OS News Archive

The Android x86 team has released Android x86 4.0 RC1, based on Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich) and features support for multi-touch, Wifi, audio, bluetooth, G-sensor and camera, OpenGL hardware acceleration for AMD Radeon and Intel chipsets, Kernel 3.0.8 with KMS enabled and more. Android-x86 is a project that provides Android support for x86, making it easy to install it on netbooks or laptops. You can use it like any other Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich device: install applications from the Android Market, add widgets and so on.

The just released version 12.02 of the Genode OS Framework takes the first steps to carry out the plan to turn the framework into a general-purpose OS for the daily use by its developers until the end of the year. It features a new ACPI driver, the first bits of a device-driver manager, support for using the fork syscall in GNU programs, and a PDF rendering engine. The most significant point of this release, however, is the way it was conducted. It represents the first version carried out using a completely open development process.

...and we're back. Like so many other sites on the web, OSNews joined the worldwide protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act and the PROTECT-IP Act, which threaten to end free speech, economic innovation, privacy, and the free exchange of information on the web. I don't wish to waste too many words on our participation, so consider this item as a sort of comment lightening rod to make sure that when the next story is posted, we can focus fully on its topic. Update: DC seems to be getting the message the internet sent today.

The last few weeks there's been a considerable amount of chatter on the web about whether or not a news website, blog, or some hybrid thereof, needs comments. Since we are working on the next version of OSNews, which means I've been thinking about things like this a lot, I figured I'd pen down my thoughts on comments.

We're looking at two alternative operating systems hitting updates. MenuetOS, the operating system written entirely in assembly, hit version 0.98.27. Meanwhile, FreeDOS 1.1 has hit final.

There are two main kernel architectures for large operating systems; monolithic and micro. While these architectures are well thought out, well implemented (usually), and well understood, they have their faults. Mainly, the loading of modules and executables, management of memory, and interfacing between the kernel and software cause these architectures to be vastly complex. With this complexity comes a loss of speed and increased difficulty for the developer. There are other kernel architectures, such as the exokernel, that are vastly different from traditional architectures, but they still have performance issues caused by userland processes.

ToAruOS is a hobby operating system project under development by UIUC computer science undergraduates. It is based on POSIX and runs on x86. While the ultimate goal is a microkernel, it is currently a very monolithic kernel. The documentation includes links to guides on OS development.

The Genode project has released version 11.11 of their OS framework, which allows the construction of spezialized operating systems out of building blocks including 8 different kernels, plenty of device drivers, and an increasing number of system services.

Remember yesterday when I said Solaris 11 goes way over my head? Well, today we're talking about where operating systems and biology intersect. Scientists at the University of Nottingham are trying to develop the in vivo biological cell-equivalent of a computer operating system. The project's name is AUdACiOuS.

Version 0.71 of Visopsys has been unleashed into the wild. "The bulk of this release consists of general bug fixes, and improvements to hardware detection and device drivers, with particular focus on USB. New features include the ability to boot from a USB device (a new USB image is available for download) and the ability to power down the system."

Looking to write your own operating system? MikeOS, an open source teaching project with detailed documentation, has just reached a new release. Version 4.2 includes new programs (a memory editor, calculator, and ASCII art designer), file management in the CLI, and improvements to the text editor. If you want to start completely from scratch, try this guide first.

Inferno for Android (codename: Hellaphone) has just been announced. Inferno runs on top of the Linux kernel in Android phones, replacing the Java services and UI that ship by default. Inferno's programming language, Limbo, allows applications to be developed quickly and easily. A video demonstrating the device is up on youtube.

The Contiki operating system allows tiny wireless battery-operated devices to communicate using IPv6 - a concept known as the Internet of Things. The Contiki team has just released Contiki 2.5, which brings ContikiRPL, the new default low-power IPv6 routing protocol, and ContikiMAC, which allows nodes to keep their radios off more than 99% of the time yet communicate with each other using wireless multi-hop networking. The Contiki Wiki has more information on Contiki.

The last time we did this, it was still 2010, so it's been a while. Since I'm having a hard time finding interesting things to write about today (unless you guys want a story about Apple losing another iPhone prototype at a bar, or about Samsung's god-given quest to launch a tablet/smartphone for each number between 3 and 10), let's do one of those old-fashioned and quaint 'show us your desktop!'-things. I'll start.