"Apple's DVD players are subject to restrictive rules laid out by greedy Hollywood studios that don't really care if they piss off Apple's customers, since that's Apple's lookout. However, I've just discovered, to my amazement, that Apple imposes its very own restrictions on its DVD players over and above those imposed by the studios: that's right, Apple voluntarily treats its customers worse than the studios say it has to" says BoingBoing in their editorial. VLC does not seem to be a stable idea either (v0.8.x doesn't play my VCDs where v0.7.x could, and many times DVD audio and picture are out of sync).

This paper introduces basic clustering components and software tools that can be used to build a Linux cluster on IBM eServer OpenPower 710 by utilizing its 64-bit POWER5 architecture. This paper is intended as an introduction for someone interested in building a new Linux cluster running on OpenPower 710 servers or converting an existing cluster to OpenPower 710 servers.

Apple has unseated Google for the number one spot of major global brands, compiled by Interbrand, a marketing industry analyst. Ikea and Starbucks were numbers three and four, and number five was a surprising newcomer: al-Jazerra. I guess being on the front lines of a major world conflict really gets your name out there.

After Microsoft was ordered to release a version of Windows without Media Player, they decided to call it "Windows XP Reduced Media Edition." The EC didn't like this name, since they figured it would prejudice consumers against it, and Microsoft has agreed to change the name. The new name is unknown, but I'm voting for "Windows XP Craptacular Edition."

I've got some great books that I'll be giving away to OSNews members next week. Here's how it will work: Two books will go to OSNews members picked at random, including people who sign up for new memberships this week. One book will go to a new member who signs up between now and next friday. And two books will go to regular OSNews readers, members or not, picked at random from people who post an insightful, non-troll, non-flame, comment on an OSNews story between now and next friday. Read more to see the books and learn more about signing up.

One of the most talked-about video codecs in the last year, H.264, will make its debut in QuickTime 7 this year when Apple ships Mac OS X Tiger. One feature that makes H.264 particularly noteworthy is its ability to deliver the same quality of video as you see on a DVD, for example, at up to half the data rate. Another is H.264's ability to smoothly scale from very limited bandwidth applications like 3G cell phones all the way up to HD-quality video, and everything in between.

I just finished a quick round of mobile rendering optimizations for our sister site, GnomeFiles.org (automatic detection of mobile browsers included, just as for OSNews). The mobile mobile support of the site is not as good as OSNews' is, but it should serve well all smartphone & PDA users, as irritating horizontal scrollbars are now a thing of the past (tip for Netfront/iMode users: use the 'smart fit' mode with GnomeFiles, tip for Openwave's browser: use a phone with v6.2.0 and above). Also, browsers that hit the site and we know that they can only do WAP, will be automatically redirected on GnomeFiles' WAP site. In other site news, our other sister site, OS Galaxy is expanding quickly. Join OS Galaxy if you are in the OS-related business and you happen to blog about it. Update: More optimizations, Gnomefiles should render respectably now even on 128x128 phone screens.

Dell has released a 24 MB ROM upgrade for its x50/x50v range of handhels with fixes in many drivers, including faster 2D/3D performance and read-from-memory-cards performance. The x50v has been greeted as the most full-featured PDA of its class, selling for less than $420 and including a 624 Mhz CPU, 16 MB Intel 3D card (!), gorgeous 640x480 3.7" screen, CF and SD slots, 64 MB RAM, 128 MB ROM, WiFi+Bluetooth and more. My Take: I recently got one of these babies, and it's indeed a tech marvel. Only two peeves: no camera and 3.5 hours battery life (double battery life: available as extra, for $99 - sold with a free 256 MB SD card for a limited time). 128 MBs of RAM would have been nicer too.

To catch up on the changes since their last full interview, Mandrakesoft co-founder Gaël Duval recently agreed to talk with OFB’s editor-in-chief, Timothy R. Butler, about where the company is heading and the state of the industry at the present time. You can read the new interview at OFB.biz

BSDNexus forums has an interview with DragonFly lead developer Matthew Dillon. They discuss a wide array of topics ranging from recent VFS work to SSI clustering.

Many of you have new computers in your homes, but how many of you realize that this computer is already vulnerable? How can this be? How can a brand new computer be vulnerable? Read this article and find out more.

I like Slackware, it's simple, it's robust, it's fast. But I always felt there was some lacking in Slackware when it came to desktop use--I was never able to put my finger on it exactly, but using Slackware for a desktop, although it works just fine, seemed like it (or I) was out of place.

The latest Haiku newsletter has arrived, if it seems like it's been forever since the last Haiku newsletter, that's because it really has - this is the first newsletter to be put out since OpenBeOS officially became Haiku.

Win4Lin has added a low-cost version of Win4Lin to their offerings. The "Win4Lin Home" version is targeted at home users, and costs $29.95. Read the full press release for more information.