Jason Brooks

Desktop systems based on IBMs PowerPC 970 and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.s Athlon 64 processors place 64-bit computing within the reach of mainstream users without closing the door to 32-bit applications. This is important because for now—and for the foreseeable future—its a 32-bit world. eWEEK Labs recently tested Apple Computer Inc.s Power Mac G5, driven […]

With the acquisition of SuSE and Ximian, Novell has made a serious investment in the idea that a software company can make money without exclusively owning the code it sells. Novell now leads a number of important open-source projects, but its approach to licensing the proprietary software it controls will be the true test of […]

This months release of Evolution 1.5 provides an early look at whats set to change when Ximian Inc.s popular e-mail and calendar application for Linux reaches its major Version 2.0 update in March. Evolution 1.5 is a development release intended for testing and bug hunting. In eWEEK Labs tests, we found the development label an […]

Im an enterprise user of desktop Linux, but I dont use an enterprise Linux distribution. My home and office desktops are running Fedora, the so-called developer and enthusiast variant of Red Hat Linux. See ExtremeTechs review of Fedora Core 1. My distribution preference has less to do with being on the bleeding edge than with […]

Its debut week for Java Desktop System— a product in which Sun Microsystems Inc. has combined Linux, Mozilla, GNOME and StarOffice—creating a credible challenger to Microsoft Corp.s Windows and Office on the corporate desktop. In eWEEK Labs tests of the final build, we found Java Desktop System (formerly code-named Mad Hatter) approachable and functional, with […]

A few years ago, a James Bond film hit the screens that centered on a scheme to secure exclusive TV broadcasting rights in China for 100 years. Aside from demonstrating just how lame the Bond series had become, the plot pointed to the enormous promise of the 1.3-billion-person Chinese market. At last months Comdex, Sun […]

Dells first entry in the handheld computer space—last years Axim X5—was capable, but I found it too bulky to consider carrying around. The latest Axims—the X3 and X3i—best the X5 yet remain affordable. An X3 powered by a 300MHz Intel XScale with 32MB of RAM costs $229, and a version with a 400MHz chip and […]

In the year to come, open-source software will continue its kudzulike spread through IT. For example, Sun Microsystems Inc. has been adamant about having “no Linux strategy,” but its forthcoming Java Desktop System (which, by the way, has nothing more to do with Java than Windows does) may prove to be the best corporate desktop […]

Palmone Inc.s Treo 600 strikes a good balance between wireless handset and handheld computer, improving on previous Treo models in both regards. The Treo 600s form is more phonelike than that of the Treo 270 and Treo 300, and it ditches the flip-open design that made earlier Treos fairly unwieldy when open and blocked the […]

Novell Inc.s announcement earlier this month of its planned purchase of No. 2 enterprise Linux distributor SuSE Linux AG marks the most recent and dramatic stage in Novells push to hitch its fortunes to Linux and open-source software. For companies countenancing a move to Linux, Novells moves mean that these firms have a vendor option […]

The death of Red Hat Inc.s desktop Linux ambitions has been greatly exaggerated. When Red Hat sent customers an e-mail with updates on the fast-approaching, end-of-life dates for Red Hat Linux 7.1 through 9, many interpreted the message as an announcement that Red Hat was quitting the desktop Linux market, but this is not the […]

In Mac OS X Version 10.3, Apple Computer Inc. combines its latest ideas with pieces drawn from the open-source world, from Mac OS versions past and from operating system rival Microsoft Corp.s Windows. In so doing, Apple delivers whats probably the most polished desktop operating system available today. Unfortunately, Mac OS X runs only on […]