Windows Fully Compatible With New Intel 64-Bit Extension CPUs

Microsoft Corp. today announced at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco that its Windows OS for 64-bit extended systems will be fully compatible with Intel Corp.'s newly announced processors with 64-bit extension technology. The 64-bit extended systems versions of Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP provide customers with the versatility to run both 32-bit and 64-bit applications, enabling them to move to 64-bit computing at their own pace while preserving their current investment in 32-bit apps.

New 3D Effect Could be a Bright Spot for Sun

"The 33-year-old creator of this 3-D effect, dubbed Looking Glass, is a programmer at Sun Microsystems in Santa Clara. He's part of a crew creating desktop software for the freely available Linux operating system. So far, many desktop versions of Linux emphasize how it can mimic the functions of Microsoft's Windows and Office software." Read the article about Sun's Project Looking Glass here. Looking Glass is a 3D Java application running atop X11, simulating a desktop environment with nice 3D effects, but it is not incorporated to Gnome or X11.

Improvements in kernel development from 2.4 to 2.6

The long-awaited 2.6 kernel is finally here. The author takes a look behind the scenes at the tools, tests, and techniques -- from revision control and regression testing to bugtracking and list keeping -- that helped make 2.6 a better kernel than any that have come before it. Some interesting changes took place in the way the Linux kernel is developed and tested. Several key changes have improved overall stability as well as quality.

French Officials Eye Open-Source Apps

The French government will install open source software on the desktop as part of Project ADELE, a plan to computerize much of the country's administration by 2007, a government official says. The administration will migrate a significant number of its desktops to open source operating systems and application software, Jacques Sauret, director of the French Agency for the Development of the Electronic Administration, said at a recent meeting of the French IT and Telecoms Press Club.

A Proposition for Apple: Port Cocoa to Java

Apple Computer is possibly in a better shape than it has been in for a long while. With the second coming of Steve Jobs and the renewed focus on innovation, Apple scrambled back from the brink to a relatively healthy company. The question is how will Apple ensure its position, if not strengthen it going forward?

Sun Fires Back over Open Source Java Accusations

Sun has offered a frank response to the open letter from Eric S, Raymond, President, Open Source Initiative, in which he called on Sun to make its Java platform Open Source and described the company's Open Source strategy as 'spotty' and 'confused'. 'I'd say this is 100 per cent rant,' Sun's Chief Technology Evangelist, Simon Phipps said. 'His simplistic accusations don't hold water... If this is the way that Open Source treats its friends, I'd hate to see how it treats its enemies.'

BlueEyedOS Status

"According to a recent update on their website (February 14th), the reason why the source code of BlueEyedOS (which is under the LGPL licence) hasn't been made available yet is because they can't find a public host." More is available here. Also interesting to check out the sourceforge status.

From OS/2 to Linux, Part 1; Threads, Mutexes, and Semaphores

This series of three articles helps the developers involved in the tedious process of migrating/porting the OS/2 system drivers and applications to Linux. It provides a one-to-one mapping of various OS/2-to-Linux calls related to threads, IPC, memory management, timer handling, file handling, and so on. In addition, it captures the various preprocessor directives and compiler/linker options that can be mapped from OS/2 to Linux.