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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

"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.

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.

An upcoming Microsoft software product for clustered servers won't run on Intel's high-end Itanium 2 chip, according to a report first published on News.com. Instead, it will be optimized for a more mainstream type of server chip from Intel and rival AMD.

In anticipation of the upcoming release of Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 2, Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices Group has announced a series of "Live Meeting" online broadcasts, which will be held each day from December 6 through 10 for North American developers. The broadcasts will help developers learn how they can take advantage of the capabilities of the new release in order to build more secure, manageable, and innovative embedded devices, Microsoft says.

A Gartner Research study of July-September sales data found that Microsoft's mobile OS outsold Palm's. During that period, Microsoft's OS accounted for 48.1% of worldwide shipments of PDAs, up from 41.2% the previous year. Palm's share dropped to 29.8% in Q3 2004 from 46.9%. The BlackBerry quadrupled its market share in twelve months to 19.8% from 4.9%.

This article covers some of the big-picture differences from the perspective of a Linux user being introduced to FreeBSD.

As part of the development team, we're announcing PVFS2 version 1.0 here in Pittsburgh at the SC2004 conference!