OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Judge Says Microsoft Must Give States Windows Code

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-16 Legal 44 Comments

"Microsoft Corp. will have to supply the computer code for its Windows program to a group of states seeking stiffer antitrust sanctions against the software giant, a federal judge ruled on Friday. Nine state attorneys general had argued that they needed to see the Windows source code in order to verify Microsoft's claim it could not offer a simpler version of the Windows personal computer operating system, stripped of features like the Internet Explorer browser." The Reuters report is at Yahoo!News.

A Linux Guy Looks at FreeDOS

Submitted by Dave Poirier 2002-02-16 OS News 10 Comments

"As someone who writes about Open Source, I spend quite a bit of time considering its future in the enterprise. I don't spend much time reflecting on how Open Source can improve on the technology of yesteryear. But there are people who do just that." Read the rest of the story at NewsForge.

The Power of X

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-16 Apple 26 Comments

"For those who aren't familiar with OS X, it is a full implementation of BSD Unix with a Macintosh front end, which is to say world class inside and out. OS X is faster, smarter, prettier, and easier to use than any version of Windows. In short, it is exactly the competitor Microsoft needs. And the timing couldn't be better." Very interesting and easy-reading article, but I would not say "faster" in the above excerpt. Robert Cringely is at it again, this time discussing how the best thing for Apple, for users, and even for Microsoft, would be an Intel version of OSX.

Microsoft: .Net Security Fears ‘Unfounded’

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-16 Privacy, Security 19 Comments

"Microsoft Corp. is going on the offensive to restore confidence in its .Net platform after a security consulting firm claimed it had found a critical flaw in a new compiler Microsoft released earlier this week. In an unusual move, a member of the team that developed the product in question--the Visual C++.Net compiler--posted a lengthy message to the Bugtraq security mailing list excoriating Cigital Inc. for making what Microsoft deems to be false claims in its press release and inciting unnecessary concerns about the security of .Net applications built with the compiler. Brandon Bray, a member of the product's development team said: 'The allegation that applications compiled with Visual C++'s /GS switch somehow expose themselves to more attacks is unfounded and patently false.'" Read the rest of the story at ExtremeTech.

Sun Releases Java 2SE-1.4

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-15 Java 5 Comments

Just a few days ago, Java2SE version 1.4 was released by Sun. Overview page, download page and change log/incompatibilities here. Furthermore, an interesting editorial at ZDNews titled "The convergence of .NET and Java" can be found here.

OpenBeOS Milestone: First Test Release

Submitted by Neil Johnson 2002-02-15 Haiku 63 Comments

The OpenBeOS folks released their first ever test version for their BeOS clone operating system. This first release is not self-hosted, it is just a collection of individual components that replace their equivelant under the original BeOS 5. The components released so far are OpenTracker, OpenDeskbar, MDR(Mail Daemon Replacement) and some of the preference panels: Keyboard, Menu, Mouse, Screen, Virtual Memory, WorkSpaces. The OBOS developers are looking for beta testing and feedback.

Several Apple-Related Editorials on the Web

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-15 Apple 18 Comments

"Welcome to today's multiple-choice quiz. Apple Computer is: (a) the top design shop in the computer industry; (b) the manufacturer of the best PC on the market; or (c) destined to forever remain a prisoner of its own success. Actually, the answer is all of the above." Editorial at News.com regarding the failure of Apple to attract the corporate market. OSOpinion features an editorial called "Apple Bidding To Regain Speed Throne". On ZDNews you will also find the editorial by Stephan Somogyi "Why Apple should support Microsoft's .Net".

What is the Difference Between Carbon and Cocoa

Submitted by Ludovic hirlimann 2002-02-15 macOS 17 Comments

"Since Mac OS X shipped, announcements regarding new versions of software applications designed to run natively on the new OS have become a daily occurrence. Some of these announcements mention that the application is Cocoa-based while others mention that the application is Carbon-based. The smart developers mention neither, knowing that the average Mac user doesn't know the difference and doesn't care. Apple has been talking to developers about the benefits of Cocoa and as a result, many Mac users have started to get the idea that applications that are Cocoa-based are somehow better than applications that are Carbon-based. API or framework choices have much more impact on developers than on end users. This white paper explains what Carbon and Cocoa are, how they differ, and what impact they have on users of REALbasic." Read the rest of the story at Real Software, developers of the Real Basic.

Creating Components in .NET

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-15 .NET 3 Comments

"Microsoft .NET applications are built from components. All .NET objects expose important attributes, such as properties, methods, and events. These attributes form the foundation of object-oriented programming. As the architect of Visual Basic .NET objects, you are also responsible for implementing the interface (that is, the properties, methods, and events) necessary for other programmers to use your application's services. Much of your development time will be spent designing objects and writing the code defining the objects and components exposed and used by your applications." Read the rest of the article at MSDN.

Managing Processes and Threads

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-15 General Development 3 Comments

"In Ed's previous column, he focused on socket programming and performance within a single system. In a future column he will pick up where he left off, but his topic this month is management of threads and processes in Linux and Windows systems. He walks through the differences between processes and threads, shows how to create and destroy them, and writes a program you can use to study thread management on your systems." Read the intersting aricle at IBM DeveloperWorks.

Anders Heljsberg on What’s Next for C#

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-14 General Development 9 Comments

"According to Anders, generics (parametic polymoprhism) is one of the directions in which C# would evolve. Microsoft already has a prototype of the runtime in generics. "The trick is to proceed with caution," he advises." Read the rest of the interview with the creator of C# at TheRegister.

Can a Computer Help You Find True Love?

