Monthly Archive:: August 2004

Linux kernel maintainers removed hooks from a semi-binary driver (half open, half closed) for Philips webcams. This has angered the developer of the driver who have worked on the driver for 5 years, resulting on removing the driver completely from the kernel and his site. The developer has an NDA with Philips and he can't fully open source the driver, even if he wanted to. The losers from the whole story, are the users.

The OpenBSD 3.6 announcement is available here. It will be released on November, you get an early look of what's new.

Ars Technica interviews freedesktop.org Release Manager Daniel Stone.

Stable GTK+ 2.4.9 was released today, along with the unstable versions of GTK 2.5.2 and GLib 2.5.2.

Developers behind the next version of KDE are trying to make their software more accessible to people with disabilities. More coverage from aKademy here and here.

Such an embarrassment of riches. Apple Macintosh users have two new web browsers to choose from. It's a curious market. All Macs come with two free browsers: Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5.2, and Apple's own slick and elegant Safari. But that hasn't stopped a steady queue of software companies looking to promote alternatives.

"There was a lot of noise made last week about Apple’s Chameleon patent, so I thought I’d actually read the document myself. I was a little surprised at how little of the patent the other sites actually reported on. If you’re like me, the blinking lights angle everyone else seemed to take didn’t help me connect with what Apple may be actually trying to accomplish with this patent. So with a little perspective and imagination, I thought it deserved a second look." Check the article at Apple-X.

Microsoft Corp. today announced availability of the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 operating system, the successor to Windows XP Tablet PC Edition introduced in November 2002. Included as part of Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Windows XP SP2) with Advanced Security Technologies, this free upgrade offers Tablet PC users deeper pen-and-ink support including a redesigned input panel to create and enter text anywhere within Windows XP and familiar Windows XP-compatible applications.

Haiku (OpenBeOS)'s third birthday was a few days ago. While some BeOS parts have been successfully re-implemented so far, these were mostly the 'trivial' parts: screensaver kit, printing kit etc. Read more for a mini-editorial.

This week Serenity Systems International (SSI) is releasing updated versions of the beta product for all host platforms, including FreeBSD.

This review started because I was curious about GNOME as a desktop. I wanted a live cd with GNOME so I went over to Distrowatch and found Gnoppix. ELQ's note: I have sent the Gnoppix author a proposal on how to enrich the live CD experience with more relevant, third party desktop gnome apps, but don't expect any changes before November, as the author will be busy until that time.

Looking to deploy Linux in the enterprise without a price tag? In this DesktopLinux.com feature, Tom Adelstein teaches users how to put together an enterprise Linux desktop using freely available sources. Offering budget conscious users a guide for a Linux-based system suitable for business, the article highlights the similarities between Red Hat's legacy 7.3 software and current Enterprise Linux 3.0. Adelstein rebuilds servers running Red Hat 7.3 using RHEL source rpms and provides offers a step-by-step tutorial for companies that are searching for a reliable DIY Linux IT solution.

Lex and yacc are tools to automatically build C code suitable for parsing things in simple languages. These tools are most often used for parts of compilers or interpreters, or for reading configuration files. In the first of two articles, Peter Seebach explains what lex and yacc actually do and shows how to use them for simple tasks.

Far and away the top three problems facing wireless operators and Application Service Providers (ASPs) today are integration, integration and integration. Their worst fear is mucking up their service to customers in any way. How do you integrate new data services into a legacy system without compromising its stability and security? In this article I’m introducing a new solution that can prevent rogue application behaviour, such as uncontrolled SMS or MMS blasts or over-consumption of resources leading to an interruption in service.