In the News Archive

Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit launched Virtual PC for Mac Version 7. Then, a Hawaiian company specializing in streaming video introduced CherryOS, a virtual PC that mimics the hardware of a G4 Mac. CherryOS inventor Arben Kryeziu, a software developer who got tired of carrying both a Mac and a PC all over Hawai, is confident the computing world will find value in his innovation. However, questions remain if his CherryOS is simply a modified PearPC. Update: An interesting conspiracy theory has been posted here.

The OpenPKG project released version 2.2 of their unique RPM-based cross-platform Unix software packaging facility. OpenPKG 2.2 consists of 528 selected (from a pool of 800) packages, all carefully packaged for easy deployment on 18 different Unix platforms. Focusing on portability and isolation, OpenPKG 2.2 places greater emphasis on reducing underlying Unix system requirements.

Google has released a beta version of their desktop search tool which runs on Windows XP and 2000 SP3+. Details can be found here and more in depth reviews here and here. Its release is amid more concerns of privacy, many of which began when Google's Gmail system was introduced. Update: AOL wishes the same.

With Microsoft Corp.'s recent announcements that it will separate WinFS from the next major release of Windows and the release of Visual Studio 2005, not due for another six months, developers are looking to third-party vendors for certain functionality support now.

Effective immediately, contribs.org and the development and support of the SME Server will be handled by Lycoris. There will be a Lycoris commercial release available within a very short period of time. Elsewhere, Red Hat plans to release the Netscape Enterprise Suite as open-source software in a bid to expand beyond its core product.

PCs running Linux are growing in popularity in part because they can be loaded with a pirated copy of Windows, according to a study from analyst Gartner.

Two interesting articles/reflections about business in the new economy: one, two.

A Silicon Valley startup claims to have cracked one of most elusive goals of the software industry: a near-universal emulator that allows software developed for one platform to run on any other, with almost no performance hit.

I recently had a bad experience with an application service provider that illustrated a growing problem with technology companies- lack of service and support. We have grown complacent as technology consumers and we allow vendors to offer very poor levels of service that wouldn't be allowed in other markets.

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

Designers hope low-scale desktop package shakes up Microsoft-dominated software market The idea is straightforward: Instead of giving employees computers packed with features they rarely use, companies could save tons of cash by distributing simple machines tied to powerful central servers. Computing vendors have had marginal success over the years with variations of this "thin client" concept. Now IBM Corp. is betting that with some tweaks, the technology can become a big hit, challenging the traditional approach pushed by Microsoft Corp.

The plan includes a switch to a quarterly dividend of 8 cents per share and the buyback of as much as $30 billion in stock over the next four years.

"Silicon Valley is back" is on the lips of eager entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, who are rejoicing over the success of Google and pointing to the modest comeback in computer sales. The three-year-long depression, they say, is over.

OneStat.com today reported that more and more internet users choose for screen resolution 1024x768 (54%) which is the most popular screen resolution for exploring the internet. While 800x600 has fell from 32% last year down to 25% this year, it is still holds a huge share among users and so developers should still be considering these users when designing their desktop applications. Other resolutions include: 1280x1024 14.1%, 1152x864 4%, 640x480 0.6%, 1600x1200 0.8%, 1152x870 0.1%.