OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Java GNOME Bindings 0.8 Released

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-05 Gnome 20 Comments

Java-GNOME is a set of java bindings for the GNOME and GTK libraries so GNOME applications can be written in Java. The bindings are implemented via a JNI layer that accesses the native libraries. After many months, version 0.8 is released, which adds support for GTK+ 2.x and GNOME 2.x.

Ark Linux 1.0 Alpha 8 Released

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-05 Linux 39 Comments

From DistroWatch: The developers of Ark Linux have reached a new milestone with the release of Ark Linux 1.0-alpha8. The ISO images are available from various FTP mirrors, which are slowly being populated. No release notes or readme files have been published at the time of writing, but the ISO images (only the first image is required for installation) can be downloaded from the mirrors. Ark Linux is a free Linux distribution designed for non-technical users and ease-of-use is its primary objective.

A Handful of BeOS-related News

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-05 Haiku 41 Comments

In the new OpenBeOS newsletter you will find an editorial, one article about Designer Power Tools and the CVS Digest (up to June 29th). BeOSJournal recently spoke with ex-Be engineer Jean-Baptiste Quéru, who even years after leaving Be Inc., still watches the BeOS Community with keen interest. There is a new update to BlueEyedOS, with an updated font rendering system and a new screen shot for all to see. Also, Cosmoe 0.7rc12 is now out, and includes SDL as its graphics library.

Interview with Syllable Project Manager “Vanders”

Submitted by Dev Sibwarra 2003-07-04 Syllable, AtheOS 46 Comments

NeoNerds.net have snagged an interview with the project manager of the Syllable project, Kristian "Vanders" Van Der Vliet. In this interview, NeoNerds reveals the current status of the project, as well as the projected future of Syllable as a desktop and office OS.

Windows Server 2003 SP1 Beta Build 1023 Available to Beta Testers

Submitted by Henry Nazar 2003-07-04 Windows 30 Comments

A new beta SP1 build, 1023, was made available to Microsoft beta testers. Changes include:

Free Download of Icepack Linux 2.75

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-04 Linux 16 Comments

IcePack is the third biggest German Linux distribution after SuSE and Knoppix. DistroWatch informs us that they recently released their commercial edition as a free download, as its developers are currently working on Icepack Linux 3.0. Icepack Linux 2.75 comes on 4 CDs, plus a bonus CD containing plenty of artwork, true type fonts and some commercial applications. Download from either the English, German, French and development web site.

Analysis: Open Source Databases

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-04 Databases 18 Comments

"Many enterprise software users and vendors have made significant commitments to open source technologies. Projects such as the Linux operating system, Apache Web server, and the Perl programming language, have proven themselves as viable alternatives to equivalent commercial offerings. But what about the tools used to hold core information assets? Are open source databases ready for the enterprise?" Read the article at LinuxWorld.au.

Microsoft Defends Security Track Record

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-04 Privacy, Security 26 Comments

Software designed by humans will always have flaws, says Microsoft, but the company argues that its security record is improving. Microsoft has admitted it does not expect to ever release completely secure, flawless code, but denied that its software was any less secure than any other complex code.

Security Hole Discovered in Mac OS X

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-04 Bugs & Viruses 87 Comments

Delfim Machado made public a way of crashing a password-protected screensaver and thus giving full access to the user account that the screensaver was running under. All a user has to do is to keep pressing any key for 5 minutes or so and then pressing Enter. Delfim Machado contacted Apple's Security department with his discovery, but when he didn't hear back, he decided to go public.

