OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

SUSE LINUX 9.1: The Complete Review

Submitted by Jason 2004-06-02 SuSE, openSUSE 33 Comments

DesktopOS.com has published a comprehensive review of SUSE LINUX 9.1, Personal and Professional editions. At over 11,000 words and with 40 screenshots, this is a most thorough SUSE review.

PostgreSQL 7.4 and Berkeley DB XML Basics

Eugenia Loli 2004-06-02 Databases 4 Comments

The latest release of PostgreSQL contains a host of new features for advanced database design. Here's an introduction to some of the best. Also, based on the ubiquitous Berkeley DB, Berkeley DB XML is a new database that stores, retrieves, indexes, and searches XML documents. Better yet, you can embed Berkeley BD XML in almost any application. Roll up your sleeves for this hands-on introduction.

Moving from Red Hat to Fedora

Eugenia Loli 2004-06-02 Fedora Core 15 Comments

In November 2003, Red Hat announced that "Red Hat will discontinue maintenance and errata support for Red Hat Linux 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, and 8.0 as of December 31, 2003." In other words, "No more free Red Hat software." Red Hat's missive confirmed that it was going to focus its efforts on large, enterprise-wide Linux installations and suggested that Red Hat Linux users migrate to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, albeit at a significantly increased annual cost. But then again, Fedora was unveiled.

Microsoft Granted Patent for Extended Mouse Button Pressing

Submitted by Elwood 2004-06-02 Microsoft 64 Comments

Microsoft has been granted a patent on the double-click by the US Patents and Trademark Office. The patent, number 6,727,830, was granted on April 27. An abstract of the application says: "A method and system are provided for extending the functionality of application buttons on a limited resource computing device. Alternative application functions are launched based on the length of time an application button is pressed. A default function for an application is launched if the button is pressed for a short, i.e., normal, period of time." Our editorial on patents.

Something “Fundamentally Different” Heads Your Way

Eugenia Loli 2004-06-02 Microsoft 6 Comments

BW's technology columnist, Stephen Wildstrom, discusses the impact of Microsoft's upcoming software release, plus other IT trends. Elsewhere, WMP 10-beta is set to be released today.

Syllable: New Developer Pack; Dock Alpha 2, Registrar

Eugenia Loli 2004-06-02 Syllable, AtheOS 8 Comments

The Syllable team has a few interesting news to announce, new dev tools, a new dock and a registrar, printed magazing exposure and more.

Uboot (AmigaOne firmware) Article Published

Submitted by Elwood 2004-06-02 Amiga & AROS No Comments

A comprehensive UBoot AmigaOne guide has been released on IntuitionBase.com. You'll find everything required to use Uboot and start/configure your next boot, be it with AmigaOS 4.0 or Linux.

mbuma mbuf allocator added in FreeBSD

Submitted by Stelianos Sfakianakis 2004-06-02 FreeBSD 4 Comments

Bosko Milekic imported mbuma, an mbuf and cluster allocator built on the UMA (Uniform Memory Access) framework, that will replace mballoc, the old allocator. Bosko has written a paper talking about the new allocator.

PalmSource looks to China for new licensees

Eugenia Loli 2004-06-02 Wireless 1 Comment

A day after its No. 2 client, Sony, delivered bad news, PalmSource says two Chinese companies may license the Palm OS. PalmSource said on Wednesday it is talking with mobile phone maker Ningbo Bird and an arm of TCL about licensing its Palm operating system for handheld devices.

Sun’s Java Desktop System 2 is No Improvement

Eugenia Loli 2004-06-02 Oracle and SUN 79 Comments

Sun introduced recently the second version of Java Desktop System (JDS) for a flat fee per employee/per year. We tried it and here is what we found out about:

Mono 1.0 Beta 2 Released

Submitted by Chris Vickerson 2004-06-02 Mono 39 Comments

Novell announced the second Beta release of Mono: It includes a C# compiler, an implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure and two stacks of APIs: a Unix, Linux, GNOME, Mono stack for APIs that takes the most advantage of your Unix server and desktop and a set of APIs compatible with the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 that provides support for ASP.NET (web services and web forms), ADO.NET and many other components.

The Myth of .NET Purity, Reloaded

Eugenia Loli 2004-06-02 .NET 12 Comments

Does a solution written for Microsoft .NET have to be 100% .NET? Scott Hanselman looks at how hybrid managed-unmanaged solutions are really the norm.

The Scope of Network Distributed Computing; Tuning TCP

Eugenia Loli 2004-06-02 Internet 3 Comments

The scope of Network Distributed Computing (NDC) is quite impressive. This chapter presents an overview of some of the many relevant areas of NDC research and development today. If you're looking for a solid overview of all things NDC — from the Semantic Web, P2P, and Pervasive Computing to Distributed Databases, Filesystems, Media, and Storage — you've come to the right place.

Cryptography with Java

Eugenia Loli 2004-06-02 Java 2 Comments

The purpose of this chapter is to make you, a Java and J2EE programmer, feel at home with cryptographic capabilities of Java, and is structured around cryptography information that is both useful and practical to Java programmers.

Has UNIX Programming Changed in 20 Years?

Eugenia Loli 2004-06-02 Unix 20 Comments

With the publication of 'Advanced UNIX Programming', Second Edition, Marc Rochkind takes a look at what has changed in the 20 years since he wrote the first edition.

MUSCLE 2.50 Released

Eugenia Loli 2004-06-01 Internet 3 Comments

MUSCLE is a robust, somewhat scalable, cross-platform client-server messaging system for dynamic distributed applications that runs under any POSIX-compliant operating system and Windows. Version 2.50 was released today including additions and fixes. The author of MUSCLE, Jeremy Friesner, wrote a very enjoyable article for OSNews back in the day to better introduce the system: "Using MUSCLE to Implement a Multiplayer Networked Game".

Intel to release next-gen BIOS technology under open source license

Eugenia Loli 2004-06-01 Intel 20 Comments

Intel said today that it plans to release the "Foundation code" of its next-generation firmware technology -- a successor to the PC BIOS -- under the Common Public License (CPL), an open source license, later this year. More than 20 years old, the BIOS (Basic Input-Output System) is the oldest software technology in PC platforms.

Sun Rolls Out New Products, Services; Says Hardware will be Free

Submitted by --_==Josh==_-- 2004-06-01 Oracle and SUN 36 Comments

Sun's Schwartz isn't alone in saying that hardware will someday be "free," so long as customers sign up for multiyear software subscriptions and services contracts. Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates has said he believes that, within a few years, hardware will be free and that software will be bought on a subscription basis, rather than as a one-time purchase that must be upgraded routinely.

Should Java Class exceptions always be checked?

Submitted by Frank 2004-06-01 Java 16 Comments

Most of the advice on the use of exceptions in the Java language suggests that checked exceptions should be preferred in any case where an exception conceivably might be caught.

Synopsis on what DotGNU Is

Guest post by Skurry Haker 2004-06-01 .NET 19 Comments

There's been a lot of chatter about Mono, recently, varying from "its a killer dev platform!" all the way to, "the patent issues are going to destroy us all!" And yet, in all this chatter, there has been relatively little chatter about DotGNU or Portable.NET. Well, you know what they say: learning is FUNdamental...