Monthly Archive:: May 2007

"There are a myriad of both subtle and fundamental differences in the basic architecture of Windows Server 2008, which could dramatically change not only the way it's used in the enterprise, but also the logical and physical structure of networks where it's the dominant OS. The abilities to consolidate servers, to manage hardware more effectively, to remotely manage hardware without the graphical traffic, and to radically alter the system security model, could present a more compelling argument for customers to plan their WS2K8 migrations now, than the arguments for moving from Windows 2000 to Server 2003."

DistroWatch has a review of PCLinuxOS 2007. "While they are not quite there yet, PCLinuxOS are certainly on the right track to achieving their goal of being 'radically simple'. Currently the system feels like a bit of a mixed bag, but if they can start to make their own path a little more independent there will be no stopping them."

In yet another set of legal documents in the Amiga-Hyperion court case, it is revealed that AmigaOS 4 was ported to run on the Mac Mini (the PowerPC version, obviously), or, at least, that the port was in a very advanced state. The information was found in an email exchange between Bill McEwen of Amiga and Nicola Morocutti of VirtualWorks, about the latter obtaining a license to sell AmigaOS 4 together with the Sam 440ep board as well as, apparently, to sell boxed copies of AmigaOS 4 for the Mac Mini.

"We thought it was already clear what graphics processors and drivers work and don't work with Linux desktop eye candy such as Beryl and Compiz, but it seems based upon the number of e-mails we have been receiving along with messages in community bulletin boards that the line isn't so clear after all."

After years of delivering faster and faster chips that can easily boost the performance of most desktop software, Intel says the free ride is over. Already, chipmakers like Intel and AMD are delivering processors that have multiple brains, or cores, rather than single brains that run ever faster. The challenge is that most of today's software isn't built to handle that kind of advance. "The software has to also start following Moore's law," Intel fellow Shekhar Borkar said, referring to the notion that chips offer roughly double the performance every 18 months to two years. "Software has to double the amount of parallelism that it can support every two years."

The GNOME Community Roadmap is a big-picture view of functionality we expect GNOME to include in short-term and long-term future. The roadmap is based on feedback from current GNOME developers and other community members. This roadmap shows the ideas and hopes of GNOME contributors for the near future.

"Even while at the top of its game, Apple Inc. can seemingly find faults with just about anything, including a bit of itself. The Mac maker is constantly evaluating the market segments in which it wishes to participate and those which it does not. It's an application of love-hate methodology that inevitably produces its share of casualties." AppleInsider says it has learned from 'reliable' sources that the end is nigh for the Mini. "Ladies and gentlemen, AppleInsider believes in all sincerity that the Mini is dead."

A lot of new releases in the GNUstep world during the past few days: Make 2.0.1, Examples 1.2.0, Startup 1.18.0, and Zipper.app 1.2. In addition, the first European GNUstep Developer's Meeting has been announced.

"Hoard is a scalable memory allocator (malloc replacement) for multithreaded applications. Hoard can dramatically improve your application's performance on multiprocessor machines. No changes to your source are necessary; just link it in. Hoard scales linearly up to at least 14 processors. The supported platforms include Linux, Solaris, and Windows NT/2000/XP."

When Dell put up its IdeaStorm community-feedback site, the company was surprised by the strong response in favor of shipping personal computers with Linux. The PC company then announced that it would offer Ubuntu Linux on select systems, and as of yesterday, they are taking orders. Ubuntu Linux is now available on the XPS 410n high-end desktop system at USD 849 (compared with USD 899 for the same machine with Windows installed), the E520n desktop at USD 599, and the E1505n notebook at USD 599. For now, the Ubuntu systems will only be available to customers in the United States. Availability is expected 'in the coming weeks' according to an announcement given on May 1, but Dell.com lists a shipping time of three to five days.

"Some say the Classmate PC is Intel's answer to (or competition with) the One Laptop per Child effort. Intel is hawking the lilliputian laptop in 'emerging markets' like Nigeria, India, and Mexico as a solution for worldwide education of primary and secondary students. It's to be officially released and shipped en masse to schools in Africa and South and Central America by the end of June. Recently my children and I borrowed a Classmate PC loaded with a custom version of Mandriva Linux. Most of us had fun."

A review of one month's use of Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring on a Toshiba Satellite 2410, by Sam Bailey: "For the last month (and a bit) I’ve been running Mandriva 2007.1 Spring PowerPack on my Toshiba Satellite 2410. To avoid people having to skip to the conclusion, I’m sticking with Mandriva Linux Spring on my laptop permanently!"

If online articles and blogs are any indication of things, the number of Linux users migrating to, and satisfied with, Ubuntu GNU/Linux seems to be staggering. Given that, it was only a matter of time before a capable company had the resources to offer accessible, affordable Linux desktops and notebooks that delivered the way that Apple's products have. Colorado-based System76 sent us their Darter Ultra for review, and proved that there is an OEM hardware/software combination capable of being the primary PC for the general public.

After just over a year as chief executive, Jonathan Schwartz is moving into a new phase as the leader of Sun Microsystems. Much of his opening months was spent emerging from the shadow of the highly visible Scott McNealy, boosted by Schwartz's high-profile blog. Now that the introductory period is over, Schwartz is working to show that the Silicon Valley stalwart can regain its former stature.