FreeBSD 5.1-RC1 Now Available
FreeBSD Release Engineering Team's Scott Long has uploaded FreeBSD RC1 for i386, he says that alpha RC1 is in the works. Kris Kennaway has uploaded i386 packages. Marcel Moolenaar is working on RC1 ia64, ISOs for which will be available sometime tomorrow. You can find RC1 at one of your preferred mirror sites.
BeOSJournal Previews Zeta Beta5a
BeOSJournal is previewing YellowTAB's Zeta beta 5a. Read the interesting review and check their screenshots. Additionally, the web site features an interview with Mike Popovic, ex-Be employee, mostly known for his comical BeOS-related site, BeDope. Additionally, YellowTAB published information on a new set of Zeta-only applications they are developing, ZumlE. UPDATE: Learn about BeTunes!
Apple CPU Plot Thickens; Apple Software Releases
TheRegister reports that Motorola boosting its PPC processors by 20 percent. According to the article, "With Apple expected to announce a shift to IBM's 64-bit PowerPC 970 processor in just a few weeks' time, the timing of Motorola's announcement takes on a new relevance." Additionally, iSync 1.1 adds broader phone support, Safari bookmarks while QuickTime 6.3 adds 3GPP, improves iApp support.
OpenBSD Gets Harder to Crack; Get to Know the HYDRA OS
The latest OpenBSD 3.3 release arrives with even stronger attack defenses coupled with an amazing record of just a single remotely exploitable vulnerability in more than seven years, the best security track record for any general-purpose operating system around. Read the review at eWeek.
Windows Media Center Edition Beta Screenshots
Windows Media Center or MCE for short is a little shell that sits basically on top of Windows that has a few shortcuts and stuff like for T.V. Word has it that Bill Gates started funding for his personal use back in 1990's to actually integrate his PC with Entertainment System. Check the screenshots. Free alternatives are FreeVO and MythTV and the best commercial seems to be ShowShifter.
Interview with Ximian’s Nat Friedman
Today we feature a 4-page interview with Nat Friedman, Co-Founder and Vice-President of Product Development at Ximian. We discuss a lot of interesting topics, ranging from Ximian's products, to Apple, to Linux on the desktop and much more. Four screenshots of the upcoming Ximian Desktop 2 are also included, so come in and have a pick! UPDATE: Eight more screenshots added! Update2: Yaay... one more screenshot for your viewing pleasure!
Pegasos – Another Power PC Platform Debuts
AppleLinks offers an overview of the Pegason PPC platform. OSNews' is here.
Gentoo Offers LiveCDs for Macs
In a recent Slashdot article (and an OSNews one), someone asked if it were possible to create a fully-featured bootable Linux LiveCD for the Macintosh. Gentoo thought this was a great idea. So today, they are releasing two full-featured LiveCDs for the PowerPC: one with KDE 3, and another with GNOME 2. Screenshots here and here. To use the LiveCDs, simply boot one on your "new world" PowerPC (by pressing "C" during the machine bootup).
Syllable 0.4.4 Review
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (v2) Update 2 Released
Subscribers to Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS, ES and WS receive regular quarterly updates via Red Hat Enterprise Network.
Rule out Linux on the Desktop Until 2005, says Giga
IT decision-makers should avoid 'platform religion' and rule out Linux on the desktop until at least 2005, says analyst Giga Information Group. Research fellow Rob Enderle told delegates to the GigaWorld IT Forum at Disneyland Paris this week that experimenting with alternatives to Windows could prove a costly mistake.
Mandrake 9.1 – Review from “Advanced” user’s POV
"Mandrake is known from it's ease of use and configuration tools, and is commonly regarded as a "newbie" distribution. I am a long-time Gentoo user and before that I have used Sorcerer and Debian among others, so I regard myself as an "advanced" Linux user. This review tries to find out how good distribution Mandrake is for "advanced" users." Read the article here.
Windows Explorer Secrets Exposed
Secret software interfaces hidden in Windows and previously only available to Microsoft's own developers have been exposed to the wider developer community. Using NSELib Namespace Extension Library, created by software engineering firm Whirling Dervishes, developers can create applications that reside in Windows Explorer.
Amiga File System: Past, Present and Future
Amiga has released an extensive CAM article regarding the history of the Amiga file system. The article is written by Olaf Barthel, a leading figure within the AmigaOS4 development team. Upcoming Saturday the 'AmigaOS4 on Tour' events will start in Europe, but the highlight Amiga event this summmer is planned for 26th and 27th of July at the AmiWest show in California.
Microsoft Launches “Shared Platforms” Program
According to a news item at WindowsForEmbedded.com, Microsoft has launched a new program in its 'shared source' initiative. This one enables the sharing of 'platforms', allowing, for example, hobbyists 'to convert an old PC into any number of Windows CE .NET-based devices, such as a digital audio receiver,' using files downloaded from a community repository. Free and time-fused tools are available for download from Microsoft's website to facilitate the process.
Introducing the Visopsys OS
Visopsys is a new operating system for PCs. It has been in development since late 1997. The kernel is small and fast, operates exclusively in 32-bit mode, and features real preemptive multi-tasking and virtual memory. The package includes a small suite of UNIX- and DOS-like commands, with which most users will be familiar, although Visopsys is not - and does not try to be - a clone of any existing OS. The binary distribution features an easy-to-use Java installation program, which works on Linux, Windows, and Solaris. You can install and demo the distribution on a floppy disk. Screenshot.
Interview with AmiStart author Darius Brewka
AmigaWorld interviewed Darius Brewka, the author of a StartMenu utility named AmiStart for classic AmigaOS. A screenshot shows that this is one of the better looking application launchers available for the classic OS, features include background-patterns, transparency and antialiased TrueType fonts support. Also Pixload4, a docking utility for classic AmigaOS and MorphOS has been released.
ExtremeTech Review: Libranet 2.8 Gets Even Better
Libranet 2.8 gets helpful tweaks, and now Libranet is Jim Lynch's new best friend. Read the review.
Anti-Alias Text in Carbon Apps; Price Drops On Powerbooks
Good news for Mac OS X users or users-to-be today. Apple dropped the price of the 15" Powerbooks $300 and the price of the 12" Powerbook $200. Additionally, Silk 2.0 enables the Quartz text rendering and smoothing introduced in Mac OS X 10.1.5 in all Carbon applications. This means antialiased text in Internet Explorer, Eudora, and many others.