Thom Holwerda Archive

"Using VNC to remotely access your desktop, applications, and documents sounds like a great solution when you are out and about, but it has a few significant drawbacks: you have to leave your machine turned on, the VNC protocol is not secure, and often you need a dedicated VNC client to access your desktop. Ulteo, the company started by Gael Duval of Mandriva fame, is set to offer an alternative solution. Ulteo gives you access to a full-fledged KDE desktop hosted on the company's own servers while taking care of the behind-the-scenes stuff. While the service is still in beta and by invitation only, I had a chance to take it for a spin, and I found it promising."

"The NetBSD community announced last month the official release of NetBSD 4.0, the latest version of the Unix-like open-source operating system. Version 4.0 includes significant new features like Bluetooth support, version 3 of the Xen virtual machine monitor, new device drivers, and improvements to the Veriexec file integrity subsystem. NetBSD, which is known for its high portability, is capable of running on 54 different system architectures and is suitable for use on a wide range of hardware, including desktops, servers, mobile devices, and even kitchen toasters. To commemorate the NetBSD 4.0 launch, enthusiast Federico Biancuzzi communicated with 21 developers to produce this expansive interview with loads of insightful information about the NetBSD 4.0 development process."

"C# has been a language with a mixed history but precise goals. Although the C# language definition is for some time an ISO standard, only a part of the Base Class Library, which contains the fundamental functions that are used by all C# programs (IO, User Interface, Web services, etc) is also standardized. Parts of the BCL have been patented by Microsoft, but that has not deterred developers from attempts at implementing the components that are standardized, in various forms (Mono and affiliated projects). What happens when you go beyond that? What happens when outside the language, you start to implement not a mere application platform, but an entire operating system around it? Brace yourselves, because there is not only Microsoft Research who has done this with Singularity, but at least two other projects doing the same; and they are doing this under opensource terms. A system based around a C# Kernel. In this article, we are looking at one of the two, Cosmos by asking Scott Balmos and Chad Hower about the project they are involved in."

"After the incredible success of the Asus Eee PC, other manufacturers are ready to get their piece of the pie. This means that within the next few months we are going to see this segment go from just two devices - the Eee PC and the Nanobook (which has yet to come out in the U.S. but which we have been hearing about for some time) - to many more." Another article on the Eee says: "Five of the 10 best-selling notebooks, including the top three models this weekend do not run Windows or Mac OS X. In fact, they are different models of the same diminutive notebook the Asus Eee PC - that runs on Linux."

Comic: "Janitor".

OSNews has been reporting, since its start in 1997, on the world of operating systems, their applications, their hardware, and their people - both users and developers. OSNews has seen 3 major rewrites, various personnel changes, and numerous topics of discussion, some way beyond the original scope OSNews started out with over a decade ago. Today, we are announcing a major shift in what we do, with which we hope to re-ignite OSNews - yes, we are shifting our focus. Read on for the details.

"In December 2003, I wrote a script for remotely upgrading a linux system to FreeBSD. I gave it a catchy name ('Depenguinator', inspired by the 'Antichickenator' in Baldur's Gate), announced it on a FreeBSD mailing list and on Slashdot, and before long it was famous. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for changes in the layout of FreeBSD releases to make the Depenguination script stop working; so for the past three years I have been receiving emails asking me to update it to work with newer FreeBSD releases." And now it's back.

"This site is about Arc, a new dialect of Lisp. It's unfinished, but usable, so we decided to release what we have so far. The current version compiles into MzScheme and structurally is as much a skin on MzScheme as a separate language. For example, Arc's read is MzScheme's, and so are Arc's numbers and math operations. But from the average programmer's point of view, Arc is no more similar to Scheme than any two Lisp dialects are to one another. Arc is designed above all for exploratory programming: the kind where you decide what to write by writing it. A good medium for exploratory programming is one that makes programs brief and malleable, so that's what we've aimed for. This is a medium for sketching software."

"Windows Vista from Microsoft takes a lot of resources, we all know that. vLite provides you with an easy removal of the unwanted components in order to make Vista run faster and to your liking. This tool doesn't use any kind of hacking, all files and registry entries are protected as they would be if you install the unedited version only with the changes you select. It configures the installation directly before the installation, meaning you'll have to remake the ISO and reinstall it. This method is much cleaner, not to mention easier and more logical than doing it after installation on every reinstall."

"Back in November we started sharing some of the exciting features planned for the GNOME 2.22 and 2.24 releases, and now that the first GNOME 2.22.0 Beta release is planned for later this week, we have taken another look at the packages set for inclusion and the changes that have actually been made. While nothing groundbreaking will be introduced in GNOME 2.22, this desktop environment does have some moderate changes worth noting. In this article are eight interesting packages that either have noticeable changes since GNOME 2.20 or are new to GNOME. This list isn't all-inclusive or ordered in any particular fashion, but just eight changes that had caught our attention."

Helios Labs was very kind in sending me their H2000 upscaling multi-function DVD player, which is region free. The device playbacks just about anything you can throw at it, and can upscale standard definition content to high definition - functionality you really want when you have a high-definition ready television.

Trolltech, the originator of Qt, which forms the basis of the Linux KDE desktop environment, is being acquired by Nokia, the world's number-one mobile phone vendor. Nokia expects its acquisition of Trolltech to accelerate its cross-platform software strategy for mobile devices and desktop applications, and to enhance its Internet services business. The original press release is also available. Update: "We will continue to actively develop Qt and Qtopia. We also want to underline that we will continue to support the open source community by continuing to release these technologies under the GPL."

Nexenta Core Platform RC3 is available for download now. Main feature is Xen Dom0/DomU platform support. Other changes in this release includes: critical fixes for native CIFS server, critical fixes for ZFS, critical bug fixes for SATA and networking stacks. CIFS client now included. The Debian apt repository is now complete, with about 2500 tested packages.

Comic: "Governance".