OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Apple Attempts to Patent Fast User Switching

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-11 Apple 268 Comments

"Apple has filed for a patent that suggests the company is working on a new mobile device capable of supporting multiple users. Either that or it's cunningly trying to outflank Microsoft's lead on fast multi-user switching by retrospectively patenting the technique as its own. The application, number 0030107606, is entitled 'Multiple personas for a mobile device'. It describes how a computer system's settings can be immediately changed to reflect a new "persona" when the user chooses from a list of available personae using a graphical user interface displayed on the computer's screen." Read it at The Register. Elsewhere, Think Secret published the fourth installment of its "Inside Panther" series.

Linux: The Desktop; 2.6-pre Kernels Soon; Ark, Mandrake News

Submitted by Michael Fraser 2003-07-11 Linux 111 Comments

In this keynote, OSAF founder and chair Mitch Kapor asks if the same collaborative development methods that created success in the corporate arena can now make open source software central to the consumer desktop. ZDNews TechUpdate has an article on the subject too. Elsewhere, Linus Torvalds has published the last release of the current Linux development kernel, clearing the way to start work on the long-anticipated 2.6 kernel. And, this is an interview of the Ark Linux core team and a couple of contributors, while Gaël Duval tells why Mandrake Linux is better than Windows.

Native Win32 Port of Qt3 GPL Started

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-11 Qt 41 Comments

From the DOT: The KDE on Cygwin project, which produces ports of Qt and KDE to Windows using Cygwin and Cygwin/XFree86, announced that the native Win32 port of the Qt3 GPL library has been started, mainly driven by Richard Lärkäng at the moment. The plan is to provide a base for a future native KDE port. Several screenshots of the ongoing port are available. Richard is seeking developers, who don't have access to the original Qt Windows sources, to help him.

Thoughts on Mac OS X 10.3: Counting the Bits of a Panther

Guest post by Jeremy T. Fox 2003-07-11 macOS 152 Comments

A recent article by Tony Smith from The Register titled "Mac OS X 10.3 Panther will not be a 64-bit OS" caused a good deal of confusion with many people, including me. It is also caused a heated argument here on OSNews. The basic point of the article is that Mac OS 10.2.7 and 10.3 are not "true" 64-bit OSes, but the article does not clearly explain what a "true" 64-bit OS is. This had led to a lot of claims that the article is false or misinformed, rather than just unclear, which is certainly is.

Importing Data into MySQL

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-11 Databases 10 Comments

In this third installment of Russell's MySQL series, he introduces some methods and tools for bulk importing of data into MySQL. This isn't an overly difficult task, but processing large amounts of data can be intimidating for newcomers, and as a result it can be a barrier to getting started with MySQL.

GNOME 2.2.2 Released

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-11 Gnome 28 Comments

The GNOME Project announced the availability of the GNOME 2.2.2 Desktop and Developer Platform. The 2.2.x series is devoted to bugfixes, translations, and general polish of our major 2.2 stable release. The project strongly recommends upgrading to 2.2.2, as it contains large amounts of improvements.

Sun Expands UNIX Deal with SCO

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-10 Oracle and SUN 83 Comments

A previously secret licensee of SCO Group's Unix intellectual property has revealed its identity: UNIX leader Sun Microsystems. Sun, the No. 1 seller of UNIX servers, licenses broader rights to Unix and gets the option to buy a stake in the company that owns those rights.

ReactOS 0.1.2 Released

Submitted by Jason Filby 2003-07-10 ReactOS 21 Comments

ReactOS 0.1.2 has been released and features many improvements. Basic Java (console and AWT)/Mono (console) apps can run, several 3rd party video drivers for Windows NT 4 can be loaded - and there are many other improvements.

Netcraft: Top Five Reliable/Speedy ISPs Are Running FreeBSD

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-10 FreeBSD 33 Comments

TheAge reports: The Top five of the top 10 hosting providers for the month of June, measured in terms of those whose sites experienced the fewest failed requests and provided the fastest connection times, are all running the FreeBSD operating system, data from Netcraft shows.

Microsoft Unveils New Speech Software; Why IT Still Matters

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-10 Microsoft 9 Comments

Microsoft released a test version of its new speech-recognition server software, hoping to stake a claim in the market for companies wanting to automate customer service and other functions. Elsewhere, Wading into a debate triggered by a recent Harvard Business Review article, Microsoft's Paul Flessner says the proffered policy prescription won't cure what's really ailing the computer industry.

Inside Panther: A look at the Finder and System, Part III

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-10 macOS 28 Comments

This is the third installment of ThinkSecret's "Inside Panther" series, covering Mac OS X Version 10.3. Elsewhere, TheAge has a Panther article too, titled "Panther makes things purr".

Lindows Offers Easier-to-Install Linux

Submitted by tooaru 2003-07-10 Linspire 52 Comments

Lindows.com, which tries to make the Linux operating system more consumer-friendly, has introduced a version of the OS that runs directly from a CD-ROM, for $30 USD.

Python: Using Combinatorial Functions in the Itertools Module

Submitted by Shellie 2003-07-10 General Development 23 Comments

This article explores the new Python 2.3 itertools module, and gives you a sense of the new expressive power available with combinatorial iterators and how iterators -- conceived as lazy sequences -- are a powerful concept that opens new styles of Python programming.

Chip Details Leak Out of Intel; 3.6 GHz Early Next Year

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-10 Intel 89 Comments

Prescott, the next big desktop chip from Intel, is slated to come out at 3.4GHz, while Dothan, an energy-efficient chip for slim notebooks, will have a server-size cache and is expected to debut at 1.8GHz, according to computer industry sources. Read the report at C|Net News.com.

Analysis: x86 Vs PPC

Guest post by Nicholas Blachford 2003-07-09 Rumors 221 Comments

This article started life when I was asked to write a comparison of x86 and PowerPC CPUs for work. We produce PowerPC based systems and are often asked why we use PowerPC CPUs instead of x86 so a comparison is rather useful. While I have had an interest in CPUs for quite some time but I have never explored this issue in any detail so writing the document proved an interesting exercise. I thought my conclusions would be of interest to OSNews readers so I've done more research and written this new, rather more detailed article. This article is concerned with the technical differences between the families not the market differences.

A Linux Mystery: Configuring for Virtual Processors

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-09 Linux 10 Comments

Until Red Hat's improvements make it into the Linux kernel, sysadmins are going to have to decide whether hyperthreading benefits their user setups. That may be a hassle, but it beats taking a performance hit from a feature that is supposed to do just the opposite. Read the article at NewsFactor.