Apple takes Java to the next level with the latest, certified release of the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition, version 1.4.1 for Mac OS X. This release incorporates over 60% more features than the previous release, 1.3.1. Improvements include support for new native I/O, XML and Web Services technologies, more security APIs, Unicode 3.0 support and more.

This article we host here today is a must read for all Gnome and KDE users. We are happy to feature an exclusive interview with Waldo Bastian and Aaron J. Seigo from the KDE project and Havoc Pennington from the Gnome project. Waldo and Havoc are developers working on many "under the hood" places of their respective DEs, but they are also "sensitive" at UI and usability issues, so we could also call them "usability engineers". Aaron is the head of usability in the KDE project. All three of them were... brave enough to answer twelve hard questions about interoperability, standards, UI etc. between the two leading Unix DEs. Note that this is not a Gnome Vs KDE article, it is in fact exactly the opposite: 'KDE for Gnome' and 'Gnome for KDE'. The begining of a deeper collaboration and sharing that will bring the Unix desktop into a new era.

After the recent RC1 release, Slackware released 9.0-RC2. Some of the changes include Sendmail security fix, ProFTPD 1.2.8 and BIND 9.2.2 among many others. Glibc will remain at 2.3.1.

MozillaQuest has an exclusive mini-interview with Linus Torvalds regarding the SCO-IBM law suit.

The first version of the Contiki operating system and desktop environment for the Commodore 64 has just been released. Ports for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari Jaguar, 8-bit Atari, Apple ][, NEC PCEngine, and the VIC-20 are under development.

Good news for the MorphOS users. Chris Hodges wrote a USB 1.1 stack and driver for the Pegasos platform which enables many modern USB hardware devices to run under this promising new OS.

This article is based on a masters thesis project which investigated the possibility of turning Linux into a real-time operating system. The authors primarily focus on available "hard real-time" solutions for Linux, but also look.

Here is a poll for you this Sunday, you can vote for your favorite BSD-based OS.

In an effort to enhance the communication between the Amiga community and Amiga companies Amiga's Chief Technology Officer, Fleecy Moss, has agreed on offering weekly Questions and Answers sessions at the AmigaWorld.net community portal.

OpenBSD's packet filter has really grown up. Since its introduction in OpenBSD 3.0, it has become an advanced tool for networking and security. In the first of four articles, Jacek Artymiak examines recent updates to pf. This week, he looks at Network Address Translation. The whole series of OpenBSD articles can be found here.

"Do you remember how it used to be? The Macintosh was the computer for the "rest of us," which meant everyone but a computer expert, I suppose. As such things go, it was designed to be simple to set up, and simple to maintain. That, of course, depended on your definition of simple, which can change with the wind." Read the editorial at MacNightOwl.

I chose to checkout Lindows 3.0 because it had been in the news a lot and it had interested me. I had expected more from it though. I expected more applications and much better configuration tools as it is aimed at the Desktop audience.

Safari Beta 0.64 was given to beta testers and it has some nice additions as ThinkSecret reports. Builder.com invited some current and former CNET developers to weigh in on the C# vs. Java debate. Big Blue is hitting back against SCO's charges that it misappropriated Unix trade secrets and used them in Linux. SuSE says it's "greatly disappointed" by SCO's actions. 'Browser Innovation, Gecko and the Mozilla Project' is the article Mitchell Baker of the Mozilla project posted. Blogger installs Lycoris on Dell Latitude CPi D266XT and writes down his experiences. Two new commercial releases for Linux: Moho 4.1 and the TextMaker word processor (works with FreeBSD 4.x when Linux ABI is installed). Update: A SCO editorial, this time from OfB: "Why SCO Needs to Go". Update 2: Mono 0.23 is out.

OSNews reader "AnyWeb" claims that both his Longhorn splash screen and its signature of Longhorn has turned into "Longhorn XP Media Center" (screenshot) after fiddling a bit with some settings. Read more about his explanation on how it happened.