The next version of the Palm operating system for handhelds will be available to licensees at the end of the year, according to a PalmSource executive. The company expects to make the debut of major OS releases every 12 months to 18 months after the first hardware ships. In other news, a company named TopWave is making a handheld-game-console, based on PalmOS.

The new Mac OS X 10.2.6 update addresses an issue for Mac OS X 10.2.5 in which a kernel panic message may appear if certain USB hubs or devices are connected. Improves printing compatibility for PostScript OpenType fonts. Improves compatibility for Maya Auto Paint and Paint Effects features.

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.

In a pre-show demonstration of the Longhorn graphics subsystem at the WinHEC trade show in New Orleans Monday night, I saw for the first time some of the advanced video effects that Microsoft will enable in the next Windows version. Longhorn, due in late 2004 or early 2005, includes a completely new desktop composition system that replaces the model used in previous Windows versions with one that is more technically advanced, visually appealing, and scalable. The early test versions Microsoft is showing at WinHEC include amazing animation effects, smooth window scaling, and advanced window translucency". Read the article at WinInformant.

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.

Microsoft plans a major cleanup of the Win32 API set and XML application markup language (XAML) to make its next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, as friendly for developers as it is for users.

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.

I am writing to let you know that I have created a derivative work from JaysOS, the 'Toy OS' for Gameboy advance of which you have talked here. It is called ISOS and runs on ARM's Evaluator-7T evaluation boards which feature the same processor has the Gameboy Advance.

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).

At the Slashdot Q&A, Michael Robertson of Lindows.com responds to a variety of questions regarding Linux and Lindows.

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.

An agreement with SCO Group protects Linux seller SuSE from legal action stemming from SCO's accusation that Unix software was copied into Linux, SuSE said. "We have a joint development agreement with them, which includes appropriate cross-licensing arrangements," said SuSE spokesman Joe Eckert on Friday. "Our lawyers feel that covers us from any actions that SCO may take."

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.

At GFX-BASE a short review by Stefan Blixth of the Pegasos (BetaTester-II) and MorphOS has been released. He also provided GFX-BASE with some exclusive photos taken by Anders Ericsson at the AmiGBG-show that was held in Gothenburg, Sweden.