eXpert Zone reports: "Straight from haiku-announce: "I've been thinking a lot lately, and I decided that I'm going through with finishing the USB stack (even though I don't really like it). For my reasons of the delay, and what I'm doing about it, check my blog, I've just written a long post on the subject." A first milestone release is in the near future."

The following is the experience of a user of Linux for the desktop who got a Mac Mini. Is he making the switch?

Here's an article in Technology Research News about interfaces that allow direct gestural interaction with virtual objects contained in volumetric displays, in which output occupies a volume of space, like a crystal ball.

Sun today announced the largest single release of patent innovations into the open source community by any organization to date, marking a significant shift in the way Sun positions its intellectual property portfolio. By giving open source developers free access to Sun OpenSolaris related patents under the Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL), the company is fostering open innovation and establishing a leadership role in the framework of a patent commons.

Pyrex is a language specially designed for writing Python extension modules. According to the Pyrex Web site, "It's designed to bridge the gap between the nice, high-level, easy-to-use world of Python and the messy, low-level world of C." Almost any piece of Python code is also valid Pyrex code, but you can add optional static type declarations to Pyrex code, making the declared objects run at C speed.

The government is taking a long look at the upcoming operating system, and wants to make sure that it complies with the antitrust ruling. The desktop version of Longhorn is due in 2006, while the server edition arrives in 2007.

Anandtech has a review of the Mac Mini and Ars has a useful guide for it.

Aiming to crack down on counterfeit software, Microsoft plans later this year to require customers to verify that their copy of Windows is genuine before downloading security patches and other add-ons to the operating system.

In my never ending search for the ultimate challenge, I decided to remove Gentoo Linux from my trusty laptop and install something else that wasn't as resource starving. Thus, Debian was selected.

Apple has quietly cut prices on build-to-order (BTO) components for its new Mac mini. The company is now offering the Bluetooth and AirPort Extreme wireless option for US$99 (was $129), the 1GB DDR333 SDRAM upgrade for $325 (was $475), and the 80GB ultra ATA hard drive upgrade for $50 (was $80). Apple is also now listing an 8x SuperDrive option instead of the previous 4x model for the same $100 cost. Elsewhere, a Mac user reviews the iPod Shuffle ($149) vs the Sandisk MP3 player ($138, $118 with rebate), both with 1 GB of Flash memory and similar pricing but with different feature-set.

Microsoft Corp. made it official Monday: It has no plans to appeal the antitrust sanctions levied against it by the European Commission. As a result, a stripped-down version of Windows, minus Windows Media Player and related files, is moving forward rapidly.

For those who haven't been following the EROS project, it has now migrated to the Coyotos project. EROS, the Extremely Reliable Operating System, was a project to create an operating system whose security relied on capabilities rather than the traditional Unix model of root or non-root.

LinuxTimes feature a two page review of FC3, along with screenshots.

A push mechanism is the delivery of unsolicited information to a mobile device. Learn how to set up a PPG on your own, configure the settings to your own taste, develop push content, and test it with a mobile handset simulator over a TCP/IP network on a LAN.