Microsoft plans to automatically push Internet Explorer 7 to Windows XP users when the browser update is ready later this year. IE 7 will be delivered in the fourth quarter as a 'high priority' update via Automatic Updates in Windows XP, Gary Schare, Microsoft's director of IE product management, said in an interview Tuesday.

Based on functionality alone, VMware's VMware Server 1.0 would merit serious consideration for inclusion in any developer or system administrator's tool kit. However, it's VMware Server's price - free - that propels this product from merely worth having to practically must-have. During tests, eWEEK Labs found VMware Server 1.0, which was released July 12, to be extremely useful for development, testing and deployment of applications - be they stand-alone or part of a complete operating-system-to-application stack.

Greg Kroah-Hartman has put the slides and a transcript to his keynote at OLS online. The title speaks volumes: "Myths, Lies, and Truths about the Linux kernel". He starts off: "I'm going to discuss the a number of different lies that people always say about the kernel and try to debunk them; go over a few truths that aren't commonly known, and discuss some myths that I hear repeated a lot."

Powered by its OS X Tiger operating system and buzz surrounding the iPod, Apple Computer has gained traction in the personal computer market. Macintosh computers used to be popular with the creative crowd, but now are finding a place on the desks of corporate America. According to the Wall Street Journal, JupiterResearch surveyed technology decision makers at 258 medium and large businesses and projected that 33 percent would be running Macs next year, while only 21 percent were doing so now.

With the latest update to the ADC Reference Library, Apple has deprecated the entire Foundation and Application Kits for Java. Previously, it was stated that the Java-Cocoa bridge was still valid for learning purposes.

Opera CEO John S. Von Tetzchner wants to put web apps - in the form of widgets - on mobile phones, TVs, game consoles and your car stereo. APC Magazine spoke to him about the open standards involved and whether he was going to attempt to swim from Norway to Australia.

In the Linux land 99% of the applications are open source. It is part of the nature of the GNU/Linux community ecosystem to endorse open software. But there are a few applications that are not open and as they fill up a niche, they are pretty popular. Come in and vote for your favorite.

The editors of ResExcellence.com, a popular Macintosh website and longtime Mac enthusiasts, have switched to Linux. "I've been making my living as Mac-specific developer for several years now... I was a true Mac die-hard," stated Bryan, who also runs a Mac software company, on his blog, "but the Macintosh community, with its bad attitudes and diva-esque nature, rained on my parade. Sure there were other reasons why I switched. But that was the tipping point."

Mark Shuttleworth, millionaire cosmonaut and self-funded Linux guru, has managed to make his Ubuntu project the Linux distribution of choice in just two years. But now the friendly brown OS with the cute drumming noises faces an awkward journey towards the commercial mainstream.

"The release of AMD's AM2 platform has left many consumers with mixed feelings. While some are looking forward to the progression of AMD's Athlon 64 line, there is much more to the platform than a new socket. Experts have repeatedly told us that the expected performance boost of moving to AM2 (from socket 939) will be limited and this new platform has largely been overshadowed by the upcoming arrival of Intel's Conroe (Core 2 Duo), but after the success of socket 939, AM2 definitely warrants a review."

DragonFly BSD 1.6.0 has been released, and it includes a whole load of bigfixes and improvements. 1.6.0 Is the fourth bug-fix sub-release in the 1.6 release branch major DragonFly release. "DragonFly is an operating system and environment originally based on FreeBSD. DragonFly branched from FreeBSD in 2003 in order to develop a radically different approach to concurrency, SMP, and most other kernel subsystems."

Developers interested in porting applications to PalmSource's Linux implementation for mobile phones are invited to a special "PalmSource Developer Day" at this year's LinuxWorld Expo in San Francisco. Attendees will receive early access to the Access Linux Platform, and get hands-on experience building applications for the platform.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 is a far cry from Exchange Server 2003, based on eWEEK Labs' tests of the first public beta of the new messaging platform. Administrators thinking of moving to Exchange Server 2007 should take a hard look at this beta to understand the impact of the platform's many new features. Exchange 2007 Beta 2 became widely available on July 24 and is expected to ship in its final form at the end of 2006 or the beginning of 2007.

Linux.com reviews Xandros Server 1.0, and concludes: "Xandros Server does have a lot to offer, though, particularly for organisations that have standardised on Windows servers in the past. I like the Xandros management tools, and it seems like a good solution for small and medium-sized businesses."