KDE 3.0.5 Released

The KDE Project just released KDE 3.0.5. According to the SuSE README file for KDE 3.0.5, this is not exactly a full release of its own, as only the kdebase and kdelibs packages were affected from the (mostly security) updates (the rest of the packages have very minor changes). Users who already have 3.0.4 installed, will only need to re-install these two packages, while users using older versions, will have to do a complete installation.

Embedded Linux: What, Where and Wow!

"If you look back 10 years, you would see a world without Linux. Linux has developed in leaps and bounds into what it is today or what it will be tommorow. It's like Linux has grown in Real-Time. From geeks computers to budget tight companies, from non-technical desktops to big corporations, from hand held computers to embedded devices, Linux has transformed the way we look at computers. And guess what, it ain't stopping here." Read the article at LinuxLookup.

Introducing ColorForth

Forth has been a recognized programming language since the 1970's. ColorForth is a redesign of this classic language for the 21st century. It also draws upon a 20-year evolution of minimal instruction-set microprocessors. Now implemented on modern PCs, it runs stand-alone without an operating system. Applications are recompiled from source with a simple optimizing compiler.

Bill Gates: Windows Far Ahead of Linux

"Windows offers more than the Linux platform, which is just an operating system, Gates said at a news conference during his four-day tour of India, during which he said Microsoft would invest $400 million in expanding operations here. "The Windows system is far ahead of its competition and its market share is increasing both on the server side and the desktops," Gates said. He said Linux was gaining popularity in some areas and its market share was improving, but only at the expense of the operating system UNIX and others - not Windows." Read the report at IndiaTimes.

Redslug’s Review of Lindows 2.0

"I would highly recommend Lindows-OS to anyone considering moving away from using Windows. If you play a lot of Windows games, I would suggest you dual boot. If you are a hard-core Linux geek, who enjoys squeezing every last nanosecond of performance out of their machines, maybe this is not for you." Read the review at PCTechForums.

Mac OS X 10.2.2 Released

The MacOSX 10.2.2 update delivers enhanced functionality and improved reliability for the following applications and technologies: Address Book, iChat, IP Firewall, Mail, Print Center, Rendezvous, Sherlock and Windows file service discovery. It also provides a foundation for the journalling filesystem (JFS - not to be confused with IBM's JFS), which may currently be enabled via Disk Utility on Mac OS X Server systems. Journaling can also be turned on via the command line.

Unix to be Pushed Out

Linux and Microsoft's .NET will dislodge Unix as the dominant OS within the next 10 years, according to a study. Senior research analyst and report author Mike Davis, from UK-based Butler Group, said the shift had started with smaller businesses moving to install Linux for file and print services, replacing Windows NT and lower-end Unix.

Next XP revision Longhorn a 2003, Client-only Product?

"The Grand Old Duke of York is clearly in charge of Microsoft's operating systems roadmaps for, having marched Longhorn up to the top of a distant (2005, said his Billness) hill earlier this year, he has now marched it straight back down again. Longhorn, the next version of Windows XP, will not after all be a 2005 product, but will quite possibly be a next year product after all." Read the article at TheRegister.

Why is the Web Still Only a Single-User System?

In spite of the major advances in Web technology and the explosion of communication methods on the Internet, the simple act of Web browsing has remained fundamentally single-user in its implementation. Why is Web browsing still a solitary activity? Researchers at Microsoft and Harvard were excited about their proposal for a multi-user Web six years ago, and yet here we are and nothing much has changed. Jared White of The Idea Basket gives us his take on the matter, and offers a new proposal for a multi-user Web experience.

Voices in Your Head? Check That Chip in Your Arm

"Miniscule mobile telephones, tiny electronic organizers and portable DVD players are nice. But they'd be so much less cumbersome if they were surgically implanted under your skin. The chip, called the VeriChip, is about the size of a grain of rice, carries a number that identifies you and, the company says, may eventually provide a way to make sure that only the right people gain access to secure sites, corporate offices or even personal computers. The chip could also carry access to personal data, like medical information." Read the (enthusiastic!) article at NYTimes. Our Take: Implantable chips? Over my dead body. I have hard time liking the tooth implants already.