OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

The Death of Unix, the Rise of Linux?

Eugenia Loli 2003-01-24 Linux 77 Comments

Dell CIO says Linux killing Unix: "Unix is dead," said Randy Mott, CIO and senior vice president of Dell, in a keynote address on Thursday. Sun still sees Unix promise though. In the meantime, Linux targets the desktop as well as the server space. Reports here and here.

Lost Marble Releases Moho Beta for Linux

Eugenia Loli 2003-01-24 Graphics 27 Comments

Most of you probably remember the Moho competition we ran about a month ago. After that article, our friends over at PCLinuxOnline ran a story asking Lost Marble to port Moho to Linux. While the popular cartoon-making application runs fine under WINE, Lost Marble actually did the full port with the help of GTK+ 2.0. The (small) company recently released version 4.0.2 for Windows, MacOS9/X and now, for Red Hat Linux 8.0. They are looking for feedback, bug reports and they would like to know if their port actually works on other distros additionally to Red Hat 8.0. Here is a screenshot under Red Hat 8.

Virtual Memory Design for OpenBeOS

Eugenia Loli 2003-01-23 Haiku 51 Comments

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".

Amiga: Live Another Day

Eugenia Loli 2003-01-23 Amiga & AROS 25 Comments

Olin Wread writes for ExtremeTech the story of Amiga, from the very beginning.

Apple’s Office Politics

Eugenia Loli 2003-01-23 Apple 78 Comments

"Apple needed to ensure that Microsoft would continue to provide MS Office for Mac, or we were dead," Fred Anderson, Apple's chief financial officer, testified in U.S. District Court. "They were threatening to abandon the Mac." When the five-year deal expired last summer, neither company expressed interest in renewing it. Pundits speculated then that Microsoft was planning to abandon the Mac. Now, it appears the opposite is true.

Oracle’s Ellison Bets on Lindows

Eugenia Loli 2003-01-23 Linspire 37 Comments

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.

Athene Seeking Beta Testers

Adam Scheinberg 2003-01-23 OS News 30 Comments

Paul Manias of the Athene project sent word to us that Rocklyte Systems is seeking beta testers. Candidates must be running a Linux system with at least a 2.4 series kernel and have 5 or more years of technical computing experience. Testing is to be focused on the new graphics system that replaces X11. Please introduce yourself to [email protected] to apply.

Lindows.com to Offer MP3.com Edition

Adam Scheinberg 2003-01-23 Linspire 10 Comments

In his latest Michael's Minute, Lindows.com founder and president Michael Robertson announced the forthcoming LindowsOS MP3.com Edition, which appears to be the Membership Edition bundled with 12 complete CDs. A collaboration between Robertson's previous effort and his current project, it's the first mainstream Linux distribution to focus on audio as a major component. Though it doesn't appear to be as complete as the Red Hat and Debian multimedia editions currently in beta, once again, Lindows.com is directly addressing the needs of a standard desktop user.

Repeal the Microsoft Tax

Guest post by Evan Coyne Maloney 2003-01-23 Editorial 63 Comments

Now that the Justice Department and Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly are content with the wrist-slapping meted out to Microsoft, few expect any abatement in the company's abuse of its monopoly power. Although many argue that, eventually, the markets themselves will bring about more balanced competition, the markets that Microsoft dominates operate on different economic principles than most others. The last twenty years brought such dramatic technological change that it'll be much harder for competitors to dislodge Microsoft from its perch atop the industry than it was for Microsoft to dethrone IBM a generation ago.

THE Key to User-Friendly Computers?

Eugenia Loli 2003-01-23 Graphics 24 Comments

Jef Raskin, who helped design Apple's classic user interface, is working on a new system, THE, that could be a big improvement. BusinessWeek features an article introducing the technology. Jef also replied to our forums here and here a month ago, explaining his system.

