João Saramago » OS

MorphOS 2.7 Released

js — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:50:03 +0000

MorphOS 2.7 has been released, and it’s mostly a bug-fix release. The one thing that stood out to me is that some work has gone into fixing bugs for several PowerPC G4 chips – more specifically, models used in PowerBook …

Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) Makes a First Appearance

js — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:44:21 +0000

srimadman writes “The Alpha 1 Release of Ubuntu 11.04, often known as ‘Natty Narwhal,’ is intended as a developer snapshot of the next major Ubuntu version, which is due in April.” So, if you want to try Unity and Wayland …

Verve: A Type Safe Operating System

js — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:42:33 +0000

“The Singularity project (an OS written in managed code used for research purposes) has provided several very useful research results and opened new avenues for exploration in operating system design. Recently, MSR released a paper covering an operating system research …

New Windows Kernel Vulnerability Bypasses UAC

js — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 12:17:39 +0000

xsee writes “A new vulnerability in the Windows kernel was disclosed Wednesday that could allow malware to attain administrative privileges by bypassing User Account Control (UAC). Combined with the unpatched Internet Explorer vulnerability in the wild this could be a …

USB3 Arrives for Mac OS X Thanks to LaCie

js — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 17:29:27 +0000

Steve Jobs recently told a Mac user, enquiring about the probability of USB3 on Macs in the near feature, that the technology is not ready because Intel has yet to adopt the platform. A recent rumour slated Intel to integrate …

5 Years of Linux Kernel Releases Benchmarked

js — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 17:27:46 +0000

An anonymous reader writes “Phoronix has published benchmarks of the past five years worth of Linux kernel releases, from the Linux 2.6.12 through Linux 2.6.37 (dev) releases. The results from these benchmarks of 26 versions show that, for the most …

DragonFly BSD 2.8.2 Released

js — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:46:53 +0000

The 2.8.2 release of DragonFly BSD is now available, featuring significant advances in multi-processor performance based on DragonFly’s signature soft token locks. It also includes many feature advancements including: pf from OpenBSD 4.2, the Wifi stack from FreeBSD and DataMapper …

OpenBSD 4.8 Released

js — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:46:17 +0000

OpenBSD 4.8 has been released. The main feature of this release is the ACPI suspend and resume for laptops with Intel or Ati graphic chipsets. If anyone is knowledgeable enough about OpenBSD to write a long item about it, feel …

OpenBSD 4.8 Released

js — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:45:37 +0000

Mortimer.CA writes “The release of OpenBSD 4.8 has been announced. Highlights include ACPI suspend/resume, better hardware support, OpenBGPD/OpenOSPFD/routing daemon improvements, inclusion of OpenSSH 5.5, etc. Nothing revolutionary, just the usual steady improving of the system. A detailed ChangeLog is available, …

Serious Security Bugs Found In Android Kernel

js — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:43:59 +0000

geek4 writes with this excerpt from eWeek Europe: “An analysis of Google Android Froyo’s open source kernel has uncovered 88 critical flaws that could expose users’ personal information. An analysis of the kernel used in Google’s Android smartphone software has …

ReactOS 0.3.12 Released

js — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:54:30 +0000

“This is a huge release for the team, not just with regards to the number of improvements which this release holds but in terms of the leap forward architecturally, stability wise and in bringing some of the more modern aspects …

Linux 2.6.36 Released

js — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:53:58 +0000

diegocg writes “Version 2.6.36 of the Linux kernel has been released. This version includes support for the Tilera architecture, a new filesystem notification interface called fanotify, CIFS local caching, support for Intel Intelligent Power Sharing in i3/5 systems, integration of …

Linux 2.6.36 Released

js — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:53:49 +0000

Linux 2.6.34 has been released. This version includes support for the Tilera architecture, a new filesystem notification interface called fanotify, a redesign of workqueues optimized for concurrency, CIFS local caching, support for Intel Intelligent Power Sharing in i3/5 systems, integration …

RDS Protocol Bug Creates a Linux Kernel Hole, Now Fixed

js — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:53:43 +0000

Trailrunner7 writes “The open-source Linux operating system contains a serious security flaw that can be exploited to gain superuser rights on a target system. The vulnerability, in the Linux implementation of the Reliable Datagram Sockets (RDS) protocol, affects unpatched versions …

