Monthly Archive:: March 2007

"The idea that Linux is primarily a community-based project based on the work of thousands of independent, idealist hackers died a quiet death at home on March 27th. The proximate cause of death was the Linux Foundation's naming of its new board of directors. This leading non-profit Linux organization's board included many Fortune 500 executives from around the world - but not one representative from a purely community-based Linux organization."

Nokia released a new update for their Linux-based N800 internet tablet, v3.2007.10-7 which includes improvements and fixes in video and Flash performance and quality, Bluetooth connection, browser stability, activating touch screen and keys lock, new camera app, rdesktop and more. Nokia also wrote an good-looking front-end to Real's Rhapsody service that includes a 30 days free trial. You can choose from millions of songs to fetch and playback via WiFi (no permanent downloading). In my test, the N800 managed 4 hours of battery life of fetching+playback using Rhapsody. Screenshot here.

"This article walks through the steps for using the Graphical Editing Framework. Rather than finishing each step in its entirety, we'll use a subset of your application's model and get that working first. For example, we might initially ignore connections or focus on just a subset of the types of graphical elements in your application. Next, learn what other technologies are available to add graphical editing to your applications. In the past, stand-alone GEF used to be the only option for graphical editing in Eclipse, but this has changed as Eclipse has evolved."

Apple's new Apple TV runs a modified version of the Mac OS X operating system that hackers have already managed to extract and boot on an Intel-based MacBook and an external USB drive. AppleTVHacks.net, a website documenting the various Apple TV hacks, has posted photos and a video of the Apple TV system software running on a 13-inch Apple MacBook. Ars reviewed the Apple TV.

Jon "Hannibal" Stokes is co-founder and Senior CPU Editor of Ars Technica. He has written for a variety of publications on microprocessor architecture and the technical aspects of personal computing. He recently published his first book Inside the Machine - An Illustrated Introduction to Microprocessors and Computer Architecture. We interviewed him to discuss how hardware bugs are dealt with, the use of reserved bits, the performance and efficiency of console CPUs and GPUs, the possibility to build a Playstation 3 cluster, and what future connection he sees between CPUs and GPUs.

Just when you finally thought your Windows XP settings were just right, here comes Windows Vista. Fear not: PC Magazine has teamed up with Wiley Books to bring you Windows Vista Solutions to guide you through the ins and outs of your new OS. This week's excerpt helps you navigate the control panel to make your computer fit you. Personalize your computer with new themes, wallpaper, sounds, menu options and more. Here's how.

The third discussion draft of GPL version 3 is scheduled for release at 7 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, Brett Smith, a licensing compliance engineer for the Free Software Foundation said in a mailing list posting Monday. The current GPL 2 governs the rights and restrictions of many open-source and free-software projects, including high-profile ones such as the Linux kernel, Java and MySQL database. A 'last-call' draft is due 60 days after the third discussion draft, and the final GPL 3 will arrive 30 days after that, Smith said.

"Microsoft's claim of 20 million Vista licenses sold simply doesn't add up when trying to assess who realistically bought them in the time frame - 'in the opening month' - stated in today's press release. Further, the press release claims that 'Windows Vista made a splash in its debut'. What kind of Kool-Aid are they drinking up there in Redmond? Who spiked the Windows Vista-logo soda cans?"

"Haiku co-developers Bruno and his associate Axel talk about the new OS that has been in development for several years. Haiku is an open source operating system currently in development designed from the ground up for desktop computing. Inspired in the BeOS, Haiku aims to provide users of all levels with a personal computing experience that is simple yet powerful, and void of any unnecessary complexities."

More than 20 million copies of Windows Vista were sold globally in February 2007, the first month of sales since its widespread consumer release. That is significantly more than the 17 million copies of Windows XP that were sold in the first two months following its release in October 2001, Kevin Kutz, a director in Microsoft's Windows client group, told eWeek in an interview on March 26.

"Until now, HTC has mostly made Windows Mobile smartphones, such as the Cingular 2125, 3125, 8125 and 8525 and the T-Mobile MDA and SDA. The HTC Shift, which PC Magazine had the chance to test, looks like a tablet, but fits in a large coat pocket. More specifically, it's about the size of two DVD cases stacked on top of each other, and we estimated the weight between 1.5 and 1.8 pounds. The Shift operates on Windows Vista Business Edition and includes tablet extensions for writing on the screen with the included stylus. To place the Shift into Laptop mode, slide the screen back and tilt it up to a 75-degree angle."

"Hyperion Entertainment and ACube Systems are pleased to announce that they have entered into a strategic partnership following a recent two day meeting of representatives of both companies in Brussels, Belgium. Within the framework of the partnership ACube will act as a worldwide distributor of Hyperion's Amiga OS 4.0 operating system for a range of PPC hardware platforms including AmigaOne (MicroA1, SE/XE) and Classic Amiga. More details regarding the companies' strategic partnership will be announced shortly."

"Unlike other operating systems, patches for the OpenBSD base system are distributed as source code patches. These patches are usually applied by compiling and installing them onto the target system. While that upgrade procedure is well-documented, it is not always suitable for certain systems that do not have the OpenBSD compiler set installed for various reasons such as disk space constraints. To fill this gap, open source projects like binpatch were started to allow administrators to create binary patches using the BSD make system. This article proposes an alternative method to build binary patches using a chroot environment in an attempt to more closely mirror the instructions given in the OpenBSD patch files."

Linux.com takes a look at one of our favorite media players, VLC. They write "VideoLAN's VLC is a cross-platform media player with a simple interface that doesn't require a degree in rocket science to operate. That doesn't mean, however, that VLC is a simplistic application: it has a few tricks up its sleeve that can significantly extend its functionality and enhance your user experience. Here are a couple of VLC's nifty features you might want to try."