In a change of heart, Novell has ceased distributing proprietary software modules such as 3D video drivers that plug into the Linux kernel. The change came with Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise Server 10, released in July. With the move, Novell is aligning itself with the Free Software Foundation, which shuns proprietary software in general but in particular loathes proprietary modules that run as a component of the open-source Linux kernel.

The new EU legislation that forces manufacturers to reduce the amount of harmful chemicals and materials in their products will affect the Iyonix. The computer's motherboard will require a costly resdesign in order to meet the requirements of the new RoHS rules, especially to meet the low-lead levels in the PCB solder, say contacts close to Castle. Well placed sources say that items manufactured before the July 1 deadline can still be shipped and sold. It is understood that the AdvantageSix A9 range is RoHS compliant. Castle have declined to comment. My take: It's a bird, it's a plane... No, it's the RoHS which Castle could've seen coming since 2003.

A technology called Photosynth, developed by Microsoft Research in collaboration with University of Washington, has the potential to change the way we look at maps. "Photosynth takes a large collection of photos of a place or object, analyzes them for similarities, and displays them in a reconstructed 3-Dimensional space."

AMD said it increased its share of the x86 server processor market to 25.9 percent, a number confirmed by Mercury Research's Dean McCarron, who tracks market share figures. Intel now holds 72.9 percent of the overall market for x86 processors, while AMD has 21.6 percent.

"At some hot, boring afternoon I got an idea. With the help of publicly accessible e-mail adresses I asked 10 questions to a bunch of programmers that I consider very interesting people and I respect them for variuos things they created."

With Windows Vista nearing its first release candidate in preparation for a final launch early next year, Microsoft is providing more details about possible upgrade paths. Of note: Windows 2000 cannot be upgraded to Vista. While Windows 2000 Professional customers may purchase a cheaper "upgrade" copy of Microsoft next-generation operating system, Windows Vista must be "clean installed", which means users will need to back up their files and data manually and then copy everything into place. Applications will also need to be re-installed.

Apple has decided to do away with its discussion support team, a group of forum hosts that have monitored and moderated its user discussion boards, a new report has confirmed. At times, the boards also became a focal point of the online and mainstream media due to questionable moderation practices. To the dismay of customers, it wasn't uncommon for staff members to close or completely remove lengthy discussion threads that brought attention to problems with Apple products that the company had yet to officially recognize. But Apple's decision to do away with its moderation staff has only added to the complaints users have about the boards.

Microsoft has submitted documents required by the European Commission in an effort to avoid further fines for breaching an antitrust ruling, a spokeswoman for the European Union regulator said on Monday. "We received the technical documentation from Microsoft. The competition services are currently analyzingit with the help of the trustee. It's too early to say whether they complied with the decision," the spokeswoman said.

Geeks.com, as usual a great source of Kodak digital cameras, sent us a Kodak P850 for review. The P850 is a current camera in the Kodak lineup, announced exactly a year ago. It's the lower model in Kodak's "performance" P range (the other ranges are the entry-level C cameras, super-zoom Z cameras, and pocket V cameras). As a member of the P range, the P850 has a few features that are only found in some high-end point-and-shoots and in DSLRs, e.g. the ability to record raw files, or to use an external flash via a hot shoe. Note: OSNews is a broad tech site (and has been for years), such non-software reviews are welcome here even if our focus remains towards "system software".

The first beta version of Mandriva Linux 2007 has been released. Available in four differents flavours live/install CDs (KDE or GNOME, i586 or x86_64) or in a whole new dual architecture Installation DVD, get a glimpse of the next Mandriva Linux 2007 edition.

A senior Red Hat executive today maintained the Xen open source virtualisation environment was not yet ready for enterprise use, despite "unbelievable" customer demand and the fact rival Novell has already started shipping the software. While rival Novell this month started shipping the software with version 10 of its SUSE Linux Enterprise Server environment, Red Hat continues to have a lack of confidence in the virtualisation newcomer.

"It's been a while since I looked at Xandros. True to form, it has remained one of the easiest to use and flat out slickest Linux distributions available. This version of Xandros focuses on the 'digital lifestyle' and includes wireless network profiles, a music manager with iPod and MP3 support, photo manager, video players and internet telephone via Skype, among other things. This version also provides good security tools such as a built-in firewall and anti-virus."

Examine how to best migrate your Linux skills to take advantage of AIX and Solaris. Linux is all the rage, but what if you have experience in Linux and need to apply it to a commercial UNIX environment? UNIX and Linux are similar, and many of the same principles exist; there is a shell, root is still all powerful, and many of the tools and applications are the same. This tutorial will show you how to cope and understand the nuances and differences.

This chapter provided a summary of the present state of User Mode Linux (UML) and its user community. It contrasts UML with other visualization technologies, and discusses a bit of UML's history and purpose. Also, this chapter covers basic concepts of SCSI over Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) using raw/block device files and volume managers. In addition, it covers block size, multipath I/O drivers, and striping with a volume manager, and concludes with a discussion of filesystem performance and CPU loading. Examples are included for each topic throughout the chapter.