Over the weekend, the KDE team has released KDE Software Compilation 4.4 beta 1. "Today, KDE has released a first preview the KDE Software Compilation (KDE SC), 4.4 Beta1 The first beta version of KDE SC 4.4 provides a preview and base for helping to stabilize the next version of the KDE Desktop, Applications and Development Platform."

A few days ago we saw the release of version 0.8.1 of virt-manager, the Linux desktop client for managing virtual machines. Changes include a VM Migration wizard, exposing various migration options; enumeration of CDROM and bridge devices on remote connections, multiple graphs in the manager window, support storage pool source enumeration for LVM, NFS, and SCSI, and allow changing VM ACPI, APIC, clock offset, individual vcpu pinning, and video model (vga, cirrus, etc.).

"Apple has added new build-to-order options for some of its Mac Pro and Xserve models. Specifically, a 3.33GHz 3500-series Xeon processor is now an option for the lower-end quad-core Mac Pro. Also, Apple now offers a 2TB drive option for both Mac Pros and Xserves."

"Intel's legal dispute with graphics-chip maker Nvidia is being reviewed as part of an antitrust probe of Intel by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, according to people familiar with the matter. Regulators are looking at lawsuits between Intel and Nvidia, said the people, who declined to be identified because the federal investigation is continuing. The FTC is trying to determine whether a lawsuit filed by Intel earlier this year is an effort to disrupt Nvidia’s business, one person said."

This 24/7 Wall Street article displays three common media ailments: hyperbole, a love for top ten lists, and an obsession with December predictions for the coming year (which off course OSNews is obviously also falling victim to), and there are some predictable losers on this list (Blockbuster Video, anyone?). I thought it would be an interesting topic for OSNews because three of the companies/brands are quite familiar to us: Palm, Motorola, and Sun Microsystems.

Websense has made ten predictions about security/vulnerability trends for 2010. There's no crystal ball, so we're not talking about malicious innovation, but mostly a recognition that certain nefarious activities are gaining traction and will expand in the near future. Of particular interest to OSNews readers: exploitations of Windows 7 and IE 8 vulnerabilities, the beginning of the end of the Mac's reprieve on security issues, and increasing targeting of mobile devices (beyond Rickrolling your iPhone, presumably). Read on to learn OSNews 2010 security predictions.

"Intel's experimental 48-core 'single-chip cloud computer' is the latest step in multicore processing. Intel officials say such a chip will greatly improve performance and efficiency in future data centers, and will lead to new applications and interfaces between users and computers. Intel plans to have 100 or more chips in the hands of IT companies and research institutes next year to foster research into new software. Intel, AMD and others are rapidly growing the number of cores on a single silicon chip, with both companies looking to put eight or more cores on a chip in 2010."

Window Maker is an X11 window manager originally designed to provide integration support for the GNUstep Desktop Environment. In every way possible, it reproduces the elegant look and feel of the NEXTSTEP user interface. It is fast, feature rich, easy to configure, and easy to use. It is also free software, with contributions being made by programmers from around the world.

Time. Coming. Long. Put these in the appropriate order, and you'll get my reaction to this news. Nokia has announced that it is planning a major overhaul of the user interface to the Symbian operating system, still the most popular smartphone platform in the world.

Among the factors to consider, as companies ponder Windows 7 migrations, is whether to run a 32 bit or 64 bit version of the operating system. IT Expert Voice looks at the reasons why and what companies are saying about their intentions to adopt each version.

A few weeks ago, we talked about how the rise of computing, a field wherein English is the primary language, is affecting smaller languages, and more specifically, the Dutch language (because that's my native tongue). Of course, it's not just the smaller languages that are affected - English, too, experiences the pressure.

The Krita team is seeking sponsorship to allow one of the core team members to work on Krita full-time, focusing on performance and usability, with a goal of releasing the results in Krita 2.2 and 2.3, in 2010. See kde.dot.org for an interview, or the Krita site for more information about this effort.

There was a bit of a stink today about an antivirus vendor claiming that Microsoft's November security patches caused computers to show a 'black screen of death'. Microsoft has investigated the issue, and states that the antivirus vendor, Prevx, is wrong.

Nokia has released the latest version of its cross-platform toolkit Qt, version 4.6. As usual, it comes with a whole slew of improvements and new features, and this time, they even added a new platform into the mix.