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Sun Open Sources Java

Submitted by Ford Prefect 2007-05-09 Java 96 Comments

Sun Microsystems has announced the release of an open-source version of its Java Development Kit for Java Platform Standard Edition. Sun has contributed the software to the OpenJDK Community as free software under the GNU GPLv2. Sun also announced that OpenJDK-based implementations can use the JCK (Java SE 6 Technical Compatibility Kit) to establish compatibility with the Java SE 6 specification. OpenBSD has already started importing the release.

Sun’s CommunityOne 2007

Submitted by Grant 2007-05-09 Oracle and SUN 1 Comment

"We began our week of JavaOne coverage this morning with some of the information shared during the CommunityOne General Session. Now that the day is winding to an end, we have some additional information to pass along on Sun's first-ever CommunityOne event. Outside of the CommunityOne General Session, other tracks throughout the day were on NetBeans, GlassFish, OpenJDK for mobile & embedded environments, OpenSolaris, Web 2.0, Startup Camp, RedMonk's un-conference, and the discussion of Linux versus Solaris."

‘The State of Ubuntu 7.04 Is Strong’

Eugenia Loli 2007-05-09 Ubuntu 95 Comments

Ubuntu 7.04 - also known as Feisty Fawn - shines for its excellent software management tools and large catalog of ready-to-install free software applications. Read more at eWeek.

Submitted by Rahul 2007-05-09 Fedora Core 39 Comments

Max Spevack, Fedora Project leader posted a outline and expected impact of the Fedora 7 release: "One of the Fedora Project's success metrics is building and running itself in a way such that no single entity can completely control Fedora's fate. Fedora 7 gets us there, insofar as there is no "secret sauce" in the ability to spin a Fedora distribution. Nothing is hidden."

Review of Dual-Boot LinuxCertified LCTP60 Laptop

Submitted by briansmith 2007-05-08 Hardware 13 Comments

"Ubuntu Feisty Fawn and Windows Vista are two state-of-the-art desktop operating systems. I got this Bi-OS laptop (with Feisty and Vista Business) recently as my desktop replacement. I compare some features of Vista vs. Feisty. Both operating systems have made great progress. Laptop is well built and great for a consultant like me (albeit tad heavy)." More here.

Submitted by reinouts 2007-05-08 Mandriva, Mandrake, Lycoris 8 Comments

Mayank Sharma from Linux.com tries Mandriva 2007 Spring on several machines. He finds the distro to be very stable, sporting a good package selection, just the documentation a bit sparse.

Vista: 5 Months Later

Thom Holwerda 2007-05-08 Windows 233 Comments

Months go, I reviewed Windows Vista, and concluded: "All in all, I am impressed by Windows Vista . Windows Vista is better than XP, and definitely more than just an improved look as many say." After 5 months of usage, it is time to put that statement into perspective.

Submitted by javaman83 2007-05-08 Linux 15 Comments

"It has been a hard year around here but steady progress on Symphony has continued. Symphony OS 2007 will be released either late this month or early next month with several major changes: Ubuntu 7.04 base system, Ubiquity installer, Google Gadgets as desklets, and continued performance improvements."

Xandros Server Standard Edition 2 Released

Submitted by anonymous 2007-05-08 Oracle and SUN 9 Comments

Xandros today launched Xandros Server Standard Edition 2, a complete, enterprise-grade SMB Linux server package including Xen virtualization and more than 30 other services. The new Xandros Linux server is compatible with existing Windows domain and networking topologies.

Making Ubuntu Usable

Eugenia Loli 2007-05-07 Ubuntu 48 Comments

"In this chapter from the ExtremeTech book 'Hacking Ubuntu: Serious Hacks Mods and Customizations' you'll learn how to set up the operating system to your taste with things like changing the startup music, the background, fonts, icons, and colors, and navigating the Nautilus file manager - on both PCs and Macs." The book was written for an older version of Ubuntu but it still largely applies for Feisty Fawn too.

Switching to Vista From OSX

Thom Holwerda 2007-05-07 Windows 132 Comments

"I have been using Mac OS X as my primary OS for almost a year now, but last night I switched back. What spurred it is that my Mac OS X partition crashed and it wouldn't boot back into the OS - I used rescue tools and drive scanners but it appears that the partition just disappeared. I booted into a much smaller NTFS partition and put the Vista install disk in."

