OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Interview with a Mac Switcher, Part II

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-31 Original OSNews Interviews 100 Comments

Some time ago we featured an interview with an... official Mac OS X switcher. A year later, we found another Apple switcher, James Dorn ("noviteo" for his friends) and we ask him a few details upon the switch. Especially with the recent price cuts on Apple hardware and the Mac OS X Panther release last week, being a switcher becomes "cool" all over again.

OpenBSD 3.4 Released

Submitted by Ted Unangst 2003-10-31 OpenBSD 27 Comments

The OpenBSD folks are pleased to announce the official release of OpenBSD 3.4. This is their 14th release on CD-ROM (and 15th via FTP). They remain proud of OpenBSD's record of seven years with only a single remote hole in the default install. As with previous releases, 3.4 provides significant improvements, including new features, in nearly all areas of the system:

Improving the FreeBSD SMP implementation

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-31 FreeBSD 35 Comments

Free UNIX-derived operating systems have traditionally have a simplistic approach to process synchronization which is unsuited to multiprocessor application. Initial FreeBSD SMP support kept this approach by allowing only one process to run in kernel mode at any time, and also blocked interrupts across multiple processors, causing seriously suboptimal performance of I/O bound systems. This paper describes the work done to remove this bottleneck, paying particular attention to the project management aspects and the particular challenges of a large open source development project.

Microsoft’s Whidbey: Something For Everyone

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-30 .NET 27 Comments

Microsoft's pre-beta version of its Visual Studio .NET platform, "Whidbey", is offering a trove of new simplified tools and features that should make developers jobs easier, while giving Microsoft critics new fodder, attendees at the Professional Developers Conference here said. In the meantime, Microsoft Developer Tools Roadmap 2004-2005 were posted, and also the new CLR Profiler which allows developers to see the allocation profile of their manage applications.

Can GNOME Storage Keep Up with Longhorn’s WinFS?

Submitted by Jared White 2003-10-30 Gnome 55 Comments

More commentary on the GNOME front: Jared White of 'The Idea Basket' compares the GNOME Storage project with the new WinFS technology in Microsoft Longhorn. Can Storage gain enough momentum and developer involvement within the open source community? Will it be ready to compete with WinFS in 2006? Havoc Pennington has a similar question on his blog.

An Early Eval of Apple’s MacOS X 10.3

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-30 macOS 29 Comments

"Apple's BSD-based MacOS X 10.3 Panther offers 64-bit processor support and new features wrapped in the latest version of a GUI that has its roots in the NeXT desktop. While Panther sets a new standard for ease of use and interface look and feel, it still lacks features that Linux users have long enjoyed." Read the article at NewsForge by C. Gulker. Update: SunSpot has a review too: "One more cool cat".

Microsoft Research Packs ‘Wallop’

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-30 Microsoft 7 Comments

From its Wallop interactive project to its SkyServer "worldwide telescope," wristwatches and Magic Paper, Microsoft Research has a lot on its plate, senior exec Rick Rashid told a PDC audience.

Genesi Adds Four New Patents to its IP Portfolio

Submitted by Joël EHRET 2003-10-30 Morphos 22 Comments

On MorphOS-news.de, Genesi announced today that four patents owned by Raquel Velasco will be included in Genesi intellectual property portfolio. Read more here.

First Impressions of Napster 2.0

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-30 Multimedia, AV 72 Comments

Two weeks ago we featured an early pick on iTunes for Windows, but today iTunes' main competitor Napster 2.0 was released for a free download. We had a play with it and here is what we think about it and how it compares to iTunes.

Gnomers Editorializing: Getting Cool Things Done

Submitted by Tetsuo 2003-10-30 Gnome 44 Comments

Seth Nickel writes in his blog about the lack of concrete goals and vision in Gnome. Then Christian Schaller makes an interesting point about Mono, and how successfull it is with its rapid development and developer attraction. Later, Havoc Pennington joined the discussion in his blog: "Cool things happen via a thousand small, practical steps" he said, as more practical problems still exist and need fixing before everyone hurries to "do cool things". Get more opinions at PlanetGnome.

