Linux: Going Hybrid
"When the hordes of volunteer programmers who make up the open-source movement met this week for their annual convention in San Diego, one constituency was conspicuously absent: entrepreneurs. Many start-ups that tried to make money from open-source software have already gone bust, and many of those that have survived are in a sorry state." The Linux kernel is not anymore just the hacker's kernel, hacking code in his bedroom. Most of the work these days is done by big companies like Red Hat, IBM, Mandrake and even Sun. The Economist comments on the subject.
Microsoft Halts Driver Support For Windows 98
"Microsoft Corp. has halted hardware driver support for users of Windows 98 and Windows NT in a bid to push users to the company's new operating systems. On its web site, Microsoft explains that 'Beginning 01 July 2002, at 12:01 A.M. PST, WHQL will no longer accept submissions for all hardware devices and systems for the following operating systems. This includes all submission types for all devices and systems: Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE); Windows NT 4.0 Workstation; (and) Windows NT 4.0 Server.'" Read the report at ExtremeTech.
Rumors About XP SP1 Product Activation Changes Not True
"A bizarre rumor about Microsoft making sweeping changing to its Product Activation technology in Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) is completely untrue, the company told me today. The rumor, which was started by a small technology enthusiast Web site, had Microsoft changing the product keys for all of its customers using volume licensing." Read the report at WinInformant.
Linux Poised to Plug in USB 2
"Support for a faster version of USB in Linux is imminent and will become a permanent part of the Linux landscape when the next version of the operating system, 2.4.19, is introduced." Article at News.com.
Microsoft: IBM and Linux our Biggest Threats
"IBM and Linux combined represent a threat and inspiration as Microsoft Corp drives into enterprise computing, top company executives said yesterday. Computing giant IBM wages war against Microsoft in lucrative corporate accounts while Linux, the low-coast threat to Windows, wins supporters in fertile developer communities." Read the article at TheRegister.
Analysts Question Move to .Net Server
"Are the software giant's customers hungry for the next version of its server operating system? The company is banking on it, but industry watchers aren't so sure." Read the article at ZDNews.
Red Hat Shows a More Limber Linux
"A new beta release of red hat linux, code-named Limbo, hit FTP servers earlier this month, giving users a first look at what is likely to become Version 8.0 of Red Hat Inc.'s most popular Linux distribution." Read the preview at eWeek. OSNews also had a preview of Limbo recently.
The Importance of Being Debian
"Eight years ago, as Purdue undergraduate Ian Murdock flipped through a Unix magazine, he came across an intriguing advertisement. It was for a Linux distribution that promised to let you run your Windows applications on the free operating system. Linux had sprung into existence a scant year before and now -- according to the ad -- it could support Windows applications. This seemed too good to be true. It was." Old, but good read, to match the release of Debian GNU/Linux 3.0.
Windows .NET Server Achieves Major Milestone; RC1 Delivered
"Microsoft Corp. today announced at the company's .NET Briefing Day that its upcoming Windows .NET Server operating system has reached the RC1 milestone. Release candidate 1 (RC1) is an important step leading up to the product's final delivery, signifying that engineering, development and beta testing have been completed and that the server code is entering the final phases of testing and completion work prior to its release to manufacturing. Microsoft Windows .NET Server RC1 code will be available for third-party testers to download beginning tomorrow and will be available for customers to begin previewing next week." Read the rest of the press release at Microsoft.com.
Why you Should Take a Mac User to Lunch
"Apple's new rackmount server is just another Unix box -- with big implications for the Linux community. Four million new Unix users a year, that's the MacOS X promise and it's a market full of friends with whom we should be working." Read the article at LinuxWorld.
Bill Gates: Slow going for .Net
Hitting snags as it stitches together its wide-reaching software-as-a-service plans, Microsoft casts .Net farther and wider. Microsoft acknowledges that its software strategy has been slow to catch on and lays out a plan to move it forward. Therefore, it's opening up to one of the most important open-source software projects, Apache, and getting closer to a key software rival as well, Oracle.
Apple, Microsoft Near OS Update Releases
"Apple Computer and Microsoft on Tuesday took steps toward releasing important operating system updates. Both companies are expected to release updates to their operating systems next month. Apple plans to release Mac OS X 10.2, and Microsoft is readying Windows XP Service Pack 1, the first collection of bug fixes and updates to the operating system released last October. Testers working with the releases said the companies are close to issuing near-final versions of the operating systems." Read the report at ZDNews.
Opteron: The Rodney Dangerfield of Processors?
"AMD's forthcoming Opteron processor--aka Hammer--packs ground-breaking technology: Its hybrid design allows the chip to run 32- or 64-bit operating systems natively. Plus, AMD claims that one Opteron running in its 32-bit mode will outperform two XEONs--the heart of the most advanced 32-bit servers based on Intel technology. But where are the benchmarks? Which system vendors are planning Opteron-based servers? And what about software support? Until some of these pieces fall into place, AMD's gamble looks to be facing some long odds." Read the set of articles at ZDNews.
O’Reilly: Open-source .Net Inches Closer to Fruition
"The open-source effort to create a freely available version of Microsoft's .Net development environment is set to take a leap forward Wednesday, when developers from the effort known as the Mono Project detail its latest accomplishments at a conference dedicated to open-source software." Read the report About the O'Reilly open source conference at InfoWorld.
IBM Released DB2 v8.1
IBM has released DB2 v8.1 for Linux, HP, AIX, Solaris, os390 and Windows today. New features include multi-dimensional clustering (queries and analytics nearly 100% faster), self-configuring, self-healing, self-optimizing, self-protecting, and the ability to consolidate Web Services queries through a single SQL statement.
On the Subject of CPU Benchmarks
Developer Jean-Baptiste Queru wrote a short editorial regarding the SPEC benchmarks and how modern CPUs are competing these days based on the specific benchmarks. JBQ talks about the Pentium4, AthlonXPs, Itanium and especially about the G4. Update: JBQ just wrote a redux article.
Linux: Twelve Steps to Desktop Dominance
"While I normally turn a cold shoulder to all those increasingly arcane ways of dividing people into two groups we keep inventing, there's one that I think holds the key to Linux's prospects for success on the mainstream desktop." Read the article at LinuxAndMain.
Borland Speeds Kylix C++ for Linux Development
Borland Software Corp is set to build on an early lead among Linux developers, with today's expected launch of a C++ rapid application development (RAD) environment. Scotts Valley, California-based Borland will announce version 3.0 of its Kylix RAD environment for C++. Previous versions of Kylix targeted Delphi programmers on Windows and Linux. Read the rest of the report at TheRegister.
Cheap PCs With Lindows Are Well Intentioned but Flawed
"Wal-Mart, the most mass-market retailer imaginable, is committing an outrageous form of computing heresy: On its Web site, it's selling Windows-compatible personal computers without Windows. Stranger yet, the PCs (built by Microtel Computer Systems, a Los Angeles area manufacturer) come installed with a version of Linux, the open-source operating system that has been giving Microsoft fits lately." WashingtonPost reviews Wal-Mart PCs with Lindows.