OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Genode 9.11 Gets Webkit, USB Storage, lwIP, ARM Support

Submitted by Norman Feske 2009-11-25 OS News 1 Comment

Genode is a framework for creating custom microkernel-based operating systems, currently supporting four different kernels. With the new 9.11 release, the project moves beyond the x86 architecture by adding initial support for ARM CPUs. Among the long list of further improvements, there is added support for USB storage, a light-weight IP stack, Qt/Webkit, a zero-footprint runtime for Ada programs, and the addition of a paravirtualized Linux kernel to the mainline distribution. These and more changes are described in full detail in the release notes for version 9.11.

New Screenshots of Firefox for AmigaOS 4

Thom Holwerda 2009-11-25 Amiga & AROS 29 Comments

An effort is currently under way to port the Firefox web browser to the Amiga operating system. This effort goes by the name Project Timberworlf, and is the latest in a long line of efforts to port Firefox to alternative operating systems. This raises the question: is Firefox really suited for these small platforms?

Chrome Extensions Site Now Open for Uploads

Thom Holwerda 2009-11-24 Google 5 Comments

Google has opened up its gallery for developers to share Chrome extensions, a step that soon should make it easier for people to customize the open-source browser. Aaron Boodman, a leader of the Chrome extensions effort, announced the move on a mailing list posting Monday, and programmer and "gallery master" Lei Zheng shared details in a blog post. So far, only uploads are permitted. Google plans to let some testers use the gallery to download extensions, too "in the next few days," Zheng said. "We are making the upload flow available early to make sure that developers have the time to publish their extensions ahead of our full launch."

Explore Refactoring Functions in Eclipse JDT

Thom Holwerda 2009-11-24 Java 4 Comments

This article describes the various refactorings available in Eclipse Java Development Tools, including what each refactoring does, when to use it, and how to use it. It also explores the refactoring script functionality in Eclipse, which allows library developers to share code refactorings with their clients.

Submitted by poundsmack 2009-11-24 KDE 13 Comments

KOffice 2.1 has been released. "This release is a marked improvement of almost all parts of KOffice compared to 2.0. Version 2.0 was labeled a 'platform release', which was meant as a first preview of the framework and new UI paradigm. In version 2.1, most applications and components have improved significantly but should still only be used by early adopters and probably not as the primary worktool."

Submitted by poundsmack 2009-11-24 Microsoft 143 Comments

During Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference the company's President of Server and Tools, Bob Muglia, and Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie talked to a select group of reporters and bloggers about a variety of topics - including Silverlight.

Submitted by waid0004 2009-11-24 Google 15 Comments

Google has put up a very interesting document explaining the security features underlying its Chrome OS. The document also details the underlying guiding principles of Chrome OS' security features.

GNOME Journal November Issue

Submitted by Jim Hodapp 2009-11-24 Gnome 4 Comments

The GNOME Journal team has published issue 17 of the GNOME Journal, titled "Women In Open Source". This is their first issue with a unified theme, and with all articles written by women from the open source community. The idea and execution of this issue was created by the GNOME Women community. It comes packed with articles about GNOME and its underlying frameworks.

Total security in a PostgreSQL database

Thom Holwerda 2009-11-24 Databases 1 Comment

Database security is the single biggest concern with today's Web-based applications. Without control, you risk exposing sensitive information about your company or, worse yet, your valuable customers. In this article, learn about security measures you can take to protect your PostgreSQL database. Be sure to download the sample code listings used in this article.

Microsoft Delays Open Source Release Windows 7 Tool

Thom Holwerda 2009-11-24 Microsoft 18 Comments

Microsoft has delayed the open source release of their Windows 7 USB/DVD tool, which contained GPL code. "As you know, Microsoft recently committed to making the source code as well as binaries for the Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool available this week, under the terms of the General Public License v2 as described here. While we worked extremely hard to try and get the code ready for release by today, we still need to test and localize it. Our goal is now to release the tool in all languages on the same day in the next few weeks. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to make the Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool available once again."

