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Monthly Archive:: December 2006

Mandriva Flash Released

"Mandriva Flash is meant for all those who want to have a complete OS and their personal data handy at all times without the hassle of carrying a laptop around. It is a full workstation, packed with all the latest technologies. It includes the brand new Mandriva Linux 3D desktop technology, as well as the best open source software available."

Intel’s USD 400 Flash-Based Laptop Alongside the OLPC

Intel said Tuesday its diminutive low-cost laptop will be evaluated in Brazil next year alongside a cheaper alternative from a nonprofit group seeking to bring computers to poor children worldwide. The company said it would donate 700 to 800 of the USD 400 (EUR 300) 'Classmate PC', to the government for a large-scale evaluation in schools. Intel has already tested the computers on a smaller scale with students and teachers in a poor neighbourhood of Campinas, near Sao Paulo.

SkyOS Gets Virtual Filesystem

SkyOS has gotten a new virtual filesystem, dubbed BranchFS. This makes it possible to branch filesystems, convert read-only media into read-write media, and add SkyFS attributes to non-SkyFS volumes. "BranchFS makes it possible to make a reversible filesystem. By using your system partition you can revert to a previous state (with just one reboot) and and when using a CD BranchFS makes it possible to make changes to the content. BranchFS is still in heavy development but branching a LiveCD works quite well already. The first SkyOS LiveCD will be based on BranchFS."

Apple Smart Phone Project Rests on Mac OS X Tie-Ins

For several years now, an elite squad of engineers at Apple Computer have been working diligently to perfect an intuitive smart phone concept that would both conform to the company's integrated model and oblige chief executive Steve Jobs. As AppleInsider has been told, it's the latter of those two feats that has thus far presented the utmost of challenges, largely preserving the project and its many facets behind the fortified walls of the company's home base. Note: Just to be sure: this initiative is not related to the rumoured iPhone project, according to AppleInsider.

Windows To Run on OLPC Laptop

Microsoft wants to make its Windows operating system available on the One Laptop per Child notebook computers, OLPC chairman Nicholas Negroponte said at the NetEvents conference in Hong Kong on Saturday. "I have known Bill Gates his entire adult life. We talk, we meet one-on-one, we discuss this project," said Negroponte, vnunet.com can reveal. "We put in an SD slot in the machine just for Bill. We didn't need it but the OLPC machines are at Microsoft right now, getting Windows put on them."

Cosmoe Developer Seeks Successor

No, it's not Bill Gates, but rather the developer of the OSBOS Cosmoe. For those who do not know what Cosmoe is, the following introduction is for you. Cosmoe was one of the first OSBOS announced at beunited and was also the first OSBOS to successfully run the OpenTracker. It is, to this day, developed by a man called Bill Hayden. The big difference between Haiku and Cosmoe is that it runs on the Linux kernel and that it's using GPL as its license. Read on for the interview.

First Ulteo Release Close

In the first Ulteo NewsLetter, Gael Duval says that the first .iso of an installable Ulteo live CD will be released on December 5th or 6th. "For this first alpha release, be prepared to dive a bit inside the system to understand the potential of Ulteo. On the desktop you will find only a few differences with what you can use or see when compared to a graphical environment on other distro's. Maybe then you will understand what makes Ulteo different, and you will start to think about the next steps of development."

Novell Adds Microsoft’s Open XML to OpenOffice

The first fruit of the recently announced Novell/Microsoft interoperability agreement arrived on Dec. 4, with Novell's announcement that its version of the OpenOffice productivity suite will now support the Microsoft Office Open XML format. The release candidate of Novell's modified version of OpenOffice.org 2.02 is now available for Windows for free download by registered Novell users.

Microsoft Unveils Expression Studio Design Tools Suite, ‘Flash Killer’

Microsoft has announced an integrated suite of tools for designers, as well as a new preview of the company's 'Flash killer' technology, putting Microsoft squarely into competition with Adobe. Microsoft on Dec. 4 announced its Expression Studio suite of tools for designers, consisting of four tools - three of which had been introduced heretofore and a new tool stemming from an acquisition the company made last summer. In addition, Microsoft announced a new CTP of its WPF/E technology, and there's also an app to show it off, while with some workarounds WPF can be used in Vista's Sidebar.