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-14 Humor 24 Comments

"Digital matchmakers such as Match.com and Yahoo Personals' ClubConnect are all the rage these days among singles searching for sweethearts. Who knew your soul mate was a mouse click away?" Read the rest of the story at ZDNet. Our Take: Well, I did find my beloved husband on the net, exchanging (angry) emails "discussing" technical details of the nVidia TNT2 and BeOS, as a follow up of a news story on BeNews, exactly two years ago. The emails were followed by IRC & ICQ chats, and the rest is history...

Microsoft Adds Database Capabilities to Next Windows’ Filesystem

Submitted by Paul Ashford 2002-02-14 Windows 18 Comments

Microsoft Corp. is considering bundling in the next version of Windows a pared-down version of its next-generation SQL Server database and the relational file system that goes with it. "The inclusion of a version of an SQL-based file system and engine will be one of the most killer features Microsoft has ever introduced to the PC operating system," the Microsoft partner said. But the storage technology in question allows "queries both with relational syntax and through XML-type syntax," Ressler of Microsoft said. "There's source technology under development by teams across the company." Read the rest of the article at ExtremeTech.

64-Bit CPUs: AMD Hammer vs. Intel IA-64

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-14 Hardware 8 Comments

Continuing Part I from last week, this is the Part II article regarding the future of 64-bit CPUs, called "Under the Microarchitectural Covers": "Who will dominate 64-bit computing, AMD or Intel? AMD's Hammer architecture is compelling and compatible, but IA-64 has great long-term potential. Will Intel also hedge its bet with a 64-bit x86 design?" "Instruction Dispatch and Execution": See how Hammer's nine execution units are nothing like Itanium's. "Seamless and Powerful Multiprocessing": Hammer's onboard memory controller and HyperTransport links--big advantage. "Intel's Ace in the Hole": What's this rumored 'Yamhill' 64-bit x86. On a related note, Intel's McKinley 64-bit CPU will showcase at next week's Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco.

Apple: BSD is 3 Times as Popular as Desktop Linux

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-14 BSD & Darwin 10 Comments

"BSD is now three times as popular on the desktop than Linux, Apple's Ernest Parbakar told attendees at the annual USENIX BSD Conference here yesterday. That's thanks to Mac OS X, of course, which is a BSD-based Unix (although much of this remains hidden). Read the rest of the story at TheRegister. Our Take: This is definetely true for the desktop where Linux holds less than 1% (and Apple a bit less than 3% according to Oct 2001 stats), but that is certainly not true for the server market, where Linux holds around 25%.

The Brave New OS of the Future

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-14 OS News 9 Comments

"Imagine computers in a group providing disk storage for their users, transparently swapping files and optimizing their collective performance, all with no central administration. But the machines providing this pool of virtual storage dare not trust one another completely. Indeed, a hacker takes over one of them and ruthlessly begins attacking others in the group. But not to worry. Thanks to an experimental operating system technology called Byzantine fault-tolerant protocols, users and their data are protected." Interesting article at CNN, exploring the FarSite project that Microsoft Research and once again exploring the idea and the potential of Distributed Operating Systems.

KDE 3.0 Beta2 Released

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-14 KDE 16 Comments

KDE 3, Beta 2 was released today after a short delay. There are packages for Linux and Tru64. The final release is scheduled early in the second quarter 2002, with one or more intervening "RC" releases preceding the final release. Just two weeks ago, Gnome 2 also had a second alpha release.

Microsoft Unleashes Visual Studio.Net

Submitted by Jean-Baptiste M. Queru 2002-02-13 .NET 20 Comments

Visual Studio .NET is the comprehensive tool set for rapidly building and integrating XML Web services, Microsoft Windows based applications, and Web solutions. After four years of preparation and two years of marketing hype, ZDNews notes, Microsoft is releasing Visual Studio.Net--development tools crucial to its Web services plans. The tools bundle replaces the existing Visual Studio tools--used by some 5 million developers, according to Microsoft--and includes several new features, along with updates to existing products such as the company's popular Visual Basic and Visual C++ tools. Update: Get the scoop for Gates' keynote, plus more information, at C|Net News. Update 2: Somewhat related, ArsTechnica features an informative article, explaining as to what .NET really is.

Show us the Windows Source Code, States Ask Judge

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-13 Legal 41 Comments

"The US States still pursuing Microsoft have upped the ante by asking the judge to force Microsoft to show them Windows' source code, their reasoning being that they need this to verify whether or not Microsoft is telling the truth when it says that producing a stripped-down and/or IE-free version of Windows isn't technically possible." Read the rest of the article at TheRegister. Our Take: Once again, all these hordes of lawyers are hunting the wrong thing. These days, it is inconceivable to ship an operating system without a file manager or a web browser or even a media player. What the States should be researching and demanding is clues for truly dirty business practices, not for the right (or not) to include your own software in your own OS.

John Carmack: Don’t Buy a GeForce4-MX for Doom 3

Eugenia Loli 2002-02-13 3D 10 Comments

Not directly operating system news, but nevertheless, interesting news for all us geeks. So, Carmack says that GeForce4-MX is not a good buy for Doom3: "Nvidia has really made a mess of the naming conventions here. I always thought it was bad enough that GF2 was just a speed bumped GF1, while GF3 had significant architectural improvements over GF2. I expected GF4 to be the speed bumped GF3, but calling the NV17 GF4-MX really sucks. GF4-MX will still run Doom properly, but it will be using the NV10 codepath with only two texture units and no vertex shaders. A GF3 or 8500 will be much better performers. The GF4-MX may still be the card of choice for many people depending on pricing, especially considering that many games won't use four textures and vertex programs, but damn, I wish they had named it something else."