Opera 10.10 Released, Includes Unite

Thom Holwerda 2009-11-24 Opera 78 Comments

The Opera team has released version 10.10 of their feature-rich browser. This is the first Opera release to come with Opera Unite, which combines the web browser with a web server, so that users can share data directly between one another, without the need for a third party.

Guest post by Rahul 2009-11-23 Fedora Core 40 Comments

Phoronix has a done a set of benchmarks with the Fedora 12 Intel driver and concluded that it performs better than previous releases of Fedora. "Compared to Fedora 11 especially, Fedora 12 offers much-improved Intel Linux graphics. Besides just the frame-rates being better, when using Fedora 12 we have encountered less problems with kernel mode-setting and quirks with different hardware configurations. In fact, the Intel experience is quite pleasant atop Fedora 12. This is good news for those running Fedora 12 now and should be even better news for those that will receive these updated packages in their distributions next year."

Submitted by poundsmack 2009-11-23 OS News 2 Comments

"HP is pleased to announce the availability of OpenVMS Version 8.4 Field Test. OpenVMS Version 8.4 will be a generally available release for the Integrity servers and Alpha platforms. This release builds upon the capabilities provided by OpenVMS Version 8.3 for Alpha and Version 8.3-1H1 for Integrity server systems."

Schiller Defends Apple’s App Store Policies

Thom Holwerda 2009-11-23 Apple 39 Comments

Apple is usually quite the secretive company, revealing little of itself or its practices. With the App Store under heavy criticism, the company felt it needed to break the silence, and as such, Apple's senior vice-president for worldwide product marketing, Phil Schiller defended the company's App Store policies.

Apple Magic Mouse Drivers for Windows

Thom Holwerda 2009-11-23 Apple 7 Comments

"So you like Apple's fancy Magic Mouse? It's a beautiful piece of engineering with an insane price tag of $70. Problem is, even at $70, it only works on Macs leaving Windows users in the dust. But thanks to a hidden update here is how you get this little guy to work in Windows XP (32 bit) to Windows 7."

Guest post by Rahul 2009-11-23 Fedora Core 12 Comments

Phoronix talks about an upcoming feature in Fedora 13 (scheduled to be released on April 2010) that provides system rollback support via the Btfs filesystem.

“Microsoft To Pay Content Providers to ‘De-index’ from Google”

Thom Holwerda 2009-11-23 In the News 57 Comments

It is no secret that Microsoft is doing whatever it can to eat away at Google's immense market share of the search market, with Bing being its most ambitious effort yet. Well, it seems the battle just got a whole lot dirtier, as The Financial Times has uncovered news that Microsoft has approached several news content providers, offering them money if they "de-index" their sites from Google.

Review: iPhone 3GS 16GB, White

Thom Holwerda 2009-11-22 Apple 53 Comments

A few weeks ago I explained that because Palm is still not selling the Palm Pre here in The Netherlands, I decided to buy an iPhone 3GS. Well, we're a few weeks down the line now, so let's review the darn thing.

Review: Acer Aspire One AO751h

Eugenia Loli 2009-11-22 Hardware 28 Comments

Geeks.com, home to cheap laptops and discounted netbooks sent us over the Acer Aspire One AO751h for a review. The AO751h is in-between of a small laptop and a netbook and so it makes it an interesting item to investigate.

MikeOS 4.0 Released with BASIC Interpreter

Submitted by Mike Saunders 2009-11-21 OS News 14 Comments

A new version of the learning tool OS MikeOS is available, sporting a new BASIC interpreter with 24 instructions. You can run BASIC code from inside the text editor by pressing F8. See the App Developer Handbook for a guide to the BASIC dialect (somewhat similar to old 8-bit BASICs, nostalgia fans), and the User Handbook for info on running MikeOS from a USB key, floppy or CD.