In With The Old…
Some users swear by Aqua interface of MacOS X, others proclaim the desktop-readiness of Linux, the polished presence of Windows XP, or expound upon the stately Solaris as the ultimate operating system. All of these users are wimps.
OS News Archive
Has OS Emulation Come of Age?
"When considering emulation, should companies count on a product like CodeWeavers to serve a limited number of applications, or should they choose software that requires them to buy licenses for Windows but can run more applications?" Read Zonker's article at NewsFactor.
Introducing Open Croquet
Mike Janger writes: "What is Open Croquet? Alan Kay (one of the inventors of Smalltalk, one of the fathers of object oriented programming, conceiver of the laptop computer, inventor of much of the modern windowing GUI, etc.) is working on it. But what IS it? Have you guys looked into it?" I downloaded its 90 MB late last night. It's an 'academic' project featuring a futuristic OS 3D environment running through the Squeak environment on Windows or Mac. It requires a supported 3D accelerator (however, it didn't work with my Voodoo5 in hardware mode so it was painfully slow).
Contiki Desktop OS 1.0 Released
The first version of the Contiki operating system and desktop environment for the Commodore 64 has just been released. Ports for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System, Atari Jaguar, 8-bit Atari, Apple ][, NEC PCEngine, and the VIC-20 are under development.
Why Isn’t HP Promoting OpenVMS?
"Various analysts report and company insiders reckon that HP earns an estimated $400M USD per year in profit on the OpenVMS operating system, which is one of the most robust and disaster-tolerant OSes on the market. For example, it's used to build the Intel chips it hopefully will run on, some day. So why is it being given short shrift in favor of Windows, Linux and HP-UX and the mythical--and nearly impossible to actually implement--Consolidated Enterprise Unix?" Read the mini-article at TheInquirer.
LynuxWorks Releases First Complete Solution for DO-178B RTOS
"LynuxWorks today introduced LynxOS-178, a commercially available DO-178B level A certifiable (FAA standard), real-time operating system (RTOS) that meets the stringent standards for safety-critical systems. LynxOS-178 originated from a partnership between Rockwell Collins and LynuxWorks. Rockwell Collins made several enhancements to the original LynxOS product and created the Rockwell Collins' Virtual Machine Operating System (VMOS)." Read the rest of the press release here.
VMWare 4.0 Beta Released
VMWare released a beta of their flagship application, VMWare 4.0 Build 4183. The new version includes support for new versions of Linux and Windows OSes, better VESA BIOS, ACPI and APIC support, better sound, new interface under Linux and more. In the meantime, the OpenOSX company released recently "WinTel", a re-packaged version of Bochs for MacOSX, with a new easy to use interface.
Operating System Comparisons by ESR
Older document, but interesting read. ESR is comparing VMS, MacOS, OS/2, WinNT, BeOS & Linux.
Operating Systems Will Soon be Obsolete
"Linux, Windows, Mac. All have their place, and before long that place will be in history books. The seeds of a new style of computing device have been sown, and as they grow they will inevitably lead to a world where the computer operating system as we know it today is as dead as the planetary transmission that drove the Model T Ford." Read the editorial at NewsForge, by Roblimo.
Screenshots from TriangleOS v0.0.3
Teenager programmer Wim Cools from the Netherlands released two new screenshots of his upcoming v0.0.3 hobby OS, TriangleOS.
MenuetOS version 0.73 Released
The version 0.73 of MenuetOS includes a tiny HTTP & Mp3 server, IRC client, real-time additions & demos. Also, SkyOS redesigned their driver handling, while Syllable is preparing an IDE driver.
Exclusive: PetrOS Port to x86-64 in the Works
We've received an anonymous report from Trumpet Software that they have a 64 bit (x86-64) version of their operating system PetrOS running in their lab. This kernel (which is fully 64 bit) can run 32 bit and 64 bit userland programs which conform the PetrOS ABI. The development team used the latest version of Bochs 2.0 which has recently been enhanced to emulate x86-64 architecture. The anonymous source hinted that a beta version of 64 bit PetrOS would be released some time in March 2003.
OSNews’ Support for Konfabulator on OS X and Mobile Devices
There's a cool little app called Konfabulator for Mac OS X that allows you to display, build, and modify little "widgets" for your desktop, like the weather, a clock, or the OSNews top stories, updated continuously! Screenshot here. Thanks to Adam Pearson for the source sample. Additionally, we added support for a truckload of mobile devices and we would need your help testing them.
First OpenVMS boot on IA-64
Anders Østergård writes "According to this newsgroup message, the OpenVMS OS (former DEC, now owned by Compaq) is now able to boot and operate on Intel's 64-bit Itanium-platform. OpenVMS was originally developed for the legendary VAX-architecture and has evolved for into a stable but anonymous OS for more than 25 years."
Help Define the OS Worldmap
What OS is used most? Where? By Whom? Participate and shape the OS Worldmap.
Athene Seeking Beta Testers
Paul Manias of the Athene project sent word to us that Rocklyte Systems is seeking beta testers. Candidates must be running a Linux system with at least a 2.4 series kernel and have 5 or more years of technical computing experience. Testing is to be focused on the new graphics system that replaces X11. Please introduce yourself to pmanias@rocklyte.com to apply.
Umberto Eco’s Pendulum and Conceptual Software Innovation
I had been trying to find a means to write a new Operating System since 1997 and back then an Mphil/Dphil at the Universities seemed realistic. I had assessed a variety of institutions and made applications were relevant but nothing was doing. It was then that I realised that I had to do it myself so my plan was to quickly develop a standard Kernel to start the business and allow me to focus on innovation.
HP Lines up OpenVMS for Itanium
The long-awaited port of HP's OpenVMS to Intel's Itanium is set for full release next year, as are plans to move Tru64 Unix features into HP-UX. The announcements came as HP introduced its new Alpha servers, based on the EV7 chip, plus a strategy to migrate Alpha users to Itanium servers over the next three to eight years.Plans are to sell new Alpha systems through
2006 and support them through 2011.
Future of Operating Systems: Simplicity
"Today's operating systems are conceptually upside-down. They developed the hard way, gradually struggling upwards from the machinery (processors, memory, disks and displays) toward the user. In the future, operating systems and information management tools will grow top-down." Read the editorial at ComputerWorld by David Gelernter (CS professor at Yale and chief scientist at ScopeWare).
35 Technologies that Shaped the Industry
"When Computerworld published its first issue in 1967, the private sector was still using vacuum tubes to exchange information. Technology and the world it has shaped have come a long way since then. Here is our list of the 35 products and technologies that have had the greatest impact on enterprise IT since 1967." Read the article.