A deal with BIOS maker Phoenix Technologies would allow the Windows operating system to directly control hardware. It also raises concerns over who controls the software in PCs, ZDNews claims. Elsewhere, a lawsuit faulting Microsoft for security defects in its products has added a new front in the software giant's battle against vulnerabilities in its software.

OSNews was tipped off that OEone (previous stories: 1, 2, 3), creators of the desktop HomeBase SUITE (based on Linux, X and Mozilla's APIs), now are moving to server space. Next week they are going to announce an exciting new product (under a new brand name: "Axentra Rumba Server") which puts Linux back to the server space, but with the form of a user-friendly and cute-looking appliance. *Updated*

Turbolinux has announced the release of Turbolinux 10 Desktop. Skipping version 9 and inventing a term "High Windowsability" in the process, some of the notable features in Turbolinux 10 include complete Japanese support, interoperability and file sharing with Windows, and Turbo Update. Turbolinux 10 is the first distribution shipping with the new 2.6 kernel series (2.6.0-test5) as the default kernel and it also comes with KDE 3.1.3 and GNOME 2.4 desktop environments, as well as a number of commercial applications. Read all about it at DistroWatch. Also at DistroWatch check for a link for the Tectonic site which takes a brief tour of the forthcoming Ark Linux version 1.0, with screenshots.

Apple yesterday seeded a new build of the Mac OS X 10.2.8 update, providing build 6R73 to developers. "This build addresses some issues found in the last seed," Apple told testers. 10.2.8 was released last month but was pulled quickly due to some problems it introduced to some users. Update: The new build is now available via Software Update.

"The publicity generated by the SCO lawsuit hasn't hurt Linux distributor Red Hat's plans to expand business in Asia--in fact, it seems to have helped", said a senior executive.

An influential Wall Street analyst warns that unless Sun Microsystems cuts up to 19% of its workforce and tightens its focus it will continue to decline and eventually become a takeover target for its large installed base. He recommends that Sun spin off its Java software and reign in Scott McNealy's brash tendencies.

The entire GUI of SkyOS has been redesigned and re-implemented (although the result is not yet close to the much more refined mockup). To read more about some background information on SkyOS 5.0/SkyGI and take a look at new screenshots showing the new boot process and the new themeing concept, you may visit the SkyOS 5.0 preview preview page. Additionally, a new SDK is available.

With SuSE's 64bit Linux OS out the door sharply on the heels of AMD's Athlon 64, Chris Schläger, Director of Distribution Development, gives us the low-down on why the 64bit SuSE Linux 9.0 Desktop operating system is the only choice for making the 64bit leap. Also on hand to offer their wisdom were Malcolm Yates, SuSE's Strategic Alliance man, and Marketing Director Jasmin Ul-Haque.

From where he sits, John Sculley (ex-Apple CEO) enjoys a panoramic view of the IT landscape. Read his interview at C|Net News.com.

A number of Mac news sites are citing insider information and claim that Mac OS X 10.3 Panther (version 7B85 or 6) has reached Golden Master status and is heading for duplication.

"Sun Microsystems crossed the line from "troubled" to "doomed" yesterday. This is sad news for the open-source community, and we need to think about how we're going to deal with it. The most pressing questions are, "What becomes of Java?" and, "What becomes of OpenOffice.org?" These are questions that matter." Read the editorial at NewsForge by Eric S. Raymond.

A high-profile digital civil liberties group is criticizing a component of the "trusted computing" technology promoted by Microsoft, IBM and other tech companies, calling the feature a threat to computer users.

OSNews was the first news magazine to break the story on Gnome's Seth Nickell effort to replace the Init system. Soon, it became confusing to many readers as to if Seth is planning to completely replace the Init system or simply "bridge" it. We had a chat with Seth and discussed about his plans on the project (which is a personal project so far) and for Storage, an exciting project which aims to replace the traditional filesystem with a new database-based document store.

At this week's RVC Softedge 2003 conference, a group of open source developers argued over innovation, commoditization and how the work really gets done. Among the topics: How far can "open" go in a professional development setting?