The open source, freely available, stable read/write NTFS driver, NTFS-3G 1.0 has just been released. The driver, released half year ago for beta testing, made progress, thanks to ten or even hundreds of thousands testers, early adopters, and developers. In consequence of the open communications and positive experiences, NTFS-3G is available for over 60 Linux distributions today, including most major ones. Moreover it was ported to new operating systems like FreeBSD, BeOS, Haiku, and Mac OS X.

The Book of JavaScript (2nd edition) by "thau!" (Dave Thau, according to the book's companion website) is a new and comprehensive introduction to the JavaScript language presented in an entertaining, practical format. I was provided a review copy by the publisher, No Starch Press. I have significant practical experience with JavaScript, so I do not consider myself in the target audience for this book; however, I still found much of it useful so it will remain as a valuable reference on my bookshelf.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates have committed to a rare joint appearance at the fifth anniversary of the The Wall Street Journal's 'D: All Things Digital' conference later this year. The two men, both seminal figures in the development of the personal computer, will jointly discuss the history and future of the digital revolution in an unrehearsed, unscripted, onstage conversation on May 30 with D co-producers Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher.

"We are excited to announce that Haiku developer Ingo Weinhold has recently committed UserlandFS to the repository. UserlandFS is designed to provide, for the first time in Haiku (and the BeOS platform), a stable and flexible environment for file system add-on development. Along with UserlandFS, Ingo has also committed several file system modules, including a Reiser FS 3.6 read-only implementation, a RAM FS (which is still work in progress), and NetFS, a Haiku-specific networking file system. NetFS is a native Haiku network file system that provides peer-to-peer networking capabilities for computers running Haiku on a LAN and includes full support for BFS attributes and live queries."

"There's lots to like in the newest version of Windows. Vista's look is stunning, the OS should be more secure, and finding things is often easier. But Windows wouldn't be Windows without those aspects, big and small, that just drive you nuts with frustration. Here's our list of Vista features that just make us wonder, 'What were they thinking?'"

Enlightenment 0.16.8.6 has been released. "Fix window move through desk switch. Fix crash on opening certain dialogs when sound is enabled. Various minor bug fixes and enhancements." Get it from the Sourceforge project page.

"During the Southern California Linux Exposition 5x's mini-conference on women in open source software, BSD Certification Group member Dru Lavigne put forth the idea that free/open source software provided an excellent opportunity to inexpensively change one's career path. Since this is an idea that has not been widely explored, Dru took some time to talk to me about it, as well as provide an update on the BSD system administrator certification program that is currently in development."

Dell has been asking for input from their (prospective) customers, via a Digg-style site called Dell 'Ideastorm'. It turns out that the top requested feature is for Dell to pre-install Linux (alongside Windows) as an option. The second most requested feature is Openoffice.org, either as an alternative to or alongside Microsoft Office.

Microsoft is keen to stir up enthusiasm for Windows Vista, but when it comes to the 64-bit edition of the recently released operating system, the software giant is sending decidedly mixed messages. Vista is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, with the latter targeted at owners of recent computers with 64-bit processors. However, customers who purchase the retail version of Vista Home Basic, Home Premium or Business don't have the option of buying the 64-bit version directly. It also seems Microsoft will toughen its anti-piracy policies.

In the transition from KDE 3 to KDE 4, a new file manager, Dolphin, was often discussed and now officially moved to the base part of KDE. "I just stumbled over this message saying that the file manager Dolphin is now part of kdebase (of KDE 4): 'Moving Dolphin to kdebase, as discussed with Peter and others. The big plan is: Dolphin will become the default file manager (kicker buttons and file:/ links bring it up).' The question remains what now happens with Konqueror - keep in mind that one of the goals of KDE 4 was to only keep one app for each task inside the base packages. But with Dolphin as the potentially new file manager and Webkit as the new browser we may see Konqueror vanish."

Microsoft has released a second free service pack for its popular SQL Server 2005 database application. The update makes SQL Server 2005 compatible with Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system and Office 2007 suite, and adds a number of data compression, manageability and interoperability enhancements. Microsoft has also changed the terms under which SQL Server 2005 can be run using virtualisation software.

Wind River, one of the world's top embedded software providers, has acquired a real-time Linux distribution and patented hard-real-time technology from FSMLabs Inc. The acquisition will help Wind River penetrate new and emerging markets requiring extremely tight timing constraints, including the vast, emerging market for low-cost, single-core feature phones, according to the company.

The AROS team has published a new status update with a list of improvements. Wanderer now has initial support for drag and drop, along with stability improvements. Tap interface is available for networking under a hosted linux installation. The main website has been translated into Dutch, and RTL8139 and VIA Rhine network adapters drivers have also been committed. Plus various new and updated apps Lunapaint, Martin's Server Suite, Jhead and Potrace.

"If you want to run Windows applications on your Intel powered Mac, you will be happy to learn that there are three different ways. The first method is by using Crossover for Mac, the second is using Parallels, and the third method is using Boot Camp. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages. This article will explain the differences between these programs and from there you should be able to figure out which method works best for you."