OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

The .NET Framework Class Library: Types and Structures

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-26 .NET 2 Comments

The .NET Framework class library is a set of namespaces, classes, interfaces, and value types, which you'll use in .NET applications, components, and controls. In this chapter from A "Programmer's Guide to .NET", you'll learn about several of basic classes included in the .NET Framework class library, and get an introduction to collections.

Overview of Task Schedulers for Embedded Newbies

Submitted by David Kalinsky 2004-01-26 General Development 1 Comment

This paper by veteran real-time instructor David Kalinsky provides an introduction to the subject of task scheduling, from the perspective of novice embedded systems software developers. It begins with a survey of simple "home-made" task schedulers. Then it introduces the concept of preemption and priority-based preemptive schedulers, as used in off-the-shelf real-time operating systems. It ends with a glimpse into deadline scheduling for hard real-time systems.

ULE is Now the Default Scheduler on FreeBSD

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-26 FreeBSD 32 Comments

FreeBSD's Jeff Roberson says that the ULE scheduler has entered into its probationary period as the default scheduler on FreeBSD. He says that if all goes well, it will remain the default through the rest of FreeBSD 5.x releases. The ULE scheduler was designed to address the growing needs of FreeBSD on SMP/SMT platforms and under heavy workloads. It supports CPU affinity and has constant execution time regardless of the number of threads.

A Week with SuSE Linux 9

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-26 SuSE, openSUSE 14 Comments

LinuxBeginner.org reviews SuSE Linux 9 after a week of usage.

freedesktop.org xlibs 1.0 Released

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-25 Wayland 21 Comments

Daniel Stone writes over at Slashdot: "A short time ago, freedesktop.org xlibs 1.0 was released. Simply put, this is the collection of libX11, libXext, and other little-used libraries that kind of power your whole desktop. The xlibs team at fd.o are now maintaining all these libraries, and more, and we're going to be making releases as part of the fd.o platform, which is far more wide-ranging, but it still forms an important part of the platform. Share and enjoy!"

ReactOS 0.2 Final released

Submitted by Jason Filby 2004-01-25 ReactOS 50 Comments

ReactOS 0.2 Final is now available. ReactOS is an Open Source operating system that aims to be compatible with Microsoft(R) Windows(R) applications and drivers. The main functionality change is that of booting into the graphical ROS Explorer. The changelog details the complete list of changes for this release and screenshots are available.

Update: The Independent Qt Tutorial

Submitted by Johan Thelin 2004-01-25 Qt 8 Comments

The previously mentioned Independent Qt Tutorial has been updated with two completely new chapters dealing with files and XML. The Independet Qt Tutorial aims at providing a readable introduction to Qt programming. Qt is available for a number of platforms such as win32, Mac OS X and X11.

Preview: Inside the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Beta

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-25 Windows 52 Comments

Microsoft will release Service Pack 2 for Windows XP (both Home and Professional) in the first half of 2004. PCMag's look at the beta version, released to testers in December, revealed a number of interesting security enhancements in Web browsing, e-mail, and networking.

Panther: A Look at Mac on Its 20th Birthday

Submitted by Timothy R. Butler 2004-01-25 macOS 8 Comments

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the Apple Macintosh computer.While the original Mac is certainly meager by today's standards, thereare few that would argue against its revolutionary status in the earlyyears of personal computing. In commemoration of that event, today also marks the launch of OfB MacFor.Biz, the new section of Open for Businessthat will cover the Mac in much the same way OfB covers GNU/Linux andBSD. In this premier piece, they will examine the latest Mac OS X, 10.3 "Panther," on two separate generations of Macintosh systems. Read more at MacFor.Biz.

Linux To Reduce Boot Time for Windows XP Media Centers

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-25 OS News 27 Comments

The new Linux-based InstantOn software -- designed to help Windows XP Media Center Edition PCs boot more quickly -- is aimed at taking advantage of the power of Intel's Pentium processors, not at fixing fragmented hard drives. The software integrates into the computer's BIOS and the OS.

Study Shatters Geek Image

Submitted by Shaun Bourke 2004-01-25 Geek stuff 16 Comments

This study is going to be significant from the standpoint of OS development and the inability of governments to 'stem the flow of information'. Most, if not all, of the people in this survey want only a "turn key" solution for their computer activities.

Happy 20th Birthday, Macintosh

Submitted by Claudio 2004-01-24 Apple 63 Comments

Twenty years ago, on January 24, 1984, Apple launched the Macintosh. The machine—which introduced the first mass-market graphical user interface, mouse and 3.5-inch floppy drive—revolutionized the computer industry and changed millions of lives. Find over at MacMinute a collection of articles and special reports on the 20th anniversary of the Mac.

Jayacard Preview Release 0.6a

Submitted by Gilles Dumortier 2004-01-24 OS News 4 Comments

Jayacard is the open source smart card operating system focused on contactless products. Some of the supported norms include ISO 7816-3/4/8, ISO 14443, ISO 15693 and x509. Current version is a cleanroom development that has been ported to some secure microprocessor under NDA ; but opensource roadmap is to have this software also freely available for flashable microprocessor like the ATmega161 from Atmel.

KDE on Cygwin: KDE 3.1.4 Available

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-24 KDE 28 Comments

The KDE on Cygwin project announced its KDE 3.1.4 release for Cygwin/XFree. New are native sound support, windows executables are usable in Konqueror, prelimary printing support using Ghostscript and much more, the Dot reports.

XandrOS Desktop 2.0 Deluxe Edition Review

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-24 Oracle and SUN 53 Comments

Desktop-Linux.net put up their own review of XandrOS Desktop 2.0 Deluxe Edition too.

Linux World 2004 Review

Submitted by Jamie 2004-01-24 Linux 42 Comments

Here's a review of this year's Linux World convention. It's from a frog's-eye perspective, a guy with a free "exhibitions-only" pass.

Microsoft Seeks XML-related Patents

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-23 Microsoft 121 Comments

Microsoft has applied for patents that could prevent competing applications from processing documents created with the latest version of the software giant's Office program.

Introduction to MorphOS

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-23 Morphos 32 Comments

Nicholas Blachford just had a presentation posted to MorphZone. It's aimed for ex-Amiga users and people who know nothing about MorphOS so it doesn't go into technical details but lets you know the capabilities of the system and what it's all about. There's also .zip and .lha versions for download.

Lindows.com’ OSNews Text Coupon Will Expire Today

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-23 Linspire 40 Comments

The text coupon ("IReadOSNews") that entitles you to freely download the LindowsOS 4.5 Developer Edition will expire today, Friday, January 23rd, at 2:00 PM Pacific Time, so you only have an hour (as I write this) to get it (you can download it later, but you need to go through the procedure of getting it before time's up). More information about the text coupon and how to use it, read our recent interview with Kevin Carmony of Lindows.com. Update: Time's up folks!

Hillel Cooperman and Tjeerd Hoek Talk Longhorn

Eugenia Loli 2004-01-23 Windows 14 Comments

Hillel Cooperman and Tjeerd ("cheered") Hoek are two of the key figures in the Windows User Experience team at Microsoft, and they've worked on some the company's more advanced user interface projects over the past several years. This interview is the first in a series highlighting the personalities behind the technology.