Eugenia Loli Archive

Computer people are great at coming up with clever quips and phrases. One of Paul Kimmel's favorites is the term "syntactic sugar" meaning something that, like sweets, isn't necessary, but tastes good. That's what the My feature is -- syntactic sugar. The difference between the sugary gooey foods you might eat and the My feature is that My is better for you.

Intel is getting ready to introduce a chip communications technology called Common System Interface (CSI) and also an integrated memory controller that mirrors an approach central to recent successes of rival Advanced Micro Devices.

OpenVPN may seem a little daunting at first, but once you get your feet wet this can be an incredibly useful (and free!) tool. In this article, Michael Riley shows you how to use OpenVPN for secure internet surfing on your client PCs. He’ll also help you set up the configuration that will allow you access to your home network while you’re traveling. From installation to troubleshooting, and using helpful OS-specific tips, this tutorial demystifies OpenVPN for the beginning user.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Beta 1 has been released. This is the first Red Hat Enterprise Linux release that includes Xen based open source virtualization technology. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Beta 1 release contains virtualization on the i386 and x86_64 architectures as well as a technology preview for IA64. More info here and here.

"Oh sure, the following tests aren't as scientific as putting all the browsers in a ring and seeing which one is left standing after the fight, but it's close." More here.

Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have devised a potentially groundbreaking theory demonstrating how to control the spin of particles without using superconducting magnets - a development that could advance the field of spintronics and bring scientists a step closer to quantum computing.

LinuxDevices is reporting that a new WiFi-enabled portable A/V player from Archos (604-Wifi) runs an embedded Linux OS and sports the Opera web browser. It is thought that this is the most advanced PMP in the market today, although Bluetooth A2DP/AVRCP support and FM radio are missing.

Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 is now available for download. If you previously registered for the Windows Vista Beta 2 Customer Preview Program 2 and received a product key (PID), that key will work for the Windows Vista RC1 release as well. You need not re-register. Update: A review of the RC1 version say that Vista is not ready.

Magnatune is the non-evil record label who gives away 128 kbps mp3s of all their artist's songs for free. You can then choose (or not) to purchase DRM-free higher quality versions at a price you set and they allow you to share their purchased songs with 3 friends. The label splits revenues 50/50 with their (carefully picked) signed artists, while these artists keep all of the rights to their music with a non-exclusive contract. Today, we are very happy to feature an interview with John Buckman, the founder and owner of Magnatune, to help us understand better their revolutionary business model.

Few people know it, but when you boot off the Vista install DVD, you’re booting into a different version of Windows altogether: Windows PE 2.0. It’s based on the Vista kernel, but it’s extremely compact. It provides read/write access to NTFS filesystems, a wide range of 32- and 64-bit hardware drivers, network connectivity and the ability to run both 32- and 64-bit applications.

Microsoft is at a crossroads, and the operating system that follows Vista will likely mark a serious break from the past. That is, if Microsoft can figure out how to do things differently. Also, the 'MEDX' team shares desks, ideas on the look Microsoft wants.

12 years after the project was conceived, and after a long period in which it was useable though incomplete, FreeDOS has reached version 1.0. The ISO is downloadable at SourceForge. Versions with more extras should be available soon, as should a mail-order option.

Paul Thurrott has posted the first two parts of his review of Windows Vista build 5600 (RC1) along with a list of five of his favorite features. Update: Vista has a long way to go to be finished, blogger says. RC1 is good, but it's not perfect, and NeoSmart lists the reasons. Plus, it still can't synchronize with mobile devices, even though it's supposed to be code-complete.

The Xfce development team is pleased to announce that the first release candiate of Xfce 4.4 is now available for download. A lot of bugs were fixed during the last two months and several new features were added. For example the brand new Xarchiver 0.4.0 is included, trash support was added to Thunar and xfdesktop, and the overall memory usage was reduced. See the ChangeLog for a complete list.