OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Nvidia’s Kal-El Tegra To Pack Five Cores

Thom Holwerda 2011-09-20 Hardware 9 Comments

"Nvidia has released a few technical details of its upcoming 'Kal-El' Tegra processor, including a secret it's done well to keep under its hat thus far: it's a five-core, not four-core, chip." This fifth core is low-power, and can be used for remedial tasks. Clever, although, as the article notes, not new.

DigiNotar Files for Bankruptcy

Guest post by HAL2001 2011-09-20 Privacy, Security 4 Comments

After having its SSL and EVSSL certificates deemed untrustworthy by the most popular browsers, VASCO announced that DigiNotar, filed a voluntary bankruptcy petition and was declared bankrupt today. This is unsurprising, since a report issued by security audit firm Fox-IT, who has been hired to investigate the now notorious DigiNotar breach, revealed that things were far worse than we were led to believe.

Google: Preparing your Code for Ice Cream Sandwich

Thom Holwerda 2011-09-20 Wireless 20 Comments

Ever since Honeycomb's release, Android has had two versions out in the wild (well, if you disregard the non-current versions, that is). The next major Android release, Ice Cream Sandwich, is supposed to fix this problem by having one single version of Android for both phones and tablets. Google now has a blog post up which presents some options for developers to prepare their applications for Ice Cream Sandwich.

Samsung Launches Offensive Against Apple

Thom Holwerda 2011-09-19 Legal 57 Comments

So, after a bunch of attacks from Apple, Samsung seems to have gone on the offensive against the gadget maker from Cupertino - and big time, too. In three countries, France, Australia, and South Korea, Samsung has filed patent infringement lawsuits against Apple - with the South Korea suit being the weird one. Unlike Apple's software patents and ~~napkin scribbles~~ community designs, Samsung is using actual hardware patents.

Inferno OS running hosted on Android phones

Submitted by John 2011-09-19 OS News 8 Comments

Inferno for Android (codename: Hellaphone) has just been announced. Inferno runs on top of the Linux kernel in Android phones, replacing the Java services and UI that ship by default. Inferno's programming language, Limbo, allows applications to be developed quickly and easily. A video demonstrating the device is up on youtube.

Submitted by estherschindler 2011-09-19 Intel 33 Comments

With the Xeon 7600 line, Intel is finally using the 'R' word: RISC. It's targeting the mission-critical market dominated by Sun SPARC and IBM Power with the new chips, a first. Can the Xeon E7 processor deliver Intel's final blow to the RISC market, which includes its own Itanium?

Guest post by snydeq 2011-09-19 Windows No Comments

InfoWorld's J. Peter Bruzzese provides a list of 15 open source tools for enhancing your Windows server-side experience. 'You might imagine that the best place to go for improving your Microsoft server-side experience is to the mothership itself. In many cases, you would be right. But the truth is there are a meaningful number of open source tools that go above and beyond what Microsoft has to offer in support of Windows Server, Exchange, SQL, and SharePoint. Many of these alternatives provide -- for free -- more powerful capabilities than what you'd get with third-party retail products.' Bruzzese also offers a look at the best free server tools Microsoft has to offer.

Sony Asks Gamers To Waive Right to Sue

Thom Holwerda 2011-09-17 Games 26 Comments

"Sony is preparing to ban gamers from the PlayStation Network unless they waive the right to collectively sue it over future security breaches. The firm has amended PSN's terms and conditions and users have to agree to them next time they log in. The move comes months after a string of hacking attacks compromised over 100 million accounts of the PlayStation Network subscribers. It is, however, possible to opt out of the agreement within the next 30 days. Gamers will now have to try to resolve any legal issues with an arbitrator picked by Sony, before being able to file a lawsuit."

Arch Linux: It Is what you Make it

Thom Holwerda 2011-09-17 Linux 60 Comments

"Many Linux distributions have taken the path of easy GUI-based installation, in order to appeal to a broader mix of users. But not Arch Linux, which emphasises simplicity of technical complexity over general usability. Richard Hillesley explains."

Microsoft Hints at Metro Office

Thom Holwerda 2011-09-17 Windows 113 Comments

In the article on Windows 8, I already mentioned that in order to demonstrate the viability of Metro for something other than Facebook and Twitter, Microsoft should come up with a Metro interface for Microsoft Office - one that doesn't leave out 90% of Office's features. Well, Microsoft has hinted that they are, indeed, working on Metro Office. In addition, it turns out Microsoft isn't entirely sure to how to address the issue if legacy applications on ARM.

Wanted: a Copy of PenPoint OS for the NCR 3125 Tablet

Thom Holwerda 2011-09-15 Wireless 17 Comments

Sometimes, I just want to hug the internet. As some of you may know, I'm working on an article about the history of mobile computing. Tomislav, from the PEEK&POKE computer museum in Rijeka, Croatia, got in touch with me and generously offered to loan me four incredible mobile computers: a Cambridge Z88, a Psion Series 3a, an Apple Newton eMate 300, and, the one I'm most excited about, an NCR system 3125 tablet computer from 1993. Now I need your help: I'm looking for a copy of GO's PenPoint OS (much more detailed overview) which can run on this NCR 3125.

