Robert Szeleney has just released the long-awaited beta8.3 to the SkyOS beta team. This release includes major upgrades to the operating system as a whole; including important ports such as FireFox and ThunderBird.

A senior Microsoft executive, speaking exclusively to vnunet.com, has dismissed Linux's reputation as a secure platform as a "myth", claiming that the open source development process creates fundamental security problems.

"Most modern operating systems are better than FreeDOS when considered by any objective criteria. FreeDOS doesn't multitask, doesn't surf the Internet easily, isn't great for multimedia productions, and doesn't even do Windows. But I love it anyway", says Lee A. Spain in his review of FreeDOS.

Making its first foray into the handheld market, Olympus has launched the R1000, a rugged handheld capable of running both Windows- and Linux-based operating system. Adhering to IP54 Category II specifications on dust and water splash resistance, the new ruggedized handheld is targeted towards the enterprise.

Back in the golden days of NeXT, Steve Jobs himself decided to do a demo video (mirror, mirror), about 30 minutes long, where he demonstrates the applications, networking abilities and development tools in NeXTSTEP 3.0.

"A worm that takes advantage of administrators' poor password choices has started spreading among database systems." Read more at ZDNet.

Novell's ambitious strategy for Linux has led some customers to worry that the networking company may withdraw support for some of its legacy applications.

This new version of F-Script provides Cocoa developers on Mac OS X with improved object introspection and scripting tools. In particular, developers having access to pre-versions of the forthcoming Mac OS X 10.4 "Tiger", will find a powerful set of graphical tools to access and manipulate the new CoreData technology introduced by Apple in Tiger. See the release notes for F-Script.

Microsoft is leaving its options open on charging for full versions of anti-spyware and virus disinfection tools. Speaking in London yesterday, Detlef Eckert, chief security adviser for Microsoft EMEA, revealed there will be a second beta of Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware application. However, the company remains unsure how the product will evolve from then on.

Trolltech has announced the release of Qt 3.3.4 which is a maintenance release including many bug fixes and optimizations. The final Qt 4.0 release is now anticipated for late second quarter of 2005 with two interim beta versions to be released in March and May.

What happens when two coalitions within a standard come into conflict, and it doesn't get resolved quickly? The ultrawideband technology standard shows you.

After playing around with my brand new infrared v90 modem for my PDAs (expect a review soon), it got me thinking...

ActiveWin.com recently had a chance to interview Dee Dee Walsh, Director of Communities for Windows Client Group. Elsewhere, Longhorn migration will be more than a technology upgrade -- it will affect IT staff skills and knowledge, as well as the way employees work, says ComputerWorld.

Microsoft has confirmed that they will no longer issue security updates for Windows 2000. In addition, standard support for Windows 2000 is currently scheduled to end in June.