Linus Torvalds, who started the Linux operating system project in 1991 and is still in charge, said Friday that he's initiating the preliminary versions of the kernel intended for serious "production" use instead of just development of new features.

In this release, NFS has been immensely improved with bug fixes and performance tuning, Numerous security enhancements and fixes have been applied during the course of development of FreeBSD 4.0 and many more important changes have been made.

Linux will not only change the way you use your computer, but will change the entire way computers are used. Linux provides opportunities to the desktop not offered by Microsoft's family of Operating Systems. Even the much beloved Macintosh OS cannot give the same experience as using Linux on the desktop.

The new 1000 series from VA crams two Intel processors into a server 1.75 inches thick. The actual machine is manufactured by Network Engines. Of the major server companies only IBM has a similar product--its "Intimidator" computer, also licensed from Network Engines.

Corel Corp.'s talks with Intel Corp. and at least one computer maker to produce a new line of cheap personal computers could lead to significant long-term revenue for the Ottawa software maker -- and produce a serious threat to Microsoft Corp., analysts say.

The open source movement is supposed to be a digital version of Woodstock, with Internet geeks swaying to a happy beat as they conjure up the software of the future--Linux, in particular. Yet dig a little deeper and you'll quickly uncover a nasty struggle over how that operating system will look on personal computers.

Sun Microsystems plans to release the source code for its Java software development tool in a bid to make the Java programming language more popular. Sun executives said today the company will soon release the code for its "Forte for Java, Community Edition," a free, easy-to-use tool that offers software developers a graphical user interface for designing Java applications.

Lineo has snapped up the third in a series of companies to bolster its effort to

push Linux into all manner of non-PC devices. Lineo this week picked up United

System Engineers, a 27-person engineering consulting firm based in Shiojiri, Japan. The 15-year-old firm will help Lineo explain to prospective customers why they might want to switch from existing operating systems to Lineo's version of Linux for set-top boxes, factory robots and other "embedded" devices, said Lyle Ball, vice president of marketing and communications.

As time to market becomes more and more critical to companies hoping to build a Web presence, officials at Cobalt Networks think they have made it easier and less costly for companies to do so. Cobalt has integrated network-based applications, such as Web hosting, e-mail, and file sharing, as well as system and network setup, into a browser-based graphical-user interface.

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