Jason Brooks

Sun Microsystems Inc.s StarOffice 7 productivity suite is a capable cross-platform alternative to Microsoft Corp.s Office that comes at a price too attractive for enterprises to ignore. The follow-on to last years impressive StarOffice 6 starts at less than one-sixth the cost of Microsoft Office 2003, yet in eWEEK Labs tests, the StarOffice suites word […]

The KDE Projects KDE 3.2, which eWEEK Labs reviewed in its initial alpha release, should impress companies countenancing desktop Linux deployments. Along with GNOME, which we reviewed in its 2.4 beta edition last week, K Desktop Environment is one of the two most popular graphical environments for Linux, so changes in KDE can affect users […]

While GNOMEs nautilus file manager has seen compelling improvements in its latest version, theres always room for alternatives. eWEEK Labs took one such competing GNU Network Object Model Environment file manager, called Velocity, for a spin, and we were impressed with its potential. Velocity, written by developer Kyle Davis, is available for free download at […]

I cant overstate my appreciation for the scroll-wheel buttons that now grace most mice. Its tough to stomach much Web browsing without one. Microsoft, which helped popularize the scroll button, has introduced a horizontal axis to its scroll wheels, starting with the Wireless IntelliMouse Explorer, which began shipping earlier this month for $54.95. This new […]

Version 2.4 of the GNOME Projects namesake desktop environment provides a smooth, well-performing graphical interface for companies looking to expand their Linux deployments from the data center to the desktop. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GNOME 2.4 Beta 2 The GNOME Projects GNOME 2.4 exhibits continued improvement over previous versions, with particular gains in its Nautilus file manager […]

OneBridge Mobile Groupware 4.0, from extended Systems Inc., enables companies to provide mobile device users with flexible access to e-mail and PIM data stored on IBMs Lotus Domino 4.6, R5 and R6 servers, as well as Microsoft Corp.s Exchange 5.5 and 2000 servers. The product, which began shipping last month, is a follow-on to Extended […]

In March, the SCO Group filed a $1 billion lawsuit (a claim thats since grown to $3 billion) against IBM, alleging that IBM violated its licensing agreements with SCO by leaking Unix-related trade secrets and source code to Linux developers. At the time, SCO stressed that its actions were part of a dispute between two […]

Linux, the scarcely decade-old open-source operating system, looks to have reached a sort of critical mass and has entered into an awfully busy period in its development. Theres a major kernel update around the corner, an audacious licensing challenge with which to contend, and a rush by virtually every major enterprise IT vendor not located […]

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 Beta 1 The latest in Red Hats line of enterprise Linux distributions, which we tested in beta, offers enterprises a solid, affordable option for their network operating systems. Whats more, with a raft of desktop-oriented improvements pulled from the 8.0 and 9 releases of Red Hat Linux, the […]

Red Hat Inc. is nearing the second release in its line of Linux distributions geared specifically for the enterprise, and the new offering builds upon Red Hats server room strengths while emerging as a strong candidate for desktop deployment. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 Beta 1 The latest in Red Hats line of […]