QNX Momentics 6.2.1 (SE/PE) Released
Microsoft Office 2003 Beta 2 Screenshots
Over at ActiveWin you will find a variety of shots, including those of Outlook, Excel, Word etc, from the second beta of Microsoft Office 2003. Our Take: You can clearly see the task-based interface being more prominent than ever in these Office shots, and despite the questionable choice of colors used, Outlook's three-vertical-pane interface as the default makes sense UI-wise (documents are generally long, not wide).
The Future of Java
"Since Java is no longer the "next big thing," and hype-heavy headlines about it have largely disappeared from tech and mainstream publications, one might harbor the impression that the language and platform are falling by the wayside. In fact, Java has finally achieved one of the highest honors the tech industry can bestow: It is taken for granted as part of the infrastructure on which many companies depend." Read the article at Yahoo!News by Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier.
Apple Releases Mac OS X Server 10.2.4
The MacOSX 10.2.4 Server Update delivers enhanced functionality and improved reliability for the following applications, services and technologies: AFP, SMB and NFS file services, DHCP, NetBoot, Open Directory, QuickTime Streaming Server, Sendmail and Workgroup Manager.
Sun Picks AMD’s Athlon for Blades
"Sun Microsystems will use processors from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in future blade servers that it first announced on Feb. 10. Sun will use Athlon XP-M processors, originally developed for mobile computing, running at 1.2GHz or 1.4GHz." Read more at InfoWorld.
Coping With Choice: The Double-Edged Sword of the Linux Desktop
"When someone mentions "Microsoft Windows", most experienced computer users have an idea of what the operating system does. Whether it's Windows 95/98, ME, 2000 or XP, Microsoft has managed to maintain an identity for their OS that has translated into a monopoly-sized chunk of the desktop business and home market. Maintaining the look and feel of their desktop OS over several revisions and upgrades, Microsoft has established a standard for most desktop computer users." Read the editorial at LinuxOrbit.
Red Hat: Debating Enterprise Linux Momentum Futile
The days of defending Linux momentum in the enterprise may rapidly be coming to a close. Red Hat executive Mark de Visser gets to the heart of the matter with SearchEnterpriseLinux.com, pointing out that moving from a proprietary Unix system to Linux on Intel results in "10x price-performance improvements" in many cases. De Visser covers more in this question-and-answer interview, specifically the inhibitors to Linux adoption in the enterprise, Red Hat's focus on certain vertical markets, customer demands and the maturation of the open-source platform.
The Future of Software: Stop the Bundling, Please!
Jared White at The Idea Basket explores in this editorial the dangers and pitfalls of the practice of both propertary and open-source software bundling/integration and then offers some alternative development methodologies that could benefit both users and developers alike.
IBM’s New Rational Software Resource Center
Rational's open, industry-standard tools for developers can improve the speed, quality, and predictability of application development on J2EE, .NET, Linux, and other platforms. Rational Software is a founding member of Eclipse and has taken a leadership role in the growth of Eclipse as the Open Source standard. Take a look at the new resource center for Rational software, and what they are creating for the Open Source community.
ZD Net Asks: Does Intel Still Matter?
Intel's recent announcement that it will start shipping motherboards with built-in 802.11b sparked an interesting question in a ZD Net article: is this a sign that Intel has realized that most people don't need faster processors? If demand for 3 and 4 GHz processors is going to be mild, then the logical step for Intel is to move into other areas, like building more stuff onto the motherboard.
PCMCIA Working on Smaller, Cheaper, Faster Card Standard
The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association is working on a replacement for its PC Card/Cardbus form factor. In addition to being smaller, faster, and cheaper, the PCMCIA is working with other standards bodies to assure that the new format is compatible with USB 2.0 and PCI Express serial input/output technologies. The new standard is primarily for laptops, but this article in PC World mentions that it is also being intended for desktop use.
The New OS War Zone
The Tribune of India has an overview of the various operating systems vying for prominence in the mobile phone sphere: Symbian, Microsoft, Palm, Linux. The article mentions that Samsung, a Microsoft and Palm licensee, has joined the Symbian alliance.
REAL Software Releases REALbasic 5 for Macintosh
Real Software announces the availability of REALbasic 5 for Macintosh. This new version builds smaller applications, improves support for Jaguar (including drawers, brushed-metal windows and toolbars), adds new Internet capabilities, better Unicode support and new server development option.
Microsoft Sets Windows Server 2003 RTM Date
Microsoft has set 12 March as the release to manufacture date for the six new versions of its server operating system, paving the way for a shipping date of 29 April. The six versions of Windows Server 2003 due to launch in April will be followed by a seventh, called Windows Small Business Server 2003, due late summer.
Mono 0.20 Released
Safari to Get Tabbed Browsing
Apple's Safari web browser will soon be equipped with a tabbed browsing feature, the notoriously precise Think Secret has confirmed. New pre-release betas that are being tested include this capability (after activating it from a debug menu), which is one of the most anticipated additions to the upstart browser.
How to Avoid the Almost Certain End of Sun Microsystems
"Sun did not invent the engineering workstation, but they certainly perfected it. But where are workstations today? Gone, for the most part. Sun's workstation business is about the same size as SGI's, which is to say small. Sun is now a server company, but that won't last long either under the onslaught of Linux. Cheap Intel and AMD hardware running Linux is going to kill Sun unless the company does something so stop it, which they aren't." Cringely editorializes on Sun's future.
Mini-Report on Red Hat Phoebe 8.0.94 (8.1-Beta 3)
Red Hat is the undisputed commercial leader when it comes to Linux distros. A few years ago more distros were sharing the Linux market/userbase, but these days Red Hat has overcome its competitors in impressions, sales and popularity. Popularity doesn't always mean quality though (look at Windows9x for example), so after our world's first review of Red Hat 8.0 a few months ago, I wanted to check out the new product, Red Hat 8.1, destined to be released sometime in the next one or two months. I downloaded and installed the third beta of 8.1, codenamed Phoebe, and gave it a whirl. We will be featuring a full review when the final version becomes available, but here is a preliminary report on the current status, accompanied by three screenshots. Update: Added one more screenshot.
GCC Begins to Match ICC on the Pentium 4
As reported by KernelTrap, CVS version of the yet to be released GCC 3.4 is reaching parity with ICC on floating point performance according to SPECFP2000. SPECINT still isn't as good however when compared to ICC.