Monthly Archive:: November 2007

The LLVM Compiler System is being used for all sorts of interesting things these days. It basically provides an extremely modular and easy to use set of open source (BSD-licensed) compiler libraries that can be used to build various applications from. Despite this, many people don't really understand it, and are scared away by the breadth of the project or by compilers in general. The Kaleidoscope tutorial starts out from scratch and slowly builds up a simple language to show how LLVM can help out with this. We end up with a JIT compiler for a fairly interesting little language with less than 700 lines of code. Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg, once you start with LLVM, there are all sorts of things you can do.

Apple has released the source code to Darwin 9, the underlying open source operating system ofMac OS X 10.5 Leopard. "Darwin is the open source UNIX-based foundation of Mac OS X. Darwin integrates a number of technologies, including the Mach 3.0 microkernel, operating system services based on FreeBSD 5 UNIX, high-performance TCP/IP networking, and support for multiple integrated file systems. Because the design of Darwin is highly modular, you can dynamically add device drivers, networking extensions, and new file systems."

Rasterman, the lead developer of the Enlightenment project, speaks about the future of Enlightenment, including the project's focus on the embedded world (Rasterman works at OpenMoko now), the relationship with commercial vendors, reorganized leadership, and even some hints at an upcoming release. "The primary thing of importance is getting E17 out the door. It's actually looking petty good. Only 2 really big TODO items left. I'm doing a theme revamp. The Default theme has very much aged. The gold bling isn't incredibly popular. I'm working on something I think people will love - and it still shows off E. It will replace the current default - and will also knock off some of the comment the default theme so its better documented for people to build new themes from and learn Edje."

Some more Leopard news. "When it comes to Apple's new operating system, Leopard, users are likely to notice the flashy graphics and animations, the tight integration of applications, and the speed with which it churns through data. What they don't see are a large number of the under-the-hood changes that Apple built in so that its own developers - and those who come up with third-party apps - use all of that underlying software goodness." Additionally, there's another thorough Leopard review, and another one. There is also a problem with Skype not liking Leopard's firewall, and Leopard not liking massive data copies.

"The latest version of Apple's operating system, Mac OS X, is here and it's arguably the most significant revamp since X replaced 9. Leopard brings a new look to Mac OS X GUI, and a wealth of new features, some innovations other merely tweaks to old apps. In the first of a series looking at Leopard in depth, we go straight for Leopard's soul: the Finder."

"A little over a week ago, reviews of Asus's Eee PC 701 started to trickle out onto the Internet. Some of the larger publications, like CNet and LAPTOP Magazine got their hands on the unit first, but as it has become more widely available sites like HotHardware and PC Perspective have now put out their own reviews of the Eee PC. The overall verdict is fairly unanimous: the device's keyboard is a bit cramped, but in terms of price, performance, and features the Eee PC hits the trifecta. Indeed, Asus appears to have gotten so many things right with the Eee PC that it could be a game-changer in the mobile market, in terms of both hardware and software."

There's absolutely no reason you should be waiting the three-plus minutes it takes your computer to boot up Windows, says Woody Hobbs, CEO of Phoenix Technologies. And indeed, if Hobbs has his way, you may not have to endure those waits much longer. Phoenix says its new technology, HyperSpace, will offer mobile PC users the ability to instantly fire up their most used apps - things like e-mail, web browsers and various media players - without using Windows, simply by pressing the F4 button.

The second beta of FreeBSD 7 has been released. "The 7.0-BETA2 builds have completed and are on many of the FreeBSD mirror sites. If you want to update an existing machine using cvsup use RELENG_7 as the branch tag. Instructions on using FreeBSD Update to perform a binary upgrade from FreeBSD 6.x to 7.0-BETA2 will be provided via the freebsd-stable list when available." Additionally, there's a discussion on supporting a subset of c++ in the FreeBSD kernel.

Google and 33 other companies have announced an ambitious industry alliance that will maintain a completely open source mobile phone stack. The Open Handset Alliance says phones based on its Linux-based 'Android' stack will reach market in as soon as eight months. The Android stack is based on 'open Linux kernel', the group says. It also includes a full set of mobile phone application software, in order to "significantly lower the cost of developing and distributing mobile devices and services", OHA said.

"Today, with the coming introduction of the NVIDIA 780i chipset, NVIDIA is looking to make serious changes to what is possible with enthusiast systems by launching a new technology platform. The name of the new standard is ESA - Enthusiast System Architecture. Its goal is to provide information and control to enthusiasts not just for NVIDIA motherboards and video cards, but to provide that information and control for many other components in an ESA-enabled system. The actual protocol is OS independent. This is very important for the future of ESA, as it will eventually allow ESA to operate with any platform."

"Bill Buzbee offered the first public demonstration of the Minix OS - a cousin of Linux - running on his homebrew minicomputer, today at the Vintage Computer Festival in Mountain View, Calif. Magic-1, built with 74-series TTL ICs using wire-wrap construction, implements a homebrew, 8086-like ISA."

"Earlier this week Everex launched the gPC TC2502, which is a sub-USD 200 PC sold at a major US retailer, but what makes this unique is that it runs the gOS. The gOS (GreenOS) is designed to be a conceptual Google Operating System that is based upon Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon. Though this is not the conventional GNOME desktop environment but an Enlightenment E17 desktop is used that is heavily modified and reflects a green Google theme. The gOS provides easy access to Google services such as YouTube, Google Product Search, Google Calendar, and Google Maps. Also a click away are other web services such as Wikipedia and Facebook. This isn't a pure Internet desktop but Xine, Skype, OpenOffice.org, and other applications are available for this Linux LiveCD. We've been trying the gOS out for a while and it's a rather nice slim desktop Linux distribution that would be perfect for Internet cafes and other public places." More screenshots.

Mozilla and Microsoft are in the midst of a squabble over the future of JavaScript, with each side accusing the other of actions which could end up 'breaking the Web'. The two companies each have their own respective versions of the common programming language that is used across the web: Mozilla backs ECMAScript, while Microsoft pushes its own JScript.

At OSNews we are committed on being geeky. However, "being a geek" does not always constitute a person who just loves technology. There are geeks about literature (who do you think wrote "Shrek"?), and of course, art geeks. This last kind enjoys a new booming lately with the commoditization of HD camcorders. The following editorial includes suggestions on camera choices, video editors and delivery formats, and has HD video samples of hobbyist cameramen that many professionals could be jealous of.