"The 'meta-distro' Gentoo makes it possible to compile and configure everything on your system exactly the way you like, providing you with more structure and tools to ease the process and automate updates. Do I still like Debian? I absolutely love it. But until further notice, Gentoo is now my flavor of Linux." Read the review at LinuxWorld.

The first version of BeFree is released today. It is a GPL/LGPL graphical system that doesn't rely on X11 and is developed under FreeBSD 5.x (should also work on Linux). It is a BeOS 5 API clone (and not a Be OS clone) but the source compatibility will be probably broken in the future, the developer says. The release notes are here.

Mozilla.org has finally released version 0.6 of Firebird, the project formerly known as Phoenix. Version 0.6 includes a new theme as well as a host of new features. It can be downloaded from here.

"Almost no one knows what's really going on. Very few people know what's in both Linux and Unix source code, and most of them aren't talking, and the ones who are talking aren't providing specifics. Some Linux advocates say that SCO is somehow being unfair in not disclosing its evidence now, but if SCO is indeed the wronged party then they have no obligation to do any favors to the people who wronged them. So what happens if SCO is right?" Read the article at Internet Week.

At last week's WinHEC show, Nvidia Chief Scientist David Kirk pontificated on where 3D graphics rendering is going over the next decade. What can you expect? Photorealistic rendering and cinematic realism, of course. Bottom line -- it's not about pushing clock speeds and pixel rates, but rather making pixels much better looking!

After opening beta testing to all levels of users, Libranet 2.8 is easier to install, configure and integrate. Read the review at LinuxJournal.

Database users who rely on Linux operating systems are drooling over the list of features promised by the soon-to-be-released 2.6 kernel. Read the report at eWeek.

Opera Software has recently released version 7.11 of its browser. Also, Apple posted Safari's b2 (v74).

Microsoft is offering to Visual Studio .NET 2002 Professional, Enterprise Developer, and Enterprise Architect customers a corresponding upgrade to a Visual Studio .NET 2003 product for only $29 USD. This offer is open until September 30, 2003 and is indeed one of the first signs of yesterday's news that Microsoft is cutting down the prices like crazy in order to beat the rising competition. The original price for the PRO upgrade was about $480 USD (Enterprise and Architect upgrade versions were even pricier).

Led by upstarts such as RLX Technologies, some of the large system vendors have jumped on this innovation within the server market. Sun's Subodh Bapat, CTO for Sun's volume systems products division, recently sat down with the IDG News Service to discuss his company's recent Blade server announcements, and its vision for the next generation of the technology.

SuSE Linux plans to continue honoring its commitments to UnitedLinux, despite allegations by SCO Group --a fellow founding member of the alliance-- that Linux contains unauthorized intellectual property. Meanwhile, Linux vendors MandrakeSoft and Red Hat --which are not members of the UnitedLinux group-- said they had not been contacted about the allegations and did not see them affecting business.

Linux has improved significantly in the last two years, a new study released Thursday has found, with a version from SuSE edging out that of rival Red Hat in the businesses features race. However, Unix still outpaces the Linux operating system in some areas, the study says.

Rocklyte Systems announced the first public release of its commercial operating system technology after five years of development. "Athenyx 2003" is an operating system distribution combining the Rocklyte technology (not based on XFree86), SciTech's SNAP graphics technology and the Linux kernel, into a desktop platform. Designed for multimedia use and general productivity, Athenyx 2003 includes these features. Coming soon: Internet dial-up support from the desktop interface, fully functional web browser, an X11 server for backwards compatibility with X11 programs. The OS costs $40 USD.

"Last summer, Orlando Ayala, then in charge of worldwide sales at Microsoft, sent an e-mail message titled 'Microsoft Confidential' to senior managers laying out a company strategy to dissuade governments across the globe from choosing cheaper alternatives to the ubiquitous Windows software systems.