In their on-going GNU/Linux review series, most OfB have received much criticism from loyal users of the various distributions we have covered. Timothy R. Butler notes that many of the issued raised by those who commented on the series were cases of "knee-jerk" reaction and ponders how such reactions impact the community at large and its appearance to outsiders.

It's been a week since FreeBSD 5.0 got released. Many argue that this release is the most important and most technically advanced, ever, for FreeBSD. I am truly disapointed though on the way the media have responded to this release.

HelloWorld is a software application with a visual approach to connecting people, online messaging, search and transfer operations, and personal publishing, in a decentralized network environment that is owned and operated by the network community. The application (soon to be released for Windows, Linux and Mac) is literally an alternative user interface for our online needs.

In a Microsoft mailing list posting sent yesterday, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates reports that the company is making progress on its initiative to make its products more secure, though he also notes that the demand for security has risen since Microsoft began the initiative. New versions of Windows Server 2003, SQL Server, and Exchange Server will have all passed the new, more stringent, testing, and users will notice that vulnerable services will be turned off by default. Gates also promoted the use of smart cards for authentication in the email. Read more in this PC World article.

The Issue 34 of OpenBeOS' newsletter is out. Topics discussed is VM2, is a newly designed virtual memory system designed specifically for OpenBeOS. It is completely object oriented and designed for easier maintenance. Another topic is "Beatrice: Coordinates, Views and Messages" and the commentary "The Fate of Microsoft".

Speaking at the Oracle Appsworld here, the 58-year old Ellison, said he hoped that Oracle would soon be able to run its desktop applications on Lindows. The shrewd Ellison was however quick to sense the skepticism among the audience about the concept to make a cheap open software that runs both Linux and Windows code, but that looks and runs like Windows. "Lindows may not succeed, but it's at least possible. Even if Lindows comes close to success, the product could beget the massive transition that Microsoft perpetually fears," Ellison said.