OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

MandrakeSoft: An inside look

Eugenia Loli 2004-05-12 Mandriva, Mandrake, Lycoris 26 Comments

MandrakeSoft recently emerged from the bankruptcy protection it sought last year. To find out what happened and why MandrakeSoft is enjoying success, Joe Bolin caught up with MandrakeSoft CEO François Bancilhon, and Mandrakelinux co-founders Jacques Le Marois and Gaël Duval.

Make shared memory work for you, not against you

Eugenia Loli 2004-05-12 General Development 10 Comments

In terms of time and space shared memory is probably the most efficient inter-process communication channel provided by all modern OSes. This article explains how to Use Shared Objects On Linux.

Ximian Connector Released Under the GPL; CrossOver 3.0 Released

Submitted by Chris Vickerson 2004-05-12 Novell and Ximian 67 Comments

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

Submitted by readers 2004-05-12 Apple 78 Comments

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.

Sun completes ‘Niagara’ chip design

Eugenia Loli 2004-05-12 Oracle and SUN 22 Comments

Sun Microsystems has completed the design of its Niagara processor, a crucial product in the server maker's effort to keep its own UltraSparc chip family competitive, a source familiar with the project said.

Opinion: Common OS Myths Debunked

Guest post by Nick Comtois 2004-05-11 OS News 185 Comments

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

Submitted by Knut S. Åbjørsbråten 2004-05-11 Syllable, AtheOS 15 Comments

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.

Microsoft readies XP Update Giveaway

Submitted by Ziad Nsarellah 2004-05-11 Microsoft 24 Comments

Microsoft says it will give away Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, but remains coy about the exact nature of "XP Reloaded." Additionally, Microsoft said that the SP2 won't be available to pirates.

Red Hat, MS Clash in Conference; MS Refines Image After EU Ruling

Submitted by danjr 2004-05-11 Rumors 9 Comments

Day 2 of the KMDI Open Source conference started with Robert F. Young, cofounder of Red Hat, Inc. presenting a positive view about open source business models. At the end of a conference day lasting nearly 13 hours, Young returned to deliver the conference's keynote address.

Xandros Serves as Foundation for ION Linux Laptops

Submitted by Xenia 2004-05-11 Oracle and SUN 12 Comments

Xandros today announced that the Xandros Desktop operating system serves as the core framework for the new line of ION laptops from Element Computer. Element customized the Xandros Desktop OS with their ION Parchment icon theme, the new Mozilla Firefox browser, and "Unbreakable Upgrade" support to bring an Apple-like customer experience and Windows compatibility to mobile Linux computing.

Providing file meta-data support with KFile plugins

Eugenia Loli 2004-05-11 KDE 4 Comments

This document describes how to provide meta-data support for a specific file type. It is presented as an example based tutorial. In this context, meta-data is information in the file that describes the file itself. For example, typical meta-data for an image is the number of pixels in the image. This document is matched to Qt 3.3 and KDE 3.2.

Advanced Graphics Algorithms

Eugenia Loli 2004-05-11 3D 3 Comments

In this article, six widely used algorithms in graphics rendering of indoor and outdoor environments are discussed, namely: quad-based static terrain, Roettger's approach to continuous levels-of-detail in terrain, real-time optimally adapting meshes, portals, BSPs and PVSs. In each case the algorithm is discussed and some aspects of implementation are considered, as well as analyize each algorithm for its application in modern graphics systems. More graphics articles here.

Alan Turing: Thinking Up Computers

Eugenia Loli 2004-05-11 Geek stuff 24 Comments

The Cambridge University mathematician laid the foundation for the invention of software. As part of its anniversary celebration, BusinessWeek is presenting a series of weekly profiles for the greatest innovators of the past 75 years. Some made their mark in science or technology; others in management, finance, marketing, or government. In late September, 2004, BusinessWeek will publish a special commemorative issue on Innovation. Elsewhere, there is also a special article for Turing.

Interview with Professional Photographer Joe Decker

Eugenia Loli 2004-05-11 Wireless 17 Comments

Our sister site NewMobileComputing (NMC) features today an interview with professional photographer Joe Decker (gallery), discussing digital photography, essential software and much more.

Potential Solution for FreeBSD’s Kqueue Issues in 5.x

Submitted by Anonymous 2004-05-11 FreeBSD 15 Comments

Kerneltrap covers recent progress with the Kqueue code in FreeBSD-current. Kqueue testing is a major focus area for the release of 5.3 and it looks like freebsd dev is making steady progress in knocking out major showstoppers. The code would also benefit from testing.

Automating Windows Patch Management (Part I, II and III)

Submitted by TTF 2004-05-11 Windows 7 Comments

Patch management could easily be called the bane of every administrator's existence, the pain in the rear of system management, or that never ceasing headache that pounds at CIOs everywhere. Here are three articles on the topic, Part 1, 2 and 3.

Gnome 2.6: Living Down to a Low Standard

Submitted by Rahul 2004-05-11 Gnome 147 Comments

Well-known tech journalist Nicholas Petreley tried Gnome 2.6 but he got baffled by the default Nautilus 2.6 behavior to open each folder on a new window and also from the inability to change colors on a GTK+ theme through a UI. On a positive note, Gnome's Tim Ney informed us about the Guadec 5 event.

Source-based Linux Distributions from a Beginner’s Perspective

Eugenia Loli 2004-05-10 Linux 16 Comments

Arvan Reese wrote a guide for beginners explaining all about source-based Linux distros.

OmniWeb 5.0b Preview at MacCritic

Submitted by Silas Warren 2004-05-10 Internet 14 Comments

"This browser sports a tag-line stating, 'The web browser that puts you in control.' I haven't been much of an Omniweb fan in the past, so reviewing this browser was a leap of faith for me. I’m in love with Omnigraffle but that is another review in itself, so my past grievances with Omniweb weren’t directed toward the company, but rather the browser itself." Read the rest of the review at MacCritic.

Giving XFce4 a Spin

Guest post by Rahul Gaitonde 2004-05-10 Xfce 62 Comments

Before we begin, here's what XFce's website has to say about itself: XFce is a lightweight desktop environment for unix-like operating systems. It aims to be fast and lightweight, while still being visually appealing and easy to use. It's based on the GTK+ toolkit version 2.