Top 10 Things Wrong With Linux, Today

Linux 68 Comments
Adam Wiggins has put together 10 reasons of what he believes it is wrong with Linux today. Our Take: Some of his points seem correct, but others are already fixed for most distributions. I really had a smile in my face reading his point No 5. It is exactly what I was talking about 2 weeks ago, and only the Amiga, OSX and BeOS-6/Dano people were able to follow of what it really means to have a smooth desktop! Read the discussion and explanation starting here and especially here.
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Embedded Linux: Is It Dead Yet?

Linux 10 Comments
There are two recent articles about the current state of Linux in the embedded world: "It's raining penguins. Or rather, that's what many people would like you to think. Linux vendors are laying off scores of workers. Linux publications are folding. So is it doom and gloom time for Linux lovers? PDF here. "The law of supply and demand will face a curious test over the next few years, as embedded Linux vendors search for a way to make engineers pay for an operating system that appeals to users largely because it's free." Article at EETimes.
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Bringing KDE Closer to Joe User’s Desktop

KDE 120 Comments
KDE 3 was released only a few months ago, and it is, to date, the most successful version of the series, serving more than 50% of the Unix and Linux desktops, surpassing Gnome (~21%) and the rest of the gang. However, KDE is not perfect, and still not as comfortable as the Windows or as sexy as the MacOSX desktops. It lacks two things: integration with the underlying system and UI polishing. Today, I will mostly talk about the polishing part, as a lot has been already said elsewhere about the seemingly unsolvable integration issue (because of the modularity and completely independant/remote software projects.) Update: And as I was just publishing this article, KDE 3.1-Alpha was released. I hope that some of my recommendations will make it to the final version of KDE 3.1.
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Microsoft Readying ‘Avalon’ Framework for Longhorn

Windows 36 Comments
"With Longhorn, the next version of Windows due out in 2005, the company will take its first serious stab at delivering on Gates' vision. And a new application programming interface (API) framework, code-named Avalon, will be at the core of Longhorn's new information-access architecture, according to sources. Avalon is the key to the new "inductive" user interface that will debut in Longhorn, sources say. The new UI will allow users to organize and share information more intuitively, most likely using some kind of "dock," a la Microsoft Office XP, sources say. " Read the report at eWeek.
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Gentoo Linux 1.2: Getting Better Every Day

Gentoo 33 Comments
"I admit it: I have a soft spot for Gentoo Linux. I'm not sure if it's because it's the shiny new kid on the block, or its focus on a part of the Linux market that was fairly ignored before (distribution-wise). Maybe it's just the excitement and energy that tends to surround any new project. Who knows." The review is at LinuxPlanet. Our Take: Hmm, it seems that women like the challenge of Gentoo (count me in). Or, maybe that "soft spot" is for Daniel and Spider. ;-)
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OSNews T-shirts, Hats, Mugs

OS News 57 Comments
Show your co-workers, friends, and family that you're a member of the Geek Elite. Buy an OSNews Shirt, Hat, or Mug! Each one will be lovingly hand-crafted just for you by busy robots. In the comments below, let us know if you'd be interested in OSNews shirts with cheeky captions like "I Knew Linux Before Linux was Cool." Suggest some cheeky captions. And let us know if you'd be interested in other OSNews merchandise like bags, other clothing, mouse pads, etc.
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Microsoft to Ship 64-bit .NET Preview this Month

Windows 11 Comments
"Microsoft is to ship the McKinley version of its 64-bit .NET Server preview software to PC manufacturers later this month. It being tagged Microsoft Windows Advanced Server, Limited Edition version 1.2, one can reasonably conclude that it is not finished as such, but if we're going to provide software for Intel hardware as soon as it's out (which is what we've said we'll do, isn't it?) then LE it has to be." Read the report at TheRegister.
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Replace Your Mouse With Your Eye

Geek stuff 18 Comments
Computers of the future could be controlled by eye movements, rather than a mouse or keyboard. Scientists at Imperial College, London, are working on eye-tracking technology that analyses the way we look at things. The team are trying to gain an insight into visual knowledge - the way we see objects and translate that information into actions. Read the report at BBC News.
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IBM WebSphere SDK for Web Services on Linux

  Submitted by Frank IBM No Comments
The initial release of the IBM WebSphere SDK for Web Services on Linux is now available. Developers can easily create Java-based applications for Web service providers and consumers. This offering contains everything developers need in a single convenient package, including a IBM SDK for Java technology, a runtime environment, a private UDDI registry, tools, samples, and documentation. It's based on open specifications for Web services such as SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI and runs on both Linux and Windows operating systems. The IBM WebSphere SDK for Web Services includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation and is being offered at this time for free.
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Lindows Operating System Review at HiTechMods

  Submitted by Prognathous Linspire 38 Comments
"Lindows OS - Is this OS the second coming or just another Linux distribution that will fall by the wayside. Since Lindows.com has released its Insiders from the initial Non Disclosure Agreement which was a confidentiality agreement that prevented us from discussing the OS anywhere outside of the Insiders Forum I am now able to give some insight to this mysterious OS." Review is at HiTechMods.
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Microsoft Delays Windows 2000 SP3

Windows 18 Comments
"Microsoft has delayed the third service pack for Windows 2000- Service Pack 3 —for an indefinite period of time, according to internal documents I viewed over the weekend. Win2K was originally due July 17, but Microsoft recently discovered several major bugs in its Microsoft Installer (MSI) 2.0 code, which was to have been bundled with the update. So now the company will remove MS 2.0 from SP3 and include the older version, MSI 1.1, instead, unless feedback from its beta testers and partners indicates that MSI 2.0 must be included. This indecision, obviously, will adversely affect the release schedule for SP3." Read the report at WinInformant. Update: MSI 2.0 to be Included in Windows 2000 SP3.
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Poll: Your Opinion on an Ad-Sponsored OS or Desktop

In the News 106 Comments
What would you say if there was a way to support your favorite OS or X11 Desktop Environment by agreeing to use an ad-sponsored version? The ad would show *only once*, during the load of the OS or graphics desktop environment, something like a splash screen, and then it would go away after 5 or 10 seconds or if you manually close its window or after you have clicked to the actual ad. This way, you could be helping financially open source projects, like Gnome, KDE, FreeBSD, Gentoo and others.
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Palm was Considering Linux for its Next-Gen OS

Wireless 32 Comments
"Palm Inc was considering Linux as the foundation of the next-generation PalmOS as recently as last spring, sources tell us. Palm eventually acquired Be Inc's development team last August, but internal discussions on the viability of a Linux-based handheld OS were taking place as recently as fifteen months ago. These were squashed by the lawyers, who concluded that Palm couldn't reconcile the GPL with the in house view of intellectual property. Palm is not using the cut-down embedded version BeOS, BeIA, which was targetted at the NatSemi x86 system on a chip, but a ground-up OS for ARM." Read the report at TheRegister.
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