OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

What Will Java 6 Do for Desktop Java?

Submitted by arooaroo 2006-09-19 Java 18 Comments

This is an overview of the main desktop features in Java 6 that should make it more appealing to desktop users. As with the Windows LAF, the GTK LAF in Java 5 struggled to match fidelity with the GTK toolkit. For Java 6, the GTK LAF will also utilise proper native GTK widgets rather than emulating them.

Toshiba To Recall Sony-Made Laptop Batteries

Thom Holwerda 2006-09-19 Hardware 7 Comments

After Dell and Apple, Toshiba is now too issueing a massive recall of Sony-made laptop batteries. The batteries, used in Dynabook and Dynabook Satellite laptops manufactured between March and May this year, could fail on the road because of problems with storing and transmitting power, Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Ohmori said. The total of recalled Sony batteries is now about 6.5 million. Even airlines have prohibited the use of Dell and Apple laptops in-flight.

Taking the Linux Plunge

Eugenia Loli 2006-09-19 Linux 9 Comments

"While other articles seem to discuss the impact of this drastic change for some older Windows users, here we are going to discuss how those newbies looking to Linux can tell you if are truly ready for Linux, and which Linux distro would be the logical and best choice for their own needs and/or tastes. More here.

Microsoft’s Allchin Tells Developers to Get Ready for Vista

Thom Holwerda 2006-09-18 Windows 66 Comments

Jim Allchin, co-president of Microsoft's Platforms and Services Division, has sent an open letter to developers citing the 'tremendous opportunity' that Windows Vista gives them, adding that the time is now to get ready for the operating system. "If you want to ride the wave we're creating with Windows Vista, the best way is to have your application ready by the time we ship," Allchin said in the open letter, which appeared Sept. 15 on the Windows Vista Developer Center site. "And that is very soon." Meanwhile, Microsoft and the EU keep tiptoeing around each other when it comes to Vista and possible antitrust consequences. And if that wasn't enough, a Cisco exec says Vista is scary.

Is Ubuntu Linux a Sensible Alternative for Mac Users?

Thom Holwerda 2006-09-18 Ubuntu 80 Comments

"A friend of mine phoned to ask if I thought he should install Ubuntu Linux on his Macs - a 1.33 GHz G4 iBook currently running OS X 10.4 Tiger and a 1.25 GHz Power Mac G4 tower with OS X 10.3 Panther installed. My friend had read a feature in the local newspaper extolling the virtues of Ubuntu Linux and thought it sounded interesting. Does Ubuntu Linux make any sense for Macintosh users? In my friend's case, I would say no, and I did." My take: I wrote about this subject earlier.

Submitted by ghen 2006-09-18 NetBSD 13 Comments

Geert Hendrickx has announced the third release candidate of NetBSD 3.1. Binaries and .iso's can be found on the ftp site, or on one of the mirrors. "We anticipate this to be the final release candidate for the NetBSD 3.1 release, so, if no serious problems arise, we expect NetBSD 3.1 to be released on October 2."

Microsoft Confirms Office:Mac 2007

Thom Holwerda 2006-09-18 macOS 23 Comments

Microsoft's next-gen Office suite for the Mac is being given a top-to-toe refit in readiness for its debut in the third quarter of 2007. On the surface is a revised interface which borrows ideas from the Office 2007 for Windows 'ribbon' and has already been radically changed due to user feedback. The new versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint will all adopt the native XML file formats of their Windows siblings. And, the program is of course being rebuilt as an Intel-friendly Universal Binary application.

Guide to Earning Income from a Free/Open Source Project

Submitted by Max Barkly 2006-09-18 Open Source 12 Comments

This is a collection of methods and strategies to make income from an Open Source project while keeping it thriving and freely available. The methods take into account project brand strength, and the real opportunities available while owning your project's web space, building up its community, and exploring non-restrictive means of monetizing your efforts.

Submitted by Rahul 2006-09-18 Red Hat No Comments

To nobody's surprise, Red Hat's first major JBoss strategy announcement is that it will offer a bundling of the Java middleware stack as an option of Red Hat Enterprise Linux customers. Additionally, to expand JBoss's footprint, it will make JBoss available through Red Hat's existing channels.

Plasma: the Next-Generation KDE Environment

Submitted by Subhush 2006-09-18 KDE 53 Comments

"It has hardly been a few weeks since the release of KDE v3.5.4, one of the most popular desktop environments for Unix/Linux/FreeBSD operating systems, and the KDE development team is already hard at work. They have a dream of revolutionizing the concept of desktop by providing an array of innovative features aimed at improving both the looks of the desktop environment as well as the productivity of end users. In this article, we will look at one such component called Plasma that promises to change the look and feel of a conventional desktop."

