To persuade the Middle Kingdom to pick its software over Linux, Microsoft plays nice. Can there be such a thing as a kinder, gentler Microsoft? The answer may well soon emerge in China, where the software Ninja and Red Dragon are locked in a strategic duel over Windows and its free competitor, Linux. Elsewhere, Brazil moves to shun Microsoft software.

Novell's management has changed from the early days when it flubbed its Unix System Labs and Word Perfect acquisitions, notes Meta Group analyst Earl Perkins. "The team in place now knows that there is too much at stake not to do this one correctly."

To encourage users to switch from Microsoft Windows products to the new Desktop/LX Operating System, Lycoris is now offering the "Moving On" competitive upgrade for all users of Windows 95/98/NT/ME/2k/XP. Users simply send in their original CD or restore disk along with their Certificate of Authenticity, sticker, or original product key papers from Microsoft , and Lycoris will give them 50% OFF the retail price of Desktop/LX Update 3. This offer will only last two weeks, until November 30th.

It is not a secret that Novell/Ximian will be pushing C# and Mono on Gnome in the coming years when it will be more full-featured and ready for adoption. Programming-wise, there are several advantages of using Mono over the plain GTK+ (oh, and by the way, GTK# 0.13 was released today). So, what's your opinion on a .NET/Mono-aware Gnome?

Miguel thinks of the future of OS-development under Windows and GNOME/Mono. Have a look here.

Trolltech today announced the release of Qt, bugfix version 3.2.3.

Competitors say the software giant need not cripple its popular Windows operating system to comply with European regulators' demands.

There is now a video available showing the AmigaOS4 beta as demonstrated last weekend in London: MPEG / WMV. Q&A session 23 with Amiga's CTO is also available.

Remember Turbolinux? Less than 5 years ago, it was a fixture in the forefront of the Linux landscape along with Red Hat, SuSE, Mandrake, Debian, and the now defunct Storm Linux. Later this week, Turbolinux will release their new desktop distribution, dubbed "10D." The following is a first look at Turbolinux's return to the fray.

Sun is giving an early liftoff to an advanced detection technology designed for the next version of Solaris that speedily diagnoses and repairs system problems.

Apple on Wednesday seeded developers with a pre-release version of Xcode 1.1, an update to the developer tools that shipped with Panther. The update includes several features enhancements and bug fixes. Apple has also posted a new Panther-specific Java 1.4.1 update after pulling the previous version due to compatibility issues with other software.

LinuxElectrons has a mini review of Mandrake Linux 9.2 with many screenshots.

I am waiting for Longhorn. Thus, I was very interested in the new 4051 build. Here are my findings.

"For Linux to reach the ordinary user, it has to offer more than good office suites and The Gimp and other free software implementations of common applications. Most people won't make the move just so they can keep doing what they did before. Security and freedom mean a lot to a few of us, but they are not enough incentive for the vast range of Average Schmos. And we need those Average Schmos; the median is the message." Read the editorial at OReillyNet.