This is the first beta release of Mandrakelinux 10.2 for PowerPC. Also, Red Hat's next product for Linux enthusiasts is slated to support two significant new features, the first for IBM's Power processor and the second for software that lets the same computer run multiple operating systems simultaneously.

An encryption standard widely used in digitally signing documents and programs has a flaw in it that could allow for the creation of forgeries, sources said Wednesday.

KDE 3.4 is currently in the beta2 stage, and preparations are being made for the final release. I thought it would be nice to give people some advance information on new features in KDE 3.4, so I have written this beta2 preview.

The results are in! The winners of the giveaway are: In the "new member" category: Pascal Hos. In the "existing members" category: Robert Kerby and Jeremy Messenger. In the "commenters" category: Rayiner Hashem and "therandthem." If you are one of these winners, and you haven't received an email from us yet, contact us right away. Thanks to all the new members who signed up in the past two weeks. We'll try to have more giveaways soon!

One of the most prolific games of the BeOS platform was SpaceGirl (later renamed to "No Gravity"). The game is now being ported to Windows and Mac OS X (using DX and, software GL and GL) and also it has been fully open sourced. Hopefully, we will see a Linux/Unix and a PocketPC port soon (for the 2700G Intel accelerator found on Dell or other VGA-capable PDAs, e.g. the VGA Zaurus).

"Ubuntu is the Linux distro that seems to be on everyones lips these days, but until now I've not really given it a chance. What's so special about this distro that's making everyone nuts over it? How has it risen so fast on DistroWatch's Hit Ranking? I was about to find out the answers to these questions and get a feel for Debian's newest kid on the block." Read more here. Update: Another one here.

JNode.org has just released a new version of the Java OS JNode with a port to the AMD64 architecture. This version 0.1.10 also includes several improvements.

Accelerate your porting efforts by following this six-step guide. Learn the differences between Solaris and Linux on POWER, and see how SUN's compiler/linker switches compare with those of GNU GCC and the IBM native compiler.

I've been coding AppleScript and AppleEvents since what feels like the beginning of time, starting with AE in 1991 and OS7. Revisiting AppleScript has been one of those processes that in 1997 and now in 2004/5 I have dreaded and embraced for various reasons.

Steve Mallett published Part II of W. McDonald Buck's essay on Linux TCO. In it he looks at the scenario of a company having already moved to Linux in the server room and also to OSS on Windows desktops, but "...now wants to know, how much extra can be saved by the final step of changing the operating system itself? And, what are the other costs, risks and benefits of doing that. To keep the scenario simple, we're assuming too that this will be done at a time when the desktop equipment is also being replaced. The news is good, but not as good as we like to believe." Here's Part I.

This guide found exclusively at OSNews.com in PDF format is mostly focused on creating a decently secure installation of Windows XP Professional for an end-user. While the vast majority can be applied to Windows XP Home, and OEM Restore Disk Sets, there are a few instances where these two media will need to be setup in a different manner.

Slashdot passed on requested questions for Martin Taylor, Microsoft's global general manager of platform strategy, and here is the resulted interview.

Microsoft wants Windows to play well with others. To do that, it's recoating the future in Indigo.

PCLinuxOS is without a doubt one of the cleaner and easier to use Linux Distributions available today. Based on Mandrake, with development led by Texstar, it continues to be a Live CD distribution that often finds it's way as a permanent solution for many desktop workstations. The latest release is looked at by a GUILinux Team Member. Read the full review Here.