Every operating system has different sound systems and APIs to access the sound card, so that no low-level coding is required to use the sound device. Programmers have many different choices concerning which system to use, especially under Linux -- and maybe that's the problem. This article illustrates free sound architectures on Linux, as well as the different interfaces a programmer can use.

Quite frankly, I got fed up with my Windows XP. Everything was wrong with it - security, stability, and price. So, I took a new step in my computer experience and tried going Linux. My only previous experience having been using and FTP Wizard to upload files to a web host, I could definitely be put into the "newbie" category.

Since the earliest games of Ping Pong and Pac man, graphics have evolved quite a bit. The technology in which to render them has also evolved into complex and speedy graphics processing units. From primitive software acceleration to the current hardware and software acceleration, graphics have become more efficient, more complex, and most importantly, more beautiful than ever before.

Service Pack 2 for Windows XP has finally been released and is now available for people to download and install on their systems. The file, at just over 265 Megs, is a hefty download yet is packed with new updates well worth getting. Microsoft's new focus on security is paying off, but the company still has a long way to regain its customers' trust, according to the company's security program manager.

With the release of its first Linux laptop last week, Hewlett-Packard predicts this year the free operating system will unseat the Mac as the No. 2 desktop operating system behind Windows. Indeed, some analysts say Linux displaced the Mac as the leading alternative in 2003. Today's the Day. But the Mac hasn't been relegated to third just yet. While Linux machines are shipping in ever greater numbers, especially to giant markets like China, the vast majority are stripped of Linux in favor of pirate copies of Windows, experts say.

The security industry has matured quickly over the past few years with penetration testing becoming one of the norms for organisations adopting best-practice processes. Loosely defined as the process of actively assessing an organisations security measures and completely reliant on consultancy services, security manufacturers have been eager to bridge the gap between product and service and more importantly to reap the benefits of additional profits. Story is here.

The Unix Porting Project's efforts to bring X Windows software to RISC OS continues, as the team gradually implements more and more of the X11 specification to enable open source applications, found on Unix, to be enjoyed by RISC OS users. While the ChoX11 library isn't complete yet, applications are starting to take shape, such as the GTK-based web browser Dillo.

LinuxGazette for August is released and includes articles --among others-- like: "Fvwm", "How To Enable Desktop Icons for Lightweight Window Managers", "White Box Linux Kickstart Tricks", "Securing a New Linux Installation" and many others.

There are many ways to add fault tolerance to network services and resources running on Windows Server 2003 servers, and all without the hassle of third-party software. Find out how to use them.

This article describes best practices for managing system resources for Sun Ray users. Based on an actual customer scenario, this article provides recommendations for integrating and using the Solaris Resource Manager software to fairly distribute system resources when users insert and remove their smart cards from Sun Ray desktop units.

Kernel 2.4.27-rc6 was released as 2.4.27 with no changes. Here is a list of the most important security issues fixed by this release.

David Uhlman has put together a Gnome tips article much of which will be appearing in the forthcoming gnome hacks oreilly book. In other news, check out the extended application ranking we implemented for Gnomefiles.org.

Lots of bugfixes in this development release for DotGNU Portable.NET 0.6.8.

This Freshmeat article proposes a new technique for how desktops can integrate console applications.