2003 Forecast–Linux will Eat Unix
Among one technology researcher's predictions for 2003 is this sobering thought: A major cyberterrorism event will disrupt the economy and bring the Internet to its knees for at least a day or two. IDC also predicts the dominance of Linux over Unix.
Supercomputers Set New Goals
By 2010 supercomputers could be carrying out more than 1,000 trillion calculations per second. The ambitious goal has been set by the US Government to help its scientists tackle problems that would otherwise take too long to simulate.
Does Moore’s Law Still Hold True?
The doctrine that computing power doubles every 18 to 24 months has been considered gospel for the past three decades. Now it may be time for a new look.
Vanishing Features of the 2.6 Kernel
"Many developers are eagerly awaiting the 2.6 Linux kernel. The feature freeze has passed, with a code freeze planned for January and final release slated for the second quarter of 2003. There is considerable excitement about anticipated enhancements, especially regarding scalability and performance. However, some developers may first notice what doesn't work anymore. Some techniques and APIs have been removed, and existing device drivers and modular plugins may no longer work. At the same time, it will take some time to take advantage of new features and to find replacements for old ones." Read the article at OnLamp.
Microsoft on Custom XPs
"Last year, Microsoft merged its two Windows lines--9x/Me and NT/2000--into one, Windows XP. Now the company is launching three new XP-based products. To learn why, PC World editors Harry McCracken and Yardena Arar interviewed Microsoft's top Windows guy--Jim Allchin, vice president for Microsoft's Platforms Group. Here's a partial transcript of the conversation." Read it at PCWorld.
Advantages of OpenMosix on IBM Linux xSeries
This article is part 3 of a 3-part series. In Part 1, you got an introduction to the current clustering technologies available for Linux and and an introduction to openMosix. In Part 2, you got a fully-functional openMosix cluster configured and running. Now, in Part 3, you'll see some ways to use openMosix to tackle computing challenges with clusters built on IBM xSeries servers running Intel® Xeon™ Making use of performance-enhancing technologies such as Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology.
CRUX 1.0 Released
"CRUX is a lightweight, i686-optimized Linux distribution targeted at experienced Linux users. The primary focus of this distribution is "keep it simple", which is reflected in a simple tar.gz-based package system, BSD-style initscripts, and a relatively small collection of trimmed packages."
CRUX 1.0 has been released, ISOs are now avaiblabe for download. Checkout the change log for a list of new/changed packages.
Mozilla 1.3a Released
Ludovic Hirlimann wrote it to tell us, "The mozilla team did it again! Mozilla 1.3a is available for downloads (check your prefered mirror for download.) New features and bugs are described here." It appears that Mozilla Mail's junk filtering has improved. In other news Netscape 7.01 was also recently released.
Blue Eyed OS Releases Beta Downloads
Blue Eyed OS, one of the premiere open source BeOS replacements, released their first downloads yesterday, a beta version of their kernel_server. It can be downloaded from the Blue Eyed OS website. They've also added a new screenshot as well as an interviews section to their homepage.
Microsoft Offered States a Fee Deal
"...if the nine states and the District of Columbia decided against an appeal, Microsoft would cover the states' expenses and provide an additional pot of funds for the states to help enforce the settlement deal, the sources said." Read the full article at the Washington Post.
Microsoft Upgrades Flaw to “Critical”
"For the second time in a week, Microsoft acknowledged that its initial estimation of a software flaw underrated the true threat posed by the vulnerability. The Redmond, Wash., giant said Thursday it plans to change the severity of a vulnerability in software common to Internet Explorer and other Windows applications from "important" to "critical." The move was prompted by an in-depth analysis written by the security researchers who found the flaw." Read the rest at ZDNet.
KOffice 1.2.1 Stable Release Available
"The KDE Project today announced the release of KOffice 1.2.1. KOffice 1.2.1 is a stability and enhancement release, with the principal improvements over KOffice 1.2, released last September, occurring in the spreadsheet program (KSpread)" Read more at KDE.org.
Setting Up a Linux Terminal Server
William G. Canaday writes for Newsforge, "When my wife asked me to remove Windows and install Linux on her computer, I was happy to oblige. She is familiar with Linux from watching me use it and was quite upset that Windows had lost her desktop photograph -- again. This gave me an excuse to try setting up a terminal / server network." His article discusses his experience with LTSP, the Linux Terminal Server Project. Read the rest at Newsforge.
Distrowatch: Libranet 2.7 – Debian Made Easy
Ladislav Bodnar writes "Libranet GNU/Linux, a commercial Linux distribution based on Debian, has been given increasingly positive coverage in Linux media. Its recipe for success is simple - it attempts to remedy some of the often cited shortcomings of Debian proper, by providing a simple installer, user-friendly system configuration tools and up-to-date selection of software packages. Combine that with a friendly user community and you have a winner. Let us investigate what Libranet is about and why you should give it a serious thought when choosing your Linux distribution." Read the rest of the review at Distrowatch.
Xandros to release downloadable Lite Edition?
Mike T-F-K writes "Xandros is obviously an intriguing desktop solution for corporate users--their target audience. With "out of the box" NT-domain login compatibility and the bundled CrossOver packages providing MS Office/Internet Explorer functionality, switching over to the more affordable Linux desktop now seems feasible for any company running a Microsoft shop."
Apple to Offer OS 9-Booting Hardware to Schools in 2003
"In the company's communications with education buyers late last month, Apple said that schools will still be able to purchase Mac OS 9 hardware in 2003. While Apple's new hardware models will next year boot into Mac OS X only, the company now plans to offer certain configurations to the education market that will boot into OS 9." Read the full article at Think Secret.
IBM Releases Web Services Tool Kit for Mobile Devices
"IBM has released the Web Services Tool Kit for Mobile Devices. Its a free set of tools that provide run-time environments that allow development of applications that use Web Services on small mobile devices. This tool kit's Java Web service run-time environment is supported on PoctketPC, Palm, and BlackBerry." More at the IBM Website
Open-source .Net takes Shape
"Builders of the Mono open-source development project released an update on Tuesday that will let programmers write Microsoft .Net applications for Linux and Unix operating systems." Read more at ZDNet.
SuSE, Red Hat in Linux shootout
"A shoot-out between the two most popular distributions of the open source operating system found that each has its strengths, but that SuSE is the best option for people new to the operating system." Read more at ZDNet.