Castle Technology Purchases RISC OS

Submitted by Peter Naulls 2003-07-04 RISC OS 20 Comments

Castle Technology, makers of an XScale based desktop machine, announced today they had purchased RISC OS from the previous owners, Pace. RISC OS was initially developed by Acorn, starting in 1988, and has appeared in a large number of Acorn machines, and later on machines by other manufacturers.

wx.NET 0.2 Released

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-04 General Development 23 Comments

wx.NET is a C# wrapper for wxWindows, providing a portable GUI toolkit for .NET programs. wx.NET can be used with various implementations of the CLI, including .NET, Mono, and DotGNU Portable.NET. Other C# wrappers for popular freely available toolkits are GTK# and QT#. Also, more developers are needed to assist porting Mono or dotGNU to Mac OS X.

SGI Indigo Magic Desktop for Linux Beta 1 Available

Submitted by Gil Bates 2003-07-04 Desktop environments 35 Comments

The first beta of SGI Indigo Magic Desktop has been uploaded and is ready for testing. The IMD project reproduces the 4Dwm desktop, as found on SGI's IRIX operating system, running under Linux.

MorphOS and Pegasos Quickstart Guide, v2.5

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-04 Morphos 11 Comments

The MorphOS/Pegasos Quickstart Guide written by Jürgen Lucas has updated to version 2.5. The guide shows you how to install MorphOS on Pegasos with an empty IDE hard drive. Thanks to Andreas Zierl and Fabrice Lehaut the guide is beside german also available in english and french.

NASA Benchmarks Power Mac G5; More Apple News

Submitted by Derek Kent 2003-07-04 Apple 133 Comments

NASA recently benchmarked Apple's dual 2GHz Power Mac G5 at its Langley Research Center in Virginia. The main purpose of the tests was to compare the G5 to the G4 for "computational fluid dynamics applications" however they also compare it to the Pentium 4.

Intel’s 32-bit on Itanium Preview to Come in Windows 2003 SP1 Beta

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-03 Intel 28 Comments

In the Windows 2003 SP1 beta, Intel says it will offer a preview of the 32-bit execution layer that will cause the Itanium 2 processors to run x86 applications at the full clockspeed rating of the processor. For example, the 1.5-GHz Itanium 2 "Madison" processors launched this week would offer that clockspeed to 32-bit applications, as well. Until now, the inability of the Itanium Family processors to run 32-bit applications without a large performance penalty has been a major shortcoming of Intel's 64-bit Itanium line that has negatively affected industry adoption.

Editorial: Would Microsoft Open Sourcing NT4 be Linux’s Nemesis?

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-03 Windows 75 Comments

Microsoft has killed off Windows NT 4, but it should now release its source code to the open-source community in order to fight off the challenge from Linux, Munir Kotadia claims. My Take: Sorry, but the suggestion doesn't hold business-wise. Read more for my short commentary on the subject.

Linux Development: Back to BASIC

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-03 General Development 24 Comments

"Few languages have been as popular over the years as BASIC. Until about a decade ago, almost every programmer cut his teeth learning BASIC. Indeed, the name itself came from Beginner's All Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. If you've had BASIC training, can you find a familiar flavor that runs under Linux? Because it is not enough to find a good BASIC language implementation for Linux; one must find a BASIC language variant that approximates the style of BASIC to which you are accustomed." Read the article at DevChannel by Russell Pavlicek.

VMware Unveils Software, Plans IPO

Eugenia Loli 2003-07-03 In the News 16 Comments

VMware, whose software lets an Intel server run several operating systems simultaneously, is expanding both its software capabilities and business ambitions.

Guide to Debian GNU/Linux Desktop Survival

Guest post by Brandon Philips 2003-07-03 Debian 14 Comments

Good Debian desktop survival guide that covers all the major applications a user would need.

Athene 3.1 Puts a New Face on Desktop Computing

Submitted by Paul Manias 2003-07-03 OS News 40 Comments

Rocklyte Systems announced the latest version of its free multi-platform operating system environment, Athene 3.1. Available for Linux and Windows, Athene supports the rare ability of being able to function on competing operating systems, while also maintaining its own independent OS infrastructure (the Athenyx 2003 CDROM series). The 3.1 release of Athene continues to make significant strides in the advancement of its desktop interface.