The Future of OpenSolaris Revealed

js — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:20:51 +0000

ywlke writes “A few hours ago, an internal Oracle memo was leaked to the osol-discuss mailing list at opensolaris.org. It details Oracle’s plans for Solaris and OpenSolaris; namely that OpenSolaris, the distribution, is dead. Solaris Express has come back from …

Happy 17th Birthday, Debian!

js — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:20:35 +0000

“Debian turns 17 today. Yes it has really come a long way from being Ian Murdock’s pet project back in 1993 to being the distribution on which the most popular Linux distribution, Ubuntu, is based on now.” Let’s go through …

Ubuntu 11.04 Codenamed ‘Natty Narwhal’

js — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:20:23 +0000

Mark Shuttleworth has just announced the codename of the next Ubuntu release after Maverick. Ubuntu 11.04 will be called Natty Narwhal. The name follows the usual Ubuntu naming tradition of the codename consisting of an adjective and a name of …

FreeBSD 8.1 Released, Like, Weeks Ago

js — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:20:07 +0000

While I was away from OSNews, FreeBSD 8.1 was released. Nobody posted it on OSNews, so here I am, a little late (my apologies). It’s got all sorts of improvements, like support for UltraSPARC IV/IV+ and SPARC64 V processors, SMP …

Ubuntu Gets Multitouch Support

js — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:19:53 +0000

In June 2009 we had some very good news about the integration of multitouch events support inside the Linux kernel. Since then, many multitouch device drivers were developed, mostly in collaboration with LII-ENAC, to take advantage from this. All the …

Root Privileges Through Linux Kernel Bug

js — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:18:08 +0000

Lars T. writes “The H has a story about a Linux kernel bug that allows root level access. ‘According to a report written by Rafal Wojtczuk (PDF), a conceptual problem in the memory management area of Linux allows local attackers …

Happy 17th Birthday, Debian!

js — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:17:10 +0000

An anonymous reader writes “Debian turns 17 today. Yes it has really come a long way from being Murdock’s pet project back in 1993 to being the distribution on which the most popular Linux distribution, Ubuntu, is now based.” Read …

Ubuntu Drops SPARC, IA64

js — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:16:05 +0000

“Maverick Meerkat is set to become the last version of Ubuntu that’ll run on Oracle’s Sparc, ending a four-year relationship. Also getting canned is Ubuntu running on Hewlett-Packard’s Itanic 64-bit challenger. Meerkat is currently in feature-freeze ahead of October’s official …

Windows 95 Turns 15

js — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:15:54 +0000

In what has surprised me greatly, nobody has submitted anything to us regarding this day in the history of computing. Sure, memories of her may not be fond, and with the magical unicorn power of hindsight you’d rather forget you …

Native ZFS Is Coming To Linux Next Month

js — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:13:32 +0000

An anonymous reader writes “Phoronix is reporting that an Indian technology company has been porting the ZFS filesystem to Linux and will be releasing it next month as a native kernel module without a dependence on FUSE. ‘In terms of …

Linux To Take Over Microsoft In Enterprises

js — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:12:34 +0000

shougyin writes “For years, Linux has enjoyed much of its success as a replacement for Unix. Companies turned to Linux to replace Unix servers, or for new deployments within a Unix-heavy environment. Linux is still king there, but it’s starting …

Windows 95 Turns 15

js — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:58:27 +0000

An anonymous reader writes “15 years ago on this day, Microsoft’s then new Windows 95 was released. Among other things it moved users away from the archaic file manager and program manager to Windows explorer and the start menu. Compared …

Making Ubuntu Look Like Windows 7

js — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:56:13 +0000

DeviceGuru writes “Although it won’t help Linux run Windows-specific software applications, this easy hack produces an Ubuntu desktop that looks and feels a lot like Windows 7. It’s particularly suitable for reviving older PCs or laptops on which the main …

Ubuntu 10.10 Beta Released

js — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 20:44:09 +0000

RandyDownes sends word that Canonical has released the beta version of Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick Meerkat). The release announcement boasts faster boot times, GNOME 2.31, and a speedier version of Evolution. In addition, “The Ubuntu Software Center has an updated look …

