There Is No Grand Theory of Usability

Federkiel writes: "People working with Apple computers are used to a very consistent user experience. For a large part this stems from the fact that the Lisa type of GUI does not have the fight between MDI and SDI. The question simply never arises, because the Lisa type of GUI does not offer the choice to create either of both; it's something different all along. I usually think of it as 'MDI on steroids unified with a window manager'. It virtually includes all benefits of a SDI and and the benefits of an MDI." Read on for how I feel about this age-old discussion.

NVIDIA Graphics: Linux vs. Solaris

"At Phoronix we are constantly exploring the different display drivers under Linux, and while we have reviewed Sun's Check Tool and test motherboards with Solaris in addition to covering a few other areas, we have yet to perform a graphics driver comparison between Linux and Solaris. That is until today. With interest in Solaris on the rise thanks to Project Indiana, we have decided to finally offer our first quantitative graphics comparison between Linux and Solaris with the NVIDIA proprietary drivers."

Haiku in OS X, Opera 3.62 Runs on Haiku

There have been some interesting developments in the Haiku/BeOS world the past few weeks. Firstly, SkyOS developer Peter "Darkness" Speybrouck has been working on accessing SkyFS/BeFS partitions from Windows. Secondly, Opera 3.62 runs on Haiku. Lastly, if you have an Intel Mac, you can use VMware Fusion to run Haiku in Mac OS X; Haiku does not support EFI, so this is your only chance of running Haiku if you own an Intel Mac.

Apple Releases Safari Beta 3.0.2, Security Update

Apple's first Windows beta release of Safari had some nasty bugs, most importantly one where bold text wouldn't render on non-English versions of Windows. Since the 3.0.2 release has 'fixes for text display, non-English systems', this bug might by fixed. In addition, Security Update 2007-006 for Mac OS 10.3.9 and Mac OS 10.4.9 and later has been released. The update addresses two vulnerabilities in WebKit, one of which could lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution.

Vista SP1 Beta Expected This Year

According to a notation tucked into the DOJ's joint statement with Microsoft regarding continued compliance with various agreed-upon standards and remedies, Microsoft expects Service Pack 1 for Vista to be in beta by the end of the year. In addition, a Microsoft security executive released data Thursday showing that, six months after shipping Windows Vista, his company has left more publicly disclosed Vista bugs unpatched than it did with Windows XP.

Mandriva Corporate Desktop 4.0 Released

Mandriva has released Corporate Desktop 4.0 "Mandriva is proud to announce the release of Corporate Desktop 4.0, the brand new version of its enterprise-dedicated work station. Ergonomically designed, secure, comprehensive, easy to use and to administer: by consulting its corporate clients and building on its own expertise in the desktop area, Mandriva developed Corporate Desktop 4.0, a distro that can be installed in less than 15 minutes and extensively customized thanks to a new post-installation tool."

SkyOS Beta Build-6753 Available

SkyOS Beta build 6753 has been released. The installation procedure is now provided through a Live CD session thanks to BranchFS. This build includes the new C++ API, which makes development much easier. It also comes with three new services (PowerMonitor, SpellChecker and Registrar) and support for 45 more ATA/SATA chipsets. It also offers initial support for GNU classpath, Kaffe and Wine.

Introducing Compiz Fusion

The merger between compiz and Beryl now has a name: Compiz Fusion. "Our previous attempts to select a project name have not gone well. We tried a poll but the names in the poll were not pre-qualified to determine if they were usable and the 'winning' name was also a strongly disliked name. Kristian and I each proposed a plan to select a name, but that effort got sidetracked by a massive flame war on the mailing list. While our community has some democratic features, ultimately it is a meritocracy and the people who contribute the most value have the most say. So in the end a decision was made by the majority of the people who have contributed the most."

Size Isn’t Everything for the Modest Creator of SQLite

"In a world of people obsessed by turning the tiniest idea into something profitable, Dr Richard Hipp's best-known software stands out for two reasons - he actively disclaims copyright in it; and at a time when multi-megabyte installations are booming, he has a self-imposed limit on the size of his product: 250KB. And he's stuck to both aims. 'I think we've got 15 kilobytes of spare space,' he says of the headroom left in the code."

Interview with the “Imprint” Indie Director Van Blumreich

The Internet opens new doors to artists, there is no question about that. And between geeks like us here at OSNews, we should be supporting the independent artists. The most well-known online Indie short film competition, DVXFest, finished last week and the results are in. The latest theme was "make a spy movie", and one of our favorites, "Imprint" by Van Blumreich was awarded second place (a production that cost just $500). The story is set in a somewhat-futuristic time that's been plagued by the deadly Long Virus. Rob Cardine is dying of it and in order to keep himself alive, he carries out ethically questionable assignments in order to receive treatments for his disease. But when an assignment goes wrong, Rob is confronted with his own questions of ethics and humanity. How far is too far? Click here to download and view the short movie for free (48 MB), and read more for our interview with Van Blumreich.

Plans for Ubuntu 7.10 Revealed

Development plans for Ubuntu 7.10 (codenamed Gutsy Gibbon) were announced last night on the Ubuntu development mailing list. Scheduled for official release in late October, Gutsy Gibbon will include version 2.6.22 of the Linux kernel, GNOME 2.20, and Xorg 7.3. Kubuntu 7.10 will feature KDE 3.5.7 and offer optional packages for KDE 4.0 RC2. Ubuntu 7.10 Server Edition will feature some nice additions, including support for Novell's AppArmor security framework.

Microsoft Serves One up for the Home

"I have to admit that when I first heard about the Windows Home Server I didn't really think that much of the concept. After all, it's pretty simple to take an existing Windows server and turn it into a home storage and backup system. Also, there are plenty of easy-to-deploy Linux appliances that can quickly turn any system into an effective network-attached storage device, and never mind the many inexpensive network hard drives available at many stores. And all of this is still true. But after testing the release candidate of Windows Home Server that was made available last week at connect.microsoft.com, I must say that I am very impressed with its implementation, simplicity and functionality."