Thom Holwerda Archive

This seems to be a sensitive question for some people, particularly at Sun Microsystems. While IBM stated this week they had increased their market share over last year's, Sun also had its own press release this week claiming that it is the number one Unix platform server vendor in the world, in both revenue and unit shipments. It turns out they are both right.

The next stable update of the Linux kernel will bring advances in file system event monitoring, the Xtensa architecture, and a set of system calls that allows users to load another kernel from the currently executing Linux kernel. While the 2.6.13 –rc are currently being tested, the stable version is expected to be released in the next few weeks.

The Debian administration website has a nice introduction to using CFEngine for managing a whole LAN in three parts. The first part introduces the engine, the second part explains what you can do using CFEngine, and the final part describes how to setup a client-server setup to allow a whole LAN to be managed centrally.

Richard Stallman, chair of the Free Software Foundation, said on Thursday that the Linux trademark fracas in Australia has distracted attention away from the real issue - that of freedom to distribute and change software.

The X Window System (commonly referred to as X or X11) is a network-transparent graphical windowing system based on a client/server model. Primarily used on Unix and Unix-like systems such as Linux, versions of X are also available for many other operating systems. Although it was developed in 1984, X is not only still viable but also is in fact the standard environment for Unix windowing systems. This article thoroughly discusses X.

What utility do practically all Linux users use, regardless of their job or expertise? A boot loader. In this article, see how a boot loader works, meet two popular loaders, LILO (LInux LOader) and GNU GRUB (GRand Unified Boot loader), and review the pros and cons of each.

FreeBSD 6.0-BETA3 has been released to ftp. You can select a mirror near you from this list. There's no announcement yet, however, the release has been uploaded on August 24th.

For off Windows XP machines offer several options - including hibernate, stand by and shut down. However, many users don't know the difference. What's worse, however, is that applications and drivers can veto a user's decision to hibernate or similar. In Vista however, applications will be warned that a computer is entering sleep and have a second or two to save what ever they need to, but the programs won't get a say in whether the machine slumbers.

When Google unveiled its instant messaging client yesterday, there was only one problem: Google Talk requires a Gmail account, which has been invitation-only since its beta debut in 2004. This changed on Thursday, however, as Google opened Gmail to anyone in the United States with a mobile phone. Other countries will follow.

"Onebase Linux DevelopGo is a special Live-CD released by the Onebase Linux Project. As the name indicates, it is meant exclusively for programmers. Although I am a Windows programmer, I was searching for such a Live-CD that would allow me to experiment with different types of toolkits and IDEs available in Linux. Onebase DevelopGo matched exactly what I wanted to have with a suite of developer tools and compilers."

What is Cell? The Cell Broadband Engine Architecture (CBEA, or, informally, "Cell") defines a new processor structure based upon the 64-bit Power Architecture technology, but with unique features directed toward distributed processing and media-rich applications. This article provides a concise view inside the Cell's architecture.

Head-Tracking Pointer is an application that, using an inexpensive camera, lets users control a mouse pointer by aiming their face around the screen. It works with virtually any camera that can be connected to a computer, and without the user wearing anything. This solution provides computer access for those unable to use traditional pointing devices due to temporary or permanent physical impairment.

GNOME 2.12 RC1 has been released. Download: platform, desktop and bindings.

Here is a review of E17. "On the whole, I am very happy with the new Enlightenment. On their homepage, the Enlightenment team states "We believe your desktop should not be an eyesore. It should be functional AND beautiful." They are doing well on both fronts." Screenshots included.