MorphOS 2.5 Released, Adds eMac Support

js — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:59:19 +0000

And the MorphOS team continues to expand their hardware support. They released MorphOS version 2.5 today, which adds support for Apple’s eMac computers (the 1.25Ghz models, the 1.42 models have not yet been tested). Of course, there’s also a whole …

Native ZFS Port for Linux

js — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:59:16 +0000

Employees of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have ported Sun’s/Oracle’s ZFS natively to Linux. Linux already had a ZFS port in userspace via FUSE, since license incompatibilities between the CDDL and GPL prevent ZFS from becoming part of the Linux kernel. …

NetBSD 5.1 RC2 Released

js — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:58:38 +0000

NetBSD 5.1 RC2 has been announced. A complete list of changes between 5.0 and 5.1 is available in diff format here for the more technical individuals. Fire up those VMs and give it a test run. Link to the original …

Ubuntu: We Have No Plans to Fork GNOME

js — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:49:43 +0000

Ubuntu’s community manager Jono Bacon talks in an interview with derStandard.at about the relationship between Ubuntu and GNOME, GNOME Shell, Unity and why the netbook market is that important to Canonical. Link to the original site

Oracle Details Solaris 11, OpenSolaris’ Future Shaky

js — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:45:40 +0000

Due to me not working for OSNews these past eight weeks, I’ve been a bit out of the loop, as I didn’t really follow technology news. I did notice that a lot is going on in OpenSolaris land, and today, …

Google’s Chrome OS to Launch In Fall

js — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:11:38 +0000

Kidfork writes “On Wednesday Google’s vice president of product management said that this fall Google will launch Chrome OS to compete with Microsoft Windows. More than 70 million users already use the Chrome Browser, and Google expects at least 1 …

What’S New in Linux 2.6.35

js — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:10:46 +0000

Measures to support the power saving mechanisms of AMD graphics chips, network code optimizations for multi-core processors, features for de-fragmenting the working memory and an improved support of the power management and turbo features offered by modern processors are among …

Death of Windows XP SP2 Support Is a Security Risk

js — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:04:20 +0000

With Windows XP SP2 support ending in three weeks, a new report highlights the security risks that come with running an unsupported service pack. Link to the original site

Surveying the Challenges of Linux On Cortex A9-Based Laptops

js — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:58:08 +0000

Charbax writes “In this video, Jerone Young, lead partner engineer at Canonical, explains some of the challenges facing Canonical and other companies who are part of the new Linaro project, in preparation for the now imminent release of a whole …

Windows 7 SP1 Public Beta Released

js — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:03:29 +0000

Speaking at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Washington, Corporate Vice President of Windows & Windows Live – Tami Reller announced the public beta. Microsoft revealed its plans for Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 last month at …

Mandriva 2010.1 Released

js — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:02:22 +0000

Embattled Linux vendor Mandriva released version 2010 Spring, after a delay that only underscored the uncertainty around the distro’s future. Link to the original site

REMnux, the Malware Analysis Linux OS

js — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:02:05 +0000

Trailrunner7 writes “A security expert has released a stripped-down Ubuntu distribution designed specifically for reverse-engineering malware. The OS, called REMnux, includes a slew of popular malware-analysis, network monitoring and memory forensics tools that comprise a very powerful environment for taking …

Half of Windows 7 Machines Running 64-Bit Version

js — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:01:01 +0000

nk497 writes “Microsoft has said that nearly half of machines running Windows 7 are using the 64-bit version, up from just 11% of PCs running Vista. The 32-bit version is limited to 4GB RAM, while the 64-bit version allows 192GB, …

Windows XP SP2 Support Ends Tomorrow

js — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:00:56 +0000

Vectormatic writes “As can be seen on the product page for Windows XP, support for SP2 ends tomorrow, while the majority of Windows XP users still haven’t upgraded to SP3. This could open up millions of users/businesses to exploitation, since …

