Microsoft Catches Up on Storage in Windows Server 2003

Windows Server 2003 makes strides toward putting storage control back inside the OS, InfoWorld says. Microsoft plans several enhancements to Windows Server 2003: an iSCSI release in June, a NAS 3.0 release in the second quarter; an ADS release in the third quarter; a Small Business Server release "in a few months", and a virtual server release in the fourth quarter. Read the article at ExtremeTech.

Next Palm OS Due Late 2003

The next version of the Palm operating system for handhelds will be available to licensees at the end of the year, according to a PalmSource executive. The company expects to make the debut of major OS releases every 12 months to 18 months after the first hardware ships. In other news, a company named TopWave is making a handheld-game-console, based on PalmOS.

WinHEC 2003: First Look at Longhorn Graphics

In a pre-show demonstration of the Longhorn graphics subsystem at the WinHEC trade show in New Orleans Monday night, I saw for the first time some of the advanced video effects that Microsoft will enable in the next Windows version. Longhorn, due in late 2004 or early 2005, includes a completely new desktop composition system that replaces the model used in previous Windows versions with one that is more technically advanced, visually appealing, and scalable. The early test versions Microsoft is showing at WinHEC include amazing animation effects, smooth window scaling, and advanced window translucency". Read the article at WinInformant.

Apple Unveils New eMac Family

From the press release: "Boosting performance while lowering the price of its popular desktop for home and school, Apple today announced an entirely new eMac line offering up to a 1 GHz PowerPC G4 processor, a faster 4x SuperDrive(TM), high performance ATI Radeon 7500 graphics, up to 80GB hard drives and internal support for AirPort Extreme wireless networking. Featuring a 17-inch flat CRT and a remarkably compact all-in-one design that is even less deep than the original iMac, the most affordable PowerPC G4 system now starts at just $799." Update: New keyboard for eMacs. Read on.

Mac OS X and PowerPC 970 Benchmarks

Macbidouille.com offers some benchmarks of the PPC 970 platform running MacOSX in 32bit mode, against a P4 at 3 GHz and a dual G4 1.42 GHz. Keep in mind that OSNews can't confirm the validity of the benchmarks as there is no official word from Apple or IBM (the article also doesn't give information about the exact hardware configuration used for both platforms).