Symbian Vs Linux: Who Will Win in Wireless? First 2.6 Embedded Linux

From NewMobileComputing: Operating systems do make a difference in mobile phones, writes Wireless Center Editor Guy Kewney—and Linux is looking stronger every day, eWEEK says. On other embedded news, LynuxWork's BlueCat Linux 5.0, based on a 2.6-series Linux kernel, is now available for public beta testing, with a projected final release date set for November. LynuxWorks claims this to be the first public availability of embedded Linux based on the new kernel. Key new features include: improved kernel preemption; 0(1) scheduler; improved POSIX threading support.

Trolltech Gets 2D Graphics Hardware Acceleration for QTopia

SciTech Software, Inc. today announced a collaboration with Trolltech AS to provide desktop quality 2D graphics acceleration and great chip level compatibility for embedded Linux developers. As part of the announcement, SciTech has released SNAP Graphics IES for Qt/Embedded, Trolltech's embedded Linux GUI toolkit. Additionally, Trolltech now provides built-in support for SciTech SNAP.

Be-Microsoft Settlement Puts The Thumb Back On PC OEMs

"Should Be Inc. settle with Microsoft or should it hold out and wait for Massachusetts attorney general Tom Reilly to press for a fair settlement or penalty for the software giant? Assuming Massachusetts is sucessful, Be's task of being reinbursed for losses would be much easier. If Be settles, Microsoft would not have to admit wrongdoing." This means that Microsoft would be given a proverbial license to pressure PC OEMs to not install alternatives to Windows, the editorial states.

SkyOS Update and GUI Contest Round One Voting Open

SDL is now available for SkyOS. The popular cross-platform graphic/gaming library was ported to the operating system. Additionally, the complete TCP/IP stack was heavily bugfixed, resulting in much more reliable services like Web Browsing with SkyKruzer, domain name lookup and DHCP. Proxy support for SkyKruzer has been improved. Additionally, round one of the SkyOS GUI ReDesign Contest has begun. Over 30 entries were sent in, and the entries will be whittled down to 3 by way of an open community vote. Everyone is encouraged to view the designs and cast their votes.

Analyst Predicts Breakup of Hewlett-Packard

A few weeks after Hewlett-Packard disappointed Wall Street for the first time since its $19 billion mega-merger with Compaq, an influential stock analyst has told clients he sees the eventual breakup of the company. Steve Milunovich, who follows big computer companies for Merrill Lynch, said he thinks HP will have to spin off its printer business or separate its consumer business from its corporate business.

Moving from Visual Basic to ASP.NET

Learn the similarities and differences between Web application development using ASP.NET and classic desktop application development. This article is aimed toward Visual Basic 6.0 developers who are interested in getting started with creating ASP.NET Web applications, and examines the differences between creating desktop applications with Visual Basic 6.0 and creating ASP.NET Web applications with Visual Basic .NET.

Portable.NET 0.5.12 Released

Portable.NET 0.5.12 has been released, and is available for download. This is mostly a bug fix release, heading up towards 0.6.0, but with substantial improvements throughout the system, particularly WinForms. The release date for DotGNU 0.1 has been fixed at end-September. For Portable.NET the goals are to get pnetC to basic usefulness, fix as many system.xml bugs as possible, and make the core button/textbox/scroll widgets work in WinForms. Screenshots available.

RISC OS Select 3i2 Update Available to Subscribers

Version 3i2 of RISC OS Select has been published online this evening by developers RISCOS Ltd., for Select subscribers. The install includes RISC OS 4.37 and this week's Toolbox release. Select 3i2 is described as the "final release version of Select 3" and is presumably the stabilised online release that will precede the eventual CD distribution in a few weeks. For more RISC OS news, make sure you visit the Drobe and IconBar sites daily.

Microsoft Corp. and Be, Inc. Reach Agreement to Settle Lawsuit

Be Inc. and Microsoft Corp. today announced that the parties have reached a mutually acceptable mediated settlement of an antitrust lawsuit filed by Be Inc. in February 2002. Be claimed that Microsoft maintained its monopoly by having exclusive dealing arrangements with PC OEMs prohibiting the sale of PCs with multiple preinstalled OSes. Be will receive a payment from Microsoft, after attorney's fees, in the amount of $23,250,000 USD to end further litigation, and Microsoft... admits no wrongdoing. UPDATE: BeOSJournal.org has an interview with ex-Be employees Dan Sandler, Baron Arnold, and Dave Brown. Interesting is also Frank Boosman's blog on the issue:

Novell Bulks Up on Linux Tools, Projects

In 1999, Novell Inc. conceded that it would never again dominate the network operating system market with NetWare alone. Still licking wounds from disastrous office productivity crusades against Microsoft, the company shed its WordPerfect albatross, retrenched and embraced what was then an up-and-comer: Linux. It has been slowly melding its products and services with the open-source platform ever since. Read the rest of the report on Novell, Ximian and Mono at SDTimes.