Nicholas Petreley installs and compares the two most popular desktop environments for Linux & other Unixes. His recommendation? It depends... Update: OSNews reader Cesar Cardoso just sent us this: "Why not a UI-fight between Havoc and Mosfet?" This is Mosfet's rebuttal article answering to Havoc Pennington's article, while the first part is here.

With Java, StarOffice, Solaris and Linux all on the verge of major breakthroughs (or busts), Sun Executive Vice President Jonathan Schwartz has a lot on his mind. Since shifting over from his role as Sun's Chief Strategy Officer last July, Schwartz has been revving up the Sun software engine, which had lost ground in several critical areas, including development tools, application servers and dealing with Linux. In a dinner conversation that carried over to a subsequent e-mail exchange, eWEEK's John Taschek asked Schwartz about the threat of Linux and how Sun will cope with Dell as a competitor.

In a report inspired by the advice of a departing Microsoft manager, a Merrill Lynch technology analyst wrote that the software company must "notch up the innovation component" if it wants to succeed in an era of networked systems and increased pervasiveness of open-source applications. The report, released Wednesday by Merrill tech strategist Steven Milunovich, analyzes points raised in an essay recently published by retiring Microsoft program manager David Stutz.

The Pentium 4-based Prescott processor, due in the second half of 2003, will be manufactured using 90-nanometre production technology and carry 13 new instructions aimed at specific applications including media and games. Debuting at 3.4GHz, Prescott will also carry improvements in hyperthreading and an 800MHz bus. Prescott will also feature larger caches and be scalable to 4 to 5 GHz. Intel vice president for mlogic technology development, Joe Schutz, said the company plans to be hitting the 15 to 20 GHz mark by 2010.

I'm a web designer and a recent Linux convert who has tried several of the large distros. This article is the summary of my experience over the last few months. I decided to start using Linux a few months ago around the time Mandrake went to version 9 and Red Hat to version 8. With all the hype I figured I'd give it a try.

"Whether they like many of Apple's decisions or not, many Mac users remain committed to the company; Can Apple keep pushing this envelope? Over the past six months several pricing decisions by Apple Computer Inc. have tested the loyalty of its customers. Each time, indignant Mac users have lambasted the company in online forums, only to be scolded by Apple defenders." Read the first article at SunSpot. "OS X is a stable operating system, but when things go wrong you should have the right tools to get it back to normal." Read the second article at Bangkokpost.

Roberto J Dohnert writes: "Winsupersite has an excellent two part story on the development of Windows NT and how it has affected the release of Windows 2003 Server." Read the first part and the second part at Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows.

"Wireless networks are replacing wired networks very rapidly. More and more people want to stay connected on the road. What this transition brings is - more security problems. While wired networks have been around for ages and have had the time to make good security defences, wireless networks and new in comparison and still have a long way to go. This book aims to give you the knowledge you need to bring maximum security to your network, by teaching you how that security can and will be broken." Read the review at Help Net Security.

Microsoft plans to take a giant leap into the server consolidation space this week by announcing the acquisition of virtual server software company Connectix. The software giant, which is expected to formally unveil the deal Thursday, will use the technology to allow customers to carve out multiple partitions on a single Intel-based server, allowing them to run multiple instances of a single operating system and multiple workloads. Update: Read more for info on the fate of the MacOSX version.

As the Microsoft Windows monopoly becomes ever more entrenched, the world seems to be becoming an increasingly more difficult place for a new operating system, or even some that have been around for a long time but have a limited share of the desktop PC market. Proponents of alternative operating systems seem to spend their time alternately griping about Windows' grip on the desktop and asserting that it doesn't matter all that much because they can get their work done with their OS of choice.

PCLinuxOnline has managed to acquire some extra information from MandrakeSoft in regards to their Corporate Server 2.1.

"The "best" product doesn't always win since, given advantages of predatory pricing and clever marketing strategy, "good enough" is almost always good enough to carry the day. I'm talking, of course, about Microsoft, its software and its business practices, and if you're a fan of BeOS, OS/2 or another innovative software product that ended up mangled on the side of The Road Ahead, you've seen these sentiments expressed before and you've probably expressed them yourself." Editorial at eWeek.

Leading Linux seller Red Hat quietly released an updated version of its Advanced Server product last week that adds support for IBM's x440 server, an important expansion for both companies. IBM has high hopes for multiprocessor Xeon systems, Big Blue has been cooling toward Intel's Itanium processor, said Illuminata analyst Gordon Haff. IBM canceled a plan to release its own AIX version of Unix for Itanium servers and recently transferred a handful of programmers working on Linux for Itanium to work on Linux for IBM's Power server processors. Additionally, a third Phoebe beta of Red Hat Linux 8.1 is expected tomorrow for the x86 architecture.

InnoTek Systemberatung GmbH today announced the availability of OS/2 Kit for Java (Beta). The InnoTek OS/2 Platform Enablement Kit for Sun Java 2 Standard Edition Version 1.4.1_01 ("OS/2 Kit for Java") is a software package designed to address the needs of enterprises still running the IBM OS/2 platform while requiring access to the latest Java technology from Sun Microsystems.