OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Linux on the AMD Opteron: Are We Ready?

Guest post by Robert Minvielle 2003-09-22 AMD 55 Comments

Early last week I received an AMD Opteron 240 and an Asus SK8N motherboard. I was so anxious to get Linux on it I could hardly sit still... A week later, Linux is on it, in 32 bit mode only, and my hard drive has informed me that if I reinstall again it is going to go on strike.

Alpha, ARM, i386, SPARC NetBSD Ports Switch to GCC 3.3.1

Eugenia Loli 2003-09-22 NetBSD 7 Comments

The GCC3.3.1 switch on NetBSD has happened for some of the popular platforms. Matthew Green announced that he has switched the Alpha, ARM, i386, sparc and sparc64 ports to use GCC 3.3.1 as the default system compiler.

Windows Plans Put on Hold

Eugenia Loli 2003-09-22 Windows 49 Comments

Microsoft has told firms to wait until next month for clarification of its roadmap for Windows, after the latest delays to the next release left firms unable to plan for the future.

FreeDOS Kernel 2032 Released

Submitted by Charles E. Reno 2003-09-22 OS News 16 Comments

The FreeDOS Project has released kernel v2032 which fixes a few bugs and adds new features.

Is Life the Key to new Technology?

Submitted by Thom "Slakje" Holwerda 2003-09-22 Geek stuff 5 Comments

Years have been spent trying to crack life's genetic code with high-powered computers. Now scientists are looking at things from the opposite angle, and are harnessing life itself to generate a new strain of computer devices. Read the full story at CNN.

Red Hat Linux Project Renamed ‘Fedora Linux’

Submitted by Robert Renling 2003-09-22 Fedora Core 75 Comments

"Red Hat and Fedora Linux are pleased to announce an alignment of their mutually complementary core proficiencies leveraging them synergistically in the creation of the Fedora Project, a paradigm shift for Linux technology development and rolling early deployment models." Read more at Fedora Linux's site.

In Praise of the Internet Refrigerator

David Adams 2003-09-22 Editorial 28 Comments

A Siliconvalley.com article notes that the application of networking technology in the home can be silly and frivilous, but if applied correctly, could really be beneficial. A refrigerator with a flat panel display on it to check your email in the kitchen is truly silly, but a home that can notify the out of town owner that there's been a power failure can prevent that owner from coming home to a fridge full of rotten food.

PF for Beginners

Submitted by gijsbert 2003-09-22 OpenBSD 14 Comments

gijsbert points us to this comprehensive guide to setting up and configuring PF, the BSD packet filter. PF is one of the more robust enterprise firewall applications available today.

Linux Compilers and Assemblers

Eugenia Loli 2003-09-22 General Development 9 Comments

Rafeeq Rehman and Christopher Paul explain how to use compilers and assemblers productively in a development environment.

Securing Sun Linux Systems: Part I, Local Access and File Systems

Eugenia Loli 2003-09-22 Linux 12 Comments

This article is the first part of a two-part series that provides recommendations for securing the Sun Linux 5.0 operating system. This part provides recommendations for securing local access and file systems. The information in this article applies only to the Sun Linux 5.0 distribution, although some of the techniques or recommendations might apply to other Linux distributions. This article is ideal for a reader with a beginner to Intermediate level of expertise.

Installing a Secure BSD System

Submitted by Fred C Williams 2003-09-22 BSD & Darwin 27 Comments

The LittleWhiteDog web site posted an article showing how to configure and secure a BSD system.

Skinning & Theming: Why Is It So Underestimated?

Guest post by Thom “Slakje” Holwerda 2003-09-21 Graphics 69 Comments

Skinning does not really receive the appreciation it deserves. After posting my comparison article about LiteStep and Talisman, I was astonished to (still) hear people say that skinning and theming is useless. They literally said:

ThinkSecret: Apple Seeds Panther build 7B74 to Testers

Eugenia Loli 2003-09-21 macOS 16 Comments

Apple seeded build 7B74 of Mac OS X 10.3, Panther, to developers and testers, ThinkSecret reports. The new build was posted to the Apple Developer Connection Web site late Saturday. Apple has determined which bugs will be fixed in the initial Panther release.

Code Editors Renew Approach to IDEs

Eugenia Loli 2003-09-21 General Development 43 Comments

Call it a back-to-basics movement or simply professionals seeking the best tools to get the job done well and on time. With enterprises putting a premium on productivity, a quiet revolution among programmers is eschewing the heavy, feature-filled IDE and turning instead to the venerable standby: the code editor. Developers seek more control over productivity with an old programming tool standby.

Maximum Linux Kernel Performance

Submitted by Jeremy Andrews 2003-09-21 Linux 13 Comments

Anyone interested in squeezing maximum performance out of their GNU/Linux operating system and willing to compile a new kernel will be interested in this KernelTrap article about Andrew Morton's -mm patchset. The patchset currently offers better stability and performance than the mainline 2.6.0-test kernel, as well as containing numerous functionality enhancements. Much of the additional functionality is described, as well as providing simple step by step installation instructions. Reading this, one can understand why Linux creator Linus Torvalds has chosen Andrew to soon become the 2.6 maintainer.

Source Mage and Onebase Linux

Submitted by Ladislav 2003-09-21 Linux 43 Comments

The concept of source-based distributions, where all software is compiled from source code locally for maximum control and performance, took off with the introduction of Gentoo Linux and its wonderful package management called Portage.

Microsoft Goes After Google

Submitted by Patrick Johanson 2003-09-21 Microsoft 39 Comments

Microsoft, which is trying to drive growth by investing in everything from small business software to video games, has quietly set its sights on a new industry -- searching the Web.

Steve Jobs: Apple Would Like More Market Share; Panther Gets Closer

Eugenia Loli 2003-09-21 Apple 108 Comments

"Apple would like more market share, but making the 'best personal computer' is top goal", Apple CEO Steve Jobs said recently. Additionally, the Mac OS X 10.2.8 update was released internally late last week, sources confirmed to ThinkSecret. Sources also speculated that the update will be provided to users Monday or next week. Separately, Apple seeded build 7B72 of Panther Server to developers on Thursday, posting two installation discs as well as a Server Admin CD.

Syllable gets USB Support; SkyOS, ReactOS, OpenBeOS Updates

Eugenia Loli 2003-09-20 Syllable, AtheOS 44 Comments

Arno Klenke has completed his work on the PCI and USB bus managers for Syllable. Not only does this simplify the internel managment of devices in Syllable, it also means USB UHCI support. The current implementation is a port of the Linux UHCI driver which has been re-written by Arno as a Syllable bus manager, and a native USB mouse driver. On other hobby OS news, SkyOS has some updates on SkyOS 5 while ReactOS can now run some simple Windows applications. IsComputerOn has an update on the OpenBeOS' bootloader too.

General MorphOS 1.4 Improvements

Eugenia Loli 2003-09-20 Morphos 7 Comments

At the morphos.net site there is an overview about the new features introduced in MorphOS 1.4.