The first beta of Mandrake Linux 9.1 is downsized to only one CD. A complete list of packages on this CD is available here. BTW, OSNews would be happy to host your preview. Update:Screenshots.
"SCO have taken the lead in bringing UnitedLinux consortium's UnitedLinux server operating system to the reseller market. At first glance, SCO Linux 4, SCO's version of UnitedLinux 1.0, doesn't look that much different from OpenLinux. In fact, it really just looks like a typical-albeit stripped down to the vital server basics-Linux server distribution. And, that's as it should be."Read the story at Practical-Tech.
"The Apple booth staff 'freaked' when I tried to plug my FWDepot Cutie FireWire test drive into the new 17" and 12" PowerBooks with Photoshop, Quake3, and other real world test apps. But I knew you wanted some idea of the performance, right? So since the demo units were connected to the 'Net, I downloaded Xbench beta and ran it on the two new PowerBooks... along with a few others." Take a look at the benchmarks over at Bare Feats.
"Macworld Expo in San Francisco is more than a technology convention. It is a personality litmus test, too. By contrast, Apple inspires rave reviews. And accounts for only 2.3% of the worldwide computer market, according to research firm IDC. The company blazes forth, but few answer the call."Read the editorial at C|Net.
A start-up company says it has developed a navigation system that is cheap enough to bring robots to the mass-consumer market. Read the story at News.com.
zhopon writes "DesktopLinux.com speaks with Andreas Girardet, Founder of Yoper, a New Zealand-based Linux distribution...Girardet relates the goals of the new company, explains what makes Yoper unique, and his philosophy about the emerging desktop market" You can read the rest at desktoplinux.com.
"The purpose of this series of documents is to introduce, and explain how to build a functioning rewindable desktop. Later, in Part III, we'll get into why you'd want to build one in the first place. For now, its all theory, lacking even a single scrap of code to demonstrate a proof-of-concept model. However, that's not to say it can't be done. Below, you will find (as best as I'm able to describe) the blueprints of how a rewindable desktop can be made. Its surely not the only way, but its the best way I know how to do it after much thought."Read the article at LinuxAndMain.
"The product name Microsoft(R) Windows(R) .NET Server 2003 will be changing to Windows Server 2003. Microsoft is making an effort to clarify the naming and branding strategy for .NET."Read the report at PocketPCThoughts.
Microsoft, which is trying to move its software from desktops to people's hands and pockets, on Wednesday unveiled plans for a portable media player and a radio-linked wristwatch. The announcements by Microsoft Chairman and founder Bill Gates come as the world's largest software company mounts a push beyond its existing market stronghold in computer operating systems toward a range of devices such as Tablet PCs, cars, monitors and even exercise bikes.
"What is an embedded device? Is it simply a low-resource 'PC', so all you need is a scaled down Linux and off you go? Not really. In this article, a few thoughts on principal differences will be brought up that may need direct addressing by the embedded Linux community to foster the use of Linux in the embedded market." Read it at LinuxDevices.
Chicobaud writes: "The two big companies anounced a combination of efforts in developing new high performance CPU fabrication aiming 65 and 45 nm (nanometers) in order to lower power comsuption and improving performance." Read the press release at the AMD website.
Linux Para Todos gladly announces the availability of LPT Desktop for Yellow Dog Linux 2.3. It includes GNOME 2.0.3 desktop envoiroment, plus other goodies like Mozilla-1.2.1 (not Xft), galeon-1.2.7, xmms-1.2.7, pilot-Link-0.11 and GNOME Pilot 0.1.71. Everything in RPM packages available as APT repositories. The whole package list and official announce (in spanish) available at Linux Para Todos.
Ryan Murray posted the news to debian-devel-announce yesterday. After long preparations and tests (and waiting for gcc to compile and work properly on m68k - Robot101) Debian has finally changed the default compiler to gcc 3.2 on all architectures in the Sid branch.
OS2World.com reports that IBM has released their OS/2 strategy for 2003. They appear to be pushing the WebSphere Software Platform as well as client and server upgrades to Warp 4. The report can be viewed at IBM's website.
In more Linux consumer electronics news, Computerworld has a short article outlining the latest inroads that the open source OS is making in the already crowded phone-OS space. NEC Corp. said today that it's working on the development of Linux-based cell phones with MontaVista Software Inc., and an executive of the Sunnyvale, Calif., software company said it's in talks with other major cellular handset makers on similar projects.
Apple is starting to promote its public beta of X11 for OS X: "X11 for Mac OS X offers a complete X Window System implementation for running X11-based applications on Mac OS X. Based on the de facto-standard for X11, the open source XFree86 project, X11 for Mac OS X is compatible, fast and fully integrated with Mac OS X . . . Native Aqua and X11 applications run side by side on the Mac OS X desktop. You can cut and paste between X11 and Aqua windows."
ZDNet is running an article that coincides with the big consumer electonics show in Las Vegas that highlights the use of Linux in electronic (non-computer) devices. Monta Vista is the vendor that has been most successful in selling its version of "embedded" Linux into devices, and they're set to release a new version especially for consumer electronics. The article gives a good background on Linux' adoption in the consumer space, in places where people don't know, and don't care, what OS their gadget is running.
"I've got 1GB of memory in my 867MHz PowerMac. But at 15,500 tracks, iTunes is starting to become difficult (not quite impossible) to use. It hums along fine if I don't touch it. But simply selecting a track can result in 20 seconds of spinning beachball. Editing an ID3 tag can take more than 30 seconds. Dragging tracks to a playlist, same. iPhoto is even worse. At around 800 images, it started to bog down on me." Read Scot Hacker's editorial at OReilly NetWork. The book writer (mostly known for his 'BeOS Bible' book, now a MacOSX convert) finds scalability problems on the famous iApps and suggests these to be fixed before adding new features.
"One of Linux's supposed barriers in high performance computing is the 'eight processor limit.' SGI says their new Altix 3000 line, running a patched 2.4.19 kernel, handily breaks this barrier -- it can run up to 64 Intel Itanium 2 microprocessers -- and that "superclusters" built with SGI's Linux-based products can outperform generic Linux clusters in some applications by a large enough margin to justify their additional cost." Read the full article at NewsForge.
Jim wrote to tell us: "Until now, only Sun Microsystems's OSes and Linux have supported multiple processors on 32-bit Sparc machines. Now NetBSD has joined them!" Read the message that was posted on the netbsd.ports.sparc newsgroup.
