Jon "Hannibal" Stokes is co-founder and Senior CPU Editor of Ars Technica. He has written for a variety of publications on microprocessor architecture and the technical aspects of personal computing. He recently published his first book Inside the Machine - An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture. We interviewed him to discuss how hardware bugs are dealt with, the use of reserved bits, the performance and efficiency of console CPUs and GPUs, the possibility to build a Playstation 3 cluster, and what future connection he sees between CPUs and GPUs.

Just when you finally thought your Windows XP settings were just right, here comes Windows Vista. Fear not: PC Magazine has teamed up with Wiley Books to bring you Windows Vista Solutions to guide you through the ins and outs of your new OS. This week's excerpt helps you navigate the control panel to make your computer fit you. Personalize your computer with new themes, wallpaper, sounds, menu options and more. Here's how.

The third discussion draft of GPL version 3 is scheduled for release at 7 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, Brett Smith, a licensing compliance engineer for the Free Software Foundation said in a mailing list posting Monday. The current GPL 2 governs the rights and restrictions of many open-source and free-software projects, including high-profile ones such as the Linux kernel, Java and MySQL database. A 'last-call' draft is due 60 days after the third discussion draft, and the final GPL 3 will arrive 30 days after that, Smith said.

"Microsoft's claim of 20 million Vista licenses sold simply doesn't add up when trying to assess who realistically bought them in the time frame - 'in the opening month' - stated in today's press release. Further, the press release claims that 'Windows Vista made a splash in its debut'. What kind of Kool-Aid are they drinking up there in Redmond? Who spiked the Windows Vista-logo soda cans?"

"Haiku co-developers Bruno and his associate Axel talk about the new OS that has been in development for several years. Haiku is an open source operating system currently in development designed from the ground up for desktop computing. Inspired in the BeOS, Haiku aims to provide users of all levels with a personal computing experience that is simple yet powerful, and void of any unnecessary complexities."

More than 20 million copies of Windows Vista were sold globally in February 2007, the first month of sales since its widespread consumer release. That is significantly more than the 17 million copies of Windows XP that were sold in the first two months following its release in October 2001, Kevin Kutz, a director in Microsoft's Windows client group, told eWeek in an interview on March 26.

"Until now, HTC has mostly made Windows Mobile smartphones, such as the Cingular 2125, 3125, 8125 and 8525 and the T-Mobile MDA and SDA. The HTC Shift, which PC Magazine had the chance to test, looks like a tablet, but fits in a large coat pocket. More specifically, it's about the size of two DVD cases stacked on top of each other, and we estimated the weight between 1.5 and 1.8 pounds. The Shift operates on Windows Vista Business Edition and includes tablet extensions for writing on the screen with the included stylus. To place the Shift into Laptop mode, slide the screen back and tilt it up to a 75-degree angle."

"Hyperion Entertainment and ACube Systems are pleased to announce that they have entered into a strategic partnership following a recent two day meeting of representatives of both companies in Brussels, Belgium. Within the framework of the partnership ACube will act as a worldwide distributor of Hyperion's Amiga OS 4.0 operating system for a range of PPC hardware platforms including AmigaOne (MicroA1, SE/XE) and Classic Amiga. More details regarding the companies' strategic partnership will be announced shortly."

"Unlike other operating systems, patches for the OpenBSD base system are distributed as source code patches. These patches are usually applied by compiling and installing them onto the target system. While that upgrade procedure is well-documented, it is not always suitable for certain systems that do not have the OpenBSD compiler set installed for various reasons such as disk space constraints. To fill this gap, open source projects like binpatch were started to allow administrators to create binary patches using the BSD make system. This article proposes an alternative method to build binary patches using a chroot environment in an attempt to more closely mirror the instructions given in the OpenBSD patch files."

Linux.com takes a look at one of our favorite media players, VLC. They write "VideoLAN's VLC is a cross-platform media player with a simple interface that doesn't require a degree in rocket science to operate. That doesn't mean, however, that VLC is a simplistic application: it has a few tricks up its sleeve that can significantly extend its functionality and enhance your user experience. Here are a couple of VLC's nifty features you might want to try."

In a recent interview with the online edition of the Austrian daily Newspaper Der Standard, Mono project-lead Miguel de Icaza pleads for a cooperation between Mono and Microsoft's .Net: "I think that the deal should include a technical Mono/.NET collaboration, and even go as far as Microsoft recommending Mono for all of their developers looking at migration."

"Dr Michal Schulz has made an initial commit of the AROS USB stack, enabling the use of USB mice and creating the foundations to add support, subsequently, also for other devices. Please notice this is pre-alpha stage software, this means only USB 1.1 UHCI controllers are supported for now, and maybe it won't work correctly on your motherboard. Next thing to develop will be extensions to USBHID class, allowing to use graphic tablets and USB keyboards with AROS, and OHCI controllers support. We must note that support for USB 2.0 EHCI controllers wasn't defined in bounty Michal is working on."

"The Microsoft Windows Software Development Kit Update for Windows Vista provides documentation, samples, header files, libraries, and tools you need to develop applications that run on Windows. This release of the SDK supplies updated compilers and documentation. The updated compilers are the same ones that recently shipped in Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1. This SDK also includes the samples, tools, headers, and libraries that shipped in the Windows SDK for Vista in November, 2006."

"Sun and Red Hat have both submitted new versions of their trusted operating systems for Common Criteria certification evaluation. While these systems are being evaluated against the same CC protection profiles and at the same evaluation assurance level, these systems differ in significant ways that affect how a customer might choose to use such systems."