The new Visualizer feature in Visual Studio 2005 lets you see the data as the user sees it, or as the application uses it. And that will save you time and frustration. This article shows how it's done.

The Servlet-Based Content Creation Framework is an easy-used and easily-understood compact, content creation framework utilizing hamlets; a servlet extension that reads XHTML and uses the simple API for XML. Read this article on introducing Hamlets and learn how they can be used to separate Java and HTML in the same source file.

The first point release of the stable 2.12.x series of Gnome has been released. This release includes the latest bugfixes and other improvements such as updated translations.

With the first beta for Microsoft's upcoming Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Solution barely out the door, the development team is already thinking seriously about features and functionality designed to make the next version of the product even easier to use and manage than its Linux competitor.

I've been wanting to try Gentoo for some time, but always had to roll my eyes at the pages and pages of installation instructions. This time, however, I rolled up my sleeves and buckled down. Minutes later, I was on my way.

Don't expect hegemony from a single Linux vendor on the desktop comparable with Microsoft's Office, as rival frameworks and implementations tackle different markets. That's according to Red Hat fellow Alan Cox, who said research indicates users are adopting KDE and Gnome to serve different scenarios. Evidence from different reports suggests KDE is more widely used in Europe and Gnome in the US.

"The time it takes to log in to GNOME has not improved much in recent years and does not compare favourably with other systems, especially closed-source systems. This work attempts to determine what causes GNOME startup to be slow and what can be done to address the problem."

The Apache Software Foundation has announced the release of Beehive 1.0, its component toolkit for J2EE and Struts. Beehive is aimed at making it easier to develop Web applications in Java by reducing the amount of coding needed to produce a working application.

"This installment takes a fairly detailed look at USB drivers. The primary application is of course the Mac OS X driver architecture, but the test program I used was actually developed in parallel on Mac OS X and NetBSD."

"Apple has updated its .Mac suite of online tools, giving subscribers more for their $99.95 yearly fee. They'll now get more storage (1GB, up from 250MB), a new service called Groups for creating instant online shared spaces, and a simplified backup tool. .Mac has always been good, but Apple has never committed the resources to make it great. More storage and top-notch backup and antivirus tools would seem essential. The suite no longer offers an antivirus utility either."

Cloudscape is a freely available repackaging of the Apache Derby relational database manager. Its implemented in Java, and integrates cleanly and will run unaltered anywhere a J2EE Server will run. Most J2EE applications require that a JDBC-compliant database be integrated with the Server to store information. This article shows how to best fit Cloudscape or Derby into a J2EE environment.

The Common Malware Enumeration Initiative was just announced. Headed by the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) and supported by an editorial board of anti-virus vendors and related organizations it should provide a neutral method for malware outbreaks.

"If 'GoogleOffice' ever materializes, it won't be going head-to-head with Microsoft Office. Instead, expect some new MSN services in the pipeline to emerge as Redmond's secret weapons." On a related note, Sun's StarOffice 8 is now available as a free download for teachers and students.

Microsoft's new operating system won't be out until late 2006, but here's a look at some of the new security features expected. This includes less kernel-level code, IE7 in restricted mode, and more.