Submitted by mkools 2006-09-18 Slackware, Slax 7 Comments

The unexpected fifth release candidate of Slackware Linux 11.0 has been announced in the current changelog: "This is the last one, scout's honor." Last week has brought a number of updates, including Subversion 1.4.0, an svn release of espgs 8.15.3, security updates to Firefox, Thunderbird, and SeaMonkey, as well as many rebuilds of existing package versions to fix bugs or add new functionality. As usual, there are no official ISO images released for download, but a good list of Slackware mirrors can be found here, while a recent unofficial CD image set built from the current tree is available here.

Overview: Symbian OS v9.3

Submitted by Subhush 2006-09-18 Wireless No Comments

MadPenguin has published a short overview of SymbianOS 9.3. "Symbian has added plenty of features to v9.3, but do we need to rush? Well, the answer is no. This is because no handset manufacturer has still come up with a device based on the new operating system. According to industry sources, one may expect a plethora of such devices to be launched in early 2007 during high level mobile conferences such as Nokia Mobility Conference and Symbian Smartphone Show. Until then, enjoy your current handset."

Why GUI Matters the Most in Computing

Submitted by Menakshi S. 2006-09-18 Graphics 29 Comments

"The current generation of operating systems is much more powerful than they were in the days of DOS. We demand more from them now than ever before, and they've had to keep up with all of our needs and wants. As you know, an OS isn't just another standard piece of software. Instead, an operating system has to manage a complex set of system-level processes all at one time, and it's quite literally responsible for running the show. Therefore, it's easy to see why these systems take so long to develop and successfully release."

Visual Walkthrough: New Features in Vim 7.0

Submitted by anonymous 2006-09-18 Office 6 Comments

This article gives a visual walkthrough of some of the new features included in the latest version of Vim. "These are not the only new features. There are scores of others like Remote file explorer which allows one to directly edit a file residing in a remote location, better POSIX compatibility, Vim's own internal grep and so on which I have not covered here because this article is after all a visual walk through of the new features in Vim 7.0. It takes real genius and stellar coding skills to create and maintain such a versatile editor and Bram Moolenaar has proved yet again that he has the necessary ingredients to qualify him for the post."

Submitted by Moochman 2006-09-18 General Development 8 Comments

The NetBeans project recently released the second beta of version 5.5 of its IDE. At the same time, NetBeans 6.0 is at its second milestone release. Artima spoke with NetBeans evangelist Tim Boudreau about new NetBeans features and about the NetBeans community. In Part I, he discusses upcoming features of NetBeans 6.0, and compares the NetBeans and Eclipse approaches to open-source IDE development. In Part II, Boudreau talks about the NetBeans rich-client platform, how the NetBeans Matisse UI builder and GroupLayout layout manager address the challenges of cross-platform and internationalized UI design, and about support for languages other than Java in NetBeans.

Hibernate Can Meet Your Web App Validation Needs

Submitted by anonymous 2006-09-18 Java No Comments

Java SE 5 brought many needed enhancements to the Java language, none with more potential than annotations. Easily build and maintain validation logic in your Web apps using the Validator component of Hibernate Annotations.

HP Spying More Elaborate Than Reported

Eugenia Loli 2006-09-18 In the News 27 Comments

A secret investigation of news leaks at Hewlett-Packard was more elaborate than previously reported, and almost from the start involved the illicit gathering of private phone records and direct surveillance of board members and journalists, according to people briefed on the company's review of the operation.

Submitted by AdamW 2006-09-18 Mandriva, Mandrake, Lycoris 14 Comments

Mandriva Linux 2007 RC2, likely the final release candidate, has been released, featuring various bug fixes as compared to RC1. Be sure to check out the RC2-specific release notes and the 2007 release notes before downloading from any Cooker mirror's /devel/iso/2007.0/ directory.

Apple vs. Dell: When Support and Innovation Fail

Thom Holwerda 2006-09-17 In the News 52 Comments

"Some buyers of Apple's new MacBook notebook are hopping mad about random restarts and heat problems that don't fit with Apple's image. Still, Dell might be happy to have Apple's current problem and a bit of its banked reputation. How long can a solid-gold brand take a beating and keep on ticking? Apple Computer will find out this quarter with the growing list of user complaints about its recently released MacBook notebook model randomly shutting down."

Programming C++ GUIs with the wxWidgets Library

Eugenia Loli 2006-09-17 General Development 18 Comments

The open source wxWidgets library makes programming GUIs incredibly easy, far easier than with most platform APIs. Jeff Cogswell shows how this handy C++ library can shorten your programming time with powerful classes that are simple to use.