OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Microsoft’s Little Liability Problem

Guest post by John O\'Sullivan 2003-10-07 Legal 108 Comments

Microsoft has a little liability problem called Windows. Many are no doubt aware of a would-be class-action lawsuit launched last week in California. The suit targets Microsoft over security problems. The plaintiff is a woman who had her identity stolen. Details are here. (NYTimes, free registration required)

Kaffe 1.1.2 Released

Submitted by Dalibor Topic 2003-10-07 Java 17 Comments

Kaffe 1.1.2 has been released. The announcement mentions many bugfixes, improved support for NIO, JSSE, RMI, JVMPI and further merges with GNU Classpath. Furthermore, kaffe 1.1.2 can run Java applications like tomcat4, eXist , and javax.sound applications like JavaLayer and JOrbis.

Loading Benchmarks between Mandrake and Gentoo Linux

Submitted by Prakash Shetty 2003-10-07 Benchmarks 53 Comments

Heres a snip from the Gentoo weekly newsletter: Jose Alberto Suarez Lopez gave a presentation at HispaLinux 2003 where he demonstrated the load-time performance of the official Gentoo Linux 1.4 release. Gentoo Linux 1.4 for Pentium III, with and without prelink, were compared with a default Mandrake 9.1 installation on a Pentium III. The results - Gentoo Linux 1.4 with prelink did better than Mandrake 9.1 across the board, and even without prelinking Mozilla loaded nearly twice as quickly in Gentoo, and NetBeans loaded more than twice as fast.

Seven Things To Keep In Mind About Longhorn

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-07 Windows 50 Comments

As the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) countdown clock ticks down —at this writing, we're 19 days, 14 hours and 36 minutes away from the Longhorn stampede, according to one enthusiast's Web site — it's a good time to start separating Longhorn fact from fiction.

Sun: Battered Company Maps Strategy for Comeback

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-07 Oracle and SUN 15 Comments

Despite Sun Microsystems' recent financial calamities, industry veterans say the battered company is hardly on the verge of collapse. Can it draw on its history of being a technical innovator? Elsewhere, "the new Java desktop has the Windows look-and-feel, but its StarOffice has so far had a lukewarm response. Can Sun convince users accustomed to MS-Office, to switch from Windows? Read at CIOL.

Apple, Linux and BSD: The ‘Other’ Platforms

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-07 Editorial 29 Comments

"When people say they don't have a choice, they often mean there is no other product that has all the benefits of Microsoft's products without having the drawbacks. Give it up. I would love to own a car that is as fast as a Corvette and gets the gas mileage of a Honda, but it isn't going to happen." Read the opinion piece at TechNewsWorld.

Microsoft to Make Changes in Windows, Explorer Over Patent Dispute

Submitted by dabooty 2003-10-07 Legal 8 Comments

According to the Seattle Times Microsoft will make some changes to it's operating system and browser software due to patent infringements. The article also states that Microsoft will deliver Java support in its operating system a bit longer than previously announced.

Frontiers, an Xlib Compatible Windowing System

Submitted by alucard 2003-10-07 Wayland 27 Comments

The JourneyOS people published an article on their upcoming window system called Frontiers.

SUSE Linux Announces Standard Server 8

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-06 SuSE, openSUSE 16 Comments

SUSE today announced the expansion of the SUSE LINUX Server family with the release of SUSE LINUX Standard Server 8 – aimed at small and medium-sized businesses. Available for Intel and AMD 32-bit processors (x86) and supporting up to two CPUs, SUSE LINUX Standard Server 8 includes features such as Internet access, e-mail, file and print services, plus graphical configuration wizards – enabling Linux novices in small and medium-sized organizations to easily set up the server as a Windows domain controller, file and print server in Windows environments, Internet gateway, E-Mail server, application server, DNS server and DHCP server.

