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operating systems
Frederic Lardinois
April 9th, 2012

Google’s Chrome OS Will Soon Look More Like Windows Than A Browser

chrome-os-drawing-1

It’s hard to say how popular Chrome OS, Google’s browser-centric operating system, really is. There can be little doubt, though, that Google is quite serious about this initiative. Today, Google launched the latest developer version of Chrome OS and this update sports the first major redesign of the operation system’s interface since its launch in late 2010.

In this new version, Chrome OS… → Read More

Scott Merrill
June 17th, 2010

Pay what you want for Kiddix OS

From Microsoft Bob to Edubuntu there have been a number of attempts at making computers of various sorts easier and more useful for young people. Another participant in this space is Kiddix, “a complete operating system and software environment for children, built from the ground up with your family’s needs and safety in mind.” Kiddix is built upon Linux, and aims to present… → Read More

Nicholas Deleon
March 5th, 2010

North Korea develops its own Linux distro called Red Star OS

If you guys weren’t terrified of North Korea by now, here’s more evidence that the country is absolutely nuts: they’ve developed their own Linux distribution! It’s called Red Star OS, and we can thank a Russian student for unearthing it for us. I now fully expect to see knee-jerk reactions like, “Down with Linux!” even though that makes no sense at all. → Read More

Nicholas Deleon
August 28th, 2009

Here's a list of applications that are glitchy with Snow Leopard

Head’s up to any of y’all looking to upgrade to Snow Leopard this weekend (that’s my plan, along with installing Windows 7). It’s not exactly a surprise, but some applications may be a little wonky with the new operating system, and this Web site has a list of what’s what. → Read More

Nicholas Deleon
August 21st, 2009

Snow Leopard will be out soon, no need to freak out

Here’s some advice to all of you guys who are trying to keep up-to-date on the latest Snow Leopard news: don’t go anywhere near a computer for the next week or so. There were rumors last week that Snow Leopard build 10A432 was slated for gold master, but then you read message board thread after message board there wherein people complain about little glitches here and there. Hardly a sign of Apple… → Read More

Scott Merrill
August 11th, 2009

Robot OS paves the way for army of standardized robo-assassins

You know how it is: you go down to your secret lair to work on the prototype for your armada of deathbots, and you get paralyzed by the sheer enormity of the project you’ve undertaken. Not only do you need to find the raw materials, you need to design the bodies and weapons systems, build in failsafes so they don’t attack you, and basically write a complete operating system from scratch. That’s a… → Read More

Nicholas Deleon
July 25th, 2009

Throw a stone and you'll find Windows 7 OEM online to download. Not that you'd do such a thing, of course.

Friends, you cannot go anywhere on the Internet without running into the OEM version of Windows 7. This is the same version of the operating system that’ll be loaded onto your Dells, your HPs, your Lenovos, etc. → Read More

Scott Merrill
July 9th, 2009

A rebuttal, in which Chrome OS is praised, and no disparaging remarks are made

John pooh poohs Google Chrome OS, just like he pooh poohed the Palm Pre. John’s a smart guy, and has some good insights into the technology world. But on the issue of Google Chrome OS, I think he’s wrong. Google isn’t in the operating system market, it’s in the software services market. The easier Google can make it to get to their hosted applications, the more customers they’ll have. To… → Read More

Nicholas Deleon
June 7th, 2009

Here's what the Windows 7 box looks like!

Gather ’round the campfire, children, as we look at the Windows 7 boxes. There’s Home Premium… there’s Professional… and is that… yes! Yes, it’s Windows 7 Ultimate! Three cheers for life! → Read More

Nicholas Deleon
April 30th, 2009

Microsoft releases Windows 7 RC to MSDN, TechNet folks

Ladies and gentlemen! Microsoft has officially released Windows 7 RC1—no more need for shady torrents, then. You have to be a member of MSDN or TechNet to download it today; the public at large will have to wait till May 5. → Read More

Nicholas Deleon
April 8th, 2009

Windows 7: You love it, you really really love it!

You guys really love Windows 7! One of those fancy research firms conducted a poll and found that 44 percent of people (IT professionals) said they were “very satisfied” with the beta. Finding 44 percent of people to agree on anything is hard enough, but to find these people showering Windows 7 with love must make Microsoft a very proud papa indeed. → Read More

Scott Merrill
April 7th, 2009

Microsoft kindly permits Windows 7 users to downgrade to XP

Great news, everyone stuck in 2001! Microsoft will allow users to downgrade from Windows 7 to Windows XP! So if you’re super happy with the stability and performance of Windows XP, and don’t give a damn about any of the new features or enhancements included in Microsoft’s latest offering, you can safely bury your head back in the sand! → Read More

Nicholas Deleon
March 6th, 2009

Latest complete guess puts Apple Snow Leopard at June 8

A bit of a Snow Leopard update for y’all this fine (?) Friday afternoon. A gentleman at the Baltimore Sun—wow, is it really like The Wire?—has OFFICIALLY PREDICTED that Apple’s WWDC will begin on June 7, which is a Sunday. Therefore, this gentleman says, we can expect to see the official unveiling of Snow Leopard the following day, on Monday, June 8. Does that mean you’ll be able to… → Read More

Nicholas Deleon
January 11th, 2009

So how's that Windows 7 beta treating you?

