A review of PC-BSD: "Now and then a new wind comes along in the ebb and flow of Linux distributions. OK, so I know PC-BSD is not Linux, but it's close enough. It's fair to say without going into technicalities and politics that BSD and Linux are cousins in the operating system world."

In last week's article, we discussed virtualization and its role in reducing server sprawl. We included VMware server as one of the products used to virtualize a data center. VMware also sells a workstation with a well-established reputation. This week we take a look at VMware Workstation 5.0.

IBM, Sony and Toshiba have jointly ported Linux to the Cell processor, the 4GHz multi-core PowerPC chip they co-developed. The Cell CPU is slated to ship in Sony's Playstation 3 next spring, but is likely to appear before that in workstations, embedded computing devices, and supercomputers. The Cell's Linux port includes a 64-bit PowerPC Linux kernel, along with a filesystem that abstracts the Cell's independent vector processing units so that the Linux kernel can make use of them. The companies hope their Cell Linux port will be merged into the next mainstream Linux kernel release, 2.6.13.

With just two days to go before the expiration of mainstream support for Microsoft's Windows 2000 operating system, the software giant has provided an update rollup with more than 50 security patches and system reliability fixes. The Microsoft knowledgebase article provides more info.

After downplaying the importance of the emerging Ajax programming model, Microsoft Corp. has decided to jump with booth feet into the Ajax fray. On Tuesday, Microsoft unveiled "Atlas," a Web client framework that is designed to support multiple DHTML controls with JavaScript code.

Sun Microsystems is stepping away from an effort to sell the Linux operating system for desktop computers, the server and software company's top software executive said Tuesday.

Here it is again the AROS news update, for more fresh news check out the forum.

I'm very pleased to announce the addition of some new members to the core OSNews staff. Thom Holwerda and Andrew Youll officially started late last night, and as you can see from their postings, they've hit the ground running. Read more for some information on the latest additions to our family, and also for some exciting news about the site.

Tom Adelstein has done some digging. It looks like the Microsoft-connected law firm that does heavy lobbying and the dirty work of the BSA, Preston, Gates & Ellis, has some curious connections within the ethics inquiry into the activities of Congressman Tom Delay (R-Texas). Let's see how this plays out. Full Blog | LXer.com

Qt 4.0 release is on the wire. Among other things, that means the long awaited GPL-licensed Windows version is now available for download, and Qt4 is officially dual-licensed across the board. Also of note in Trolltech's announcement: integration with Visual Studio .NET; great strides in graphics, threading, footprint, and performance; and separation into Desktop, Desktop Light, and (non-GUI) Console versions.

In a long-awaited decision that could have stark repercussions for P2P networks, the United States Supreme Court on Monday gave record labels and movie studios a green light to sue file-sharing services such as Grokster and Morpheus, which maintained they were not responsible for the actions of their users.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer has confessed the software giant's .Net strategy has come to a standstill, says he's accepted SQL Server's shortcomings and vowed to keep fighting search giant Google.

Mesa3D has been imported into the Haiku sourcetree: "A first draft of Haiku's OpenGL kit started his life yesterday when I've imported large portions of Mesa3D's BeOS port into our source tree."

In a joint press conference with Toshiba today, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has again pledged his support for the Tablet PC. It's a pet project of his and despite lacklustre sales so far - it might break through a million sales in this, its third year - he's keen to see it succeed.