SGI Compares Linux, Unix Source Code

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-06 SGI and IRIX 41 Comments

In light of the SCO allegations, SGI's code comparison was done during September using the Comparator software created by open source advocate Eric Raymond, as well as some other internally developed tools, according to SGI. It compared source code from the Unix System V release 4.1 software that SGI has licensed from SCO with a version of the Linux kernel released this June, SGI said.

Microsoft ‘Project Green’ Now Aligned With Longhorn

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-06 Microsoft 30 Comments

Microsoft's ambitious next-generation business applications are now due out in the "Longhorn" time frame, according to a top Microsoft executive. The upcoming product line, dubbed Project Green, will be built on what Microsoft Senior Vice President Doug Burgum calls a new "global" code base.

Is Virus Vulnerability Merely a Result of Popularity?

David Adams 2003-10-06 Bugs & Viruses 80 Comments

It's an oft-repeated maxim that one of the reasons that Windows operating systems are plagued by so many viruses, worms, and security exploits is because they are so popular. Extrapolating on this, many have remarked that if Linux, MacOS, or other OSes become more popular, they will attract the attention of virus writers. That may be true, but the increased attention will not necessarily yield the same quantity of viruses and other exploits, says a Register article. Update: Rebuttal article.

Libranet – GNU/Linux Bliss

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-06 Debian 28 Comments

"This is my review of Libranet 2.8.1, a Debian based GNU/Linux distribution. This was my first experience with Libranet, but I was impressed with what I saw. Read on for the details of my review, which will follow the same framework as my earlier reviews." Read the review at Linux-Universe.com.

Movies & Linux: Jahshaka, MainActor, SuSE 8.2, a Killer Combination

Guest post by Roberto J. Dohnert 2003-10-06 Multimedia, AV 58 Comments

In the past in order to make good home movies one needed either a Mac or a Windows PC. There were no good video editors for Linux in the past. Today with Jahshaka and Main Actor the things that could only be done on a Mac or a Wintel machine can now be done on a Lintel machine as well.

Syllable 0.5.0 Released

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-05 Syllable, AtheOS 12 Comments

The first release of the Syllable 0.5 development series has been released. The Changelog lists a huge number of changes, notably the inclusion of the new Media Framework, USB support and yet more new drivers. If you are upgrading from Syllable 0.4.5, then you must ensure that you read the upgrade notes.

Sun to Port Solaris 64bit to AMD Opteron?

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-05 Solaris 63 Comments

A new job opening posted on Sun Microsystems' Web site confirms the company's growing aspirations to roll out servers based on AMD's Opteron processor. "Solaris is the world's premier 64-bit operating system," the post on Sun's job board reads. "Now Sun is taking the next step: to make Solaris the operating system of choice for the AMD64 architecture."

Mono 0.28 Released

Submitted by dabooty 2003-10-05 Mono 35 Comments

There has been a new Mono release, v0.28. Mono has now integrated sourcegear's webservice enhancements and there has been a lot of improvement in XML, serialization and web services.

MorphOS Java VM in the Works

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-05 Morphos 34 Comments

After OpenBeOS gets a preliminary version of Java, Dr. Richard Lipes is currently working on the MorphOS Java Virtual Machine. If you are interested in assisting him, you can contact him through the MorphOS Developer Connection.

Poll: Vote for the Most Promising Hobby OS

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-05 OS News 106 Comments

OSNews often reports on small and hobby operating systems. Here is a list for you to vote for the one with the right amount of technical and wider success potential for a bright future.

Apple’s Dual 2-GHz G5 by the Numbers

Eugenia Loli 2003-10-05 Apple 66 Comments

"It's clear from two weeks of testing that Apple's new Power Mac G5 dual 2-GHz machine is the fastest thing the company has ever produced. And while you can debate benchmarks until eternity, it certainly appears poised to meet or beat anything now out on the Windows side." Read the review at ComputerWorld. In the meantime, according to sources, Apple plans to offer new iBooks soon.