So how’s that Windows 7 beta treating you? Even if you’ve had issues—and we know that some of you have—you should know that Microsoft is trying to make this whole experience work as smoothly as possible → Read More

Nicholas Deleon
January 9th, 2009

Microsoft's servers feeling the heat re: Windows 7 beta

Look what happens when you try to visit Microsoft’s Windows blog, in search of the Windows 7 beta. → Read More

Nicholas Deleon
January 8th, 2009

Windows 7 beta available tomorrow: Only 2.5 million download slots available

Better hurry up if you want to download the Windows 7 beta, since Microsoft is only allowing the first 2.5 million of you to try it out. Those of you with fancy TechNet and MSDN connections can grab it now; everyone else will have to wait till tomorrow, Friday, January 9 → Read More

Nicholas Deleon
November 7th, 2008

Looks like Microsoft wants Windows 7 out the door in time for Christmas 2009

Did you hear the news? Microsoft is looking to ship Windows 7, its Hail Mary of sorts, by mid-2009, with the goal of having it pre-installed on most machines by the holiday shopping season. So, come next Christmas, you could be using Windows 7! So that’s sorta neat. → Read More

Nicholas Deleon
October 6th, 2008

Linux (sort of ) turned 17-years-old yesterday

Flickr’d It was 17 years ago yesterday that Linus Torvalds announced on Usenet the availability of his “free minix-like kernel,” better known to the world as Linux. (The kernel was actually released some days earlier, but who’s counting?) We even had our own Linux Week several months ago in order to celebrate our love/like/apathy/disdain for the operating system. Slashdot is… → Read More

Devin Coldewey
September 26th, 2008

10+ alternative OSes that may provide next year's innovations

digg_url = ‘http://digg.com/software/10_Alternative_OSes_that_ll_provide_next_year_s_innovations’; One interesting thing about the software world, I find, is that there is a trickle-up system for innovation. Things like live searches, better task bars, and the much-debated widget/gadget/dashboard idea often have had their seeds in smaller OSes or pieces of software. Designers will… → Read More

Doug Aamoth, Contributor
September 24th, 2008

WinMo 7 delayed until the second half of next year?

Imagine today, but a year from now. You might still be waiting for the next version of Windows Mobile. Apparently hardware vendors had been expecting the final version to arrive “by early next year” but were recently told that it wouldn’t be ready until the second half on next year, according to CNET. In other news, guess what’s white hot right now? Operating systems for mobile phones. → Read More

Josh Goldman, Contributor
September 24th, 2008

WinMo 7 delayed until the second half of next year?

Imagine today, but a year from now. You might still be waiting for the next version of Windows Mobile. Apparently hardware vendors had been expecting the final version to arrive “by early next year” but were recently told that it wouldn’t be ready until the second half on next year, according to CNET. In other news, guess what’s white hot right now? Operating systems for mobile phones. → Read More

Doug Aamoth, Contributor
September 22nd, 2008

Some more Windows 7 information for your perusal

Here’s a little info to prepare you for the arrival of Windows 7. Sure, it’s still well over a year away and sure, all this stuff could change at the drop of a hat, but let’s just run with it. According to Technologizer, an early build of Windows 7 may contain some or all of the following: – A fancier calculator. – The Office 2007 Ribbon thing may cross over into WordPad and MS… → Read More

Doug Aamoth, Contributor
July 29th, 2008

People who hate Vista shown ‘Mojave’ and like it, then find out that ‘Mojave’ is actually Vista

Okay, here’s what happened. Microsoft took a group of 120 individuals who “were either Mac, Linux, or users of versions of Windows that came before Windows Vista” and who rated their perception of Vista at less than a five on a scale of one to ten. These people were shown a demo of what they thought was a new Windows OS called “Mojave” and this demo was individually tailored to each… → Read More

Doug Aamoth, Contributor
March 24th, 2008

All About Linux 2008: Aren't UNIX and Linux the same thing? Yes and no.

The “What’s the difference between UNIX and Linux?” question can be answered similar to the analogy section that many of us had to complete on the SAT test; UNIX is to DOS as Linux is to Windows. That’s a grossly oversimplified answer to a complex question and I’ll no doubt get flamed by some of the more advanced UNIX and/or Linux users out there but in the interest… → Read More

John Biggs
March 24th, 2008

All About Linux 2008: Why use Linux?

Purdy! You know who you are: the guy who doesn’t do Linux. Windows works fine, all of your software works under Windows, and things are much cooler when you don’t have to worry about all that command-line garbage. Sure, Vista is a dog and SP1 causes cancer. Sure gaming is getting hit or miss without enough hardware to launch a space mission. Windows works for business and pleasure. → Read More

Doug Aamoth, Contributor
January 11th, 2008

Ubuntu 'Hardy Heron' Alpha 3 released

The next iteration of the wildly popular Ubuntu Linux operating system, Hardy Heron, has just hit Alpha 3 status if you’re keen on tinkering around with it. Has anybody tried this out yet? I’m running Gutsy Gibbon on my laptop and it’s been nothing but smooth, like rice wine and/or Swedish radio. Hardy Heron includes Xorg 7.3, the 2.6.24-3.5 (2.6.24-rc6-based) Linux kernel… → Read More

Doug Aamoth, Contributor
November 26th, 2007

Linus Torvalds on upcoming Linux improvements

InformationWeek has a pretty interesting interview with Linux founder Linus Torvalds. The requisite Microsoft vs. Linux comparisons make up much of the article but he also weighs in on which improvements he feels will come to the open source operating system in 2008. He thinks graphics and wireless networking have been "somewhat weak spots" and will garner more attention this upcoming… → Read More