OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Suse warns of hole in Linux kernel

Submitted by Anonymous 2004-10-28 Bugs & Viruses 42 Comments

Linux distributor Suse has warned of one of the most serious security holes to date (a remote root vulnerability) in Version 2.6 of the Linux kernel, which could allow attackers to shut down a system running 2.6-based software. Suse's advisory ranked the bug 9 out of 10 in severity.

Apple Shows Off Mac OS X Tiger, Xcode

Submitted by Tudy 2004-10-28 macOS 31 Comments

Apple demonstrated Tiger and XCode's new capabilities and features at the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference tuesday. "I know you've heard statements like this before, but this is without a doubt going to be the biggest release for developers in Mac history," said Apple's Chris Bourdon.

The wonders of ‘format c:’

Guest post by Jonathan Hohle 2004-10-28 Humor 66 Comments

Often the solution given to newbies in response to their computer programs is to format c:. However funny the theoretical outcome of this action may be, this suggestion is often made without the suggester really knowing what will happen. This afternoon I decided to look at format c: and it's cousin rm -Rf / and found some pretty interesting results.

Firefox 1.0-RC1 Released

Eugenia Loli 2004-10-28 Mozilla, Gecko 88 Comments

MozillaZine reports that Firefox 1.0-RC1 has been released to the world.

Haiku Kernel Hits Some Milestones

Submitted by Androo 2004-10-27 Haiku 32 Comments

In an announcement today on the offical Haiku website, Axel Dörfler provides an update on the status of the Haiku kernel. Most notably it now has the ability to run Bash, boot to a graphical console from a hard drive on real hardware, and view files on other BeFS-formatted partitions.

QSSL (manufacturer of QNX) sold to Harman International

Submitted by samab 2004-10-27 QNX 56 Comments

Harman (maker of Harman Kardon and JBL audio gears) has bought QNX.

OpenBSD looking for better licenses on binary firmware for WiFi

Eugenia Loli 2004-10-27 OpenBSD 37 Comments

Ryan McBride requests the help of the OpenBSD community in convincing Texas Instruments to change the license of their firmware for the ZCX100 802.11b chipset. Theo de Raadt makes a similar request directed at Intel. A success story from Theo de Raadt in using this tactic on Adaptec. This is also important for Linux and the rest of the BSDs. I had to "pirate" my Prism's firmware files in order to make the pcmcia card work with my Linuces. I don't see the point of keeping these firmware files bound.

Open Letter: Getting In-Touch With Your Ex

Guest post by Matt Cahill 2004-10-27 Mandriva, Mandrake, Lycoris 99 Comments

Dear Mandrake,
I used to be both a user of Mandrake (from v7.2 -> v10) as well as a renewing member of their Club. For various reasons, both personal and not, I decided to switch distros in August of this year. I wanted to try a Debian distro and experience that side of Linux .

Web development IDEs tested

Eugenia Loli 2004-10-27 General Development 30 Comments

Builder AU have an article testing four Web development tools based on ease of use, features and functionality, User interface development, code development, platform and language support, and documentation. Products tested include Zend, ASP.NET WebMatrix, Dreamweaver MX, and NitroX.

Ballmer: Comparing Windows with Linux and UNIX

Submitted by Zac Woodall 2004-10-27 Rumors 63 Comments

In the thousands of meetings that Microsoft employees have with customers around the world every day, many of the same questions consistently surface: Does an open source platform really provide a long-term cost advantage compared with Windows?

Java and .NET security

Submitted by Scott 2004-10-27 Privacy, Security 19 Comments

SUN Microsystems Java and Microsoft's .NET platforms are no more than programming languages that exploit network potential with the idea that the same software should function on different platforms. Both systems are centered around the principle of running software that doesn't reside on the client machine to provide greater functionality or faster execution, saving connection time and improving public perception of the server to which the client connects. Read Article

Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official Released

Adam Scheinberg 2004-10-27 Mandriva, Mandrake, Lycoris 45 Comments

Many users submitted the news of the release of Mandrake 10.1 Official. Mandrakelinux 10.1 includes Linux kernel 2.6.8.1, Gnome 2.6, KDE 3.2.3, and GCC 3.4.1. Mandrake touts the benefits of better Centrino support, expanded Bluetooth support, and improved laptop support, which includes ACPI and wireless chip support. Mandrake 10.1 Official can be purchased now.

