Computing grids, or software engines that pool together and manage resources from isolated systems to form a new type of low-cost supercomputer, have finally come of age. BetaNews sat down with some of the world's leading grid guru's to discuss the significance of such distributed technologies and separate grid hype from grid reality.

Microsoft should be concentrating on securing Windows instead of trying to challenge security software companies, according to research firm Gartner.

I'd like to announce my new project, flush. Flush is a shell with a difference, you'll be able to execute simple commands like mv and rm, but there will be no support for scripting constructs, pipelines, globbing or substitution.

Sun this week at LinuxWorld revealed its Java Desktop 3.0 enterprise Linux desktop environment. Sun has not yet given a laundry list of features, but has indicated that device support and productivity are the foremost attributes of the upgrade.

In this paper, we explore a new approach for data privacy and security in which a security administrator protecting privacy at the level of individual fields and records, and providing seamless mechanisms to create, store, and securely access databases.

TextOS, the small FreeDOS-based operating system/programming language on a floppy, has been updated to version 1.0b5 "Architect." It fixes some bugs and includes the long-awaited PAK file creation menu, which makes it easier to create your own TextOS PAK applications. Download it here.

Here are some of the most powerful PCs vs the G5. The G5 does very well on cpu crunching, but not on graphics tests.

A sample program CCtest was created to demonstrate an error common to C++ applications -- the memory leak. The examples in this article demonstrate the use of the DTrace feature in the Solaris 10 Operating System to diagnose C++ application errors. These examples are also used to compare DTrace with other debugging tools, including Sun Studio 10 software and mdb in the Solaris 10 OS.

Much of today's enterprise-level software on UNIX caters to the business needs of large companies. And so it must support emerging technologies and follow the rapidly evolving market trends, such as the proliferation of the powerful, flexible Linux operating system. Because much of this software is large, multi-threaded, and multi-process, porting it to Linux presents challenges.

Top Linux seller Red Hat acknowledged on Friday a misstep in its relations with technology enthusiasts but said the profit motive is helping it to mend its ways.

Arch is a very capable distro. If you want a fast, lightweight distro that puts you in the driver's seat, Arch is your best bet, says the review at NewsForge.

In just a few short months, an open-source software package called Xen has been catapulted from obscurity to the limelight as many computing industry powers throw their weight behind the project.

Sun Microsystems has sent some of its operating system staff packing as it finishes up a long period of layoffs. Sources have informed The Register that a larger number of staffers in Sun's operating platforms group have been shown the door.

Sabayon is GNOME's first major design targeted at improving the user experience for people who administer GNOME systems, and hopefully the start of an initiative toward designing for this important group of users.