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Monthly Archive:: September 2005

Using FreeBSD’s ACLs

"The standard Unix permissions scheme works fine if you have simple needs, but juggling groups and users can grow unwieldy very quickly. FreeBSD's Access Control Lists give you more control over who can access files and directories. Dru Lavigne explains how to understand and use them."

StarOffice 8 Is MS Office’s Toughest Rival Yet

"StarOffice 8, the latest version of Sun's inexpensive, cross-platform office productivity suite, stands up better than ever next to Microsoft's market-leading Office in terms of features, extensibility and compatibility. In eWeek's tests of StarOffice 8, we were pleased with the suite's word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and database functions. In addition, we experienced generally good results opening and creating Microsoft Office-formatted documents with StarOffice."

Next Generation TCP/IP Stack in Vista/Server; Office Mondo?

Vista Beta 1 and Longhorn Server Beta 1 include a new implementation of the TCP/IP protocol suite known as the Next Generation TCP/IP stack. The Next Generation TCP/IP stack in Windows Vista and Windows Server Longhorn is a complete redesign of TCP/IP functionality for both IPv4 and IPv6 that meets the connectivity and performance needs of today's varied networking environments and technologies. Elsewhere, will Office 12 be named... Office Mondo?

World Wind: Open Source Alternative to Google Earth

Few of Google's projects, rumors of projects, and acquisitions have generated as much envy among Linux users as Google Earth. In some respects the search engine behemoth is quite OS-agnostic, but the 3D virtual globe remains limited to Windows desktops. But there is an alternative: NASA's World Wind project. Like Google Earth, it's a 3D planetary visualization system that overlays satellite imagery, weather, political, and topological map data. The difference is: World Wind is open source.

Apple Updates Mac Mini

Apple has updated its line of Mac Mini computers. The new models have slightly faster processors, with the cheapest Mini now featuring a 1.33Ghz G4 (previously a 1.24Ghz) and the expensive models receiving a speed bump from a 1.42Ghz G4 to a 1.5Ghz G4. The higher-end models also recieve dual-layer DVD burning and improved Bluetooh and Airport Extreme. Graphics-wise, the Mini sees a doubling of RAM. And the harddrives are (finally) upgraded to normal 5400rpm models, instead of the rather sloppy 4200rpm models.

pkgsrc-2005Q3 Branched

"The pkgsrc developers are very proud to announce the new pkgsrc-2005Q3 branch, which has support for more packages than previous branches (5551 packages supported on 13 platforms). As well as updated versions of many packages, the infrastructure of pkgsrc has been improved for better platform and compiler support, and also for enhanced security. At the same time, the pkgsrc-2005Q2 branch has been deprecated, and continuing engineering starts on the pkgsrc-2005Q3 branch."

Sun Microsystems Talks With Li Moore of Google

"Thinking of migrating to the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition 5.0, code-named Tiger? You're not alone. Thousands of companies all over the world are giving J2SE 5.0 a try, and they like what they see. New language features, enhanced class libraries, better tool support, and desktop enhancements are just some of the reasons why many companies are making the switch. In this article, we talk with Li Moore, software engineer at Google, about his company's switch from J2SE version 1.4 to 5.0."