OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

First 2.6-based “commercial” Linux ships

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-20 Linux 6 Comments

LynuxWorks is shipping BlueCat Linux 5.0, its first production release based on Linux kernel 2.6. LynuxWorks calls the release "the industry's first commercially available embedded Linux distribution based on Linux 2.6," although SnapGear earlier released a free embedded Linux distribution based on 2.6 which it claimed represented the "world's first production Linux system powered by the 2.6 kernel."

Review: Xandros 2.0 Deluxe

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-20 Oracle and SUN 16 Comments

"If we had to define Xandros 2.0 with one word, we'd pick "usable." This time around, the folks at Xandros have refined their product significantly and come up with something that makes Linux quite comfortable and easy to use, even if you're a total newbie to the OS." Read the article at ExtremeTech.

Apple VP: Music is Apple’s No. 1 Priority

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-20 Apple 56 Comments

"For us, all of a sudden, music is the No. 1 priority of the company," Rob Schoeben, Apple's vice president of applications marketing, told Reuters. "We're trying to be a part of the music evolution overall" he said. Our Take: I wonder where that leaves Apple's Mac OS X. While Apple always was and remains a hardware company, MacOS was always at the core of the whole deal. Is the Mac OS X and Macs of the future going to serve merely as the platform to do the "music stuff that sell" instead of being the main focus of the product line? This reminds me a whole lot of Be, Inc.'s focus shift to Internet Appliances and the grandual demise of BeOS.

New twoOStwo 2.3.40 beta Released

Submitted by Tony Zelenoff 2004-01-20 OS News 17 Comments

Virtual machine twoOStwo is a virtualization technology for Intel x86 platform, developed by Russian company Parallels Ltd for German company NetSys GmbH. twoOStwo allows to launch several operating systems, such as Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, OS/2 etc., simultaneously on a single computer. Read more for screenshot and download links.

Sun Microsystems embraces Linux, x86

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-20 Oracle and SUN 29 Comments

The Sun Microsystems Inc. has decided that the best way to compete against the growing use of commodity hardware and open-source software is to expand its own offerings in those very lines.

More AmigaOS4 Screenshots

Mike Bouma 2004-01-20 Amiga & AROS 15 Comments

One of the three main German languaged Amiga print magazines has made available an AmigaOS4 preview article which includes many AmigaOS4 screenshots. Also Q&A session 26 with Amiga's CTO is now available and it was announced that IBM will hold a seminar at the upcoming AmiGBG Amiga fair in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Microsoft Seeks its Next Cash Cow

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-20 Microsoft 37 Comments

Microsoft's reputation is one of a moneymaker, but the fact is that four of its seven business units are in the red. To the tune of US$1.6 billion in fiscal year 2003, Microsoft bled money from its Business Solutions, Mobile and Embedded Devices, MSN, and Home and Entertainment divisions.

OSDL CEO Expounds on Desktop Initiative Announcement

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-20 Linux 6 Comments

OSDL: it's not just for data centers and carrier-grade Linux anymore. Not as of this morning, that is, when OSDL issued a press release to announce the formation of a third initiative: the Linux desktop. Newsforge article, press release, Q & A. Trolltech has also joined OSDL and will participate in the Lab's new Desktop Linux Working Group.

Cutting Windows down to size

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-20 Windows 60 Comments

A Melbourne-based software outfit has come up with a tool for getting rid of the bloat on Windows systems and literally cutting one's system down to size. LitePC has developed software which it markets as XPLite and 2000lite, which users can use to remove practically any component of Windows.

Red Hat Announces Open Source Assurance to Safeguard Customers

Submitted by lday 2004-01-20 Red Hat 16 Comments

Red Hat's program features warranty to guarantee customers the right to use Red Hat Enterprise Linux without interruption. A key feature of the Open Source Assurance Program is an Intellectual Property Warranty. The warranty ensures, that in the event that an infringement issue is identified in Red Hat Enterprise Linux software code, Red Hat will replace the infringing code. Read more for the PR.

LinuxWorld Article Round-Up

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-20 Linux 17 Comments

Here is a quick Linux articles round up: "Analysis: Linux looks for new worlds to conquer" says ComputerWorld.au. "From back office to desktop, Linux is spreading" says ComputerWorld.au. "Novell at LinuxWorld: Ready To Rock" says Enterprise Linux IT. "Showtime for Linux" says LinuxWorld.au. "Big vendors lead leap to Linux" says ComputerWorld.au.

Mac OS X 10.3: Panther Uncaged

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-20 macOS 64 Comments

This major revamp of Mac OS X swaps eye-candy for speed and a compelling feature-set, says APCMag in their review.

Microsoft Gets Green Light to Punish OS-less PC Vendors

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-20 Legal 39 Comments

The Microsoft antitrust settlement is to be reviewed by Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, this week. But lawyers at the Department of Justice and the settled States have already been indicated that they're not altogether happy with Microsoft's compliance to the arrangement they signed 14 months ago.

Bringing the CLI to Open Source

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-20 Mono 27 Comments

Those who like .NET may find themselves lamenting, "I still have to deploy applications on the Windows operating system. I am still locked to one vendor - Microsoft." If this sounds like you, Ximian's Mono project might be the answer. The Mono project was started in July 2001 by Miguel de Icaza, cofounder of Ximian, with the aim of bringing the Common Language Infrastructure platform to free systems.

What’s Wrong with the Open Source Community

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-20 Open Source 65 Comments

There's no question that the open source community has a lot going for it. Besides a staggering amount of developer power that can be turned against important problems, the open source movement also has a passion and commitment that the commercial software world often envies.

Cyberposium 2004: Open Source Future Debated

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-20 In the News 1 Comment

Software industry executives sparred at Harvard Business School this weekend over open source procurement policies being adopted by some governments that could leave Microsoft in the cold. These key open source advocates also pointed to databases, security and storage as the next big categories ripe for commoditization.

Guide to install NetBSD 1.6.1 on your iBook

Submitted by Jan Schaumann 2004-01-20 NetBSD 16 Comments

A detailed step-by-step HOWTO install NetBSD 1.6.1 on your iBook has been posted to the NetBSD port-macppc mailing list. More information about this port is available from the NetBSD/macppc website.

Review of Onebase 2004 Linux

Guest post by Andrew Fries 2004-01-19 Linux 48 Comments

Onebase is still a very new distribution - the first version appeared only in July 2003, and Onebase 2004 released in early January 2004 is a major rewrite and enhancement of the original concept. It started out as a source-based system, but with this release it embraced binary packages as well, becoming a hybrid. It is not based on any other major distro or package management system, instead it prides itself on doing things its own way. These are still the early days, but this is also what makes it an interesting distro, and the one to watch.

KDE 3.2-RC1 Tarballs Available

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-19 KDE 45 Comments

The source code of the first RC for the upcoming KDE 3.2 release is here.

Andrew Morton and the Linux Desktop

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-19 Linux 53 Comments

Andrew Morton, Linus Torvalds' right-hand man and the maintainer of the 2.6 kernel, will not be attending the LinuxWorld conference in New York this week, but he did speak with eWeek's Senior Editor Peter Galli about the recent 2.6 kernel release and his vision for Linux.