"If you pay close attention, you'll notice that most user interface actions tend to occur on the release, not on the press. When you click on a button, the action occurs when the mouse button is released. When you press the Windows key, the Start menu pops up when you release it. When you tap the Alt key, the menu becomes active when you release it (there are exceptions to this general principle, of course, typing being the most notable one). Why do most actions wait for the release?"

Microsoft has long encouraged its employees to 'RAS' into the corporate network from home or from the road to access e-mail, shared files and applications. RAS, short for Remote Access Services, is an old Microsoft term for what most people now call a client VPN. Microsoft, of course, maintains valuable intellectual property on its internal network, including the source code to all its operating systems and applications. These are constant targets for hackers, and Microsoft tries to protect its most valuable assets with defenses in depth; they are behind firewalls and on networks segmented with IPsec. In addition, the entire network is monitored for suspicious activity, scanned for malware and so on.

The Enlightenment team has released version e16-0.16.8.5 of its window manager for the X windowing system. "Add Xft font support; add _NET_WM_SYNC_REQUEST support; enable setting focused/non-focused opacity independently (Grant Weir); enable window matches on override-redirect windows (for compositing options); by default set opaque and fading off on xscreensaver window; various minor bug fixes and enhancements."

Version 0.65 of the Visopsys operating system was released today. A lot of work has been done on the USB subsystem and underlying UHCI driver - though it's still not 'there' yet it has been re-enabled for the time being. New features were added to the Disk Manager (a.k.a. Partition Logic) including partition copy/paste (same disk or disk-to-disk). And finally, as with the last few releases there's been a focus on improving the GUI code. You can demo Visopsys on a floppy or live CD. Downloads and change log.

With the recent release of Microsoft's newest potential cash cows, Windows Vista and Office 2007, the company is expecting a wave of upgrades from users seeking the latest functionality. But what if you're not looking for new bells and whistles? What if you want to keep your old operating systems, such as Windows 2000, running as long as possible? Microsoft isn't making it easy for you.

If you are like me an want to try ArchLinux, but were discouraged by its awkward installation program and the complex task to convert the base system into a usable desktop, here is a new option for you: Arch Linux Office Install CD: "This CD installs a complete setup of Arch Linux distribution. No 'configure' is needed except to prepare hard disk, set mount points, and install the LILO boot loader. Also no post configure. Once installed, you can start working with popular Linux programs for office, Internet, and web development. If you are new to Linux, this installer is a good starting place to begin." It comes with Linux 2.6.18.3, X.Org 7.0, KDE 3.5.5, and the usual open source software applications.

With two Intel Quad-Core Clovertown processors and eight sticks of Kingston FB-DIMM DDR2 Phoronix set out to see the level of memory performance in an octal-core environment. Phoronix has tested the memory in single, dual, and quad memory channel configurations. Read the article to see how the Intel Xeon 5300 performs in various Fully Buffered Dual Inline Memory Module configurations.

This is a detailed description about how to set up an OpenSUSE 10.2 based server that offers all services needed by ISPs and hosters (Apache web server (SSL-capable), Postfix mail server (with SMTP-AUTH and TLS), BIND DNS server, ProFTPd server, MySQL server, Courier POP3/IMAP, Quota, Firewall, etc.).

The Observer and GigaOM reveal the Google Phone, a device currently early in development that will integrate many of Google's services in a mobile manner. It is not expected to be released before 2008.

Christopher Hallinan examines the bootloader's role in a system, followed by an introduction to some common features of bootloaders. He also takes a detailed look at a popular bootloader used for embedded systems, and introduces a few of the more popular bootloaders.

Underground hackers are hawking zero-day exploits for Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system at USD 50000 a pop, according to computer security researchers at Trend Micro. The Windows Vista exploit - which has not been independently verified - was just one of many zero-days available for sale at an auction-style marketplace infiltrated by the Tokyo-based anti-virus vendor.

"Microsoft has a problem. Vista, its long-awaited update to the Windows operating system, can't run the current version of SQL Server. The company is working on a SQL upgrade that is compatible with Vista - called SQL Server 2005 Express Service Pack 2 - but it's in beta and can be licensed only for testing purposes. Microsoft hasn't set a release date for the new SQL program. So companies looking to install Vista, which went on sale to corporate customers Nov. 30, are going to have to get their database management software someplace else."

A French user has discovered that ZFS is now 'officially' supported in Leopard , while testing the latest build of Apple's upcoming operating system. Indeed it is now possible to create disk images or partitions formated in ZFS (screen capture included). However, it seems that it is not possible yet to install the OS on a ZFS partition.

eWeek's Peter Coffee has compiled his idea of the 25 killer applications of all time. "Microsoft's Vista has widely inspired the 'Why do I need that?' question, which past 'killer applications' have answered in different ways for different platforms during three decades of personal computing."