O’Reilly continues its series on running Linux applications under BSD on the PPC platform, discussing signals and signal compatibility.

ZDNet: “Sharp has announced a new PDA for the non-Japan
market which features an embedded Linux operating
system and a Java application environment. From a
hardware perspective, the device is based on an Intel
StrongARM system-on-chip processor. The user
interface consists of a bright, full-color “quarter-VGA”
LCD touch/display along with a built-in QWERTY
keyboard (located behind a slide cover).”

LinuxPR press release: “FreeMED Release
Jun 7th, 20:40 UTC

FreeMED announces the release of Thelonius/CVS. Although this is a CVS
release it is being used in several production environments.

The FreeMed project is announces the release of ‘Version 0.2.1.2
(Thelonious/CVS). Downloads are available directly at sourceforge and through
the FreeMED Website.”

James Adler writes “Craig Mundie: What Would You Ask Him? O’Reilly is looking for questions for MS vp Craig Mundie, who apparently will be participating in their upcoming Open Source Conference. Let’s give them some good ammunition for a serious debate.”

MSNBC reports on the latest online advertising method to really annoy the hell out of just about everyone. “Pop-under” ads are pretty much like pop-up ads, except they appear under the target browser window. One of the early (and most prolific) adopters of pop-under ads has been X10, the wireless camera company, “and, not surprising for such a take-no-prisoners strategy, the four-month-old campaign has left a lot of suffering in its wake.”

Sm@rt Partner reports: “In a keynote at Sun’s JavaOne developer conference on Tuesday,
Java creator James Gosling announced that Sun will add assertions
and generics to Java because they are the two most popular
developer requests. The changes will be available in version 1.4 of the
Java platform.” The changes are expected to result in more reliable Java-based applications.

OpenRPG, a suite of role-playing utilities for online gaming, has announced version 0.9a. “The most significant change in this release is the migration to a server side
validated miniature map. This new implementation should resolve many of
the map version conflicts that come up during gaming sessions.”

ZDNet eWEEK reviews IBM’s p Series 660 Model 6H1, Big Blue’s newest midrange enterprise server. The new iron “offers plenty of processing power and high availability features to tackle e-business applications in today’s Web hosting, ERP, and CRM environments.”

MSNBC: “I want to know what drug was
slipped into America’s drinking water that turned us all
into compliant, sleepwalking, self-effacing drones. I ask
because that can be the only explanation why this
country of chronic complainers, cynics and crybabies sits
meek and mute, allowing the software industry to trade us
shoddy products for hard-earned cash. I don’t know
about you, but my killer apps are killing me.”

From a Reuters item at ZDNet: “Gypsy groups plan to demand billions of dollars from US computer giant
IBM in a lawsuit alleging the company’s machines helped Nazi
Germany in the mass slaughter of gypsies.

At least 600,000 gypsies are believed to have died at the hands of
National Socialists before and during World War II — either murdered
outright by the Nazis or killed in concentration camps and slave-labour
factories.”