Thom Holwerda Archive

Windows on Mac: BootCamp vs. Parallels Desktop

Thom Holwerda 2006-08-02 Apple 2 Comments

"Which approach you take to running Windows on a Mac will depend on how you balance the performance you hope to get out of your system with your need to proceed safely and risk-free. BootCamp will always deliver the maximum performance to your Windows apps, but Parallels Desktop offers greater flexibility and an easier, safer installation process. It's also the better product for quickly dipping in and out of Windows - or any of the other x86-based operating systems it, unlike BootCamp, supports."

Review: Freespire RC

Thom Holwerda 2006-08-02 Linspire 28 Comments

DesktopLinux.com reviews the Freespire release candidate, and concludes: "In short, I found it to be a fine Windows replacement desktop for home users. Without better network support, however, I still must recommend Xandros for business users who want a Windows-like experience, and SLED 10 for Linux friendly or heavy-duty office users."

KDE 3.5.4 Released

Submitted by Mitarai 2006-08-02 KDE 61 Comments

The KDE Project today announced the immediate availability of KDE 3.5.4, a maintenance release. Significant enhancements include improved support for removable devices. Multiple holidays can now start on the same date in KOrganizer. Lots of fixes have been applied to Konqueror's HTML engine, KHTML. The dialog for sending client-side SSL certificates is now more usable, the StartCom SSL certificate was added and KNetworkConf now supports Fedora Core 5 and handles WEP better.

Reincarnating a Discarded Laptop with Linux

Submitted by anonymous 2006-08-02 Linux 21 Comments

"Laptop revival stories usually describe detailed procedures for installing Linux and device drivers on a specific make of laptop. This article is more general. How do you go about making an old laptop useful? What steps are involved? Which Linux distributions will work? We'll even discuss how Windows and dual-booting fit into the picture."

Intel vs. AMD Gaming Benchmark

Submitted by Jeremy 2006-08-02 Benchmarks 5 Comments

Any computer gaming enthusiast has probably seen his fair share of gaming benchmarks in the past, but how accurate are benchmarks determined by recorded playbacks? ExtremeTech's Jason Cross built both Intel and AMD-based systems and recorded performance based on actual gameplay of six popular gaming titles, using FRAPS to measure performance. High-end systems from Intel and AMD, in this case the Core 2 Duo and Athlon 64 X2 5000+, delivered superb performance, although Intel's newest architecture takes the cake across the board.

REST on Rails

Submitted by anonymous 2006-08-02 Internet 1 Comment

"As Ruby experiences increasing success, developers are seeking to integrate their Ruby applications with applications written in other languages. Rails provides excellent support for Web services. This article introduces Web services in Rails and focuses on a strategy known as Representational State Transfer."

Introducing the Open Graphics Project

Submitted by Just_Me 2006-08-02 3D 21 Comments

"One project that I've been following quite closely lately is a project started by chip-designer Timothy Miller, called the Open Graphics Project. His goal, along with the rest of the project, known as the Open Graphics Foundation, is to make a 3D accelerated video card which is fully documented, free-licensed, and open source." We have already covered the OGP a few times, but this article gives a nice overview of the project.

Module Decisions for GNOME 2.16; gtk# To Find Its Way Into GNOME

Thom Holwerda 2006-08-02 Gnome 115 Comments

After all the debate, gtk# will most likely find its way into GNOME. "The release team has completed its second meeting to try to finish the new module decisions. And, after all the long threads on d-d-l and the many discussions amongst ourselves trying to determine community consensus, we finally have the decisions. In summary: orca, alacarte, and gnome-power-manager are in; gtk# and tomboy are in, assuming the issues mentioned are resolved; sticky notes becomes deprecated, assuming tomboy issues are resolved and gets in." Update: Elijah Newren emailed me concerning an important aspect of the current decision, and asked me to highlight it. So, read more!

Red Hat Mends Relationship with XenSource

Thom Holwerda 2006-08-01 Red Hat 11 Comments

After stating that Xen was not yet enterprise ready, Red Hat today tried to mend the relationship between the two companies. El Reg noted that any reference to "XenSource" had been changed into "Xen" in the article, the name of the open source project at the heart of XenSource's efforts. Red Hat also issued a statement concerning the issue: "Red Hat is firmly committed to open source virtualization, based on the open source Xen project. Red Hat is investing agressively in the Xen project and in ensuring its readiness for the enterprise."

