Monthly Archive:: January 2004

Slashdot reports on an interesting article discussing how one might go about 'killing' x86. The article details a number of different technological solutions, from a clean 64-bit replacement (Alpha?), to a radically different VLIW approach (Itanium), and an evolutionary solution (Opteron). Another article by the same author covers hardware multi-threading and exploiting thread level parallelism, like Intel's Hyperthreading or IBM's POWER4 with its dual-cores on a die. These types of implementations can really pay off if the software supports it. In the case of servers, most applications tend to be multi-user, and so are parallel in nature.

Cooperative Linux is the first working free and open source method for optimally running Linux on Microsoft Windows natively. More generally, Cooperative Linux (short-named coLinux) is a port of the Linux kernel that allows it to run cooperatively alongside another operating system on a single machine.

In an open letter, Jonathan Schwartz offers IBM advice, that IBM should use Sun’s Java Desktop System in their move to Linux. The letter is rather no holds barred and cheeky advertising for Sun’s JDS and some snubs behind the back for IBM's Linux strategy, but it's an interesting read nonetheless.

People sometimes stare when Microsoft executive Tim McDonough opens his laptop in meetings. But that's probably normal when someone uses a Mac PowerBook in the center of the Windows world.

LinuxDevices.com reports that Lycoris is going to release a version of its desktop Linux operating system (OS) designed specifically for handheld devices in Q2, 2004. The OS, dubbed Desktop/LX Pocket PC Edition (DL-PPC), which will initially support ARM-based PDAs such as the Sharp Zaurus and HP iPaq.

The next release of the .NET Framework will include both 32- and 64-bit native support. CLR 2 is allready ported to Itanium (and AMD-64). Christopher Brown discusses how developers writing managed code today will be able to easily port and, in many cases, just copy existing applications to this new environment. The video requires Windows and MS Media Player.

Over the past year, Microsoft has managed to create a perfect smokescreen around its new WinFS file system. It has spent this time touting a new, database-supported filing system to replace NTFS and FAT. Compatibility doubts were not long in bubbling to the surface. During the PDC (Professional Developers Conference) held in Los Angeles at the end of October, we spoke with Microsoft brass to gain an exclusive insight into the planned technological advance. Read the article at Tom's Hardware.

yellowTAB is pleased to announce that RC2 has arrived and is ready to ship. Please read here if you are interested in taking part in their trade-in offer (trade RC1 for RC2). Otherwise they will be releasing a free update to bring all RC1 installs up-to-date to the RC2 status.

Like any statistics, market share figures are subject to many factors that can affect the resulting pattern. Some are coincidental; others may be intentional. Are they tracking sales or users? New orders or existing user base? Servers or desktops? Domestic or worldwide? Read the article at eCommerceTimes.

Linux Labs announced a key stepping stone towards large-scale deployment of the Linux Operating System. Called Clusgres, this product has the ability to make standalone applications run in parallel across a group of computers and act as one, including the Open Source database system PostgreSQL. To date there has been no capability to either increase speed of free database servers for Linux or to allow them to scale past the limitations of a single server. Despite advances in clustered supercomputing, there has been no capability for a server program running on a single machine, let alone the PostgreSQL database, to transparently operate across linked computers and to operate as if a single large program.

Java steward Sun Microsystems has sent a letter to members of Eclipse, urging the increasingly influential open-source project to unify rather than fragment the Java-based development tool market.

The XFree86 Project modified their license (fully effective as of the upcoming 4.4.0 release). The updated license change applies to the base XFree86 license, and to source files that explicitly carry a copyright notice in the name of The XFree86 Project, Inc. Copyrights and licenses in the names of others will not be affected by this change, however some fear that these changes might be GPL-incompatible.

BeOS Max 3 is a collection of third party updates, drivers and new applications on top of BeOS 5 Personal Edition (e.g. enabling AthlonXP and P4 machines to work, install on its own partition etc). Because of the non-standard nature of burning a BFS ISO (discussed here and here) and also because the .cue file (needed to burn the BFS ISO) has a undocumented typo in it, many tried to burn it unsuccessfully (you need to edit the MaxV3.cue file with a text editor and enter the correct .iso filename in it). Now, the French print magazine Login carries the BeOS Max 3.0 in its cover disk. OSNews heard that BeOS Max 3.1 is ready for weeks now but its developer doesn't have the bandwidth to upload it yet.

Microsoft Corp. will put a more human face on its upcoming global multimillion dollar advertising program for its Windows Server System. The company, which is set to announce the new ad campaign at its Silicon Valley campus on Thursday afternoon, will spend tens of millions of dollars on this worldwide campaign, which will feature specific IT staffers from enterprise and mid-level firms that use the Windows Server System solutions.