OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

New OS Microbenchmark Suite

Submitted by eschrock 2005-08-05 Solaris 48 Comments

Bart Smaalders of Sun Microsystems has open sourced libmicro, a portable set of microbenchmarks designed to measure performance of basic system calls and library functions. This framework proved invaluable during Solaris 10 development as a way of identifying areas where performance was lagging behind other Operating Systems, as well regressions between Solaris builds. You can join the libmicro discussion at the OpenSolaris forums.

In Pursuit of Good Desktop Linux

Submitted by anonymous 2005-08-05 Linux 47 Comments

So, you are not sure what makes a Linux distribution a good desktop Linux but you know it when you see it, right? Perhaps but perhaps not. So, what does it take to be a good desktop Linux distribution?

Inside Mac OS X 10.4.2

Thom Holwerda 2005-08-05 macOS 9 Comments

The big themes seem to be networking and minor annoyances, with a secondary focus on iChat and Mail, which always seem to have problems in the first release of a major Mac OS X version. It’s those changes—along with improvements to Tiger’s disk repair tools—that we’ll focus on during this inside look at Mac OS X 10.4.2.

Open Source Is a ‘Velvet’ Revolution

Submitted by Mark Brunelli 2005-08-05 Open Source 18 Comments

There may not be fireworks. CIOs and IT directors may not be heaping their proprietary software on bonfires and dancing. Even so, the open source revolution is happening right now and will carry the day, said Bill Weinberg, open source architecture specialist and Linux evangelist for OSDL.

Pure Java SDK Pluggable Architecture for Eclipse

Submitted by anonymous 2005-08-05 Java 2 Comments

UIMA 1.1 is a pure Java SDK that supports the implementation, composition, and deployment of applications working with unstructured information on Linux. Version 1.1 has been incorporated into IBM's enterprise search product, WebSphere Information Integrator OmniFind Edition, Version 8.2.2. UIMA Annotators can now be deployed into WebSphere II OmniFind for semantic search solutions. Here's a helpful user guide.

Review of Mandriva Linux Limited Edition 2005

Submitted by Valerie 2005-08-05 Mandriva, Mandrake, Lycoris 14 Comments

Read a long review titled "Mandrake Revisited: A Lycoris user revisits the OS he left years earlier". On a separate note, Linux Format issue 70 presents a Gaël Duval interview.

OSDL’s Weinberg Says Linux Shouldn’t War with Microsoft

Submitted by Mark Brunelli 2005-08-05 Rumors 40 Comments

Bill Weinberg, OSDL Linux evangelist and speaker at next week's LinuxWorld conference, discusses the state of Linux adoption and its ongoing rivalry with Windows.

Putting Windows and Linux Clusters on the Scale

Submitted by Mark Brunelli, News Editor 2005-08-05 Linux 6 Comments

The CEO of cluster software vendor Scali takes issue with Microsoft's clustering options. Scali is demonstrating a new, major upgrade to its Scali Manage and Scali MPI Connect suites at next week's LinuxWorld Conference & Expo.

More Mighty Mouse Missives

Submitted by Sailfish 2005-08-05 Apple 33 Comments

For those of you who just can't get enough Mighty Mouse news, here are a couple of tidbits: An intrepid tinkerer bought a MM, only to take it apart for all the internet to see. Also, WSJ tech oracle Walt Mossberg takes a look at the MM and compares it to Microsoft's latest Mouse offering. His verdict? "Stop the presses: Microsoft has beaten Apple on hardware design, at least in this one case."

Screenshot: OS X on VMWare

Submitted by karl 2005-08-05 macOS 36 Comments

This could be completely faked, but engadget has a screenshot of OSX x68 running on the x86 virtual machine VMWare. It's an interesting feat if its true, but it also has other implications. Since VMWare obviously does not implement any of the various DRM schemes, this would poke holes in the assertion that Apple is using Trusted Computing in its developer boxes.

