Last week I reviewed Win4Lin, a solution that makes it possible to run certain versions of Microsoft Windows on Linux. This week CrossOver Office is the next tool I am going to have a look at. Again my main focus will be programs I need to run myself.

Microsoft plans to formally announce later Wednesday an update to Windows Mobile, the company's operating system for handhelds and cell phones. The press release is here while a translated article with many screenshots showing the new features of the new Windows Mobile operating system is here (IE now sports SSR, support for Landscape and VGA modes, pixel doubling etc).

In a decision that could affect consumers, competitors and PC makers, the European Commission requires Microsoft to unbundle Media Player from Windows and pay a $613 million fine.

Apple has released Xgrid Preview 2, the latest version of its powerful computational clustering software that turns a group of Macs into a supercomputer.

All-in-One package of software and diagnostic tools helps enterprises evaluate and implement a migration strategy to LindowsOS.

If you are a Linux kernel and device driver developer with a moderate level of experience, the benefit of using the DSF template is twofold: You can develop test cases faster and more consistently since the DSF template can be used for many different tests. Also, you can target specific areas of the kernel for execution, which eliminates the typical userspace test case hit-or-miss approach to executing kernel code. This article will get you started simulating devices of your choice.

A recent patch submission from Bosko Milekic features on-demand memory allocation for mbufs and flexible sysctl tuning options - no more fiddling with NMBCLUSTERS and recompiling. The code does not appear to be committed yet and could probably stand some testing by the willing user population.

The Syllable Team is pleased to announce that Gcc 3.3.3 and Binutils 2.14 are now available for download in Syllable. A new Glibc version is also under way.

Novell's Linux-oriented divisions, Ximian and SuSE, will work together to make one common Novell Linux desktop from Gnome's and KDE's best features, Novell Inc. CEO Jack Messman revealed in an eWEEK.com interview at the company's annual BrainShare trade show here. Ximian has been the main power behind Gnome, while SUSE has been KDE's chief backer.

Guest columnist Tom Adelstein takes a look at the latest version of Sun's Java Desktop System. Adelstein, the author of a forthcoming book on Sun's JDS, offers a well-schooled view of how this version of the Linux desktop is a serious challenger to Microsoft.

Computer graphics have long been dominated by bitmapped images. However, the free software community has taken an innovative lead by adopting scalable graphic formats on its desktops. Inthis article I cover the history and rise of scalable graphics on the desktop from my angle - as a proponent of its use in the GNOME platform. This article mostly focuses on SVG's progress from a GNOME point of view, both because GNOME has progressed the furthest and because I am most knowledgable with GNOME's efforts. I will however mention major landmarks in other projects where appropriate.

During a surprise guest appearance at Novell's annual BrainShare user conference, the Finnish open-source guru took part in a question-and-answer session with the networking-software company's chief executive and chairman Jack Messman and vice chairman Chris Stone. Linux creator Linus Torvalds says that non-technical issues such as software patents constitute the single biggest threat to the future success of the open-source OS.

Opera Software will include voice capabilities in its updated browser software, using IBM's embedded ViaVoice technology, the company says. The upgraded browser, which will continue to be offered at no cost, will be available later this year, Opera in Oslo, Norway, says. Initially, it will offer support for ViaVoice in English only, but other languages may be developed in due course, Opera Chief Executive Officer Jon von Tetzchner says.

Linuxlookup newest staff member Rich Hughes takes a look at Arch Linux version 0.6 (Widget). "I am a recovering distribution junkie. I would obsessively spend my time at Distrowatch, looking for something new. There were plenty of exciting releases. After a while, the excitement would wear off, and the sexy distribution I installed would have some annoyance, so I would dump it and look for something new."