OSnews - Exploring the Future of Computing

Windows Name Is Challenged

Adam Scheinberg 2002-12-30 Windows 67 Comments

According to this New York Times article, Lindows.com, Inc. is suing Microsoft over the Windows trademark. Says Lindows.com attorney Clifford Chance, "No company, no matter how powerful, no matter how much money it has spent, should be able to gain a commercial monopoly on words in the English language." Read more at nytimes.com.

The SPIN Operating System and Modula-3 Language

Adam Scheinberg 2002-12-30 OS News 24 Comments

Gil Bates wrote "SPIN is an operating system that blurs the distinction between kernels and applications. Applications traditionally live in user-level address spaces, separated from kernel resources and services by an expensive protection boundary. With SPIN, applications can specialize the kernel by dynamically linking new code into the running system. Kernel extensions can add new kernel services, replace default policies, or simply migrate application functionality into the kernel address space. Sensitive kernel interfaces are secured via a restricted linker and the type-safe properties of the Modula-3 programming language. The result is a flexible operating system that helps applications run fast but doesn't crash." More can be found on the SPIN homepage. More on Modula-3 can be found here.

Techseekers Reviews Mandrake Linux 9.0

Guest post by Kevin Adams 2002-12-30 Mandriva, Mandrake, Lycoris 14 Comments

"Today we are looking at Linux Mandrake, a relative newcomer but which has picked up a large user base through the years which keep its development alive and well. The first version of Mandrake was based on Red Hat which is a fine distro in itself. The makers wanted too keep all that was good with Red Hat and get rid of all the bad, such as using KDE instead of GNOME as default desktop. Over the years, though, it has changed from simply being Red Hat repackaged into a separate distro in its own right. However if you dig deep enough you can still see the Red Hat roots but we are not really interested in that." You can read the full 7 page review over at Techseekers.

Microsoft Worst Enemy: Themselves

Guest post by Kevin Adams 2002-12-30 Microsoft 56 Comments

"Microsoft's biggest threat isn't Linux, OpenOffice, or any piece of software at all--its themselves. Over the last eighteen months two distinctly different Microsoft cultures have emerged, often in opposition to each other. " You can get the full article over at Sudhian Media.

Red Hat 8: A Glimpse of the Desktop Future

Guest post by Kevin Adams 2002-12-30 Red Hat 36 Comments

"The future of the Linux desktop? At least, I hope the new unified look and feel of Red Hat 8.0 is a hint at the future that the Linux desktop is moving to. There has been some adverse reaction from the Linux community toward the new interface. I am not one of the detractors. I appreciate that Red Hat is making a contribution to Linux and I also believe that it is the direction that the Linux desktop should be taking." This is a look at Red Hat 8.0 that focuses on the direction it sets for the future of the Linux desktop. Read the full article at Librenix.

Microsoft Next Generation Shell

Adam Scheinberg 2002-12-29 Windows 25 Comments

Need a job? This classified posting appears to confirm that Microsoft is developing a new, original "next generation" shell to take advantage of the .NET framework for its next version of Windows. The ad says experience with "shell languages like PERL, Python and Bash" are a plus - interesting, I'd bet most of the experts in these areas are UNIX users.

IBM Mulls Linux For Its PCs

Adam Scheinberg 2002-12-28 IBM 96 Comments

dabooty writes "International Business Machines (IBM) may soon start packing its PCs with the open-source Linux operating system (OS). IBM’s Linux initiative has so far been limited to its servers and workstations. Read it at Financial Express." Yes, we all know Linux isn't an OS - but a better comment would be 'Is this Yet Another Linux Distribution or the sound of the the first stone of the Microsoft empire crumbling?'

PHP 4.3 Released

Adam Scheinberg 2002-12-27 Internet 41 Comments

A new version of popular server-side scripting lanaguage PHP was released today. Stephen Smith writes "PHP 4.3 includes bug fixes from PHP 4.2.3, as well as enhanced command line mode for non-web scripting, a better GD library, and more." Changelog can be found at php.net.

The Comeback of a Classic OS

Submitted by George N 2002-12-27 Haiku 128 Comments

Nowadays, all you hear about is Windows, MacOS X, or GNU/Linux. However, what ever happened to the good old BeOS?

