"Mozilla released its latest browser, Firefox 3.0, last week. SecurityFocus contributor Federico Biancuzzi tracked down two key members of Mozilla's security team, Window Snyder and Johnathan Nightingale, to learn more about the security features included in this major release. They discussed the protection against phishing and the new malware protection, the new update mechanism for add-ons, Mozilla's security policies and processes, and the hardening of their Javascript implementation."

HP has announced that they will open source the AdvFS under the second version of the GPL. AdvFS is a mid-90's file system that is used by the Tru64 UNIX operating system. The Wikipedia page on AdvFS provides the necessary background information and feature set of the AdvFS file system.

A new version of this AROS distribution has been released. VmwAROS is available in two flavours: a virtual environment for VMware, and a live-cd that runs on top of real hardware, which can be installed on the hard drive as any other operating system. This new version includes lots of new games and applications for AROS, includes a complete C, C++ environment and E interpreter, and fixes an annoying compatibility problem that plagues current nightly builds on some hardware, by using a second "emergency" kernel. Users who couldn't boot the 0.7 versions should try this new one.

I've seen superlative after superlative concerning the release of Firefox 3.0, and in all honesty, it is making my stomach ache. Yes, Firefox 3.0 is a great release. It has a slicker interface (the UI on Vista looks quite pretty) and the use of native widgets in Linux is a very, very welcome addition. On top of that, it actually delivers what I was craving for the most from my favourite Windows web browser: much improved performance. But does Firefox 3.0 change the web, or alter the way we use the intertubes?

"SproutCore, profiled earlier this week, isn't the only big news spill out from the top secret WWDC conference due to Apple's embrace of open source sharing. Another future technology featured by the Mac maker last week was LLVM, the Low Level Virtual Machine compiler infrastructure project. Like SproutCore, LLVM is neither new nor secret, but both have been hiding from attention due to a thick layer of complexity that has obscured their future potential."

The battle between the OpenDocument Format and Microsoft's Open Office XML was long, and here and there rather nasty, but it appears as if we finally have a winner. The company behind OOXML already conceded by announcing it would implement support for ODF in Office 2007 SP2, but now it has also said it quite literally: ODF has won.

While the history of wireless computer networks dates back to the 1970 with the University of Hawaii's ALOHAnet (I wish we retained that name instead of 802.11x), it has only been during the past, say, 10 years that the technology started to make serious inroads into the consumer market - your home. The latest and greatest variant is 802.11n, and while promoted as the best thing since sliced bread, Frank Ohlhorst has his reservations, and debunks 5 myths concerning 802.11n.

While Linus Torvalds is the main figurehead for the Linux kernel, there are of course countless other individuals contributing to the Linux kernel - some more than others. A contributor of key importance is Andrew Morton, maintainer of the -mm tree. Since changes in how Morton handles things are on the horizon, LWN.net sent Morton a few questions.

You'd think this headline was a joke, but sadly, it's not. It's the real headline of an article posted on SeattlePI.com in the blogs section. The core of the story is that a man couldn't get his printer to work with Windows Vista, and ultimately, with the help of a Microsoft test manager, solved the problem warranting a follow-up article. The comedy here, of course, is in reading what went wrong and wrapping your brain around why engineers didn't forsee such a thing happening.

Application virtualization veteran Citrix, who last year purchased Xensource, today announced their intention to deliver XenDesktop, based on their thin client technology, for the iPhone. While similar applications exist in the form of VNSea, Citrix is a major player in virtualization and this certainly bodes well for those who want to connect to remote devices via their iPhone. Citrix demo'ed their wifi-only application at the Citrix Application Delivery Conference in Australia this week.

At their core, Web services define a mechanism for machine-to-machine interaction using a network and XML. A key component of a Web service is a formal description with Web Services Description Language. This article introduces you to REST and WSDL 2.0, and walks you through creating a WSDL 2.0 description of a REST Web service.

Michael Crider at Freesoftware Magazine has written a fine, detailed howto on using Mail Merge in OpenOffice, full of useful tips and screenshots. This is one of the better OpenOffice.org tutorials.

For years now we have heard about Linux on the desktop and its need to make a concerted effort to illustrate its value to the end user and whatnot. The point of it all being is that if we expect Linux to become a household name, we must find away to get it into the minds of the typical user, like we have seen with Windows.

Microsoft has introduced its first-ever embedded OS for portable devices that use GPS (global positioning system) and maps to get people where they want to go. Windows Embedded NavReady 2009 is aimed at companies building handheld electronic navigation devices and includes several features to make them Web-friendly, such as easy connections to online services and the Internet, as well as links to mobile phones via Bluetooth, and to Windows-based PCs. The aim of the new OS is to spread the popularity of portable navigation devices (PND) by adding or enhancing new features such as Internet connectivity and services. PNDs are among the hottest electronic devices this year.