Thom Holwerda Archive

Microsoft is releasing for public download on Aug. 24 a new test build of its browser, the near-final Release Candidate 1 milestone. RC1 may or may not be the final public test build of IE 7, officials said, depending on tester feedback. Microsoft has said to expect the final version of its standalone browser to be available in the fourth calendar quarter of 2006. Microsoft is planning to push IE 7 out to users via its Automatic Update software-distribution mechanism that is used to deliver security patches to users.

The GNOME team has released RC1 of GNOME 2.16. "We are pleased to announce the release of GNOME 2.16.0 Release Candidate 1 (2.15.92). This is one of the last releases in the 2.15 development series and represents a release that is now API/ABI, feature, string and UI frozen. Hard code freeze is quickly approaching : this means that we're pretty close to the final 2.16.0 release. The GNOME contributors are now busy fixing the most important bugs that are still out there, localizing the whole desktop or updating our documentation." You can use jhbuild or GARNOME to build it.

"We are currently locking down IE7 for shipping and I wanted to give an update on the CSS work that went into IE7. Chris originally outlined our plans for IE7, and we listened to a lot of feedback to help us address the most grievous bugs and prioritize which features to put in for IE7. I like to thank especially the contributors on this blog for their participation. Your feedback made a difference in deciding what issues to address."

Gizmodo reports that a battery recall program for Apple PowerBooks and iBooks has started. "The US Consumer Product Safety Commission just made the Apple battery recall official. It'll affect 1.1 million Sony-made batteries in the US alone. Between all the PS3's bad press and these battery recalls, it's not going to be an easy year for Sony, is it?

Hardware and Software failures are part of Life. That is why you need to have a backup. However, you do not need to backup all installed binaries (mostly software). In order to reinstall or restore your installed software you need to have a list of all installed software. This tutorial show how to backup list of installed software and apply it when needed after crash. It will not just save your time but both Debian and RHEL distro can update them instantly for you.

You have probably heard the term WMI, but may not be familiar with the power behind it. If you are a Windows Administrator or support technician WMI can be one of the most valuable tools in your arsenal. In this article we look at the basics of WMI and how to perform WQL queries to retreive information.

The Mozilla team has more or less accepted Microsoft's help in working on Firefox for Windows Vista. Besides the fact that the two parties are already working together, Mike Beltzner, Mozilla developer, has accepted Microsoft's invitation, saying: "Yes, we'd definitely be interested in getting some 1:1 support." Note Sam Ramji's good sense of humour: "I sent this invitation to [email protected] as well, but in case their spam filters are set to block @microsoft.com email addresses, I'm posting here."

"I have been testing Microsoft operating systems since Windows 95, and this is the buggiest OS I've seen this late in development," says Joe Wilcox, an analyst with Jupiter Research. "Look at the older operating systems, and by Beta 2 there is a stable foundation on which the can build. Right now, Vista is like a ship on stormy seas."

Microsoft will release new versions of its Windows operating system in South Korea on Thursday to comply with an antitrust ruling, a company source said Wednesday. South Korea's Fair Trade Commission fined Microsoft USD 34 million in December, saying the world's biggest software company breached antitrust laws by selling a version of Windows that incorporated its media player and instant messaging services. My take: This will join the ranks as another Windows version nobody bought.

A Microsoft Shared Source license was submitted to the Open Source Initiative for official approval as an open-source license - but it wasn't Microsoft who submitted it. "Someone submitted the Microsoft Community License, one of our Shared Source licenses, to the OSI without our knowledge or approval, but the OSI contacted us and asked if we wanted them to proceed with that," said Bill Hilf, Microsoft's director for platform technology strategy. "We told them that we did not want to be reactive and needed time to think about it."

"The PCLinuxOS 0.93a Full Edition was quietly released yesterday and is the equivalent of PCLinuxOS releases of the past several years. They have recently been releasing scaled down versions to accomodate other tastes and desires, but many folks were looking and waiting for the fully loaded edition. Weighing in at 685 MB, Texstar referred it as the 'Full Monty'. Its code name has been 'Big Daddy'. Whatever the name, I think you'll call it home."

From the AppleInsider forum comes an interesting discovery about ZFS and Apple. A user who has the Leopard WWDC preview searched the system with Spotlight and found a mention of ZFS. He says: "There is no file system bundle for it, nor is there a mount utility or any other one (no fsck, now newfs, etc.). There is, however, a changed vnode.h."

In an effort to promote the adoption of GNU/Linux desktops, SpreadGNOME.org has launched with the goal of being a resource to help spread the word of GNOME to GNU/Linux desktop users and potential converts. It is meant as a place to share ideas to help promote GNOME in the community, and helping those who wish to get involved with GNOME. In the meantime, Builder.au has some shots of the upcoming GNOME 2.16.

"This article shows how to secure a CentOS server using psad, Bastille, and some other tweaks. psad is a tool that helps detect port scans and other suspicious traffic, and the Bastille hardening program locks down an operating system, proactively configuring the system for increased security and decreasing its susceptibility to compromise."