Creating a .NET Client that Uses DB2 DADX Web Services

Guest post by Kevin Adams 2002-12-26 .NET 20 Comments

Shell writers: "IBM recently shipped an enhancement to the DB2 Web services object runtime framework (WORF) to enable interoperability with .NET. This article showns you how to create a .NET C# client to consume a DB2 DADX Web service. The latest WORF improves the interoperability between DB2 DADX Web services and the Microsoft .NET platform."

A Lesson in Cyber-Security

Guest post by Kevin Adams 2002-12-26 Privacy, Security 22 Comments

"Reid Ellison is a 15-year-old high school hacker who, for a time, had complete control over his school's computer system. A hack attack from a smart kid is just about any school's worst nightmare. But Ellison got a pat on the back for his exploits, rather than a slap on the wrist. This is actually a good news story about a kid who used his hacking talents for good rather than evil." Read the full story at ABC News.

The Humane Environment

Guest post by Kevin Adams 2002-12-26 macOS 53 Comments

Pahtz writes: "A very alpha release of The Humane Environment (THE) for MacOS was made on Christmas Eve. Jef Raskin, creator Apple's Macintosh, and author of the book "The Humane Interface", is the leader of the open-source THE Development Team."

Bridging Unix And Windows At NASA

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-25 Rumors 75 Comments

A clash among engineers who want to use Unix apps and bureaucratic dictates that they use Windows is resolved.

Mandrake 9.0 & Xoops Revisited

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-24 Mandriva, Mandrake, Lycoris 32 Comments

Although Mandrake 9.0 is a breeze to install, there are a few important things that Debian does better. Nicholas Petreley lists the pros and cons of Mandrake when compared to Debian and sets the record straight about his first Xoops column and his opinion of Britney Spears.

Porting to Mac OS X from Windows Win32 API

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-24 macOS 16 Comments

Apple provides many programming resources for creating MacOSX applications, and which one you choose depends upon your needs, preferences, and constraints. If you are unfamiliar with the MacOSX platform, the process of choosing the right approach can be time-consuming and confusing. The purpose of this Guide is to get you started porting an existing procedural Win32 application written in C or C++ to MacOSX.

Judge Orders MS to Carry Java

Guest post by Mike Bouma 2002-12-24 Legal 186 Comments

The order to carry Java with Windows will remain in force pending the final outcome of Sun Microsystem's antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft. According to Sun, Microsoft tried to marginalise Java by unfair usage of its software monopoly position, making Windows incompatible with its platform independent programming language. More info at CBSNews.com and CNET News.com.

Red Hat Linux Offers 8.1 Beta “Phoebe”

Adam Scheinberg 2002-12-23 Red Hat 71 Comments

dave_sn alerted us to the news first reported by Distrowatch, "Just in time to interfere with our last-minute Christmas shopping - an unexpected new beta release from Red Hat, code-named "Phoebe" and numbered as 8.0.92 has hit the mirrors." Release notes can be found here.

Sendo Sues Microsoft for Alleged Attempt of Theft

Guest post by Mike Bouma 2002-12-23 Wireless 42 Comments

CNET News.com reports: "Mobile phone maker Sendo has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, alleging the attempted theft of technical expertise and proprietary technology, adding to the intrigue surrounding its recently terminated relationship with the software giant." Last month Sendo announced that the company decided to license Nokia's Symbian based Series 60 Platform for future Sendo smartphones instead of Microsoft's software. Update: Reuters.co.uk has some more information.

Syllable’s Project Leader, Vanders, Shapes the Future

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-23 Syllable, AtheOS 27 Comments

"I have a vision of an application which provides me with an idea of the sort of features I would like Syllable to have. Its time I wrote it down so that you can all see where I'm going with Syllable. If I compare my fantasy application with the current abilities of Syllable, then it gives me a set of features which we still need to implement, so it sort of serves as a roadmap and a high level design all in one." Read the article at Syllable's web site.

PostgreSQL 7.3.1 Released

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-23 Databases 3 Comments

The major PostgreSQL news this week is the upcoming release of 7.3.1, which will provide some fixes for early adopters of 7.3. In other SQL news, the Firebird team is pleased to announce the release of the Firebird v1.0.2 update for Win32 and Linux.