SCO Group Readies New Platform

Eugenia Loli 2003-01-23 SCO 12 Comments

The SCO Group is working on a new platform, known as SCOx, that it hopes will drive the next generation of applications on both the network and the server, across both Unix and Linux. McBride also addressed the controversy surrounding SCO's plans to make users pay for some Unix software they're running, unlicensed, on Linux. McBride said it was "very widespread and would generate a revenue stream in the millions of dollars. We know who they are."

Linux Brings in Big Bucks

Submitted by dave_sn 2003-01-23 Linux 16 Comments

IBM and Hewlett-Packard garnered billions of dollars in revenue from Linux-related products in 2002, the companies said this week. Update: IBM: 'Linux is here to stay'.

Is There Hope for Java?

Eugenia Loli 2003-01-23 Java 64 Comments

A judge has ordered Microsoft to make it easy for Sun's popular programming language to work with Windows. But the remedy may be too little, too late, Salon says. Update: Microsoft appeals Java must-carry ruling.

Mac Users Find Glitches with Keynote

Eugenia Loli 2003-01-23 macOS 34 Comments

Apple Computer originally created its new Keynote software to allow its boss, Steve Jobs, to make it through speeches without a hitch. But now that the company has released the presentation program to the public, early customers say it is anything but bug-free. Some from people who say the program is the first they have used that can bring Apple's Mac OS X operating system to its knees. "I've never had any OS 10 app crash the whole system before," reads a posting from "Yikesboy."

SciTech SNAP Adds Support for QT/Embedded

Submitted by Andrew 2003-01-23 Qt 3 Comments

SciTech Software, Inc. today announced that it has completed the initial release of SciTech SNAP Graphics for QT/Embedded. This release is based on SciTech latest System Neutral Access Protocol (SNAP) architecture and shows SciTech's resolve to further enable the emerging embedded market with a level of graphics performance usually reserved for mainstream desktop machines. Additionally, SciTech began alpha testing on a new Linux version of SciTech SNAP Graphics.

Making the Case for NT to XP Migration

Submitted by Anonymous-We-All-Know 2003-01-23 Windows 23 Comments

"Many companies standardized on Windows NT and Office 97 as their corporate personal computing environment for good reasons. Windows NT 4.0 was touted (by Microsoft) as the most stable, secure OS available. And Office 97 was described as a quantum leap ahead of its predecessors (and competitors). But it's been six years, and many environments are in dire need of a face-lift." Read the article at ZDNet.

Red Hat Falls Off a Curve

Submitted by Timothy R. Butler 2003-01-23 Red Hat 39 Comments

In the third part of our Penguin Shootout series, Timothy R. Butler considers the latest distribution from the best-known name in the sector - Red Hat. With its much hyped and attacked BlueCurve interface and various other improvements, will 8 be the Shadowman's ticket to victory in the OfB challenge?

Could Linux Dethrone the Software King?

Submitted by pnghd 2003-01-22 Linux 49 Comments

"The Linux computer operating system is coming of age. Nurtured since the early 1990s by software hobbyists and adopted more recently by giant computer companies led by International Business Machines, it is on the verge of becoming a mainstream technology in the corporate world. Its maturation has potentially far-reaching implications for the software industry." Read the article at FT.com. AustralianIT has a similar article too.

New QNX Multi-Layering API Enhances GUI Capabilities

Eugenia Loli 2003-01-22 QNX 16 Comments

The newest version of QNX Photon microGUI will enable multi-layered graphical interfaces which allows embedded developers to create sophisticated GUIs that display a mix of static and dynamic content. The multi-layer support will be available in the latest rollout of QNX Neutrino RTOS.

Linux vs. Mac: The Pitched Battle for Second Place

Submitted by sunlit mechanism 2003-01-22 Rumors 69 Comments

"We all know who makes the world's most popular desktop OS. With a greater than 90 percent market share, Microsoft's status is clear. But what's not so clear is: Who's number two? Of the contenders, Mac OS and Linux, which one is leading?" Read the editorial at OSOpinion.