Stardock Delivers Object Desktop 2007

Thom Holwerda 2006-08-01 Graphics 44 Comments

Stardock on Tuesday released the 2007 version of its popular Object Desktop suite of Windows customization utilities. The package of tools enables customers to completely change the way Windows looks and functions to suit their personal tastes. Included in Object Desktop 2007 are the latest iterations of WindowBlinds, IconPackager, DesktopX, WindowFX, RightClick, Keyboard LaunchPad and more. Enhanced File Dialog is a newcomer to the suite, providing a much more expansive Open and Save dialog window than that offered in Windows.

Palm Hit by PalmSource Delays

Thom Holwerda 2006-08-01 Wireless 17 Comments

Palm on Friday warned investors that development delays by PalmSource on Palm's next operating system have hurt the hardware maker's ability to compete in the smartphone and PDA markets. PalmSource, Palm's spun-off software division, has also violated a royalties contract, Palm said in its annual report. Despite those potential hurdles, Palm says it is continuing to work with PalmSource to develop a new operating system featuring a Linux kernel, though no timetable has been set.

Mercury Plans Cell-Based Accelerator Card

Thom Holwerda 2006-08-01 Hardware 12 Comments

Mercury Computer Systems announced a USD 7999 accelerator card Tuesday that uses the Cell Broadband Engine processor that plugs into a computer's PCI slot. The Cell Accelerator Board, which will be generally available in the first quarter of 2007, can speed tasks such as signal processing or image rendering, Mercury said in an announcement at the Siggraph computer graphics show.

MEPIS Grundgingly Complies with the GPL

Submitted by Moulinneuf 2006-08-01 Ubuntu 43 Comments

MEPIS, the popular Ubuntu-based Linux distributor, has finally released its distribution source code under the GPL. Warren Woodford, CEO, is not one bit pleased with being forced to do so. Woodford has long disagreed with some parts of the GPL. He recently ran into some trouble with its requirement that downstream distributors of GPL code are obligated to provide source code to users in an easily accessible format. Note: Starting today, Mepis stories will be posted in the Ubuntu category.

Novell Bans Proprietary Linux Modules

Submitted by Moulinneuf 2006-08-01 Novell and Ximian 107 Comments

In a change of heart, Novell has ceased distributing proprietary software modules such as 3D video drivers that plug into the Linux kernel. The change came with Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise Server 10, released in July. With the move, Novell is aligning itself with the Free Software Foundation, which shuns proprietary software in general but in particular loathes proprietary modules that run as a component of the open-source Linux kernel.

Iyonix Banned by New EU Green Law

Submitted by teigetje 2006-08-01 RISC OS 15 Comments

The new EU legislation that forces manufacturers to reduce the amount of harmful chemicals and materials in their products will affect the Iyonix. The computer's motherboard will require a costly resdesign in order to meet the requirements of the new RoHS rules, especially to meet the low-lead levels in the PCB solder, say contacts close to Castle. Well placed sources say that items manufactured before the July 1 deadline can still be shipped and sold. It is understood that the AdvantageSix A9 range is RoHS compliant. Castle have declined to comment. My take: It's a bird, it's a plane... No, it's the RoHS which Castle could've seen coming since 2003.

NeoOffice 2.0 Aqua Beta

Submitted by benmhall 2006-08-01 macOS 39 Comments

NeoOffice has released a 2.0 beta version of its OpenOffice-based office suite for Mac OS X, now with aqua look and feel. You can join the beta program for 10 or 25 USD, depending on purchase date.

City-Level Models with Photosynth

Submitted by Dylan 2006-08-01 Microsoft 12 Comments

A technology called Photosynth, developed by Microsoft Research in collaboration with University of Washington, has the potential to change the way we look at maps. "Photosynth takes a large collection of photos of a place or object, analyzes them for similarities, and displays them in a reconstructed 3-Dimensional space."

AMD Nabs 25 Percent of Server Market

Submitted by Troy Villasamy 2006-08-01 AMD 7 Comments

AMD said it increased its share of the x86 server processor market to 25.9 percent, a number confirmed by Mercury Research's Dean McCarron, who tracks market share figures. Intel now holds 72.9 percent of the overall market for x86 processors, while AMD has 21.6 percent.

Four Countries Commit to Four Million OLPC Laptops

Thom Holwerda 2006-08-01 Hardware 15 Comments

A spokesperson for the One Laptop Per Child program revealed July 31 that the countries of Brazil, Argentina, and Thailand have each committed to buy 1 million Linux laptops through the US-based program. Last week it became known that Nigeria ordered 1 million laptops.

A Few Questions for Programmers

Submitted by sean batten 2006-08-01 In the News 14 Comments

"At some hot, boring afternoon I got an idea. With the help of publicly accessible e-mail adresses I asked 10 questions to a bunch of programmers that I consider very interesting people and I respect them for variuos things they created."