OpenQNX reports that the next release of QNX, commonly referred as QNX 6.3, is expected in the second quarter of 2004. The new features in QNX 6.3 haven't been talked in the news announcement, but based on earlier news postings on qnx.com, it is believed that we will be seeing the new Netfront back-end web browser for the Voyager UI-shell. The Linux-hosted development option for QNX Momentics will also be available.

According to statistics, Java continues to have the crown of the most used VM-based platform in the industry. However, Microsoft's C# and .NET gain ground every day. While C# might or might not overcome Java in the following years, the fact remains that more and more programmers want the choice of C# among their developer tools. So, where does this situation leave Apple?

KernelTrap has interviewed David Weinehall, the maintainer of the 2.0 Linux kernel. David became the 2.0 maintainer in December of 1999, after Alan Cox moved on to work full time on the 2.2 kernel. In this interview David talks about what's involved in maintaining the 2.0 kernel, who uses it, when we can expect the impending release of 2.0.40, and more.

"I installed OS X10.3 over a month ago and have begun to get to grips with most of the changes from 10.2.x (Jaguar). Some I like _ but not all. One improvement with 10.2.3 was better memory management. I had been running close to the limits but now have a reasonable amount spare in normal operating conditions." Read the article at BangkokPost.

This article by a staff engineer in Intel's Enterprise Platforms Group (EPG) introduces the Intel Platform Innovation Framework for the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI), which is intended to provide an alternative to BIOS that will allow for faster booting, manageability, and additional features.

The new XP OS, as yet unnamed, but a new 'light' addition to the Windows XP 'family', will be released in limited, selected markets later this year and will offer reduced functionality when compared with Windows XP Professional and Home editions, according to Microsoft Thailand Managing Director Andrew McBean.

For those that don't already know, smoothwall is a very slick and easy way to setup a firewall/nat/dhcp server (and more) at home or in a small office very quickly even on old computer equipment. I have used Smoothwall 1.0 in the past and liked its features (although at the time, I did have a problem with Snort failing to start after I updated the software with some fixes...). It served on an old Pentium II 400mhz machine with two NICs inside (network cards). One was the 'green' interface (more about that later) and the other was the 'red' interface. I used that setup for quite a few months, mainly because I wanted to see what alternatives there were to hardware based firewalls (such as DLink gateways/firewalls) that I had been using.

If you have an AMD 64-bit ready PC, you now have the option to receive trial software for Windows XP 64-Bit Edition for 64-Bit Extended Systems via CD or download for free.

"When you think about enterprise systems management, companies like Computer Associates, Hewlett-Packard and IBM come to mind. They offer comprehensive suites for monitoring and managing the behavior of the broad array of IT components that keep an enterprise afloat. You don't necessarily consider Microsoft in the same vein, but with its characteristic resolve, the company is attempting to make comprehensive systems management part of the genetic material of Windows." Read the article at ZDNet.

Threads strike fear into the hearts of many programmers. UNIX's process model is simple and well understood, but it is sometimes inefficient. Threading can often allow for substantial improvements in performance, at the cost of a little confusion. This article demystifies the POSIX thread interface, providing practical examples of threaded code for consideration.

tcb was the first of many readers to submit the news that KDE 3.2 is out. KDE 3.2 included a number of new features and bug fixes as well as speed improvements. Please use mirrors to download. Update: Here is also the KDevelop 3.0 release anouncement.

The GNOME Development Release 2.5.3 is ready for testing. To build, you will also need packages like the hicolor-icon-theme and shared-mime-info from freedesktop.org (not distributed with Gnome).

DesktopOS hosts a short review of Xandros 2.0 Standard. Expect ours on Wednesday.

This is a performance comparison between two well-known "virtualization" software packages: Virtual PC 2004 (free trial version) and VMWare Workstation 4.0.