tim ferro
professional software developer, gen y advocate, blogger, and orator

“The wacky developers behind the popular Ubuntu linux distribution have chosen a code name for Ubuntu 8.10, or the version that will be released after the next version. Following the longstanding tradition of giving each new version a two word name with an adjective followed by an animal, Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth has announced that Ubuntu 8.10 will be known as Intrepid Ibex. No, really.” - Source

“The first alpha release of Fedora 9 (codenamed Sulphur) was announced this morning on the Fedora mailing list. This alpha, which provides a first look at the features of Fedora’s next release, includes GNOME 2.21, KDE 4.0, Firefox 3 beta 2, version 2.6.24 of the Linux kernel, and many other improvements.” - Source

“On January 11th, 2008, at roughly 7 am ET, KDE 4 became available for download. Not that we were refreshing our browsers or anything in anticipation. Packages are currently available for Kubuntu (Hardy and Gutsy), Debian (in the experimental branch), Fedora (in the Rawhide repository), Gentoo and openSuSE. ArkLinux and Mandriva packages will be available soon.” - Source

“As a team, we’ve spent the last year heads down working hard on IE8. Last week, we achieved an important milestone that should interest web developers. IE8 now renders the “Acid2 Face” correctly in IE8 standards mode.” - Source

“Oh Canonical, it seems like just yesterday that you pushed out Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon. And now the first alpha version of Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron is already available for download? They grow up so quickly.” - Source

“As promised earlier this month, Microsoft announced today that both Visual Studio 2008 and the accompanying .NET Framework 3.5 have been released to manufacture (RTM).

Codenamed Orcas, Visual Studio 2008 (VS2008) comes two years after Visual Studio 2005. In total, there are more than 250 new features added with significant enhancements across every version ranging from Express Editions to Visual Studio Team Systems (VSTS). A key addition in VS2008 is support for the new Language Integrated Query (LINQ), which is positioned as a technology for rapid application development. LINQ is designed to let developers focus on what they need the data to do, rather than be mired in the complexities of data abstraction and casting. Also, LINQ makes it easier to tie C# or Visual Basic with SQL.” - Source

Coverage at Neowin.net
Coverage at RegDeveloper

“Open source products comprise the work of many collaborators — sometimes thousands of them, and often separated by oceans. Each person works on small portions of a project, and anyone is welcome to contribute. The finished product will be available freely for anyone to download and, in most cases, modify.

All very touchy-feely, carey-sharey, but why should you care about open source? You should care because the vast majority of common applications, even complex commercial stuff such as Adobe Photoshop, Windows Media Player and Microsoft Office, have free, open-source alternatives. And this point is worth reiterating: open-source software is free. No cost. Zero. Zilch.” - Source

“Then there’s the work Ubuntu computer, on which I do just about everything when I’m in the office. On Friday, I decided to update it from 7.04 to 7.10. That took a single click - no, honestly - in the system software manager, and about ten minutes downtime, most of which was me playing about. While most of the software was downloading and installing itself, I could carry on working.

And 7.10 is really rather nice; I find myself enjoying the various windows animation gimmicks more than I expected. I particularly enjoyed installing some new Firefox add-ins that needed a browser restart: as the old instance closed, the window shrank into the distance, and a second later the new instance sprang into life as if it was being thrown onto the screen from behind me. The tabs I had open were carried across the restart - stylish, fun and minimally invasive. Oh, and 7.10 found the ZDNet editorial printer on the network and installed the correct driver, without fuss. Superb.” - Source

” Windows XP/2000 only: Software firewall ZoneAlarm is offering free downloads of its basic firewall package with a spyware scanner/cleaner and a year of free updates until 5 p.m. PST today (although you’ll get an email with a download link that’s valid for a week after that). Program maker Check Point Software claims the free offering is made to coincide with Microsoft’s monthly “Patch Tuesday” and the ensuing new vulnerabilities that hackers start working on. Regardless of the piggy-back marketing, ZoneAlarm is an easy-to-use port protector, and a little free spyware protection couldn’t hurt either. ZoneAlarm Anti-Spyware is a free download for Windows 2000 and XP only.” - Source