Trolltech Releases Qt 3.3.2
Trolltech today announced the release of Qt, version 3.3.2. Qt, Trolltech's C++ multiplatform application framework. List of changes here.
Editorial: Linux on Your Desktop
"When you think of a personal computer, you probably think of one running Windows. Microsoft's near-ubiquitous operating system runs on 94 percent of desktop PCs, according to experts. But could the upstart Linux OS soon replace Windows on a computer near you?" Read the article by Scott Spanbauer.
Gentoo 2004.1 Released
The Gentoo Linux Release Engineering team is proud to announce the release of Gentoo Linux 2004.1. Read more on DistroWatch or the press release.
Windows XP SP2 RC2 & RTM Delayed
According to WinBeta, Windows XP Service Pack 2 has just been pushed back a bit further than originally expected. These delays will effect both the second Release Candidate along with the Release to Manufacturing/Release to Web. The following are the new expected delivery dates: RC2: May 26th, 2004 (previous date was May 12th) and RTM: July 21st, 2004 (previous date was June 23rd). However, MSFN has different dates to report.
Linux Viewpoint: Sun Shows Its True Colors, Says Groklaw’s “PJ”
"It looks like Sun is indeed going to re-run Caldera, right down to creating a Linux distro (Java Desktop) with lots of proprietary addons in an attempt to enforce per-seat/per-employee licensing," writes Groklaw founder and editor Pamela Jones ("PJ" to the online world). If Sun's hope is that we "will all be foolish enough to not care about the GPL and thus forsake Red Hat and SuSE, etc. Dream on," she continues. "The real question," Jones says, "is - when that fails - then what will Sun do?" Read the full article.
QNX Shows HW-Accelerated Security Stacks; New Licensing Model
At this week's Smart Network Developer Forum, QNX Software Systems Ltd. was to unveil the latest version of its RTOS and a new open-source licensing model. Also, QNX Software Systems announced that its comprehensive suite of pre-integrated protocol stacks now supports IKE, RADIUS, SSH, and SSL, as well as other advanced security features. Running on the QNX Neutrino RTOS v6.3, the new additions leverage the powerful security engine on selected PowerQUICCTM processors from Freescale Semiconductor, a wholly owned subsidiary of Motorola Inc., to deliver highly optimized encryption and authentication for next-generation network elements.
SkyOS 5.0-beta5 Quick Review
There is a new review of SkyOS 5.0, complete with a number of screenshots. The review can be found at the new Sky System website. In other SkyOS news, the ISS (Integrated Sound System) is progressing quickly, and Robert has completed and implemented drivers for both the Ensoniq/Creative ES1371 sound cards and VIA vt82xx / AC'97 chipset.
ReactOS 0.2.2 Released
ReactOS, the open source operating system which is compatible with Windows NT/2000 applications and drivers has been released.
Model-driven development with the Eclipse
The Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF) is an open source framework for developing model-driven applications. It creates Java code for graphically editing, manipulating, reading, and serializing data based on a model specified in XML Schema, UML, or annotated Java. This article will step you through the process of creating a model, generating code, using the generated apps, and customizing the editor.
Fedora Core 2 Test 3 Released
zed was one of many to tell us about the availability of Fedora Core 2 Test 3. Release notes here, downloads here, torrents here.
Turbolinux Announces Support for Windows Media
Japanese distributor Turbolinux announced that their next distribution will include support for Windows Media files, including DRM. The development cost are said to be around $75,000, including license fees paid to Microsoft.
A Glance At Garbage Collection In Object-Oriented Languages
Garbage collection (GC) is a technology that frees programmers from the hassle of explicitly managing memory allocation for every object they create. Traditionally, the benefit of this automation has come at the cost of significant overhead. However, more efficient algorithms and techniques, coupled with the increased computational power of computers have made the overhead negligible for all but the most extreme situations.
FreeBSD – The Power to Serve
DistroWatch has a a review of the latest release of FreeBSD 5. In the first part of the story they are looking at the history of BSD, compare BSD with Linux from a technical perspective, and talk about licensing considerations. The second part will bring you practical information about installing FreeBSD, followed by a handful of useful tweaks, and configuration examples.
Open Source CEO Against Opening Java Language to Community
JBoss Inc's chief executive is urging Sun Microsystems Inc to resist pressure from IBM to open source Java, a move viewed by some as an attempt by IBM to take control of Java. Mark Fleury, whose organization ships the eponymous open source J2EE application server, spoke-out against releasing Java code saying Sun's control of Java, with certification, had helped Java's success.
Windows Longhorn DCE 3718
DCE is short for Desktop Composition Engine which is the video-accelerated graphics engine in Longhorn which will be a part of the Aero User Interface. A few screenshots and video available here.
Linux: Abusing the MODULE_LICENSE Macro
In 2001 during the 2.4 kernel development cycle, a MODULE_LICENSE macro was introduced which allows a module to explicitly declare how it is licensed. Currently there are five supported types of free software modules, "GPL", "GPL v2", "GPL and additional rights", "Dual BSD/GPL", and "Dual MPL/GPL", otherwise the kernel is considered "tainted".
New Programming Language for Amiga
eCommerceLogic is working on a new programming language for Amiga that resembles Java and C#.
libjit, a Free Software JIT library
Rhys Weatherley has taken a month's sabbatical from pnet and during this time he created a new project under the DotGNU umbrella, libjit. This library implements Just-In-Time compilation functionality. Unlike other
JIT's, this one is designed to be independent of any particular virtual machine bytecode format or language.
Exception Management in .NET
Exceptions are a very powerful concept when used correctly. An important cornerstone in the design of a good application is the strategy you adopt for Exception Management. You must ensure that your design is extensible to be able to handle unforeseen exceptions gracefully, log them appropriately and generate metrics to allow the applications to be monitored externally.
Having fun with unattended installation
In an ideal world, all your code is packaged into a universal install script, with dependency checking, updating, and logging services handled automatically. Conflicts between resources required by different applications are resolved according to predefined policies. Site-specific configuration changes are automatically applied as part of the unattended installation, and tests are run across the environment to confirm that everything is good to go. This article shows you how the general tenets of autonomic computing are applied to software installation.