OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Novell Linux Desktop reviewed

Eugenia Loli 2004-11-15 Novell and Ximian 44 Comments

Tom has reviewed the Novell Linux Desktop, a new desktop for enterprise customers.

Why open Mac bootware may be more practical

Eugenia Loli 2004-11-15 IBM 4 Comments

Open Firmware is software that is used after powering a machine to bring the operating system online (most visibly on PowerPC and SPARC systems), all modern Macintosh systems use it. This article looks at the Open Firmware spec, traces its history as a standard, examines how it works and some of its components, and discusses the benefits it offers. The best way to learn more about OF is to practice, to get a Mac, hold down command-option-O-F when you turn it on, and just start typing.

Emulating legacy operating systems on Linux

Eugenia Loli 2004-11-15 OS News 3 Comments

From CP/M to OpenVMS, one of the best things to do with a Linux box is to run programs for other operating systems on it. It can simplify your life considerably. Emulations of a wide variety of operating systems are available for Linux. More than mere academic exercises, these "hosted OSes" are practical investments for many server rooms. Also see Cameron Laird’s notes on emulators.

Sun Announces Solaris 10

Submitted by Tudy 2004-11-15 Solaris 126 Comments

Sun's upping the ante against Linux with Solaris 10. First, it will be available free for download, with a pay-for-support model. Also, a feature called Project Janus allows users "to create a virtual container inside Solaris in which they can run Linux applications."

Securing Windows XP

David Adams 2004-11-15 Privacy, Security 53 Comments

This guide will show you how to secure Windows XP. While it covers the basics it also goes beyond them without going into "paranoid" mode...This guide is for home users in a stand-alone or workgroup environment. It is intended as a step-by-step guide and we highly suggest you read through the entire article before taking any action. We welcome suggestions and feedback.

GNU Classpath 0.12 Released; Full JDK 1.0 Compatibility

Eugenia Loli 2004-11-15 Java 30 Comments

GNU Classpath includes all native methods and core classes necessary for a completely functional Java runtime. This release features X.509 certificate path checking, signed JAR file support, full java.awt.color implementation, java.beans 1.4 updates, an improved build process, better AWT focus management, much faster and better fonts support, AWT Choice fixes, HTTP POST fixes, better collection documentation, Calendar bugfixes, lookahead support for regular expressions, fixes for jtree, and improved Eclipse 3 support.

MorphOS Developers Unpaid? MorphOS New Version Delayed

Submitted by JE 2004-11-15 Morphos 99 Comments

The Genesi-owned/sponsored Morphos.net website (Google cache) has been taken down and instead, a page, that reminds us a lot of the Amiga situation up to a few months ago, is described there. It claims that no new version of MorphOS will be released until payments are made to developers. The latest version of MorphOS is almost a year old already, while releases used to happen every few months in the past, usually.

Xcode 2: New Model of Development

Eugenia Loli 2004-11-15 macOS 22 Comments

With the so-called Tiger release of Mac OS X, due the first half of 2005, Apple Computer Inc. will unleash Xcode 2, a version of its rapid development environment that it claims will work with enhancements to the operating system that automatically generate object models, thereby simplifying application development. Xcode 2 also will introduce modeling, include the gcc 4.0 compiler optimized for G4 and G5 processors, and support 64-bit development.

The Upcoming Changes of the Gnome Subsystem

Eugenia Loli 2004-11-15 Gnome 49 Comments

Anders Carlsson of Imendio outlines and explains (copy of the text) the API changes that are coming with the Gnome 3.0 release in the future. On other toolkit news, GTK# 1.0.4 and beta 1.9.0 (wrapping around Gnome 2.6) was released recently. You can rate GTK# here. Update: On yet another toolkit news, the latest release of the Ruby language bindings for Gnome, adds support for GnomePrint, GnomePrintUI, librsvg and Atk 1.7. Rate Ruby-Gnome here.

Gentoo Linux 2004.3 is released

Submitted by Chris Gianelloni 2004-11-14 Gentoo 36 Comments

Gentoo is proud to present the world with Gentoo Linux 2004.3. Read more of the announcement.

Qt: Lists, Trees and Tables

Submitted by Johan Thelin 2004-11-14 Qt 6 Comments

The Independent Qt Tutorial has been updated with a brand new chapter on lists, trees and tables. The visual components are very common in todays applications and complements the existing chapters well. Also from digitalfanatics, a widget gallery, helping you to pick the right widget with screenshots and code examples when it is hard to choose.

JNode.org released 0.1.9

Submitted by Ewout Prangsma 2004-11-14 Java 9 Comments

JNode.org has released a new intermediate version of the JNode.org Java Operating System. This release contains a major update of the GUI system. The GUI is now capable of running simple AWT and Swing programs.

An IT manager’s insight into securing removable media

Submitted by LogError 2004-11-14 Privacy, Security 15 Comments

Removable media devices are here to stay. Their ease of use and low cost have made them ubiquitous in the work environment – but at what price? In this article they look at the pros and cons of removable media, and the steps IT managers can take to mitigate the security risks associated with them.

Review: The easy to use Lycoris Desktop/LX 1.4

Submitted by Tim Mullins 2004-11-14 Mandriva, Mandrake, Lycoris 43 Comments

Eric St-Pierre writes: "While some may consider the features of Desktop/LX a limitation compared to what they are used to have in other distributions, I consider that a clean and simple environment makes me more productive. This review tries to show my view of this distribution." Read more.

hOp, a Haskell OS

Submitted by Aidan Mark 2004-11-13 OS News 32 Comments

hOp is a micro-kernel based on the RTS of GHC. It is meant to enable people to experiment with writing device drivers in Haskell. Currently, hOp is still very hackish, and IA32-specific. More info here and here.

An Encrypted File System on a USB Thumbdrive (FreeBSD)

Submitted by TTF 2004-11-13 Privacy, Security 15 Comments

In this article you will learn how to set up FreeBSD to use a USB thumbdrive, how to configure and use the Cryptographic File System (CFS), and then for the FreeBSD 5.X users, how to use the brand new Geom Based Disk Encryption system (gbde).

Painless FreeBSD System Updating

Submitted by TTF 2004-11-13 FreeBSD 36 Comments

One of the greatest advantages that *BSD has over other Unix variants is the cvsup/make world process. Unlike most Linux distributions it isn't necessary to wait months for a new version to be released for you to upgrade your system. The cvsup/make world process allows you to update your system at any time.

Through the Looking Glass

Submitted by TTF 2004-11-13 Java 18 Comments

"Having heard a few rumors about Project Looking Glass, I was still unprepared for the difference of this desktop: a translucent 3D space that looked like it had come out of a virtual reality "playback" experience from Strange Days (Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Tom Sizemore, 1995), an amazing sci-fi thriller that both predates and smokes The Matrix." Read the article here.

Lexmark accused of installing spyware

Eugenia Loli 2004-11-12 Privacy, Security 54 Comments

Reports on the comp.periphs.printers Usenet newsgroup claim that Lexmark has been planting spyware on its customers' PCs in the form of undocumented software that monitors the use of its printers and silently reports back to a Lexmark-owned company Web site.

Where Is Sun Going with Linux?

Eugenia Loli 2004-11-12 Oracle and SUN 94 Comments

LWM's Bill Claybrook, spoke with John Loiacono, executive vice president of Sun Microsystem's Software Group about his new job, and what he has in store for Sun's Linux strategy.