Gentoo Linux 2007.0 Released

Eugenia Loli 2007-05-07 Gentoo 32 Comments

The Gentoo Release Engineering project is pleased to announce the much-delayed release of Gentoo Linux 2007.0, code named 'Secret Sauce'. This release met with several delays due to an abnormally high number of security vulnerabilities in large packages which had to be rebuilt using the newer, secure versions of the packages. Update: Screenshots!

Power Design Details From ACK Software Controls, Amiga

Thom Holwerda 2007-05-07 Amiga & AROS 35 Comments

ACK Controls has released the specifications of the upcoming high-end Amiga system. As already known, it will use the P.A. Semi PWRficient PA6T-1682M dual core 64 bit CPUs clocked at 2GHz, the ATX form factor, PCI Express slots, and will have a retail price of USD 1498. The machine will supposedly be available this summer.

Submitted by diegocg 2007-05-07 Mozilla, Gecko 20 Comments

"According to Mozilla's CEO Mitchell Baker, Firefox is just at the beginning of its life cycle. In this one-on-one interview with APCMag.com, she talks about where Firefox came from and where it's going."

Microsoft Upgrades Hotmail

Adam Scheinberg 2007-05-07 Microsoft 23 Comments

Microsoft today announced the release of Windows Live Hotmail, the much anticipated upgrade to their widely deployed Hotmail web-based email platform. Windows Live Hotmail launches in 36 languages and is one of the first large-scale Microsoft applications to fully support a non-Microsoft browser. In addition, Microsoft has announced the release of a free Microsoft Outlook connector application, which allows management via MS Outlook, and a long awaited mobile version of Windows Live Hotmail.

Submitted by Kelly Rush 2007-05-07 SkyOS 47 Comments

After months of work, there is now a new complete C++ API for SkyOS, which replaces the old C API. The C++ API consists of more than 150 classes, including support for thread and process information, full GUI support, and gesture support, to name a few. Additionally, news about the LiveCD and some of the technology behind it has been updated, including a few screenshots of the LiveCD in action.

Submitted by butters 2007-05-07 Hardware 105 Comments

On the heels of announcing their plan to offer Ubuntu Linux pre-installed on selected consumer desktops and laptops, Dell will disclose today that it will team up with Novell and Microsoft to distribute Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server software along with Microsoft's Windows Server software. As part of the deal, Dell will help Novell and Microsoft make SLES and Windows work together efficiently on Dell's computer hardware. Rick Becker, a Dell VP, says, "There's many aspects of open source that delight my customers, they have concerns about software licensing. Those concerns go away when they deploy Microsoft and SLES Linux."

AI Will Surpass Human Intelligence After 2020

Eugenia Loli 2007-05-07 Geek stuff 95 Comments

Vernor Vinge, 62, is a pioneer in artificial intelligence, who in a recent interview warned about the risks and opportunities that an electronic super-intelligence would offer to mankind. Vinge is a retired San Diego State University professor of mathematics, computer scientist, and science fiction author. He is well-known for his 1993 manifesto, "The Coming Technological Singularity", in which he argues that exponential growth in technology means a point will be reached where the consequences are unknown. Vinge still believes in this future, which he thinks would come anytime after 2020.

Review: The OGG-Compatible iRiver E10

Eugenia Loli 2007-05-06 Multimedia, AV 45 Comments

Everytime we feature a multimedia device review here at OSNews the question is always the same: "...but does it support OGG?". Well, this time we do have such a device in our lab to test out for you. Geeks.com sent us in the iRiver E10, a powerful multimedia music and video player.

Ion3 RC1 Released

Thom Holwerda 2007-05-06 Desktop environments 21 Comments

The first release candidate of Ion3 has been released. "This is the first 'rc' or '(stable) release candidate' release of Ion3. This means that there will not be any further major changes to it. Bugs will be fixed, and as an exception to the general feature freeze, some hooks may still be added, if deemed useful. Translations may also be included. After no new bugs (that can not be deemed features) have been found in this or following 'rc' releases, the stable Ion3 will be released."