that adds direct support for XML to the language. So what is direct support and why is it valuable? Get an introduction to ECMAScript for XML (E4X), a simple extension to JavaScript that makes XML scripting very simple.

In this article .NET 2.0 won 2 out of the 3 major tests – clearly besting Java 1.5 in both execution speed and real-world memory efficiency. Java did, however, manage to hold its own in the native types memory comparison by a pretty wide margin. This indicates that on the whole .NET is a more efficient platform, with perhaps at least one area for improvement – native type memory efficiency.

"Contrary to what was expected from recent Novell announcements, Novell executives are apparently slicing deeply into the Linux heart of the company. Jobs and resources are actually being slashed in several areas previously dubbed by Novell management as "key component parts of Novell's Linux developments": staffers working on Mono, Hula, Evolution and Desktop Strategy are getting the sack. SUSE customers around the world will be shocked and puzzled by this management decision."

Were Apple to once again start licensing its operating system to third-party 'Mac clone' hardware makers, it could reignite the OS wars. Yet whether Apple will go this route - and whether doing so would be smart - remains to be seen.

As part of a painfully slow and vague striptease, Sun has started to describe a couple of techniques it will use to improve processor performance in its soon to be released Niagara chip and future Rock processor line. Despite hinting a couple of years back that Niagara would have special technology for handling TCP/IP and SSL loads, Sun has stayed largely quiet on the subject. Recently, however, Sun confirmed that its Niagara processors and Solaris 10 operating system have been tweaked to handle these specialized tasks.

"Java 5.0 offers developers some powerful new choices for developing high-performance concurrent applications. Download the IBM Java 5 Standard Edition and start your Java 5.0 coding today."

LXer received a document from an anonymous source with the message "I read your article on linuxJournel about countries growing use of Linux. The attached article was posted in Intel's intranet site." It reveals that Intel expects to sell hundreds of millions of Linux-based computers in rural China. If Intel can sell a Linux computer in rural China.

Ging, the only live distribution based on Debian GNU/kFreeBSD, has made its way to the 0.1.0 release. Ging is now using KDE 3.4 as its desktop, and includes a mixture of KDE and GNOME applications: Konqueror, Gimp, Koffice, Gaim, and more. And for those who have tried previous versions of Ging, you'll be greatly pleased to see the boot time has decreased by a factor of ~15 times.

Two recent articles cover the success of Trolltech and their product Qt 4, on which KDE 4 will be based. 'Trolltech: A case study in open source business' looks at the continued growth of the company based on dual licenced Free Software. The article describes what KDE and Trolltech gain from each other, including user feedback to Trolltech and sponsored developers for KDE. The Australian Computerworld declares that Qt 4 raises the bar for cross-platform app dev tools. They cover the separate modules of Qt 4 and the cross-platform quality, giving it a 9.2 out of 10 approval rating.

Imendio improves Nautilus on the Novell desktop by providing support for integrated Beagle search functionality. Imendio developed the low level integration and implemented the user interface design from the specifications supplied by Novell. This has resulted in the ability for GNOME users to search for files and folders using their standard file management tool. The results are available in the Nautilus branch called nautilus-search.

FreeBSD 6.0 has been released, but an official announcement is not yet available. You can download the .iso images here (mirror list). More information, documentation and release notes for the various architectures can be found here. Note: read this. Update: It's official.

On Nov. 3, the US Patent & Trademark Office revealed that Apple has filed patent application 20050246554 titled “system and method for creating tamper-resistant code.” James D. Batson is listed as the sole inventor for application 837413 originally filed in April 2004. This appears to be related to Apple’s forthcoming Tiger-Intel platform. Elsewhere, 10.4.3 for x86 is in sync with the PowerPC version.

"I was impressed by the way GoboLinux handled. This distribution clearly has a well-defined identity of its own, and the authors' philosophy shows in every detail of the system. The system is fast, without a grain of bloat in it." GoboLinux' most defining feature is its filesystem layout, which does not follow the Free Standards Group's Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, but is more like OSX' layout.

When Mark Russinovich was testing his company's security software last week, he came across a disturbing find: a Sony BMG CD he purchased from Amazon had secretly installed DRM software on his PC and used "rootkit" cloaking methods to hide it. With the story sweeping across the Net, Sony is attempting to clean up its mess.