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Red Hat releases high-end Linux beta
LINUX seller Red Hat has begun beta testing for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0, its next high-end product due to ship this fall with support for several new servers.
Red Hat released the test version, called Taroon, last week, and the Linux company plans to release the final product this fall, spokeswoman Leigh Day said. The current product, version 2.1, supports servers and workstations with Intel Xeon and Pentium processors, but 3.0 will expand to include systems based on Intel's Itanium and AMD's Opteron and to all four of IBM's server lines.
The broader server support will catch Red Hat up to its smaller competitor, SuSE, whose Linux products already supports those servers. The vast majority of Linux installations, however, run on systems with Intel's Pentium or Xeon processors, analysts say.
Red Hat in 2002 split its product line into two main versions, Red Hat Enterprise Linux for business users and Red Hat Linux for hobbyists.
The new version is available on the company's FTP site. Taroon is named after a developer's home town--a nomenclature also used in the naming of previous Red Hat versions code-named Guinness and Pensacola, Day said.
Solaris gets update
Sun Microsystems has released an update to its Solaris operating system that incorporates, for the first time, the Gnome open-source graphical interface.
The overhaul of Sun's version of Unix, announced Tuesday, now allows people to choose Gnome instead of the interface that has been part of the software for years, the Common Desktop Environment (CDE).
The open-source Gnome project was founded to bypass CDE, which relies on technology with proprietary restrictions to build graphical elements such as windows with buttons and menus. Though the controller of the CDE technology, the Open Group, is now embracing open-source principles, Sun decided to move to Gnome.
The new version features a reworked file system that can accommodate as many as 16 terabytes of capacity, though Sun doesn't support the use of individual files larger than 1 terabyte. It also includes version 2.1 of Solaris Live Upgrade, which adds ways to update the operating system with minimum interruption of a running machine.
Microsoft upgrades SMB
Microsoft Corp. unveiled Monday enhancements to its business application for small and medium-size retailers.
Version 1.2 of the Microsoft Retail Management System includes capabilities that make it easier to manage, control and plan the growth of a single- or multi-store operation. Enhancements include a new payment processing and service feature, deeper integration with financial applications and easier customization of the software.
For customers using Citibank Merchant Services, there's support for integrated debit card and transaction processing.
Microsoft, headquartered in Redmond, Wash., sells Retail Management Systems for a starting price of $1,290 for a single license.
Lindows unveils DVD
Update Lindows.com, which makes a consumer-oriented version of the Linux operating system, introduced on Tuesday an application that allows computers running the Lindows OS to play commercial DVDs.
The San Diego-based company said LindowsOS 4.0 can automatically detect and launch the DVD player application. In addition to DVDs, the application can play CDs, video CDs and multimedia files including MP3, WMV and AVI, the company said.
The DVD application can be downloaded at Lindows' website. The application costs $4.95 for members of Lindows' Click-N-Run Warehouse, and $39.95 for nonmembers.
MIT courses for free
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is making its course materials available to the world for free download.
One year after the launch of its pilot program, MIT on Monday published everything from class syllabuses to lecture videos for 500 courses through its OpenCourseWare initiative, an ambitious project it hopes will spark a Web-based revolution in the way universities share information.
The program aims to distribute its course materials as a way to help teachers and students around the world gain access to the MIT faculty's methods and information. By that measure, the project has already succeeded, according to Potts, who reports more than 1,000 e-mails from people who have used the service since its soft launch last year. — Dawn ScienceDotcom
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