Mandrake Linux 9.1 packs are currently available for purchase at MandrakeStore. MandrakeStore offers a new tracking system which allows customers to monitor their orders each step of the way. The full press release is here.

Microsoft will disclose more details about the next "big" version of Windows and show off prototypes of smart. Also, Gates cites Microsoft breakthroughs at eWeek. Check out pictures of the Athens PC.

From the press release: "Boosting performance while lowering the price of its popular desktop for home and school, Apple today announced an entirely new eMac line offering up to a 1 GHz PowerPC G4 processor, a faster 4x SuperDrive(TM), high performance ATI Radeon 7500 graphics, up to 80GB hard drives and internal support for AirPort Extreme wireless networking. Featuring a 17-inch flat CRT and a remarkably compact all-in-one design that is even less deep than the original iMac, the most affordable PowerPC G4 system now starts at just $799." Update: New keyboard for eMacs. Read on.

Canada's leading distro, Libranet is not yet one of the "big guns" in the Linux world, but it has all the potential to compete with the best.

Novell Inc. is wagering that it can hang onto its much-diminished installed base while attracting new users by offering enterprises a set of network services that's broad and well-integrated and keeps customer options open by embracing open-source components. Read the article at eWeek.

Only after learning what is under the hood can your programming skills blossom; so, look at how computers first worked and how they have evolved through the years. Read the article at InformIT.

eComStation 1.1 is finally available for purchase one and a half years after the release of eCS 1.0. What's new in this release and is it really worth $200? Read on to find out.

Macbidouille.com offers some benchmarks of the PPC 970 platform running MacOSX in 32bit mode, against a P4 at 3 GHz and a dual G4 1.42 GHz. Keep in mind that OSNews can't confirm the validity of the benchmarks as there is no official word from Apple or IBM (the article also doesn't give information about the exact hardware configuration used for both platforms).

The Linux 2.6 production kernel promises to be the most advanced open-source platform developed to date, according to computer scientists who have been putting the 2.5 development kernel through its paces. Read the article at eWeek.

Researchers at IBM have used carbon molecules to emit light, a breakthrough that could replace silicon as the foundation of chips and lead to faster computers and telecommunication equipment. The focus of the research team was ultratiny, tube-shaped carbon molecules, or nanotubes, that are more than 50,000 times thinner than an average human hair, according to a statement from IBM this week.

Within last week's Q&A session Amiga's CTO already cleared up the strategic reasoning behind transferring the AmigaOS4 ownership to Hyperion. Within this week's Q&A Fleecy clear's up some more misconceptions regarding Amiga's influence on the AmigaOS4 development. Other questions relate to the AmigaDE, future hardware and software development for AmigaOS4.

Robert McMillan has written a feature article regarding Linux storming into the financial computing industry. Robert expects that 2003 will be Linux' make or break year regarding financial applications.

From the press release: Under the terms of an amended licensing agreement with Geoworks of Emeryville, California, effective April 1, 2003, Breadbox Computer Company, LLC of Port Richey, Florida, has obtained the worldwide exclusive and perpetual rights to the patented Geos operating system for all hardware platforms.

A Belgian developer has ported parts of the OpenBeOS/BeOS toolkit and API to Windows. This is not the first time something like this is being done, but possibly it is the most advanced of the efforts. This is also similar to what the B.E.O.S. team does, trying to port the BeOS API to Linux. Update: Xentronix project leader seems to have stop developing BeOS apps and the Sequel OS, citting personal reasons.