A trial version of Windows Server 2003 R2 is now available for download: "Windows Server 2003 R2 trial software is available to download for evaluation in both x64 and x86 versions. Both trial software versions require Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1). Installing the trial software for Windows Server 2003 R2 does not extend the time that you can use the trial version of Windows Server 2003 SP1."

Worldwide PDA shipments totaled 3.4 million units in the first quarter of 2005, a 25 percent increase from the same period last year, according to Gartner, Inc. Microsoft Windows Mobile has become the No. 1 PDA operating system, as it accounted for 46 percent of worldwide shipments. RIM assumed the second position, as Palm OS slipped to the No. 3 ranking, due to Palm OS shipments declining 38.8 percent. Nokia in the fourth place.

Once the problems that occur with any major OS update have been ironed out, Mac OS X 10.4 is going to be viewed as a pivotal release for Apple, and one that will go a long way to making it an even better player in the enterprise, says ITManagement. In the meantime, Apple released the first seed of Mac OS X 10.4.1 to developers this week. The update, specified as build 8B9, corrects nearly two dozen bugs that have cropped up since Tiger's release last weekend, sources said.

Linux Insider has a short article detailing how various government labs and agencies have used Linux as the backbone of various projects: some truly skunkworks, and some large and high-profile. Projects range from early clustering work at Goddard to the FBI's Emergency Response Network.

An anonymous commenter on OSNews posted the snarky comment, "There is no OpenSolaris. Show us the code or quit mentioning it." That made a couple of Sun engineers angry enough to fight back on their blogs, and the battle is now immortalized in a ZD Net article. Well, Mr. Anonymous commenter, you have been inducted into the OSNews Troll hall of fame. A plaque of a blank face representing you will be posted in our Troll hall of fame, under the bridge.

The Associated Press has run a short review of OpenOffice.org 2.0 Beta. They ran into some beta-type problems with installation and stability, but overall found it to be a good alternative for casual Office users.

PalmOne plans to announce later this month its first hard drive-based product line, broadening its device portfolio and leading another trend in the handheld market.

"What Xen is, is a very thin layer of software that essentially presents to the operating system an idealized hardware abstraction," said Simon Crosby, vice president of marketing for XenSource. The OS is no longer glued to the hardware but floats above it, talking to Xen as if it were the machine.

Fortress is a new language for from a team that includes Guy Steele, Common Lisp guru and contributor of Java. Language is introduced as the "next Fortran". Fortress language spec and an early overview.

Jimmy Wennlund has been doing to Linux what Apple has done to Tiger: Make it boot faster. Jimmy wrote initng, a replacement for the Sys-V style "init" application. It allows for better service dependency checking and will start services in a highly parallel fashion, dramatically speeding up the Linux boot process.

James Gosling sees new uses for the programming language he created 10 years ago, such as making his home-entertainment system work right.

Libranet Debian Linux is back in the ring, this time as a heavyweight desktop contender.

Apple Computer released 20 patches for its OS X operating system designed to fix flaws that could catch users off-guard. The vulnerabilities apply to Mac OS X v10.3.9 and Mac OS X Server 10.3.9, according to Apple's advisory. The advisory also falls just days after Apple's much ballyhooed release of the latest version of its operating system, Mac OS X 10.4, widely known as Tiger.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group - the body that controls the wireless connectivity standard - has formally chosen ultrawideband as the foundation for future versions of the technology. UWB, traditionally seen as a potential competitor to Bluetooth, seems to now be bluetooth's ticket to future relevance. Meanwhile, Bluetooth's current popularity assures that UWB adoption won't spark yet another Beta vs VHS standards war.