Thom Holwerda Archive

Should You Move to 64Bit?

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-21 Hardware 120 Comments

We've been able to drop the world of 32bit for a while now, with 64bit processors and support for them being prevalent in all popular, modern operating systems. However, where Mac OS X and Linux seem to make the move to 64bit rather effortlessly, Windows has more problems. Even though 32bit applications should run fine on 64bit Windows, some don't; and to make matters worse, drivers need to be 64bit, as there's no support for 32bit drivers in 64bit versions of Windows. Still, Gizmodo claims that with Windows 7, the time is right to take the plunge. But really, is it so? And why do Linux and Mac OS X seem to handle the transition so much easier?

More Information on Next-Generation Atom Chip

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-20 Intel 16 Comments

We already reported on the fact that updated Intel Atom chips are expected to arrive somewhere in the second half of 2009. With the Atom being Intel's only platform that's actually profitable, it makes sense for the chip maker to focus a lot of effort into improving the platform. Information provided by the usually-reliable DigiTimes points to some serious improvements making their way to Intel's Atom chip. The new chip is codenamed Pineview.

EFI-X Dumps US Partner

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-20 Hardware 13 Comments

We've already covered EFI-X a few times on OSNews. It's a boot processing unit that implements a working version of EFI, allowing you to boot all sorts of operating systems - including Mac OS X, without having to hack Apple's OS, meaning all updates will work flawlessly. And this is exactly where the problem lies: the company that makes the EFI-X, Arts Studio Entertainment Media, doesn't want to be associated in any way with people using the device to install Mac OS X. In fact, ASEM has stated that it will sue anyone who sells the EFI-X pre-installed in a machine that violates another company's terms of use, for instance by including a pre-installed copy of Mac OS X. EFI-X USA LLC (unrelated to ASEM), has done exactly this, and that's why ASEM severed its connections with the US company.

Windows Experience Index in Windows 7

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-20 Windows 20 Comments

Windows Vista introduced the Windows Experience Index, a method of comparing relative performance of several key hardware components in your system. Users who installed the Windows 7 beta on machines that previouslt ran Vista, will notice that their WEI figures have changed. In the latest post on the Engineering 7 weblog, Microsoft explains what has changed between Vista and 7 when it comes to the Windows Experience Index.

The Linux KVM May Change the Way You Use linux

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-20 Linux 4 Comments

Linux and flexibility go hand in hand, and the options for virtualization are no different. KVM supports the virtualization of Linux guest operating systems - even Windows with hardware that is virtualization-aware. This article explores the architecture of the Linux KVM as well as why its tight integration with the kernel may change the way you use Linux.

Mandriva Linux 2009 Spring Alpha 2 Released

Submitted by Anne NICOLAS 2009-01-20 Mandriva, Mandrake, Lycoris 2 Comments

The second pre-release of Mandriva Linux 2009 Spring is now available. This alpha 2 version concentrates on updating the major desktop components of the distribution, including KDE 4.2 RC 1, GNOME 2.25.4, Xfce 4.6 Beta 4, X.org server 1.5, Python 2.6.1.The technical specifications are available. Alpha 2 also includes a complete rewrite of msec, the security framework of Mandriva Linux. This release also supports ext4.

Ubuntu Mobile Looks at Qt

Submitted by TassieDevil 2009-01-20 Ubuntu 36 Comments

Apart from well-known editions such as the normal Ubuntu and Kubuntu, the Ubuntu project includes several other variations as well. One of those is Ubuntu Mobile, which targets Mobile Internet Devices and netbooks. While this release currently uses GNOME Mobile, Canonical's David Mandala has stated that they may look at Qt 4.5, which will be released under the LGPL, as a development environment.

Windows Mobile 6.5 To Be Unveiled Next Month

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-19 Wireless 5 Comments

All those Windows Mobile users waiting for Windows Mobile 7 are going to have to wait a little longer, but at least now they'll have something to keep them busy while they wait. Next month, Microsoft is reportedly planning to unveil Windows Mobile 6.5 and accompanying services at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, which is taking place between February 16 and 19.

Opera Welcomes EU Accusations

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-19 Opera 48 Comments

Last week, news got out that Microsoft had been charged with breaking competition laws by the European Commission. The EU stated that Microsoft has broken competition laws because it bundles its Internet Explorer browser with Windows, which gives the browser an unfair advantage over competing browsers such as Firefox and Opera. OSNews readers debated this topic lively, and it seems we can use this story to continue the discussion: Opera Software's CEO Jon von Tetzchner joined in on the fun.

