InfoWorld on Next-Gen Web Services
InfoWorld features an extensive special show report regarding Web Services and the way they are shaping up for the near future.
Ex-BeOS/OpenBeOS Developer Explains Departure
BeGroovy reports that David Reid, a very respected BeOS third party developer (ported Apache among others) and ex-OpenBeOS networking developer published a statement explaining his departure from the OpenBeOS project. David cited lack of direction, management in the project and even lack of engineering knowledge among the OpenBeOS developers. Update: Another important BeOS dev and friend of mine (as also in the case of David :), Frans van Nispen cited similar problems with the project. UPDATE 2: The OpenBeOS leader, Michael Phipps, sent us in his response to the issue.
Sun to Keep Linux Out of the High End Market
Sun Microsystems Inc. is adding another Linux piece to its overall product line, but don't confuse that with a strong endorsement for the open-source operating system. "We don't offer Linux computers; we offer solutions," said Scott McNealy, Sun's chairman, president and CEO, in an interview following the announcement of Sun's desktop initiative, Project Mad Hatter, at the Sun Network conference here last week. Read the article at eWeek.
Opinion: Red Hat’s Heresy
"Red Hat, to its credit and to the utter annoyance of some Linux purists, has engaged in a bold experiment: to produce a simple and easy to use desktop. It has tweaked the default KDE and Gnome GUIs so that they work almost exactly alike, by creating a more Red Hat-centric desktop with simplified menus and attractive graphics." Read the editorial at ExtremeTech.
IRIX Binary Compatibility for NetBSD, Part 3
"Now that we are able to launch dynamic binaries, the goal is to get them linking. The dynamic linker has to do a lot of system calls before actually launching the program. Most of them are plain SVR4, and hence are taken from sys/compat/svr4. Here, we will deal with IRIX-specific system calls." Read the rest fo the article at ONLamp. Part 1 and Part 2 also available.
Lindows 2.0 has Beautiful Skin, Iffy Personality
"Lindows 2.0 looks cool, I have to admit. The company has stopped aping KDE and gotten a desktop look that is more its own. Lindows has made scant concessions to the knowledgeable, allowing for a somewhat more advanced setup configuration. I'm still concerned for the newbies, though." Read the review at NewsForge.
.NET Framework 1.1 Beta Available to Beta Testers
The beta of the .NET Framework version 1.1 SDK and Redistributable is now available, along with the add-on to build and run J# applications.
Gentoo Linux Ported on the Alpha
"In a testament to the power and flexibility of the Portage system and Gentoo Linux, Bjoern Brauel (aka "bjb") has done the amazing job of creating a whole new port for Gentoo Linux in the span of 2 days. Currently, Bjoern has Xfree86, GNOME 2, Gimp and other things running on Gentoo Linux/Alpha, as you can see in this screenshot. The Gentoo Linux/Alpha port is currently being incorporated into our Portage tree; in the mean time, the adventurous may be interested in playing with the Alpha stage 1 tarball."
Windows XP–One Year Later
"I've been using Windows XP as my main desktop OS for about a year now. I'm really very happy with it, as are most XP users I know. It's probably the best job Microsoft has ever done on a desktop operating system.
However, there are some things that could have been done better. One year later--especially now that Service Pack 1 has been released--it's worth looking at what Microsoft could have done better, though I don't think any of the flaws are crucial. " Read the article at TechUpdate.
Is Apple’s Innovation Only Skin-Deep?
"Gartner analyst Martin Reynolds credited Apple with delivering the innovative GUI interface to mainstream computer users. "When it comes to something great, it's 5 percent original idea and 95 percent making it reality," he said. Apple is well known for bringing new styles and form factors to the world of computing, but is the fruit inside as tasty as the shiny Apple exterior might imply?" Read the editorial at NewsFactor.
