OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

September Syllable Newsletter; Flash Demo

Submitted by Michael Saunders 2004-10-01 Syllable, AtheOS 27 Comments

September was the busiest month in the Syllable project's history, and developments are summarized in the latest newsletter. Highlights include the 0.5.4 release, driver updates, and software enhancements. Also, a Flash demo of Syllable in action is now available, illustrating some of the new desktop features.

Hurd: K7 Debian CDs Available

Submitted by Rob Butler 2004-10-01 Debian 29 Comments

Philip Charles has announced the availability of the K7 series of Debian GNU/Hurd CDs. He says: "The main feature of the K7 set is its quality. I would say it is the best set to date. IMHO, this set could be used to promote GNU". This version features XFree86-4.3 for the first time, resulting in greatly improved X11 support. It is also the first version featuring the hurd package itself built against a recent glibc (current Debian unstable).

SimplyMepis 2004.01 Review

Submitted by Darrel Kennedy 2004-10-01 Linux 19 Comments

Mepis is making the transition to a full-fledged easy-to-use desktop and general-purpose Linux distribution. The following is both an overview and review of this excellent new Linux distribution.

Bundling Java/SWT Applications for Mac OS X

Submitted by Nathan Callender 2004-10-01 Java 8 Comments

There are several ways to package a Java/SWT application on Mac OS X. However, if you want your application to look and feel like a native Mac OS X application, you will want to opt for creating an application bundle. Read more to learn how to bundle your Java/SWT application.

The FAQs on FAQs

Submitted by Steve Mallett 2004-10-01 General Development 3 Comments

Maintaining and deploying useful FAQs can be a very tedious process. Luckily there are a number of open source FAQ generation and management tools out there that exist to try and make it a bit easier. In The FAQs on FAQs we take a look at some tools and what FAQs demand of administrators.

Challenges and Opportunities in Mobile Games

David Adams 2004-10-01 Games 1 Comment

The Austin Game Conference has emerged as one of the primary conferences for game designers, developers, and entrepreneurs in North America. This year, more than 1400 professionals from over 350 companies attended the conference to discuss the technical and business challenges that face today's game industry.

Professional Looking Interface Icons for Developers

Submitted by InerfaceLIFT 2004-10-01 Graphics 27 Comments

InterfaceLIFT, a source for freeware icons for both Mac OS X and Windows has launched a new section of its web site devoted to developers. The new stock icons collection makes it easier for programmers to find high-quality, royalty-free interface icons that are designed specifically for use in software and web site projects.

Sun looking to patent 3D desktop interface

Eugenia Loli 2004-10-01 Oracle and SUN 38 Comments

Sun's 3D desktop dubbed Project Looking Glass, was released under the GPL a few months ago. However, it now seems Sun is looking to patent the Project Looking Glass interface according to this report.

Linux on desktop will be ‘cheaper and more secure’, claim vendors

Eugenia Loli 2004-10-01 Linux 38 Comments

A senior IT executive at a major pharmaceutical company summed up the challenge for Linux at the ZDNet UK IT Priorities conference when he asked one simple question: what are the benefits in migrating from Microsoft to Linux at the desktop?

Protecting the Perimeter With OpenBSD

Submitted by Nix_User 2004-09-30 OpenBSD 39 Comments

OpenBSD will perform best for low-traffic Web sites requiring strong protection. The key theme here is small and secure — therein lies the strength of OpenBSD, says ServerWatch.

Eliminating Choice: Not in the Long Term View

Guest post by Jed Reynolds 2004-09-30 Editorial 52 Comments

In Russo's A Response to the Paradox of Choice, I interpret this paragraph to be the crux of his essay:

Platform SDK for Windows XP Service Pack 2

Eugenia Loli 2004-09-30 Windows 10 Comments

Newly released is the Platform SDK for Windows XP Service Pack 2 support (includes MDAC 2.8, Tablet 1.7 and Windows Installer 3.0).

IE–embraced, extended, extinct?

Eugenia Loli 2004-09-30 Internet Explorer 69 Comments

Despite all appearances, Microsoft insists it hasn't lost interest in Web browsers.

Java 2 Standard Edition 5 is out

Submitted by Sanjaya Sugiarto 2004-09-30 Java 44 Comments

Sun just launched the long-waited J2SE 5. Some screenshots for the new Ocean L&F here and here and also here. Moreover, Netbeans 4.0 Beta 2 is also ready to be tested.

Dynamic Languages are the Future

Submitted by Sanjaya Sugiarto 2004-09-30 General Development 78 Comments

Dynamic languages are high-level, dynamically typed open source languages. These languages, designed to solve the problems that programmers of all abilities face in building and integrating heterogeneous systems, have proven themselves both despite and thanks to their independence from corporate platform strategies, relying instead on grassroots development and support. Ideally suited to building loosely coupled systems that adapt to changing requirements, they form the foundation of myriad programming projects, from the birth of the web to tomorrow's challenges.

Ubuntu, a promising new Linux distribution

Eugenia Loli 2004-09-30 Ubuntu 69 Comments

With a six-month release schedule, solid funding, and many prominent Debian and Gnome developers employed by Canonical to work on Ubuntu, the future looks bright for this project, says Kuro5hin.

UNIX vs. Linux – what the vendors are saying

Submitted by tk421 2004-09-30 Rumors 38 Comments

The decision to stay with UNIX or to migrate to Linux is top of mind for many. So, the question becomes: When does it make sense to stay and when does it make sense to move? CIOupdate put that question to the big three UNIX vendors -- IBM, Hewlett Packard (HP) and Sun -- to understand how they help their customers decide where, when and if a migration makes sense.

Lycoris takes over contribs.org; Red Hat on AOL’s Server

Submitted by DarkCloud 2004-09-30 In the News 7 Comments

Effective immediately, contribs.org and the development and support of the SME Server will be handled by Lycoris. There will be a Lycoris commercial release available within a very short period of time. Elsewhere, Red Hat plans to release the Netscape Enterprise Suite as open-source software in a bid to expand beyond its core product.

Desktop Linux a vehicle for pirating Windows

Eugenia Loli 2004-09-30 In the News 99 Comments

PCs running Linux are growing in popularity in part because they can be loaded with a pirated copy of Windows, according to a study from analyst Gartner.

YDL 4.0 Released

Submitted by IQ 2004-09-30 Linux 13 Comments

Finally Terrasoft released YellowDog Linux 4.0. Six months in development, Yellow Dog Linux v4.0 is built upon Fedora Core 2, offering both KDE 3.3 and GNOME 2.6.0 desktops with an all new presentation for both the Installer and post-installed desktop environment. Included apps are OpenOffice 1.1.1, Rhythmbox 0.8.3, Mozilla 1.7 and development tools glibc 2.3.3 and gcc 3.3.3 built upon the 32-bit kernel 2.6.8. A lot of new hardware is supported including G5. Mac-on-linux is also supported. More.