Windows 7 Beta Outperforms Vista on SSDs

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-19 Windows 26 Comments

One of the biggest problems when it comes to running Windows on netbooks has to do with the type of storage medium the cheaper models prefer: solid state drives. SSDs need to be treated differently from normal, mechanical hard drives because SSDs don't like small write and delete operations. For Windows 7, Microsoft promised performance improvements when using SSDs, so the guys and girls at TweakTown decided to do a preliminary benchmark between Windows Vista SP1 and the Windows 7 beta. The results are clear.

Has Bloomberg Crossed the Line of Ethics?

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-19 Apple 39 Comments

Speculation about Steve Jobs' health situation has been a hot topic for a while now, and Bloomberg is jumping on the bandwagon as well - but you have to wonder if there's a limit as to how far journalists should go in order to gain insight into Jobs' health. While his position as CEO of a large publicly traded company puts him on a pedestal, I do believe there are limits to the hight of this pedestal. Bloomberg grossly crossed the line in my book, and Jobs seems to agree with me. "Why don't you guys leave me alone?"

Building Desktop Linux Applications with JavaScript

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-19 General Development 5 Comments

"Ars takes a close look at Seed, a new framework that allows software developers to build GTK+ applications with JavaScript. The popular web scripting language could soon become the dominant application extension language on the Linux desktop."

Submitted by stonyandcher 2009-01-19 Legal 2 Comments

Microsoft has been sued by a small Wisconsin business for allegedly misrepresenting the capabilities of its Live Communications Server product, selling the company more licenses than it needed and not providing a refund or other products to solve its original problem. Imagineering International filed its lawsuit in December in the Fond de Lac County circuit court in Wisconsin, accusing Microsoft of breach of contract and breach of warranties, among other offenses.

Installing Windows 7 on the Aspire One, or Any Other Netbook

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-18 Windows 28 Comments

When we reviewed the Windows 7 beta, we did so on a standard desktop machine. However, the big thing in hardware right now is not the desktop, but the netbook segment. Since Microsoft claims that Windows 7 is geared towards netbooks, I decided to give the beta a go on my trusty Acer Aspire One. Read on for installation instructions if you don't own an external DVD drive, and a few very short first impressions.

Netbooks, Apple, Netbooks, Netbooks

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-18 OS News 33 Comments

The past week wasn't as packed with events and shows as the previous one, but luckily for us, that didn't mean there wasn't enough to report on. This week focussed on netbooks, Steve Jobs' health, and KDE/Qt. This week's My Take is a shameless plug for one of the best television shows we've seen in a while.

Protothreads for UNIX

Submitted by anonymous 2009-01-18 Unix 16 Comments

Protothreads are a type of extremely lightweight threads - each protothread requires only two bytes of memory - that are usually used for embedded firmware programming, where memory is at a premium. Protothreads combine the low overhead with event-driven programming with the algorithmic clarity of threaded programming.

ReactOS: Looking Back Upon 2008

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-17 ReactOS 25 Comments

The ReactOS project has seen some major progress during 2008. The project, which aims to create a Windows NT-compatible operating system, has published a 'year-in-review' article concerning 2008, detailing the various area of work. It provides some interesting insights into the project's development.

EU Charges Microsoft with Unlawful Competition

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-17 Internet Explorer 193 Comments

After successfully battling Microsoft over the company's bundling of Windows Media Player, the European Union is now ready for more. The European Commission has charged Microsoft with violating competition laws because of the Microsoft's bundling of Internet Explorer with Windows.

Building a Mini-ITX Web Content Filter with Ubuntu

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-17 Linux 10 Comments

Using an Mini-ITX motherboard and some spare parts lying around my study, I was able to put together an extremely powerful internet filtering appliance that is not only powerful but fast, reliable, and darn near impossible to circumvent by computer savvy teens. Most parents do not want to bother becoming the internet police of the household but today's internet is a very hostile place with many different opportunities for trouble.

KDE 4.2 RC1 Released

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-16 KDE 17 Comments

The KDE project has released the first release candidate for KDE 4.2. "The KDE Community today announced the immediate availability of "Cilense", (a.k.a. KDE 4.2 Release Candidate), the only planned release candidate for the KDE 4.2 desktop. Cilense is aimed at testers and reviewers. It should provide a solid ground to report last-minute bugs that need to be tackled before KDE 4.2.0 is released. Reviewers can use this release candidate to get a first look at the upcoming KDE 4.2 desktop which provides significant improvements all over the desktop and applications. It is not recommended for everyday use, however."