OpenSUSE 11.3 Released: Screenshots and Features

js — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:00:42 +0000

The last time OpenSUSE users enjoyed a stable release was in November 2009 making today’s release of OpenSUSE 11.3 a pretty big deal. This is the first release in the new eight month release schedule for OpenSUSE. Here are some …

IBM opens up beta for AIX 7

js — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:43:26 +0000

For only the second time since Big Blue entered the Unix market for real in February 1990 with the launch of the RS/6000 line of workstations and servers, the company is letting customers who use its Power-based servers take a …

RIP OpenSolaris

js — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:42:59 +0000

A Computerworld blog speculates that the open-source Unix distribution may live on, but Oracle won’t be supporting it. At this point, “OpenSolaris’ only real future is as a fork, which would not be easy to pull off. Still, with enough …

OpenSUSE 11.3: The Linux Distribution for KDE Lovers

js — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:42:11 +0000

Long time fans of openSUSE Linux and its commercial big brother, Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, will find a lot to like in this latest update. Link to the original site

PC-BSD 8.1 Released

js — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:42:03 +0000

The PC-BSD Team is pleased to announce the availability of PC-BSD 8.1 (Hubble Edition), running FreeBSD 8.1-RELEASE, and KDE 4.4.5. Version 8.1 contains a number of enhancements and improvements. Version 8.1 of PC-BSD is available for download from mirrors, as …

FreeBSD 8.1 Released

js — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:41:39 +0000

hsn and other readers pointed out that FreeBSD 8.1 has been released. “This is the second release from the 8-STABLE branch which improves on the functionality of FreeBSD 8.0 and introduces some new features. Some of the highlights: zfsloader added; …

Windows XP Remote Assistance Exploit Discovered

js — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:46:01 +0000

An insecurity expert has has discovered a vulnerability in older versions of Windows which pesky attackers could exploit to take over control of your PC. Somewhat ironically, the vulnerability afflicts the Help and Support Center for Windows XP and Server …

Mac OSX 10.6.4 Released

js — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 14:45:47 +0000

From the apple site: “The 10.6.4 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard. It includes Safari 5 and general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that: …

Microsoft Launches Windows Embedded Compact 7 CTP

js — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 12:18:58 +0000

And the award for Most Boring And Non-descriptive Press Release Title 2010 goes to Microsoft for “Microsoft Outlines Business Opportunities for Hardware Makers Across Windows Platform”. The press release itself appears to be about as interesting as watching paint dry, …

FreeBSD 8.1 Beta 1 Released

js — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:40:59 +0000

“The first of the test builds for the FreeBSD 8.1 release cycle is now available for amd64, i386, ia64, powerpc, pc98, and sparc64 architectures. Files suitable for creating installation media or doing FTP based installs through the network should be …

Btrfs Could Be the Default File System In Ubuntu Meerkat

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:51:07 +0000

An anonymous reader writes “The EXT family of file systems (ext2, ext3, ext4) have ruled many Linux distributions for a long time, and Ubuntu has been no exception. But things may no longer be the same for Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick …

Linux 2.6.34 Released

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:50:52 +0000

diegocg writes “Linux 2.6.34 has been released. This version adds two new filesystem, the distributed filesystem Ceph and LogFS, a filesystem for flash devices. Other features are a driver for almost-native KVM network performance, the VMware balloon driver, the ‘kprobes …

OpenBSD 4.7 Released

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:50:22 +0000

OpenBSD 4.7 is the newest installment in the proactively secure UNIX-like operating system. With 4.7 comes a range of new features including support for the Loongson 2E and 2F MIPS-compatible processors. See the release page for a complete list of …

Microsoft Warns of Windows 7 Graphics Flaw

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:50:09 +0000

Barence writes “A flaw with the graphics driver in Windows 7 could compromise the stability and security of PCs, Microsoft has warned. The vulnerability lies in the Windows Canonical Display Driver (cdd.dll) for the 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and …

Linux 2.6.34 Released

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:49:46 +0000

Linux 2.6.34 has been released. This version includes the distributed filesystem Ceph and LogFS, a filesystem for flash devices. Other features are a driver for almost-native KVM network performance, the VMware ballon driver, the “kprobes jump” optimization for dynamic probes, …

Ballmer Says Microsoft Wasted Time On Vista

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:41:35 +0000

Stoobalou writes “In a chat with fellow CEOs at Microsoft’s 14th annual CEO Summit, Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer came close to admitting Vista was a dog. ‘How do you get your product right? How do you help the customer? How …

Windows 3.0 Turns 20 Today

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:33:01 +0000

“The first truly successful Microsoft Windows operating system is twenty years old today; Windows 3.0 was launched on the 22nd of May 1990 and was the successor to Windows 2.1x. The Graphics User interface (technically it was not an operating …

Installing Linux On ARM-Based Netbooks?

