"The launch of the latest edition of the Gnome desktop software for Linux and Unix operating systems marks a new attitude among its developers: Integration is key." BusinessWeek carries the story.

Some programmers see the advantage of combining Python and Objective-C in the same environment, believing that a bridge between the two languages provides tremendous power and advantages to either language. For the Objective-C developer, access to Python provides a rapid application-development solution that's far more efficient than one requiring a compiler. For the Python developer, transparent access to Objective-C would allow the developer's scripts to leverage the full power and elegance of the MacOSX environment. In this article, Bill Bumgarner shows you how to bring these worlds together.

The Free and Open Source Software Developers' Meeting is this weekend in Brussels, and they're published several more interviews with event contributors: Harald Welte about netfilter/iptables, Solar Designer about Openwall GNU/*/Linux, Yoann Vandoorselaere about Prelude IDS, Thomas Vander Stichele about GStreamer, and Damien Sandras about GnomeMeeting.

MandrakeSoft today announced the immediate release of Mandrake Corporate Server 2.1, a Linux solution that provides large accounts with critical business server functions, plus MandrakeSoft's famous "user friendly" touch. The Corporate Server includes MandrakeClustering tools. The new Corporate Server offers all the tools needed to create a full-featured enterprise network, complete with the latest up-to-date software and security updates.

The PostgreSQL Global Development Group has released PostgreSQL 7.3.2. This release addresses several overrun and memory leak issues that were found in recent weeks, so it is highly recommended that those running the 7.3.1 branch upgrade at their earliest convience.

In this DesktopLinux.com guest column, Gregory S. Hopper takes Linux beyond the desktop. Declaring the 'PC is the Model T' of today, Hopper makes a convincing argument that disruptive technologies and changing business models will dictate the PC market of tomorrow. By adopting a one-size fits all approach, the market has not yet fully realized the opportunity that open source, Linux, and the GPL offer to a dynamic user base.

Leading Linux seller Red Hat is becoming more aggressive in pushing its premium operating system products, using support contracts, pricing changes and certification restrictions to drive customers and partners to its more expensive "advanced" line. Also, Sam's Club, the members-only branch of retail giant Wal-Mart, has entered the budget PC race with a $299 system running Red Hat Linux.

'Flower Power' was the mantra of a generation in the 1960s. That metaphor takes on a whole new meaning as DesktopLinux.com interviews Lycoris executives, CTO Joseph Cheek and marketing guru Jason Spisak about Lycoris' Linux desktop. The in-depth talk focuses on the company's strategy, open source philosophy, the challenge to Microsoft's Windows XP, and how Lycoris is shaping the future of Desktop Linux for the consumer today.

WSJ has an article on OpenBeOS featuring Michael Phipps, Timothy Lord from Slashdot and Eric Raymond. "As far as I can see, OpenBeOS is more an admirable aesthetic experiment," says Timothy Lord. "As it is," he adds, "they're esoteric among esoterica."

"The next major release of Windows won't be ready for a couple of years, but it's already taking shape. We checked out a leaked pre-beta version of the successor to Windows XP, code-named Longhorn, that we found on the Internet. Though Microsoft declined to comment for this story, company bigwigs Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer have given some broad hints about Longhorn. In numerous speeches and published reports, they've promised a totally revamped OS built on a new file system that gives users a single route to data, regardless of how that data is created or where on a PC or network it's stored ". Read the article at PCWorld.

Vector Linux announced the release of version 3.2. The disto is now fully Slackware compatible and LSB compliant. It is based on the linux kernel 2.4.20 and Glibc-2.2.5. Several new additions to the software mix have been added such as CDRW support to burn cd's, faster web browsing via Dillo and the latest Opera , autopkg to keep things up to date, checkinstall for easy source installation, and additional security updates. Antialias font support is in both the available window managers. New in version 3.2 are new and enhanced configuration tools to make installation and hardware detection even easier.

"IBM has plans to make the midrange and low end of its Unix line stronger in a move that could liven up competition within the company between competing chip architectures. In 2004, IBM will roll out its Power5 processor, which will in some ways complete an overhaul of the company's entire Unix server line. With chips tuned for each class of Unix server it sells, IBM is looking to keep the heat on Sun Microsystems and stop users from defecting to Intel's Itanium processor." Read the article at InfoWorld.

GNOME 2.0 Desktop, the user environment for the Solaris OE, is now ready for production use. It has been built by Sun Microsystems and is fully supported. Additionally, Sun went beta with Star Office 6.1.

eComStation OS/2 1.1-RC1 R5 is now available for subscribers and selected beta testers to be downloaded from the site's ftp server. There is at least one more RC to be expected before final release.