Every Fedora Core release outshines the previous one, Fedora Core 4 maintains this pattern with an excellent collection of the latest open source packages and improved performance. Two areas that still need some work are out-of-the-box sound mixing and package management

Today, after several weeks of testing, we are pleased to present OSNews version 3.0. This document will serve as the definitive guide to using the new site, detailing the new features and perks.

When BeOS was still under active development at Be Inc, the project captured the hearts and minds of many who wanted to use a more advanced operating system. Though Be has since gone out of business, it hasn't stopped many of those same individuals from wanting to continue using the operating system. The fact that BeOS is no longer under active development has caused a handful of developers to take on the task of picking up where Be left off. Alan Wilder submitted the following editorial which analyzes the current status of three BeOS projects that are currently under development.

Novell Inc.'s SuSE Linux Professional 9.3 desktop gives not only other leading Linux desktop distributions a run for their money, but also enterprise desktops. Review is at eWEEK.

Matthew Dillon has made significant progress on DragonFly's journaling code, which can now mirror partitions. Essentially all that remains now is for the "reverse journaling" work to be completed (allowing for filesystem rollback), and for stability to be increased. More information here and here

Although Apple hasn’t announced which Intel chips will power the upcoming Mactel systems, the most likely suspects are microprocessors that have been dubbed Yonha, Celeron D 3515, Conroe, Woodcrest, Smithfield and Merom. For the rest of the week, we’ll offer a look at the chips and what they might mean to Mac users.

Microsoft released details on a number of projects today. One of those is Microsoft Student 2006, a suite that helps parents and students with their homework and assignments. Secondly, MS released Microsft Money 2006. In addition, MS unveiled more details on the November launch of Visual Studio, SQL Server and BizTalk Server, while also previewing the long awaited CRM update.

WindowMaker 0.92 has been released. Many bugs have been fixed, among other things. You can download it here.

HSQLDB is the leading SQL relational database engine written in Java. It has a JDBC driver and supports a rich subset of ANSI-92 SQL (BNF tree format) plus SQL 99 and 2003 enhancements. It offers a small (less than 100k in one version for applets), fast database engine which offers both in-memory and disk-based tables and supports embedded and server modes.

Project Harmony is seeking code donations from commercial vendors of Java Virtual Machines to kick-start the development of its new open-source Java project.

Version 2.0 of MBSA includes a graphical and command line interface that can perform local or remote scans of Windows systems. MBSA runs on Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, and Windows XP systems and will scan for common security misconfigurations.

What are the programs you can't live without on your system? Tipmonkies has a quick rundown on some applications, and welcomes input from others as to their list.

Random numbers are utilized in many different areas, ranging from cryptography (in general) to source port and process ID randomization in some operating systems. So what is exactly a random number generator?

The open source movement could have a damaging impact on software innovation, according to a prominent market analyst.