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:32:04 +0000

An anonymous reader writes “I am sure that many other Slashdotters have noticed an increase in ARM-based netbooks over the past several months. For example, the Augen E-Go. It is a widely touted theory that it is impossible to install …

Slackware 13.1 Released

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:31:12 +0000

Several readers made sure we are aware that Slackware 13.1 release is out. Here’s the list of mirrors. “Slackware 13.1 brings many updates and enhancements, among which you’ll find two of the most advanced desktop environments available today: Xfce 4.6.1, …

EyeOS 2.0 Beta Released

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:31:03 +0000

EyeOS has released version 2.0 Beta. “After several months of hard work we’re happy to announce the immediate availability of the official release of eyeOS 2.0 Beta. And even more: the new release doesn’t come alone but with the brand …

Fedora 13 Is Out

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:24:42 +0000

ultranerdz writes “Fedora 13 has just been released. It includes some major features like automatic print driver installation, automatic language pack installation, redesigned user account tool, color management to calibrate monitors and scanners, experimental 3D support for NVIDIA video cards, …

Korona 4.4.3 Released

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:24:35 +0000

Pavel Heimlich has announced the release of an updated version of Korona 4.4.3: “Korona is the live DVD adding KDE4 packages on top of OpenSolaris. It is intended to be the showcase of the current state of the kde-solaris project, …

MeeGo 1.0 Released

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:24:29 +0000

“Today we are announcing the project release of MeeGo v1.0. This release provides developers with a stable core foundation for application development and a rich user experience for Netbooks. The MeeGo Netbook user experience is the first to appear, with …

Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx Benchmarked and Reviewed

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:24:16 +0000

tc6669 writes “Tom’s Hardware just posted an interesting review of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. It includes an expanded set of OS benchmarks which they also performed on the previous LTS release (8.04) to see just how much the mainstream Linux distro …

Slackware 13.1 Released

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:24:09 +0000

Pat Volkerding has released Slackware 13.1. “We have chosen to use the 2.6.33.4 kernel after testing the 2.6.33.x kernel branch extensively. Slackware 13.1 contains version 4.4.3 of the KDE Software Compilation. Several Xfce components have been updated as well. Xfce …

Fedora 13 Released

js — Mon, 31 May 2010 11:23:39 +0000

It’s Fedora release day! The Fedora project has pushed out version 13 of its cutting-edge Linux distribution. There’s a whole boatload of improvements, some of which come from the wider Free software ecosystem, but of course, there’s also a lot …

Microsoft Kills Support For XP SP2

js — Fri, 14 May 2010 12:38:03 +0000

Trailrunner7 writes “Microsoft’s announcement this week that it is preparing to end support for machines running Windows XP SP2 not only represents a challenge for the thousands of businesses still running SP2, but also is the end of an era …

Ubuntu 10.04 Released

js — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:34:08 +0000

It’s that time of year again: a new Ubuntu release (or Kubuntu, if that’s your thing). Canonical has just released Ubuntu 10.04, Lucid Lynx. This is a long term support release, meaning its supported period is far longer than that …

Update 2 of AmigaOS 4.1 Released

js — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:32:47 +0000

“Hyperion Entertainment CVBA announces the immediate availability of Update 2 for AmigaOS 4.1 for AmigaOne, SAM440EP and Pegasos II for registered users. Note that for this update you must have previously installed AmigaOS 4.1 Update 1. Installation of this Update …

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS gives Linux even more mainstream appeal

js — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:32:40 +0000

By Tim Conneally, Betanews Download Ubuntu 10.04 “Lucid Lynx” LTS from Fileforum now. As expected, Canonical today released the latest long-term support version of Ubuntu (v. 10.04, a.k.a., “Lucid Lynx”). This release carries considerably more weight than the usual bi-annual …

