coLinux 0.6.2 Released

The latest release is based on the 2.6.x kernel, and not guaranteed to work out-of-the-box with Gentoo root file systems that are based on the 2.4.x kernel. Cooperative Linux is a port of the Linux kernel that allows it to run cooperatively alongside another operating system on a single machine. It allows one to freely run Linux on Windows without using commercial PC virtualization software such as VMware.

My workstation OS: Libranet

"Anyone who dislikes the non-standard desktops of many distributions will feel right at home with Libranet, and the .deb packaging system will keep the Debian nerds happy. Those of you searching for a server-oriented distribution should look elsewhere, but if you're searching for a strong desktop/multimedia distribution, Libranet is one of the best choices available." Read more at NewsForge.

Group to Divide Linux Standards Base

The Free Standards Group has decided to move away from a single, core LSB (Linux Standards Base) specification, and is instead going to break this down into different modules that can be combined to give a server or desktop LSB standard. Elsewhere, Bill Gates has sent an email to all Microsoft's corporate customers warning that those in search of technological interoperability shouldn't look towards open source software.

GTK+ Goes Cairo; Owen Taylor on X/Cairo/GTK+ Integration

GTK+ is now the first major toolkit to depend on the Cairo vector graphics library which is designed to provide high-quality display and print output. Cairo will add 3 more dependencies to GTK: itself, glitz and libpixman (after atk, Pango, Glib, FontConfig and the standard X libs). The addition is now part of the HEAD of GTK's CVS. Some might argue that Cairo should have been integrated to X instead (as an extension or as part of the core), so all toolkits would get the benefits, transparently (if enough engineering was to go into this). I sent an email to selected GTK+ developers last May about this, and here is what Owen Taylor, GTK's project leader, replied: Update: GTK+ 2.6.2 released.

Edging Toward the Ninety/Ten

Most software has far more features than most users will want. These extra features simply serve to increase the TCO of software deployments and headaches at the helpdesk. OFB Editor-in-Chief Timothy R. Butler argues that GNU/Linux developers would do well to follow the examples of Apple and Mozilla and move lesser used features out of the way.