Microsoft Spies for the US, Chinese Claim
"What you are about to read is a true story. China thinks Microsoft software contains secretly embedded code that the United States government can manipulate at will. So, in case of war between the two countries, a Pentagon official can hit a switch and--presto!--cripple China's computing infrastructure. A senior Microsoft executive, who often confers with the Chinese (sorry, no names), told me this tale. I thought he was joking. He wasn't. Some people in the Chinese government actually believe it's true." Read the report at ZDNet.
Internet Explorer for UNIX Discontinued
According to Mozillazine, IE for UNIX has been discontinued by Microsoft. There's no details other than the removal of links from Microsoft's UNIX page, but the direct link to the download page still works.
Lycoris Desktop/LX ‘Amethyst Version’ Review
A few months ago we wrote a full review of the Lycoris Desktop/LX operating system, but many releases happened since then and some things have changed. The Lycoris folks sent us the latest official version (+ online patches), we tested it, and here is what we think about it.
Java 1.4.1 Released
FreeBSD 4.7-RC1 Released
KernelTrap reports: "Bruce A. Mah announced today the availability of FreeBSD 4.7 Release Candidate 1. The final release is scheduled for just a week and a half away, on October 1'st. The release notes for FreeBSD 4.7 include quite a few improvements to PPP, updates to the 'ahc' and 'ahd' Adaptec SCSI device drivers, and several ATA fixes. Packages that have been updated included IPFilter (v3.4.29), Sendmail (v8.12.6) and XFree86 (4.2.1). Read on for Bruce's full announcement."
Apple, IBM Team on 64-Bit CPU
"Apple Computer is looking toward a 64-bit future for the Mac -- courtesy of PowerPC partner IBM. According to sources, IBM Microelectronics, a division of IBM, is working with Apple on a 64-bit PowerPC processor for use in the latter's high-end desktops and servers. Sources said Apple is testing the CPU, dubbed the GigaProcessor Ultralite (GPUL) on Mac OS X-based hardware at its Cupertino, Calif., headquarters, and making sure that the processor complies with a new bus architecture on tap for future Macs. In addition, IBM plans to offer the processor as the centerpiece of future Linux-based systems, the sources said." Read the interesting article at eWeek. Also from eWeek recently, they reported that Apple is backporting to the x86 as a fallback plan.
Press Responds in the Idea of Linux on the Desktop
The first article from ZDNet.co.uk is titled "Red Hat broadens desktop push". ITDirectory holds an article titled "Is Linux Coming to a Desktop Near You?", while TheAge discusses Red Hat's decision to unify the two major desktop environments, with an article titled "Unified Linux desktop: good, bad or ugly?".
UnitedLinux: New Leadership, Open Beta and GPL Headaches
On September 18th, UnitedLinux, the consortium of Conectiva, The SCO Group (formerly Caldera), SuSE, and Turbolinux, announced that Paula Hunter, an "experienced technology executive and consortium leader," would be its worldwide general manager. The beta will be available on September 23rd, but not from the UnitedLinux site. Users, who want to give it a test drive, should go to one of the partners' sites to download copies of the binaries, ISO images or source code. Gregory said that the open beta would satisfy the needs of both the UnitedLinux industry partners and the open source community." In the meantime, the FSF sent an open letter to UnitedLinux, regarding the GPL violations that might be already in place or to be introduced by its license scheme.
The Two Schools of Linux
There's so much going through my head right now, my first article since a fairly controversial article I wrote that got emotional for many on this website as well as many others. One thing
is for sure: many have gotten a crash course on some things perceived as "wrong with Linux" and what is collectively agreed is right.
MacOSX 10.2.1 Now Available
The MacOSX 10.2.1 Update (via OSX's Software Update) delivers enhancements and improvements to the following applications, technologies and components: Mail, Image Capture, Help Viewer, graphics, printing, networking, Rendezvous, Kerberos, USB, FireWire, SCSI device compatibility and includes additional Digital Hub peripheral device support. Also, iTunes 3.0.1 was released today, while in related news, here is a review of MacOSX 10.2 along with the availability of the high end PowerMac.