SGI supercomputer: Two records in one day

Eugenia Loli 2004-10-27 SGI and IRIX 21 Comments

Even as Silicon Graphics trumpeted on Tuesday a new speed record with the Columbia supercomputer it built for NASA, CNET News.com has learned, it quietly submitted another, faster result: 51.9 trillion calculations per second. SGI also plans to announce a new Linux computer Nov. 1, a machine that uses Intel's newest Itanium 2 processor and packs the chips twice as compactly as current machines do.

MySQL Version 4.1 Certified as Production-Ready

Eugenia Loli 2004-10-26 Databases 28 Comments

MySQL announced the general availability of MySQL 4.1. Certified by the company as production-ready for large-scale enterprise deployment, this significant upgrade to the MySQL database server features advanced querying capabilities through subqueries, faster and more secure client-server communication, new installation and configuration tools, and support for international character sets and geographic data.

Second Mono Summit Notes

Submitted by Diego Dompe 2004-10-26 Mono 51 Comments

Miguel de Icaza has just posted his minute of second mono summit. This provides a lot of interesting information about mono improvements. Among others mentions "stetic" the new Gtk# GUI designer, Gtk# databindings, and a better way to package mono.

Search wars hit desktop computers

Submitted by Tudy 2004-10-26 In the News 48 Comments

Another front in the on-going battle between Microsoft and Google is about to be opened. By the end of 2004 Microsoft aims to launch search software to find any kind of file on a PC hard drive. The move is in answer to Google's release of its own search tool that catalogues data on desktop PCs. The desktop search market is as Google, AOL, Yahoo and many smaller firms tout programs that help people find files.

Microsoft to Release Communication Server; ‘Whitehorse’ dev tools

Submitted by Tudy 2004-10-26 Microsoft 9 Comments

Microsoft plans a Dec. 1 release for the latest version of its server software that aims to give companies more secure instant messaging and other corporate communications tools.The standard version of Microsoft's Live Communications Server 2005 will start at around $750, said Taylor Collyer, senior director of product management, about the same as the previous version. An enterprise edition, which can be coupled with other servers to allow for many more users, will start at $3,000. Microsoft also released on Tuesday a preview version of new tools intended to make it easier for companies to create custom Web applications.

The Software Industry’s Identity Crisis

David Adams 2004-10-26 Editorial 86 Comments

The software industry is undergoing a gradual transformation, and consumer fatigue is at its root. The licensing model that has formed the basis for the modern software industry is facing challenges on many fronts, and the industry is scrambling to keep its footing. Where this period of change may lead software producers and consumers isn't quite clear, but some trends are emerging. Since the proliferation of the internet, unauthorized redistribution of digital goods has become rampant. But although software sharing probably won't kill the software industry, the reasoning behind it shares some pedigree with the customer revolt that promises to transform the way software is sold.

Genetic algorithms simulate a Multi-Celled Organism

Eugenia Loli 2004-10-26 General Development 12 Comments

Create life, or something like it. Based on the Darwinian principle of survival of the fittest, genetic programming uses mutation and replication to produce algorithms for creating ever-improving computer programs. This article covers instructions on how to simulate a multi-celled organism.

Installing Debian GNU/Linux the hard, but flexible and fast way

Guest post by Juerd 2004-10-26 Debian 28 Comments

My preferred way of installing Debian is booting from a livecd like Knoppix and then using debootstrap. This is a fast and flexible way of getting a system running and results in a very clean installation. Unlike the old Debian installer and the New installer, this makes setting up an entire system on a software RAID 1 system very easy. Besides that, Knoppix supports more hardware than Debian installation CDs. I documented very simply and clearly how I prefer to install a basic Debian system.