"I was reading about vim the other day and found out why it used hjkl keys as arrow keys. When Bill Joy created the vi text editor he used the ADM-3A terminal, which had the arrows on hjkl keys, so naturally he reused the same keys." As interesting as that is, John Graham-Cumming goes even further back in history. "The reason that keyboard had those arrows keys on it was because those keys correspond to CTRL-H, J, K, L and the CTRL key back then worked by killing bit 6 (and bit 5) of the characters being typed." Truly fascinating stuff, even though it's from way before my time (I'm from 1984).

"As day one of the annual Pwn2Own hacker contest wound down on Wednesday, no browser suffered more abuse than Google Chrome, which was felled by an attack exploiting a previously unknown vulnerability in the most up-to-date version. Combined with a separate contest Google sponsored a few feet away, it was the second zero-day attack visited on Chrome in a span of a few hours." Google fixed the issue within 24 hours.

"Yesterday Apple launched iPhoto, its photo management app, for the iPad and iPhone... And we're rather pleased to find they're the latest to switch to OpenStreetMap. The OSM data that Apple is using is rather old (start of April 2010) so don't expect to see your latest and greatest updates on there. It's also missing the necessary credit to OpenStreetMap's contributors; we look forward to working with Apple to get that on there." Pretty ironic coming from a company suing the living daylights out of everyone over rounded corners and bouncy-scroll effects, but alas, I'm sure there's some construed justification coming up from the usual suspects.

"The Timberwolf team is proud to announce the immediate availability of the first beta version of Timberwolf 4.0.1. Timberwolf is an AmigaOS web browser based on Firefox/Mozilla technology. This technology is more than just a browser, it is an enabling technology, bringing powerful tools such as html5, WebM, JavaScript, XUL, and more to AmigaOS 4.x. These are the building blocks for other applications as well, such as the email client 'Thunderbird' or the media center 'Songbird'. This first beta release includes almost the full functionality of the browser, allowing style-sheet enabled web browsing, secure connections, use of Firefox add-on and more."

"Microsoft has laid out its roadmap for the next version of Windows Embedded, with a preview of the standard version available to download now. Windows Embedded is the specialized version of the OS that you'll often see running in devices ranging from kiosks and ATMs to car dashboards and medical equipment. It looks like the next version will be labeled with the Windows 8 branding across the board, though it's officially being called Windows Embedded v.Next in Microsoft's press release."

"Today we are able to share details on a number of new and improved features in each of the core applications for Office 15, thanks to several people with access to the early Technical Preview code. From Touch and Reading Mode to a Weather Bar feature in Outlook 15, we have exclusive details on Microsoft's plans." Looking good. Not fully Metro though. Bummer.

As you may have seen, David's been taking care of OSNews for a few days because I'm quite busy with work. Still, there's one thing I'd like to talk about: the desktop mode in Windows 8. I wish I could've added this to the first impressions article, but I only arrived at this conclusion yesterday: desktop mode in Windows 8 is Microsoft's equivalent of Mac OS X's Classic mode.

The laughs are reportedly over for five top members of the hacker group LulzSec who were arrested on Tuesday and charged as part of a conspiracy case filed in New York federal court. FoxNews.com reports that the arrests were part of a multinational sting across the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States on Tuesday morning, and LulzSec leader Hector Xavier Monsegur, who operated online under the alias “Sabu,” provided the Federal Bureau of Investigation with information leading to the arrests.

"When it comes to feeding back information to the player from a game controller, we still rely on a vibration unit inside the controller. It can 'beat' in many different ways, but is quite limited if you want to give a very specific response to what's happening in any given game. A team of engineers at the University of Utah think they can do better, and have developed a new tactile feedback thumbpad of sorts. If used as part of a game controller, it will supplement vibration feedback by stretching the user's skin on their thumb tips in very specific ways."

Woody Leonhard provides an in-depth, hands-on look at Windows 8 Consumer Preview, finding Microsoft's old Windows desktop and tablet-friendly Metro UI to be strange bedfellows. "In my experience, with rare exceptions, longtime Windows users don't like Windows 8. There's too much change, and it isn't at all clear that the adjustments benefit people who've grown accustomed to mice and 'legacy' programs. And though Windows 8 introduces some nice new features, they're minimal. If you're looking for a business desktop OS with revolutionary improvements comparable to Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows 95, or even Windows Vista, it has yet to be seen. But if you're considering a move to a Windows-based tablet, you'll want to dive into Windows 8 with both feet", Leonhard writes, offering a guide to some of the lesser-known nooks and crannies in Windows 8 and an extensive visual tour of features and hidden menus.

" latest creation is a tool called Horizon Mobile, and it too is meant for big businesses. The idea is that employees can use a phone's native operating system for personal tasks, but then switch over to a virtual machine that runs a separate OS for business tasks."

"Apple's iOS is starting to get a little long in the tooth. There, I said it. The overall look and feel of the operating system has not changed since its 2007 debut. Sure, Apple has piled in plenty of new features, but the core of the operating system is the same as it was five years ago. It needs a refresh. I'm not saying iOS is ugly or anything, but it's starting to look a little old."

"Mozilla discussed its mobile operating system and app store during last week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. At the same time, Telefonica, one of the world's largest telecommunications companies, chipset giant Qualcomm, and Deutsche Telekom announced they were cooperating in the effort. This is all part of Mozilla's 'Boot to Gecko' project, designed to develop an open-source mobile operating system based on Web standards."

Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system is available in beta "Consumer Preview" edition as a free download, but that doesn’t mean you should stop using Windows 7 as your main OS just yet. Here’s a simple way to install the new beta operating while making sure that your computer still boots into Windows 7 by default.