OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Performance of Java versus C++

Submitted by aaa 2004-07-07 Benchmarks 55 Comments

This article surveys a number of benchmarks and finds that Java performance on numerical code is comparable to that of C++, with hints that Java's relative performance is continuing to improve. Then they describe clear theoretical reasons why these benchmark results should be expected.

FreeBSD: Revamp of Kernel Debugging Code w/ Thread Awareness

Eugenia Loli 2004-07-07 FreeBSD 24 Comments

Marcel Moolenaar has been very busy with GDB code as of late, having imported gdb version 6.1.1 in late June and now supplying a patch to freebsd-arch@ that adds kernel debugging and helpful features to FreeBSD's gdb and ddb code, including thread awareness. Other interesting additions include optimizations for the 64-bit platforms, compression for remote gdb, and improved symbol handling.

In the chair: VMware’s Ed Bugnion

Eugenia Loli 2004-07-07 OS News 5 Comments

This is an interview with Ed Bugnion, CTO and Co-founder of VMware, conducted by IT-Director.com. It offers an insight into VMware past, present and future.

Ballmer Tightens Microsoft Belt

Eugenia Loli 2004-07-07 Microsoft 28 Comments

Softly spoken, shy and retiring Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer sent an email to staff yesterday to complain that the company is not as wealthy as everyone thinks. According to Mr Ballmer, stories have been getting out that he is sitting on a fathomless cash ocean of billions of dollars and does nothing more than swim in the mountains of loot. He wanted to tell staff that it is not true because Microsoft needed a lot of cash.

Enterprise Managers Wary of Dumping IE

Submitted by Sanjaya Sugiarto 2004-07-07 Internet Explorer 80 Comments

While corporate users are worried about security holes, they often rely on internal apps and Web sites that only work within Microsoft's dominant browser.

Second NetBSD Quarterly Status Report for 2004

Submitted by Daniel de Kok 2004-07-07 NetBSD 10 Comments

Jan Schaumann announced that the second NetBSD Quarterly Status Report for 2004 is now available online. It covers the major recent developments within the NetBSD project during April, May, June.

Windows for Opteron beta doesn’t support Nocona

Eugenia Loli 2004-07-07 Windows 23 Comments

Customers can now purchase workstations using Intel Corp.'s Nocona Xeon processor, with 64-bit extensions to the x86 instruction set, but they can't run the beta 64-bit version of Windows designed for those extensions on the new workstations.

Improved Caching in ASP.NET 2.0

Eugenia Loli 2004-07-07 .NET No Comments

Stephen Walther looks at the new caching features included in ASP.NET 2.0, and how you can use them to improve the performance and scalability of your ASP.NET applications.

OS X Tiger Seeks Enterprise Adoption

Eugenia Loli 2004-07-07 macOS 31 Comments

Forrester senior analyst Simon Yates told MacNewsWorld that Apple and Microsoft are attempting to offer a multipronged approach to user searches in Tiger & Longhorn, in an attempt simplify finding data.

OpenBSD – For Your Eyes Only

Eugenia Loli 2004-07-07 OpenBSD 44 Comments

In the following article, DistroWatch explores OpenBSD, an operating system built from the ground up with security in mind. Though not suitable for every taste, OpenBSD will no doubt save many system administrators gray hairs. Even for those not running a server, this is a very stable and powerful OS and you don't necessarily need to be paranoid (though it helps) to enjoy using it.

Thoughts on USENIX and OSes by a Solaris Kernel Developer

Guest post by Bryan Cantrill 2004-07-07 Editorial 31 Comments

I recently blogged on a disconcerting trend that I see at USENIX, and for OS research more generally.

Aquafying Windows

Guest post by Thom Holwerda 2004-07-06 Graphics 88 Comments

There is a certain thing about skinning. It's just relaxing. Changing skins, browsing for skins, adding icons, trying out different color schemes in order to find the best match. The skinning community is quite large, ranging from people who change only their WinAmp skin, to people who use different DE's on Unix-like systems. In fact, you are also skinning when you don't use a DE; since the command line is in fact a type of 'skin' as well.

Fedora Core 2: Making it work; Fedora Core 3 Schedule Posted

Submitted by Brad Griffith 2004-07-06 Fedora Core 44 Comments

"Getting FC2 to a state of desktop readiness is a task that requires a medium amount of skill and will probably take close to a full day for the first workstation (assuming that you have a high-speed Internet connection). Subsequent installs should go more quickly; indeed, I intend for my students to get most of it done during their first three-hour class." Read the article here.

SkyOS 5.0 Beta 7 Released

Submitted by Joel Mandell 2004-07-06 SkyOS 62 Comments

"SkyOS 5.0 Beta 7 has been released for beta testers. The biggest changes in beta 7 are of course the addition of multi-user support and BASH, but many, many small and large bugs have also been fixed as well." Read other news at SkyOS homepage.

Microsoft develops Windows for parallel computing

Eugenia Loli 2004-07-06 Windows 13 Comments

Microsoft is developing a version of its Windows Server 2003 operating system that is designed to handle applications running across dozens of single- or dual-processor computers working in parallel.

GCC 3.4.1 Released

Eugenia Loli 2004-07-06 General Development 37 Comments

Mark Mitchell announced the availability of GCC 3.4.1. Mark explains, "there are no new features in this release, but there are a lot of improvements for various languages and architectures."

Conectiva Linux 10.0 Released

Submitted by W da Rocha Lima 2004-07-06 Linux 15 Comments

Conectiva Linux 10 was released. Read more here and here.

The State of KOffice

Eugenia Loli 2004-07-05 KDE 52 Comments

A 6-page review on the state of KOffice and plenty of screenshots.

Out With The Old, In With The New; A Comedy Of Eras

Guest post by Sean Cohen 2004-07-05 Editorial 61 Comments

Given the number of reviews floating around detailing people's first experiences with every Linux distro under the sun, I thought it might be entertaining to take a light-hearted look at my early experiences with my first Mac.

Evaluating Windows XP Service Pack 2 RC2

Eugenia Loli 2004-07-05 Windows 23 Comments

The code for release candidate 2 finally looks like a real release candidate. And sure enough, it will help you big-time with security. But what sorts of headaches will the eventual final version mean for IT shops? InformationWeek takes it piece by piece.