Jason Brooks

About

As Editor in Chief of eWEEK Labs, Jason Brooks manages the Labs team and is responsible for eWEEK's print edition. Brooks joined eWEEK in 1999, and has covered wireless networking, office productivity suites, mobile devices, Windows, virtualization, and desktops and notebooks. Jason's coverage is currently focused on Linux and Unix operating systems, open-source software and licensing, cloud computing and Software as a Service.

Pulling for Bluetooth

To say that the Bluetooth personal area network protocol has underachieved on cellular handsets in the United States is an understatement. But there are reasons for this lackluster performance. Bluetooth has holes in its implementation and in its marketing, and the sooner its cavities are filled, the sooner it can realize its sizable potential. Earlier […]

GNOME 2.5.3 Shows Improvement but Still Trails KDE

Whenever the KDE project ships a new release, you know the next version of the Linux worlds other dominant desktop environment, GNOME, cant be far behind. This time was no exception. In the same week that KDE 3.2 began shipping, the GNOME crew made available Version 2.5.3 of its desktop interface software. As with the […]

KDE Gains Browser, Management Muscle

Version 3.2 of the K Desktop Environment, which began shipping earlier this month, is a full-featured and easy-to-use desktop environment for Linux and Unix that goes a long way toward making the case for Linux as an enterprise desktop alternative to Windows. In eWEEK Labs tests, KDE 3.2 impressed us chiefly with its speed and […]

Novells Shift to Linux Starts Well

Novell Inc. has announced its intentions to ship the next version of its flagship network operating system, NetWare, as a set of services that will run atop the Linux kernel as well as on Novells existing NetWare kernel. While these plans are a major architecture shift, Novell Nterprise Linux Services 1.0, a set of back-end […]

Linux in Hand

Its been about eight years since Palm Computing launched its first Pilots and brought handheld computing into the mainstream, yet many companies are still asking themselves how mobile devices fit into their computing plans. With the amount of power thats available, youd think handhelds would be firmly enmeshed in more enterprises. Todays handheld computers are […]

AppForges Crossfire Embraces Diversity

Platform diversity in the world of mobile computing is a fact of life: The mobile sphere comprises a mix of devices running operating systems from PalmSource Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Symbian Ltd. Although this is great for competition, its challenging for the application developers who target these devices. Click here to read the full review […]

Its the OS, Stupid

Ive been hearing a lot lately about how the operating system is headed toward irrelevance, tossed aside at the dawn of some platform-agnostic middleware-driven utopia. Its a provocative and attractive concept, but its also incorrect. As long as a single company controls the software that runs nearly every personal computer in the world, the OS […]

JES Integrates Net Services

In a bid to make its network services software simpler to purchase, install and maintain, Sun Microsystems Inc. has rolled its directory, Web and collaboration server products into an integrated whole called Java Enterprise System. Click here to read full review. 2 In a bid to make its network services software simpler to purchase, install […]

KDE, GNOME Both Needed

KDE is a mature, functional GUI for Linux and Unix that’s popular with seasoned users and newbies. However, KDE doesn’t get much love from enterprise Linux vendors, who seem to be gravitating toward the rival GNOME environment. The move away from KDE and toward GNOME is not a positive development. Both environments have strengths, and […]

OS Upgrade Options

With Microsoft Corp. playing fast and furious with support for Windows 98, companies still running this outmoded operating system have more reason than ever to make the move from the Win 9x architecture. But where to? The most obvious route may be to Windows XP, which promises to let administrators and users stick with what […]