I find myself using a number of OSes daily but for the OSes I use most, I have some favorite third party applications that I can't live without. Here are my application lists for Windows, Unix/Linux, Mac OS X and BeOS; applications I always download and install after a clean OS installation. Please tell us about your favorite third party apps you use on different OSes by using the provided comment section.

"For years, it has seemed that the GNU/Linux desktop was right on the cusp of being ready for the mainstream desktop out of the box. Recent distributions, such as Mandrake Linux 9.2, bring the desktop to the mainstream, but something is still lacking: complete unity." Read more at OfB.biz. Update: On other Ximian news, the first release of Dashboard is coming along soon.

S&P's Jonathan Rudy sees the giant as a powerful long-term play. Other software picks: Sybase, ADP, and Network Associates. Read the interview at BusinessWeek.

In a followup to his original interview, Jeremy Hogan discusses some of the reasons Red Hat had for EOL'ing RHL, future licensing options for RHEL (including free devel copies), the most common Fedora misconception, his take on UserLinux and more.

"IBM will begin delivering volume quantities of its new 90-nanometer (nm) based PowerPC 970 G5 to Apple Computer next month, sources confirmed last evening" claims AppleInsider. Elsewhere, Apple plans to beef up the Software Update mechanism built into Mac OS X, sources said to ThinkSecret.

Andrew Brown has just committed a complete rewrite of the NetBSD kernel's sysctl infrastructure to the tree. More info here.

Sun Microsystems Inc. has just rolled out its first Linux-based desktop software and is working to secure deals with governments and businesses to deploy it, but the company isn't targeting Microsoft Corp., a Sun executive said Thursday. "First and foremost, the objective of the Java Desktop System (JDS) isn't to go after Microsoft," said Peder Ulander, Sun's director of marketing for Desktop Solutions.

This article by a technical marketing engineer in Intel's Software Solutions Group introduces Intel's Mobile Application Architecture Guide, which was created to help application developers understand the issues that are arising through the growing proliferation of wireless mobile computing devices. According to Intel, users expect the same functionality from applications running on their mobile devices whether they are offline or connected to a network.

The Idea Basket has published a review of Panther targeted towards Switchers: "Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther" finally fulfills the promise of the OS X product line by giving users a fast, stable, and easy-to-use environment in which to get their work and play done as quickly and efficiently as possible -- and still have fun to boot. Panther contains some of the most innovative and state-of-the-art technology available in any mainstream OS."

"When I mentioned to a friend that I was going to install Debian on a system so I could learn more about Linux, he suggested I try the Gentoo distribution." Read the review at LinuxJournal.

"While the next major revision for DirectX is not expected until Longhorn’s launch, Microsoft’s DirectX group has been briefing developers on what’s in store for “DirectX Next” with presentations at Microsoft Meltdown and other developer conferences. Recently, this presentation was made available to the public via Microsoft’s Developer Network. The intent of this article is to give a more thorough treatment of the features listed for inclusion with DirectX Next and hence explore the types of capabilities that DirectX Next may be offering." Read the article at Beyond3D.

In the steps of OSX's QuartzExreme, freedesktop.org's new X and Longhorn, PalmSource seems to be seeking an engineer to take on "responsibility for a new high-performance graphics system, based on OpenGL and Postscript." According to this bit of information it might be safe to assume that a future PalmOS will be basing its UI on GL.

When we first asked for suggestions for inclusion in the Samba HOWTO documentation, someone wrote asking for example configurations -- and lots of them. This article offers extensive descriptions of Samba configuration possibilities.

Genesi today announced a new, PowerPC-based, modular MicroATX mainboard release that brings flexibility and efficient processing power to performance-intensive applications, including desktops, workstations, servers, and communications products. Read the rest of the press release.