Guest post by snydeq 2011-09-15 Windows 7 Comments

InfoWorld's Doug Dineley and Brian Chee round up the best new features of Windows Server 8. 'If you're a large shop struggling to manage hundreds of Windows servers, Windows Server 8 should ease the job. If you're a small shop trying to squeeze high-end capability from a low-end budget, Windows Server 8 has plenty for you, too. With Windows Server 8, everything from server deployment to high availability becomes smoother and more automated.' From multiserver management, to friction-free server deployment, to flexible live migration, 'whatever grudge you may hold against Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 8 will almost certainly make amends.'

Microsoft Unveils Windows Server 8

Thom Holwerda 2011-09-15 Windows 28 Comments

The client version of Windows isn't the only one getting overhauled. It's a little less sexy, but Windows Server 8 is every bit as different from its predecessors as the Windows 8 client. Server Core (Windows Server running without the graphical user interface) is the, uh, core now, and everything is done using PowerShell - either directly, or through the new Metro-style Server Manager which is a layer on top of PowerShell. The buzzword here is cloud - not the big one, but those smaller ones on intranets.

Submitted by kristoph 2011-09-15 Windows 103 Comments

Microsoft announced during the build conference, and Steve Sinofsky reiterated in a blog posting that: "For the web to move forward and for consumers to get the most out of touch-first browsing, the Metro style browser in Windows 8 is as HTML5-only as possible, and plug-in free. The experience that plug-ins provide today is not a good match with Metro style browsing and the modern HTML5 web." Sinfosky goes on explain why Microsoft will not include Flash and why it's no longer needed. It's as close as we'll get to an obituary for Flash. Update from Thom: Added a note in the 'read more'!

The Theory: 8 Traits of Great Metro Style Apps

Thom Holwerda 2011-09-14 Windows 51 Comments

This is mandatory listening and watching material for understanding the design methodology and ideas behind the Metro interface in Windows 8 (and thus, Windows Phone 7). All this sounds great in theory, and Jensen Harris, one of the minds behind Metro, is clearly passionate about it - and I love people who are passionate about their work. It's just that to me, the Metro UI doesn't seem to work very well for actual work. I want window management! I'm taking all this into account for an article on Metro in the Developer Preview. Stay tuned.

Anti-rootkit Security Beyond the OS

Submitted by Discott 2011-09-14 Privacy, Security 19 Comments

McAfee demonstrated the workings of its new McAfee DeepSAFE technology at the Intel Developer Forum on Tuesday. It sits beyond the operating system and close to the silicon, and by operating beyond the OS, it provides a direct view of system memory and processor activity. Among the threats that it detects are Stuxnet, SpyEye, the TDSS roorkit family and the NTRootkit.

Submitted by garyd 2011-09-14 OS News 14 Comments

The OpenIndiana project is pleased to announce the next development release of the open source, enterprise operating system. OpenIndiana build 151a is now available for 32 and 64-bit x86 architecture systems. We hope you're as excited as we are for the first complete platform for servers and desktops that offers the full power of the virtualisation, observability, management, networking, and storage technologies from the illumos project. Please see the release notes for full details of what's new. This milestone also marks the one year anniversary of our first release. Look for our first stable release in the near future!

Windows 8 BSOD: Now With Emoticons!

David Adams 2011-09-14 Windows 43 Comments

Chip Hazard posted a pic of a Windows 8 error screen, which in keeping with the overall trend in Windows8, is actually a lot more aesthetically pleasing than the old Blue Screen of Death. Plus: frowny face!

Crossing the Rubicon: Microsoft Lays Windows 8 Bare

Thom Holwerda 2011-09-13 Windows 121 Comments

Today, at Microsoft's BUILD conference in Anaheim, California, Microsoft unveiled the biggest overhaul of Windows since Windows 95. The venue was not coincidental; in the same city, in 1993, during the first Professional Developers Conference, Microsoft unveiled Windows 95 for the first time. Steven Sinofsky, supported by an army of Microsoft executives, demonstrated a whole boatload of things for Windows 8, and make no mistake, they had a lot to show. Two important notes: the Windows 8 Developer Preview will be free to download later today (no activation, will be updated regularly, and includes the new interface), and Win32 is the past.

Xbox Live Comes to Windows 8

Thom Holwerda 2011-09-13 Games 7 Comments

"We are confirming that we will be bringing Xbox LIVE to the PC with Xbox LIVE on Windows. We are very excited about Xbox LIVE coming to Windows 8. Xbox LIVE brings your games, music, movies, and TV shows to your favorite Microsoft and Windows devices. Bringing Xbox LIVE to Windows 8 is part of our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy." Xbox Live on desktops, laptops, tablets, phones, and the Xbox. Pretty awesome.