Fred Langa test-drives the latest version of LindowsOS 3.0, this Linux-based Windows work-alike operating system to see if it's ready for prime time.

The GNOME Development Series Snapshot 2.1.3 "Twin Pines", is ready for your bug-busting and testing pleasure! It is intended for testing and hacking purposes only. You will need XFT2 and fontconfig to build it. Among the changes is Sawfish which has been removed completely and replaced with Metacity.

There was a very long break in development of this operating system, and people could only download the boot code and a nearly empty file that promised to contain AuroraOS. But this is over now!

Coming from a background of using MS-DOS for about 4 or 5 years exclusively (MS-Dos 4.1 or something) Being new to Linux and *nix in general I thought that I would want to learn from the "ground up". I did not want the bloat of Redhat or Mandrake but wanted something simple where I could learn the "stuff" of the OS.

"The version I've been using is Red Hat Linux 8.0, shipped by Raleigh, N.C.-based Red Hat in late September. This is the first Linux distribution I've tried that hasn't made me feel as if I'm about to step on a rake and have its handle swing into my face. Parts of this are still infuriatingly convoluted, but if you've been thinking about trying out Linux on part of your hard drive -- or about dumping Windows entirely -- this is what I'd recommend." Read more at WashingtonPost.

"In recent times, the desktop Linux world has been enriched beyond recognition by the KDE & GNOME projects, but window managers are still at the heart of these environments, as well being used widely on their own. I'll delve into this exciting world and look at the development and the state of the art of some of the most significant and most popular window managers." Read the article at FreshMeat.

The PostgreSQL Global Development Group announced yesterday the release of PostgreSQL v7.3, now available for download. Numerous changes include: support for the SQL 92 Schema spec, enhanced dependency tracking for complex databases, prepared queries for maximized performance on common requests, expanded logging options, supports data in many international characters sets, dozens of performance enhancements. Update: A report at eWeek about mySQL & PostgreSQL's progress.

The new release of the objC GNUstep API, 0.8.3, contains preliminary support for OpenGL. Other improvements include simple printing, print previewing, and more documentation. Also recently, the C++ APIs of Fox Toolkit and wxWindows had new releases too. Update: FLTK had a new version too.

OSNews reader Peter Naulls writes about the new Risc PCs and RiscOS 5: "This machine, IYonix, is extremely important to RISC OS users - it's the fastest new RISC OS machine in eight years since Acorn's (RIP) flagship RiscPC product."

Get the Linux kernel 2.4.20 from here, changelog here. Test-kernel 2.5.50 was also released.

Intel's next Itanium2 processor likely will run at 1.5GHz, a 50% increase from its predecessor and an indication the company is getting better at meeting development goals for its high-end chip family. Read the report at ZDNews.

Several new releases of ByzantineOS have been made this month. The ByzantineOS distro is now in its first stable release. ByzantineOS is a software Internet Appliance with a home entertainment bias, based on the OEone's engine. It is based on a networked Linux distribution/bootable system with Mozilla providing access to a range of services and applications. ByzantineOS fits in 32MB (or 48MB) of media and should work on most PCs (Pentium Pro/Celeron or better).

"The first version of ASP.NET, along with its integration into Visual Studio .NET, is fantastic on almost all counts. Indeed, when compared to most other version 1 products that hit the market (especially from Microsoft), ASP.NET shines bright. A few things were left out,though, or don't work as well as they should. As the self-appointed pain in Microsoft's ass, it's my job to point some of them out. Here is a list of twelve issues that Microsoft needs to address for ASP.NET 2.0" Read the article at AngryCoder.

Aqua Data Studio is a SQL editor and developer tool that allows developers to easily create, edit, and execute SQL scripts, as well as browse database structures. Aqua Data Studio provides an integrated database environment with a single consistent inferface to all major relational databases. This allows the DBA or developer to tackle multiple tasks simultaneously from one application. The application is multi-platform as it is written in Java. Screenshots here.