We will first start with the 1.0 release of the free word processor, AbiWord, for many different platforms, including Linux, FreeBSD, Win32, MacOS and QNX. Mozilla RC-1 was released also a few days ago and its developers appreciate any bugs people can submit before the final 1.0 release. OSNews reader "Number9" submitted the news about the world's fastest computer, at NYTimes (free registration required). The computer is about 5 times faster than IBMs (previous world fastest) computer at a national lab. Another very interesting article can be found at PCMag. Given the hullabaloo around the Tablet PC, PC Magazine roundups six new tablet PCs from ACer, Fujitsu, HP, and others while it also investigates the past of such devices. The Menuet OS project released a new version and a new screenshot. Also, KlipFolio 1.0 for Windows is now released (more platforms are coming soon) and the OSNews news klip is installed by default! Thank you Serence!

I just should begin by saying that this article is different from the others. While my other articles can be quite useful to aid you in the design or purchase of your next computer system, this article is simply a fun look at things to come.

"Sun Microsystems Inc. this week revealed that user feedback has led the company to reconsider its decision to halt development of a version of the Solaris operating system for Intel Corp.'s 32-bit chip architecture." Read the story at ComputerWorld.

"Jim Allchin, Microsoft group vice president for the platforms group, confirmed at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Seattle this week that the "Longhorn" release will come later than originally planned. Longhorn first emerged as an interim operating system release between Whistler, which later became Windows XP and the Windows .NET Server family, and Blackcomb, a major rev of the operating system that is supposed to revolutionize the user interface and fully embrace XML Web services." Read the report at ENT-News.

This article over at MSDN explains the different models of threading — single, apartment, and free — and the use of each model. It also introduces a code sample in C# that uses threading to help you write applications that will take advantage of threading. The article also discusses important issues involved in multithreading code.

Kurt Wall writes for LinuxPlanet: "I'm a minimalist when it comes to my Linux boxes. They all run Slackware and XFCE, with nary a single bit of KDE or GNOME to be seen. Why? Because I want to save my RAM, CPU, and disk for real computing, not eye candy. So, as I began my review of SuSE 8.0, I was skeptical that it would have much that really wowed me. And, to be clear, I finished my review as firmly entrenched in my minimalism as when I started. Naytheless, SuSE impressed me, especially the painless, perfect installation -- an element difficult to get right during a beta. Those of you who prefer or rely on feature-rich, beautiful desktops won't be disappointed in SuSE 8.0."

"Microsoft shipped its Windows XP operating system just six months ago, but the software giant is already preparing for the next wave of computing. Microsoft has identified a handful of technology trends likely to reshape PCs and is working to define how Windows XP and its successors will take advantage of them, said Chris Jones, vice president of the Windows client team." Read the story at ZDNews. "Microsoft invites engineers to converge in Seattle for WinHEC to hear the latest ideas about DVD, audio, video and other consumer computing technology. Bill Gates' dream that people will build a PC first, then design a home to fit may be just around the block." Read the special feature at ZDNews.

Metrowerks is shipping a new set of tools which enables application and content development for Tao Group's intent, a high performance, portable media platform. These tools don't come cheap. However an intent/AmigaDE Software Development Kit costs only 100 dollars is already enough to get you started. And if you want to use powerful dynamic graphic scaling capabilities, you need to sign a SDA with Amiga. Then your software will be able to scale properly from handheld to STB/Desktop resolutions. On TechTV Amiga already demonstrated the technologies' flexibility and performance.

The update, MacOSX 10.1.4 (through "Software Update"), delivers improved networking, security, and additional disc recording device support. MacOSX Server 10.1.4 fixes some security and mail issues.

"The Microsoft license specifically excludes software under the General Public License, commonly known as the GPL. The GPL is the software license used by Linux and by SAMBA, a popular open-source program that allows non-Microsoft systems to share files and printers with Windows." Read the rest of the editorial at ZDNews. Our Take: Funny. Everyone is getting worked up with that CIFS license, and it seems that no one has actually read the new Visual Studio.NET license. We did so with my husband 1-2 weeks ago. We are not lawyers, but what we pretty much understood from it, was that you can't develop and/or distribute GPL or LGPL (or compatible licensed) applications created with Visual Studio.NET. I personally believe that this is more important of the CIFS license issue, because it pretty much takes out any possibility of creating Free software for the Windows platforms, when using either the classic Win32/MFCs or .NET APIs. And if you are thinking about using Gcc, bad luck. The license prohibits using a GPL-compatible license for your apps that link against Microsoft's libraries. Quite possibly Microsoft used such restrictions in order to protect themselves from the possibility that someone may ask them to open source their technologies if third party developers link their GPL apps with Microsoft's libs, but on the other hand, it is restrictive to not be able to use a $1000 developer's tool to create applications the way you wish.

OpenBSD leader and creator Theo de Raadt explained OpenBSD 3.1 will only be available through the retail channels and not available as ISOs: "It simply does not make economic sense for us to reduce the CD sales we have now." OpenBSD currently ships as a 3 CD set. With 3.1, available in June, there will be an extra fourth CD only available as an ISO for download. Additionally, the CD comes with a sheet of special OpenBSD stickers and a bonus music track. Read more at KernelTrap.

From Tom's Hardware: "At WinHEC details are emerging of the graphics infrastructure for Longhorn, Microsoft's next generation Windows. The graphics interface at the driver level is going to be all DirectX 9.0, and the door is being left wide open for moving the Windows UI completely 3D. Microsoft has already started to tax the GPU on the PC with all its plans for "media rich experiences," as company execs like to call anything loud and colorful, but Longhorn is going to be a field day for the graphics industry. As one Microsoft developer told us, there's going to be no let up on the GPU with Longhorn."

A dedicated group of norwegian students have now almost finished what is called "School-Linux" (or "skolelinux" in norwegian). After having put down about 11.500 hours of work, they are planning Norway's largest betatesting - starting on May 3rd. They have translated KDE, and over 350 programs to Norwegian (Bokmal and Nynorsk idiomatisms). They also promise that you will be able to install "school-linux" with three mouse clicks. The finished product is scheduled for late August.

There has been a number of MacOSX books released since the MacOSX public release by Apple a year ago. However, none is either as... thick or as rich in content as "Mac OS X Unleashed" by SAMS Publishing. It took me some time to go through its 1400+ pages, but the review is finally here. Update: Current readers can find the errata of the book over at the author's web site.