Help Wanted: Hacker with Mod Chip Experience

Microsoft 32 Comments
Microsoft has posted a position available for an engineer who will be responsible for researching modification chips that can be used to circumvent security on the Xbox, according to a ZDNet article. It looks like Microsoft is interested in heading off the efforts of the Xbox Linux Project. Currently, it is possible to install Linux on an Xbox and use it like a PC, but you must install a mod chip to circumvent the Xbox's "feature" that prevents an outside OS from booting from a CD.
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Disgruntled Solaris x86 Users Turn Up Heat on Sun

Solaris 15 Comments
Sun Microsystems Inc.'s refusal to release Solaris 9 for non-Sun x86 hardware could backfire and drive developers and users to Linux or even Microsoft Corp. platforms, users said. Disgruntled x86 community developers and customers charge that Sun's refusal to reach a compromise is effectively making their investments in non-Sun x86 hardware obsolete. Supporters are so irked by Sun's intransigence that last week they placed an open letter in The Mercury News, of San Jose, Calif., accusing Sun Chairman, President and CEO Scott McNealy of taking the developer community for granted.
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Hot Contraband: P4 With 3.6 GHz

  Submitted by JBQ Intel 41 Comments
Too hot to handle: Intel aims to launch the P4 3.6 GHz in mid-2003. For this exclusive report, Tom's Hardware Guide tested CPUs of the future, bringing you benchmarks for P4s in the 3.6 GHz, 3.33 GHz and 3.06 GHz variations. The article also tests against the future AMD AthlonXP 3000+ and 3400+. Update: More information on Intel's plans and technogies for the future.
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Simply GNUStep DR1 Released

  Submitted by Chad Hardin OpenStep, GNUstep 32 Comments
This is the brand new version of Simply GNUstep, a Linux distribution that only includes applications based on the GNUstep 1.4.0/GUI 0.8.0 APIs or WindowMaker's NeXT UI style. The ISO is 275 MB and this time can be installed on its own partition, however its new installer can cause problems on multi-boot PCs, so the author marked this release as a Developer Release 1. The distro was re-created from scratch (doesn't use Red Hat anymore) and it is built with GCC 3.1 for i586+. Screenshots available.
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Guide to User Experience Differences Between Windows & OSX

macOS 66 Comments
Mac OS X users know when a product doesn't quite "feel right", and so do product reviewers. Despite the similarities that seem to exist between the Microsoft Windows 95/98/2000 and Windows XP user interfaces (UI) and the Aqua interface of Mac OS X, there are significant appearance and behavioral differences. A successful Windows to Mac OS X transition requires abandoning key elements of the Windows user experience in favor of the Mac OS X alternatives. This document outlines typical areas of concern when porting a Microsoft Windows application to Mac OS X, and provides guidance for transitioning to the Mac OS X UI.
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Vote for the CPU Architecture Apple Should Switch To

Apple 114 Comments
Slow news day today, so here is a new poll. Vote for the architecture that Apple should switch to, if such a switch is necessary. Please note that we did not include options like MIPS, SPARC or Crusoe as they do not make much sense at this point as suitable candidates for different reasons each. But the most popular choices are listed and awaiting your vote!
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Upcoming Power4 CPU not for Macs?

Apple 76 Comments
MacNN reports on some unofficial IBM comments that took place in a briefing of IBM's high performance computing technology meeting. The asked presenter said that the Power4 derivative CPU is not for Apple. Its 160 instructions that will be introduced in the new CPU are not Altivec and that IBM pitched the desktop Power4 to Apple, but Apple was not interested. This new information, if true, again turns the posibility for the future of the Macs to x86 as the Motorola G5 is a dead horse by all accounts, OSNews heard. eWeek recently reported in the existance of an x86-based MacOSX, codenamed Marklar.
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Open Source Community Needs More Unity

Editorial 66 Comments
" Still, Open Source software fails to lead in many areas. This could be from a historical disadvantage -- the means of connecting and organizing people for sizable Open Source projects only recently became available and are only starting to approach the tight-knit nature of companies. But I think it's for a whole different reason. Open Source software lacks leadership, unity and direction." Read the editorial at NewsForge.
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Enhanced Dock System for AmigaOS Shown

  Submitted by Don Cox Amiga & AROS 46 Comments
OSNews reader Don Cox writes: "Dock system for the new AmigaOS is shown here. The author is Stefan Robl, who also has an interesting Coldfire-based hardware project. Would users of Mac OS X like to compare this Amiga dock with the Mac one?" Our Take: The Dock for AmigaOS4 sounds good, but it does not look good. While it is said to be customizable, the defaults matter. I hope the author lose the background image for the dock, and instead deliver something professional-looking, refined and clean for the final version of the OS. Some alpha around the icons wouldn't hurt either.
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Windows XP SP1 Official Download Available

Windows 113 Comments
The Windows XP Service Pack 1 is now available from the Microsoft servers. This official SP is based on 'build 1106' and it weighs 133 MB. Some users have noticed a snappier interface along with the bug fixes, new drivers and features included. The official announcement is expected on Monday. Update: OSNews reader James, sent us a screenshot with the error message you get when trying to install SP1 on a pirated WindowsXP copy.
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Interview With Guillaume Maillard of B.E.OS. Project

Haiku 48 Comments
Guillaume Maillard of the BlueEyed OS is talking to TotallyBe. He speaks of the differences between their project and OBOS and Cosmoe. He also claims that when programmed for and/or patched the right way, the Linux kernel and XFree can be very fast and perform pretty adequately to BeOS 5 (UI responsiveness - the main advantage of the BeOS experience), while in most of the "other" cases, Linux is much faster than BeOS 5 (eg. server operations, compilation times, SMP scaling, VM etc).
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Web Sites Reject Apache 2

Internet 24 Comments
Regular changes to the Apache 2 API has developers questioning its usability.Also, extremely low uptake of Apache 2 has caused its producers to advocate freez-ing development of the open-source Web server until makers of add-in software catch up. Almost six months after the launch of Apache 2, less than one percent of sites use it, due to a lack of suitable third-party modules.
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