Win7 Can Delete All System Restore Points On Reboot

js — Thu, 13 May 2010 12:57:33 +0000

An anonymous reader writes “Astonishingly, the so-called system restore feature in Windows 7 deletes restore points without warning when the system is rebooted. This forum thread on answers.microsoft.com shows some of the users who have experienced the problem. Today I …

Microsoft Announces End of the Line For Itanium Support

js — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:04:39 +0000

WrongSizeGlass writes “Ars Technica is reporting that Microsoft has announced on its Windows Server blog the end of its support for Itanium. ‘Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008 R2, and Visual Studio 2010 will represent the last versions to …

Window Titlebar Widgets in Ubuntu 10.4 Remain on the Left

js — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:03:13 +0000

Common sense has prevailed (see bold text)! “The final decision on window controls for 10.04 LTS is as follows: the window controls will remain on the left, however the order will change to be (from left) close, minimize, maximise. The …

Windows Server 2008 R2 Last Version To Support Itanium

js — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:02:55 +0000

Ah, Intel’s IA-64 architecture. More commonly known as Itanium, it can probably be seen as a market failure by now. Intel consistently failed to deliver promised updates, and clock speeds have lagged behind. Regular x86-64 processors have already overtaken Itanium, …

Intel and Nokia Provide First MeeGo Release

js — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:02:49 +0000

wehe writes “The first fruit of the cooperation between Intel and Nokia is available: the first release of MeeGo. MeeGo is a merge of the former Maemo and Moblin Linux distros. What is available now is ‘The MeeGo distribution infrastructure …

Hacker Will Try To Restore Linux Support On PS3

js — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:01:55 +0000

Many readers have been sending in news of the impending PS3 firmware update that will remove the ability to install other operating systems on the console. (We discussed it here on Sunday.) Over the past few days, legions of PS3 …

Oracle Drops Solaris SystemZ Port

js — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:01:34 +0000

It appears that Oracle has lost interest in supporting the Solaris port for IBM SystemZ machines: “The SystemZ port of Solaris is dead. Oracle pulled all plugs and refused to further help the authors.” In two years, the project has …

Rumour: IBM To Re-Launch OS/2

js — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 12:48:12 +0000

Now this is one for the rumour pile. Yes, a rumour about a long-gone (mostly) operating system that lots of people have fond memories of. Barbara Darrow, Senior News Director at SearchDataCenter.com, claims that IBM is mulling over a reintroduction …

Windows 7 SP1 leaks, available now

js — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:08:44 +0000

By Tim Conneally, Betanews In March, the Windows team announced the upcoming release of Service Pack 1 for Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2, but did not set a date of availability. At the time, Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc said, …

Windows 7 SP1 leaks, downloadable now

js — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:08:38 +0000

10 Things Linux Does Better Than Windows

js — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:06:38 +0000

“To be clear about this article’s intent, it’s not to bash Microsoft, or Windows. Because to be fair, despite using Linux 95% of the time while I’m on the PC, I can find more faults with it than Windows. So, …

Researcher Releases Hardened OS “Qubes”; Xen Hits 4.0

js — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:06:30 +0000

Trailrunner7 writes “Joanna Rutkowska, a security researcher known for her work on virtualization security and low-level rootkits, has released a new open-source operating system meant to provide isolation of the OS’s components for better security. The OS, called Qubes, is …

Fedora 13 (Goddard) Beta Released

js — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 19:04:59 +0000

The Beta release of Fedora 13 (codename “Goddard”) blasts off today, true to its namesake, scientist and liquid-fueled rocketry pioneer Robert Hutchings Goddard. The Fedora 13 Beta release gives an early peek at free and open source technologies that reach …

Ubuntu Will Switch To Base-10 File Size Units In Future Release

js — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:25:37 +0000

CyberDragon777 writes “Ubuntu’s future 10.10 operating system is going to make a small, but contentious change to how file sizes are represented. Like most other operating systems using binary prefixes, Ubuntu currently represents 1 kB (kilobyte) as 1024 bytes (base-2). …