Mac OS X 10.3 has Built-in File Defragmentation

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-30 macOS 34 Comments

MacSlash reports that when a file is accessed on Panther, a check is made to see if it is fragmented. If so, and if it is less than 20 MB in size, the filesystem will copy the file over to a contiguous area on the HD that will hold the file in it's entirety in concurrent sectors, and then free up the HD space the fragmented version used to occupy. There are cases though, where a third party defrag utility will be required for best results.

WinFS, WinFX and Managed Code in Longhorn

Submitted by Brad Wardell 2003-10-30 Windows 33 Comments

"Today I'll talk about two of those technologies into more detail. Now, my understanding about the advantages of some of this is sketchy and incomplete since we are, after all, talking about an OS that won't ship for 3 years. Anyway, those two technologies are: WinFS and managed code in the form of the API called WinFX." Read the article by Stardock's Brad Wardell. Update: A reply.

New Sun Java Desktop System Screenshots

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-30 Oracle and SUN 48 Comments

Sun posted some updated 'Java Desktop System' screenshots, their Linux-based x86 OS.

Torvalds: Test Kernel Crucial for Proactive Enterprises

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-30 Linux 47 Comments

Linux kernel creator Linus Torvalds last weekend released a test version of the Linux 2.6 kernel called test9, a sure sign that a production version of the next kernel is fast approaching. In this e-mail exchange with SearchEnterpriseLinux.com, Torvalds explains what kind of insight he hopes to gain from enterprises that install test9, and he reveals a tentative release date for the kernel.

Xandros Gets new CEO Prior to Xandros 2.0

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-30 Oracle and SUN 30 Comments

Xandros, inheritor of the software from Corel's ill-fated foray into the desktop Linux market, has named a new chief executive and plans to release a new version of its product in late November. Xandros founder and former CEO Mike Bego remains a full-time employee, but Xandros wanted a leader with more business experience. Meanwhile, Xandros 2.0 is expected in the coming months.

Mini-ITX AmigaOne Demoed with Debian

Mike Bouma 2003-10-30 Amiga & AROS 14 Comments

Here are some pictures of the pre-production Mini-ITX AmigaOne in action running Debian and of Jürgen Schober's AmigaOS4 presentation at last weekend's OASE show. Eyetech's AmigaOne updates as published by Total Amiga Magazine will now also be made available quarterly at the AmigaWorld.net portal. Q&A session 22 with Amiga's CTO is now also available.

Ambrosia Software CEO: Open Source Software Economics

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-29 Open Source 27 Comments

The CEO of the legendary Mac software house Ambrosia Software wrote an article about the economics of Open Source and how does it fit to the market.

The Great Mac OS X 10.4 Wish List

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-29 macOS 149 Comments

The best ever version of Mac OS X, 10.3 Panther, is now available. Panther includes more than 150 new features, enhancements and optimizations. However, anything that's 'great' can become 'near-perfect' with a bit more effort, right? Read our 10.4 wish list and then use the comment section to post your own wish list for the next version of OSX. Apple engineers and product managers, take notice!

SuSE 9 PRO Outsells OSX Panther at UK’s Amazon Sales Rank

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-29 In the News 64 Comments

The revenge of the penguin is really here: SuSE 9 PRO outsells the brand new Mac OS X 10.3 Panther in UK's Amazon! However in US' market, things are a bit different.

Lonestar, Longhorn Editions of Tablet OS To Advance Ink, Handwriting

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-29 Windows 7 Comments

Microsoft will enhance the handwriting recognition characteristics of its Tablet PC operating system in an interim edition code-named Lonestar. More advanced ink and personalization features are targeted for a Longhorn edition further out.