Gizmodo: operating system

Windows XP Gets Another Six Months to Live: Will Not Go Gently Into that Good Night

Dan Nosowitz — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 10:00:00 EDT

According to a leaked email from a PC OEM, Microsoft has officially extended the life of its now-beloved Windows XP, moving the date of planned obsolescence from January 31, 2009 all the way to July 31, 2009. In the wake of its very expensive ad campaign promoting (in a roundabout way) Vista, the move is a bit surprising. Essentially, Microsoft is trying to let users skip Vista completely, moving directly from XP to its forthcoming OS, Windows 7. The deadline for OEMs to include Windows XP recovery discs has been pushed back a couple of times already, and apparently some Microsoft hardware partners want it even further in the future than July. XP has become the Bill Clinton of OSs (stay with me here): yeah, it was great at the time, but it's showing its age and its enthusiasm for the new guy is sometimes suspect. Windows 3.11 in 2008! [The Register UK]

Mac OS X Snow Leopard for Servers Getting ZFS

Brian Lam — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:00:25 EDT

Awhile ago, there were rumors of Leopard getting Sun's clean-sheet designed file system from the future, ZFS. OS X server is getting it in Snow Leopard, according to Apple's preview page. The consumer version doesn't look to be receiving the theoretically incorruptible file sytem yet, but we can hope it'll trickle down eventually. [Apple via ZDNet]

Source: OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Will Support PowerPC Chips

Elaine Chow — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 14:10:00 EDT

Contrary to rumors that Apple would drop PowerPC architecture support with its newest OS, a tipster and possible Apple insider was able to get his hands on the most recent build of the yet-to-be released 10.6, and found some evidence that Cupertino might be keeping the chip alive.

The tipster, who asked to stay anonymous lest he incur the wrath of Jobs, found a WWDC seed release labeled 10.6. After poking around a bit, here's what he got:

• Work has definitely been done on PPC-native drivers, which means that PPC is unlikely to be dropped.
• A number of drivers didn't load on a Core 2 Duo MacBook, because it was using a 64-bit kernel and the drivers were only 32. The kernel was not only 64-bit though.
• "uname -a" reports: Darwin localhost 10.0.0d1 Darwin Kernel Version 10.0.0d1: Thu May XX XX:XX:XX XDT 2008; root:xnu-1286~1/RELEASE_I386 i386
• Googling that kernel reveals that there might actually be SnowLeopard releases out in the wild already, processing Rosetta@Home protein folding clients.

If the tipoff is true, then it looks like Apple's not quite ready to let go and hand over chip building to a third party. Perhaps we'll have to wait for a few more builds before we get to a completely Intel-only Mac OS X.

Microsoft Cuts Vista Prices, XP Still Better

Haroon Malik — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:45:00 EST

Looks like Microsoft is trying another push to get Vista Ultimate running as your OS of choice. The top-end operating system will receive a price cut from $399 to $319, whilst the upgrade version will now retail at $219, a savings of $40 on the original price. Vista Home Premium will also be dropped in price, from $159 to $129. If you were holding out, now seems like a good time as any to take the Vista plunge, or stick with XP SP3 because it kicks Vista-ass. Your call. Note: the Digg badge on this post corresponds to the original news' Digg. [News.com]

Vista SP1 on February 15th?

Sean Fallon — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:00:23 EST

A DRAM spokesperson from a company called Nanya believes that Vista SP1 will hit the street on Feb. 15th. PC World followed up with a phone call to Microsoft but they only confirmed a Q1 release. [Digitimes and PC World]

WSJ: Google To Announce GPhone Plans on Monday...Finally

Sean Fallon — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 20:19:32 EDT

According to the Wall Street Journal, Google will be announcing its phone plans on Monday, hopefully putting a stop to the endless rumors floating out there regarding the GPhone. The announcement is expected to reveal a series of alliances with multiple handset makers and cellphone operators that are open to the idea of pushing Google phone applications. WSJ notes that the timing of the announcement could always change, but at this point Monday is looking good. [WSJ]

Google Phone Possibly Heading to Sprint, Verizon - Announcement Within Two Weeks?

Jason Chen — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:36:58 EDT

Along with Verizon, Google seems to be talking with Sprint Nextel about plans to debut the Google Phone or Google Phone Operating System (GPOS—we coined that just now) on their respective services. Like Apple, in order for Google to get their OS in front of customers, it needs to find a carrier to cooperate with and sell the handset. The WSJ claims that an announcement about the matter is coming some time within two weeks, which means if the GPOS is close to being finished, it might be ready to use as early as the end of the year. [WSJ - Photo Credit]

Surgeons Finish Operation Using Just Cellphone-Screen Lighting

AddyDugdale — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 08:40:59 EDT

Surgeons in Argentina were able to complete an operation using the light from cellphone screens after a city-wide blackout. The hospital's generator failed to kick in and they continued to work in darkness until someone stepped into the room—not the Spanish Inquisition but, nevertheless, someone completely unexpected.

Local man Leonardo Molina was on the operating table undergoing an appendectomy when the lights went out in the town of Villa Mercedes' Policlinico Juan D. Peron. A relative, thought to be the 29-year-old patient's elder brother Ricardo, collected up mobiles from other patients' families who were waiting in the hallway, and took them into the theater.

According to hospital director Dario Maurer, the blackout lasted just 20 minutes. Ricardo Molina, however, claimed that the hospital was without power for an hour, and the anesthetic administered to his brother was wearing off. [Reuters]