BeRTOS 2.4 Released

js — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:24:59 +0000

BeRTOS 2.4 has been released. “This is a major stable release, compatible with earlier versions. The most outstanding feature is the official release of the preemptive kernel and many other optimizations to context switching routines and the default scheduler. Other …

Ubuntu’s “Lucid Lynx” Enters Beta

js — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:24:48 +0000

ActionDesignStudios writes “The upcoming release of Ubuntu, titled ‘Lucid Lynx,’ has just entered the beta cycle. Alongside the usual desktop and server versions, a special version has been released that is designed to run on Amazon’s EC2 cloud service. This …

FreeBSD 7.3 Released

js — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:24:32 +0000

The FreeBSD team has released FreeBSD 7.3, the fourth release of the 7-STABLE branch. There will be one more release in this branch, but at this point, most developers are already working on the 8-STABLE branch. FreeBSD 7.3 focusses on …

GNU/Linux Distros Silently Drop PowerPC

js — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:23:16 +0000

At least two major GNU/Linux distributions have decided to drop PowerPC support; OpenSUSE has dropped support already, and Fedora is going to drop it in Fedora 13. Link to the original site

Solaris No Longer Free

js — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:22:22 +0000

“Hot on the heals of Oracle’s revamp of Solaris support, the licensing agreement for free downloads of Solaris 10 have changed. Here is the bit in question: “…Please remember, your right to use Solaris acquired as a download is limited …

Mac OS X 10.6.3 Released

js — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:22:08 +0000

Apple has released Mac OS X 10.6.3. “Apple on Monday released Mac OS X 10.6.3, the latest software update to its Snow Leopard operating system, bringing improvements in the reliability and compatibility of QuickTime X and addressing compatibility issues with …

HelenOS 0.4.2 Released

js — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:28:08 +0000

Version 0.4.2 of the little-known microkernel-based multiserver operating system HelenOS has been released. See their official release notes to find out what other bleeding-edge features besides an experimental and highly modular networking stack this release brings. Link to the original …

OpenBSD 4.7 Preorders Are Up

js — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:21:47 +0000

badger.foo writes “The OpenBSD 4.7 pre-orders are up. That means the release is done, sent off to CD production, and snapshots will turn -current again. Order now and you more likely than not will have your CD set, T-shirt or …

Multicore Requires OS Rework, Windows Architect Advises

js — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:16:02 +0000

“With chip makers continuing to increase the number of cores they include on each new generation of their processors, perhaps it’s time to rethink the basic architecture of today’s operating systems, suggested Dave Probert, a kernel architect within the Windows …

Multicore Requires OS Rework, Windows Expert Says

js — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:14:34 +0000

alphadogg writes “With chip makers continuing to increase the number of cores they include on each new generation of their processors, perhaps it’s time to rethink the basic architecture of today’s operating systems, suggested Dave Probert, a kernel architect within …

Oracle/Sun Enforces Pay-For-Security-Updates Plan

js — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:09:33 +0000

An anonymous reader writes “Recently, the Oracle/Sun conglomerate has denied public download access to all service packs for Solaris unless you have a support contract. Now, paying a premium for gold-class service is nothing new in the industry, but withholding …

Linux Takes Over E-Voting In Australian State

js — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:28:46 +0000

daria42 writes “The Electoral Commission in the Australian state of Victoria has made plans to expand its use of electronic voting kiosks based on Linux in the next state election in November of this year. But it appears to be …

86% of Windows 7 PCs Maxing Out Memory

js — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:29:24 +0000

CWmike writes “Citing data from Devil Mountain Software’s community-based Exo.performance.network (XPnet), Craig Barth, the company’s chief technology officer, said that new metrics reveal an unsettling trend. On average, 86% of Windows 7 machines in the XPnet pool are regularly consuming …

Windows Patch Leaves Many XP Users With Blue Screens

js — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:29:15 +0000

CWmike writes “Tuesday’s security updates from Microsoft have crippled Windows XP PCs with the notorious Blue Screen of Death, users have reported on the company’s support forum. Complaints began early yesterday, and gained momentum throughout the day. ‘I updated 11 …