Paul writes: "I've written an article, containing _mockups_ of an idea I've had for the Gnome desktop. It's called Scoop, and it's an idea for a container widget, to act as a "System Sidebar" on a users desktop. You can see the writeup here." Update: Paul writes: "I've updated the article with more ideas, and added a link to my Gnome AutoManager proposal, which can be seen here."

Thanks to Lindows.com, I was able to get my hands on a free copy of LindowsOS 4.5 Developer Edition just for being a reader of OSNews. Apparently a lot of other OSNews readers did as well considering the long wait in the queue for downloading. It is great that Lindows gave away their product this way. Update: The article was updated (look at the end of the article).

"What's really needed to settle this is a definition of Unix. Unfortunately, there's no obvious definition against which we might compare Linux. The systems we all accept as unambiguously Unix -- that is, BSD, HP-UX, Solaris and Tru64 -- have more functional differences than, say, Linux and Unixware." Read the article at LinuxInsider. Apparently, you also need to have the sign of approval to be called a "Unix" by passing some tests.

Tom Cosgrove has committed the OpenBSD pieces that make booting from partitions with offsets greater than 8GB.

Intel President and Chief Operating Officer Paul Otellini on Wednesday said the world's largest chipmaker would likely give its 32-bit microprocessors an upgrade to 64 bits once supporting software becomes available. UPDATE: Intel plans to demonstrate a 64-bit revamp of its Xeon and Pentium processors in mid-February--an endorsement of a major rival's strategy and a troubling development for Intel's Itanium chip.

Before I add 'my' two cents worth upon the current heap of Xandros reviews, let me introduce myself... rather my Linux self. I am a noobie. Perhaps not such a newbie as a newbie could be since I have been playing with and learning Linux since 'Corel Linux' (1999-2000?). Before Corel I'd purchased a copy of a 1998 Turbo Linux in a discount store and was beyond elated to find something to mess with.

WindowsForDevices has published an extensive interview with Scott Horn, director of marketing for Microsoft's Embedded Devices Group, in which Horn discusses the embedded marketplace in general and Microsoft's strategic roadmap. The interview is interesting to developers for its discussions of the embedded market as a whole, and for the view it provides of Microsoft's competitive strategies.

For almost 20 years, Windows has been an ever-evolving graphical environment which has focused on providing users, as well as developers, easy access to the latest technologies, hardware, and services. "Longhorn", the codename for the next version of Windows, represents a significant jump in the definition of what a Windows Application is, and is capable of achieving. In this episode of the .NET Show, MSDN TV provides a general overview of the larger technology "pillars" of Longhorn, introducing their concepts, as well as showing some of the coding techniques for gaining access to them. Use Windows Media Player on Mac/Windows or Win32_Codecs on Unix/Linux to view the videos.

"I'm a long time Linux user. Let there be no mistake. I have Linux servers out the ying yang. But, two years ago I was smitten with OS X and the easy wireless connectivity that iBooks could give me. Two years later I'm abandoning OS X and Apple. Let me paint the picture." Read the the article at OSDir.

The respected German computer news site heise.de reports that the next version of java (java 1.5) will have a mechanism to share native code between multiple virtual machines. The feature, which is called class data sharing, will improve start times and reduce memory consumption for people who run multiple java VMs at the same time. This is especially important for client side java programs which use large gui libraries such as Swing.

Sun Microsystems Inc. plans to release midyear the second version of its Java Desktop System, featuring new tools for centralized management of client systems -- and a higher price tag. Sun released last year the debut version of the Java Desktop System (JDS), its attempt to win a share in the desktop operating system (OS) and applications market away from Microsoft Corp. The software is currently selling at a promotional price of $50 per user, per year, but the cost will rise to the product's planned selling price of $100 per user with JDS' second release, according to Peder Ulander, Sun's desktop products marketing director. MadPenguin posted a review with screenshots of JDS.

A new product arises from Genesi: The Open Desktop Workstation is based upon the Genesi Pegasos, a CHRP based motherboard. Integrating selected Open Firmware and running multiple (15+) operating systems, the Workstation is an extremely efficient, very expandable hardware solution for personal and business computer requirements. Both IBM and Motorola feature the new product in their pages.

ZetaJournal posted parts 1 and 2 of their YellowTAB Zeta 1.0-RC2 review. Part 3 of the review will be published freely later today (already available in their forum -- to view, requires free login).

CodeTek Studios is now shipping version 3.0 of VirtualDesktop, software that lets Mac OS X users work on multiple projects on separate—as the name implies—"virtual desktops." The latest version, which runs on both Mac OS X 10.2 and 10.3, adds support for Apple's X11, Panther's Expose feature, an auto-hide pager, enhanced hotkey support, improved AppleScript support and more. Check the differences between Lite and Pro versions here and read the rest of the report at MacMinute.