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Smooth Suggestions for FreeType

  Submitted by David Chester Wayland 33 Comments
David Chester writes: "On my website, I propose some enhancements to the FreeType font rendering library. The changes are aimed at rendering antialiased text at small sizes. I explain an alternate stem-alignment algorithm as well as a new hinting configuration which balances contrast and loyalty to the original shape of the glyph. At the site there's explanation and examples, as well as patches and a binary for download."
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Microsoft Shows Teeth to its Own Promoters

Legal 68 Comments
These frivolous news comes from fellow news web site, windowsxp.nu, which is one of the well known sites for Windows-related news on the web (traffic-wise seems to be similar to OSNews, around 90,000 page views per day). Microsoft sent a legal threat to Steven Bink to hand over the site before Dec 19th, otherwise they will respond legally. Microsoft has taken a similar hard line against other similar Web sites in the past; in 1998, the company demanded that Paul Thurrott should change the name of the 'Windows SuperSite' to 'SuperSite for Windows', and Active Windows was forced to change its name to ActiveWin. Read more for a short editorial on the subject.
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Microsoft Unveils Guides to Windows

  Submitted by dave_sn Windows 20 Comments
Microsoft on Tuesday released blueprints designed to help technology managers install Windows more efficiently and at a lower cost. The software titan issued five guides that businesses can use for a variety of tasks, including patch management or installing new desktop applications companywide. The Redmond, Wash.-based company calls the suite of guides Microsoft Solutions for Management.
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LynxOS Reveals Source Code & MSRP Pricing

OS News No Comments
"It's not quite open source, but the makers of the embedded operating system LynxOS have taken a step towards bringing code availablity to their customers. That was the word out of California yesterday afternoon when LynuxWorks announced a new set of pricing packages designed to make LynxOS a more affordable option for those who are considering using the real-time operating system (RTOS) for their embedded projects" Read the full article at All Linux Devices.
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Is the Computer Desktop an Antique?

  Submitted by sunlit mechanism Graphics 30 Comments
Twenty years ago, the PC world began a slow but inexorable consolidation around the desktop metaphor—with its files and folders and recycling bins—that now graces practically every computer screen on the planet. The desktop metaphor has served us well, particularly during a period of mass adoption when consolidating around one overarching visual metaphor helped new computer users adapt to life in front of the screen. But that unified approach is starting to fragment. Soon, Apple and Microsoft will need new metaphors for their operating systems.
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Win a Free Xandros Desktop 1.0 Copy

Gifts, Contests 37 Comments
Xandros Desktop sets a new standard for Linux based desktop operating systems by delivering an environment and set of applications that allow you to install the system and get back to work. It is based on the pioneering direction of Corel LINUX OS which was recognized by both mainstream and Linux publications as a leader in making Linux accessible to desktop users. And today, it can be yours for free (a value of $99 USD)! Read more to enter the competition.
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Pegasos Wins the Amiga Award 2002 by Popular Vote

Morphos 45 Comments
Genesi just did the official launch of MorphOS & Pegasos at the Amiga and Retro show in Aachen, Germany at the weekend and won the Amiga Award 2002 by popular vote. The company got their first 50 production boards and these have been sent out already. This is the first new desktop system/platform launched since Be launched the BeBox 7 years ago (HW & Software - there are plenty of new OSs and hardware but entirely new platforms are pretty rare these days). The companies (Thendic-france and bplan) are merging into a new company called Genesi.
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Qt 3.1.1 Released

Qt 8 Comments
In Qt 3.1.1 the build issues with the Professional Edition have been solved. The build problems reported on Solaris and HP-UX have been addressed. Detection of Xft2 support has been added. The installer and reconfigure tools on Windows have been fixed. Apply changes to build with Borland Kylix/Linux. Look'n'Feel improvements in the Qt/Mac version.
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What’s Keeping Linux Off Desktops?

Linux 114 Comments
"The vision of running Linux on corporate desktops has gained ground during the past 18 months, as full- featured office productivity software has become a reality and improvements have been made to the Linux kernel and to installation and administration tools. But even though the open-source operating system has moved closer to filling desktop needs, nagging gaps remain, said users and analysts at last week's Enterprise Linux Forum Conference & Expo here. In some cases, they added, the lingering lack of needed functionality is making it hard for IT managers to switch their users to Linux." Read the article at PCWorld.
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Mono 0.17 Released

Mono 14 Comments
Mono 0.17 has been released. Check out the release notes for a more detailed list. Many new features as well as plenty of bug fixes. Many new System.Data providers and a more mature System.Web (ASP.NET) which can now be hosted in any web server. A simple test web server to host asp.net has been released as well. This version also integrates Neale's s390 port.
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Month with a Mac: Can the Mac replace my PC?

Apple 313 Comments
There are certain perennial debates amongst the technical community, constantly revisited with differing outcomes for each person. Linux vs. Windows, KDE vs. Gnome, Mac vs. PC - they are unwinnable arguments, and although the outcome varies overtime with each successive release or new piece of hardware, they consistently gain our attention. When presented with the opportunity to borrow a Macintosh for a little over a month, I jumped at the chance to resolve one of these debates for myself. The question was: Can the Mac replace my PC?
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Linux is No Longer Just an Upstart

Linux 21 Comments
"The upstart Linux operating system isn't an upstart any more, according to Linux executives meeting in Boston last week. The Enterprise Linux Forum brought together vendors and users of Linux systems at a time when the operating system seems to have established itself as a major force in corporate computing - to the chagrin of established giants like Microsoft Corp." Read the article at Boston Globe.
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Microsoft Loses .NET Ally Rational to IBM

Microsoft 16 Comments
Rational Software Corp is joining Big Blue's stable of industry leaders-turned-business units after IBM announced its $2.1bn acquisition of the application modeling and design specialist. The news is a blow to Microsoft Corp, which on Friday conceded executives had "talked internally" about an acquisition of Rational. Rational's XDE software modeling tool, launched in February, sat inside Microsoft' Visual Studio.NET integrated development environment (IDE) in addition to IBM's WebSphere. Read the article at ComputerWire.
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