T2 SDE 6.0.0 has been released with various prebuilt .iso images for AMD64, i386, PPC, PPC64, and SPARC64. The various architectures include support for Intel Macs as well as Sun's T1 Niagara CPU, and ship with Xorg 7.0, GCC 4.1.1, KDE 3.5.4, GNOME 2.14.3, and much more. T2 SDE is not just a common Linux distribution - it is a flexible open source System Development Environment. T2 allows the creation of custom distributions. Currently the Linux kernel is used - but they are expanding to MINIX, Hurd, OpenDarwin, and OpenBSD.

The web exploded yesterday with the news that Microsoft would cripple 32bit versions of Vista so they would not play protected high-definition content. However, Microsoft was quick to respond, stating: "The community is buzzing with reactions to APC Magazine's article regarding playback of protected High Definition content in 32-bit versions of Windows Vista. However, the information shared was incorrect and the reactions pervading the community are thus (understandably) ill-informed. The real deal is that no version of Windows Vista will make a determination as to whether any given piece of content should play back or not."

"What follows is meant to be a hands-on introduction to system programming, using C and the Sartoris microkernel. Knowledge of the C programming language is assumed. This tutorial should have you writing, compiling and booting several little programs presto. In order to do this, you will need access to a *nix system and development tools. Linux is what we use over here, but if you are a windows user, Cygwin will do as well."

Also known as 'EPP', SLI Ready memory is something new to memory design. It is JEDEC certified and can be thought of as a continuation of your memory's SPD profile. Using EPP you can overclock your memory, create performance profiles, and dynamically set timings and voltages.

GEOS managed to offer nearly all the functionality of the original Mac in a 1 MHz computer with 64 Kilobytes of RAM. It wasn't an OS written to run on a generic x86 chip on a moving hardware platform. It was written using immense knowledge of the hardware and the tricks one could use to maximise speed. Note: After a small break, here is another one of the articles for the Alternative OS contest.

Microsoft is releasing for public download on Aug. 24 a new test build of its browser, the near-final Release Candidate 1 milestone. RC1 may or may not be the final public test build of IE 7, officials said, depending on tester feedback. Microsoft has said to expect the final version of its standalone browser to be available in the fourth calendar quarter of 2006. Microsoft is planning to push IE 7 out to users via its Automatic Update software-distribution mechanism that is used to deliver security patches to users.

After bitter statements around Xen's maturity these last weeks from Red Hat, Novell, and XenSource itself, the company finally launched its first commercial product based on the open source hypervisor: XenEnterprise 1.0. The product adds commercial grade features and support to Xen 3.0. XenSource also built around it a sales channel infrastructure, a technical certification program, and a much discussed agreement with Microsoft.

"We are currently locking down IE7 for shipping and I wanted to give an update on the CSS work that went into IE7. Chris originally outlined our plans for IE7, and we listened to a lot of feedback to help us address the most grievous bugs and prioritize which features to put in for IE7. I like to thank especially the contributors on this blog for their participation. Your feedback made a difference in deciding what issues to address."

MacSlash has an original editorial regarding different PowerPC projects that never made it to shipping. It mentions things like the obscure PowerPC 615 that could run x86 instructions, or the PowerPC 750VX, which would have been IBM's answer to the Motorola G4. This article reads like a requiem, but lest we forget: here, here, here, and of course, here. I'm starting to believe IBM won't miss Apple all that much.

Hardware and Software failures are part of Life. That is why you need to have a backup. However, you do not need to backup all installed binaries (mostly software). In order to reinstall or restore your installed software you need to have a list of all installed software. This tutorial show how to backup list of installed software and apply it when needed after crash. It will not just save your time but both Debian and RHEL distro can update them instantly for you.

Learn the method for automating updates to a library of XML files so that they all conform to an updated XML schema in this two part tutorial series. In Part 1, you learn the steps in the entire process, and then create an XSLT stylesheet to update the XML files. In Part 2, you learn to install, configure, and run Ant and Java to iteratively transform your XML files based on the updates specified in your XSLT stylesheet.

Massachusetts will begin using OpenDocument as the default document format later this year as planned, but it will be sticking with Microsoft Office in the near term, the state's top tech executive said.

"I have been testing Microsoft operating systems since Windows 95, and this is the buggiest OS I've seen this late in development," says Joe Wilcox, an analyst with Jupiter Research. "Look at the older operating systems, and by Beta 2 there is a stable foundation on which the can build. Right now, Vista is like a ship on stormy seas."

NewsForge reviews Syllable, and concludes: "Overall, I was pleased with Syllable's speed and ease of use. Most of its drawbacks come from it not being finished yet. The glitches were minor and the lack of features in its applications come from them not being finished yet. I feel kind of guilty complaining that a browser that's on version 0.4 isn't full-featured enough, but for now, these issues prevent Syllable from being useful as a full-time desktop OS."