On WiFi and Security

Submitted by anonymous 2005-08-05 Privacy, Security 3 Comments

This article covers the various forms of wireless data transmission, and addresses the main security problems in WiFi today.

Roll Your Own App Server with Apache GBeans

Submitted by anonymous 2005-08-05 Internet No Comments

Geronimo provides integration with third-party components through its unique GBeans feature. Apache Geronimo team member and committer, Jeff Genender, demonstrates this feature by showing you how to build and configure a third-party open source project with a GBean that integrates the OpenSymphony Quartz scheduler into Geronimo.

Haiku to Use FreeBSD’s Net Stack. ReiserFS too?

Submitted by DaaT 2005-08-05 Haiku 42 Comments

Over at IsComputerOn, an article discusses with Axel Dörfler, the Haiku move for the FreeBSD network stack. Also talked about is the thought of using ReiserFS instead of BFS.

Interview: Wim Schermer, Long-time Apple Reseller

Thom Holwerda 2005-08-04 Original OSNews Interviews 84 Comments

The news that Apple is going to switch to Intel processors shook up the computing world. Many users and developers were eager to publish their opinions on the switch. However, one group of people were totally neglected during all this: resellers. Today, we feature an interview with Wim Schermer, first Dutchman to own a Mac (in 1984), and co-founder of one of the biggest Apple retail stores in The Netherlands, MacSupport. We discuss the switch to Intel, and much more.

PlayStation 3 To Support Mac OS X Tiger?

Submitted by anonymous 2005-08-04 Games 60 Comments

AppleInsider is reporting that Sony's PlayStation 3 gaming console will support Apple's Mac OS X Tiger operating system. "Sony is expected to offer optional hard drives for the PlayStation 3 with potential memory capacity of 80 or 120 GB. It remains to be decided whether the standard version of the PS3 will come complete with a hard drive. The operating system has also yet to be clarified. The integrated Cell processor will be able to support a variety of operating systems (such as Linux or Apple's Tiger)."

RCA Lyra RD2780: Multimedia Jukebox

Eugenia Loli 2005-08-04 Multimedia, AV 16 Comments

There have been many rumors lately about a potential video iPod that's around the corner... However, what about the existing mobile A/V solutions? We took the RCA Lyra RD2780 for a spin, the audio/video recorder/playback jukebox that's currently selling for only $219 at Geeks.com.

IE 7 Technical Changes Leave Web Developers, Users in the Lurch

Submitted by Tudy 2005-08-04 Internet Explorer 86 Comments

In a recent blog posting, Internet Explorer's lead program manager Chris Wilson revealed many of the technical improvements that Microsoft will add to IE 7.0 for its final release. Almost all the improvements are related to bugs in IE's implementation of CSS. Many of these bugs aren't fixed in the currently available IE 7.0 Beta release. Wilson's post raises some serious questions about IE 7.0.

MontaVista Claims Real-Time Linux Breakthrough

Thom Holwerda 2005-08-04 Linux 15 Comments

MontaVista Linux claims that is has narrowed the real-time gap for Linux. The embedded Linux maker announced that is has successfully developed native, hard, real-time developments for the Linux kernel.

Review: REALBasic 2005 for Linux

Thom Holwerda 2005-08-04 General Development 63 Comments

"RealSoftware's REALBasic 2005 - the popular cross-platform interactive development environment for Mac OS X and Windows - is scheduled to debut for the Linux platform later this month, perhaps as early as the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in San Francisco. For the past couple of weeks, I've been falling asleep each night to the glow of beta versions of REALBasic 2005 running happily on SUSE Pro 9.3 on my monitor."

Olive Symphony: a Serious Contender for the Couch Throne

Submitted by TractorJector 2005-08-04 Multimedia, AV 5 Comments

It is no secret that the competition for global domination in the operating system market has moved from the desktop to the living room couch. The Olive Symphony, a Linux-powered hi-fi wi-fi stereo hub, stands a decent chance for a prime position before the living room throne.