desktop computing

Canonical has announced that it will release its latest Ubuntu updates for desktop and server editions on Oct. 30.

According to the Linux-based operating system's commercial distribution sponsor, the free download of Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop Edition has been specifically tailored to fulfill the connectivity needs of today's digital lifestyle. For example, users of the new desktop OS will be able to move seamlessly from wired and Wi-Fi networks onto 3G cell-phone networks while on the go, noted Canonical Chief Operating Officer Jane Silber.

It is almost unthinkable that any one human could pick up where Bill Gates leaves off when he ends his full-time tenure Friday as Microsoft's leader.

But as Gates bones up on epidemiology at his charitable foundation, the software company he built with a mix of visionary manifestos and extreme hands-on management must still wake up Monday to face hard problems even he could not solve. Among them: beating Google Inc. on the Web while fending off its attacks on desktop computing.

It is almost unthinkable that any one human could pick up where Bill Gates leaves off when he ends his full-time tenure Friday as Microsoft's leader.

But as Gates bones up on epidemiology at his charitable foundation, the software company he built with a mix of visionary manifestos and extreme hands-on management must still wake up Monday to face hard problems even he could not solve. Among them: beating Google Inc. on the Web while fending off its attacks on desktop computing.

Google and IBM committed to working more closely on cloud computing Thursday at IBM's Business Partnership Leadership Conference in Los Angeles. The companies said they were extending a joint research project that started last October.

"Cloud computing is the story of our lifetime," Google CEO Eric Schmidt said. "Eventually all devices will be on the network."

He was joined onstage by IBM CEO Sam Palmisano, who said the relationship marks a new avenue for Big Blue. "It is the first time we have taken something from the consumer arena and applied it to the enterprise," he said.

Google and IBM committed to working more closely on cloud computing Thursday at IBM's Business Partnership Leadership Conference in Los Angeles. The companies said they were extending a joint research project that started last October.

"Cloud computing is the story of our lifetime," Google CEO Eric Schmidt said. "Eventually all devices will be on the network."

He was joined onstage by IBM CEO Sam Palmisano, who said the relationship marks a new avenue for Big Blue. "It is the first time we have taken something from the consumer arena and applied it to the enterprise," he said.

Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) will reportedly debut later this month. Tech news outlets are widely reporting that the much-anticipated update will be available on April 29. Microsoft was not immediately available for comment.

The final version of Windows XP SP3 was slated for delivery during the first half of 2008, but Microsoft seems intent on downplaying the attention it might get in favor of pushing Windows Vista, especially in light of the uproar about extending the life of XP.