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Pleasantly Surprised with Knoppix Linux

I've been trying Linux on and off for a couple of years. My first experience with Linux was with a version of Slackware (can't remember) way back in 1996. At the time the installation was so daunting that I gave up all together. For a little background I consider myself a proficient computer user.

Microsoft Outlines Windows Server Roadmap

NeoWin has posted the roadmap for Windows Server versions. Notice in the screenshot the "Virtual Server", which probably will include an integrated runtime engine to run multiple Windows on the same machine (for similar purposes to what IBM does with Linux). Update: Neowin removed the story but the roadmap image is still up (for now). To view the image you need to manually copy/paste its URL to your browser's address bar. Direct linking won't work. Update 2: The story is back up.

Extensible Programming for the 21st Century

This article argues that next-generation programming systems will accomplish this by combining three specific technologies: compilers, linkers, debuggers, and other tools will be plugin frameworks, rather than monolithic applications; programmers will be able to extend the syntax of programming languages; and programs will be stored as XML documents, so that programmers can represent and process data and meta-data uniformly.

Ximian Connector Released Under the GPL; CrossOver 3.0 Released

Novell today announced its Connector for Microsoft Exchange Server will be integrated into Evolution 2.0 and made available as open source, beginning today with the current Connector 1.4. Evolution is Novell's award-winning e-mail and workgroup client for Unix and is the most widely used collaboration suite on Linux. Elsewhere, the CrossOver Office 3.0 plugin was also released.

Why Steve Jobs is Still Important

Steve Jobs is delivering on the digital dream however he has never understood the use of computing in large companies. The minute he or Apple mentions "enterprise," run in the other direction." Read the editorial here by George Colony, chairman and chief executive officer of Forrester Research. Update: On other Mac news, Apple Computer has won a patent for the interface of its iTunes music software, underscoring the growing importance of the multimedia business for the company.

Opinion: Common OS Myths Debunked

One day while doing my daily browsing through the web, I came across a message board post that was in response to a Linux zealot's rant. It went a little something like this, "If Linux had the market share of Windows, and Windows was the underdog you would be saying how great, and easy to use Windows is, and how it just works." My first reaction was of anger and dismissal, "Linux is open source Linux uses protected memory..." But the more I thought about it the more it disturbed me because I knew it was true. What do you do when you think an opinion you have may be in jeopardy of being wrong? You compare the facts and sort out the myths.

Syllable Live CD Available

This is the first release of a Live CD for Syllable (30 MB), created by BurningShadow, based on Syllable 0.5.3 while it includes Arno's dock Alpha 1. This first version of the Live CD is far from perfect, as there are some random crashes to the fact that it is running off a read-only filesystem, we were told.