Loosely based on Red Hat Linux 9, ELX BizDesk 4.0 is designed primarily for corporate users who are looking for a drop-in replacement for Microsoft Windows and Office. DesktopOS.com has just published a comprehensive review that examines this Indian-designed distribution.

This technical overview by veteran real-time lecturer David Kalinsky examines a number of directions in which RTOSs continue to change and mature. Two main directions are alternative task scheduling algorithms, and intertask communication via asynchronous direct message passing. In order to keep at a practical level, the focus is on trends and features that can be expected to appear in RTOSs soon.

This column explores the type system used when programming the WinFS platform. The sample download shows you how to work with the WinFS type system using the WinFS API. The WinHEC 2004 build of Avalon contains new features that enable you to easily add three-dimensional (3-D) content to your Avalon applications. This article introduces you to the 3-D functionality currently available and how it may evolve in the future and addresses the differences between Avalon and DirectX and discusses which technology may be best for your application.

IBM unveiled technology intended to reduce complexity in software installation and packaging and has submitted it to the W3C for consideration as an industry standard. Dubbed Solution Installation for Autonomic Computing, the technology enables software developers and software vendors to improve the installation and support experience and simplify the software packaging process, according to IBM. Developers would be able to build packaged software for installation on a variety of platforms.

ekkoBSD's site seems to be closing doors, but there is not enough information about it.

OrangeCrate.com posted an interview with Jeff Licquia and Jolene Watkins of Progeny.

OpenDarwin 7.2.1 (which corresponds to Mac OS X 10.3.2) has been released for both PowerPC and Intel x86 architectures: complete release notes are available here.

As part of Microsoft's settlement with Sun Microsystems, Sun agreed to take part in a licensing program under which Microsoft gives rivals access to various Windows communications protocols. However, Sun's check is apparently still in the mail.

"I hope that Part I of the Stealth Desktop series was a good start for our series about using Slackware as a desktop. In Part II we will focus on the hardest part: making sound and video work. Sound is not especially difficult; but video is. Fortunately, after this step, it is an easy ride." Read Eduardo's guide through these tasks at OfB.biz.

In a historic announcement, issued jointly this evening by RISCOS Ltd., Castle, Advantage 6, MicroDigital and VirtualAcorn, it would very much appear that the past on-going disputes surrounding RISC OS have been settled. Take a deep breath, then wait for this.

VMWare makes it very easy to run Linux right on your Windows desktop (and the other way around). And, if you're feeling adventurous, you can even try running the beta versions of the next version of Windows called "Longhorn" or even Sun's Solaris operating system. Read the review at ExtremeTech.

After three years and much controversy, Miguel de Icaza's Mono project has finally released its 1.0 version. NewsForge recently talked with Erik Dasque, the senior project leader for Mono, about the release of 1.0, the controversy and criticisms encountered along the way, and the plans for the future.

Two articles at OnJava, first an article titled "Better, Faster, Lighter Programming in .NET and Java" and also "Avoiding J2EE cluster bugs".

"It's alive!" was the cry issued this week by the Solaris grunts at Sun Microsystems. For the first time, the engineers managed to get a true 64-bit kernel up and running on an Opteron box. This is a key milestone in Sun's ambitious plan to make Solaris a preferred operating system in the x86 world.