Apple Computer - The latest version of Apple's Mac OS X operating system has been released and it's a win! Of course, as a Macintosh *and* NeXTStep developer I'm totally excited about the capabilities of the new OS and the API kits that make developement of software on the Mac such a joy. Check out Mac OS X Tiger's many new capabilities now!

Apple Computer - New iPods, Powerbooks, and Mac OS X upgrades just keep rolling off the assembly line at Apple Computer. One reason to buy Apple computers is that they run Apple's Mac OS X, a reliable, rock solid and secure Unix platform. Developers should get to know the developer environment at Apple's Developer site.

Switching To Apple - Business owners and home users continue to switch over to Apple Macintoshes from PCs running Windows. Check out the real life testimonials on the Apple Computer web site. Of course if your business has a significant investment in Windows software, or run software that only runs under Windows, you probably won't be switching soon. If you value reliability and security in your business, though, then give the Mac a second look. Even Microsoft Office runs on Macs. Apple also has a brief web-based guide on switching over to Macs from PCs.

Open Office - This credible open source replacement for Microsoft Office, supports Windows, Linux and Solaris. Also see Sun's Star Office package which features downloadable source code. Also, this article by Russel Pavlicek, argues a good case for why you should not upgrade to the latest version of Office.

OpenSSH - OpenSSH is a free implementation of the SSH protocol suite of network connectivity tools. Unlike telnet and FTP, which transmit passwords over the Internet in an unencrypted form, SSH encrypts all data (including passwords) thus preventing packet hijackers from seeing your valuable data. I recommend OpenSSH to ALL my Linux clients.

Microsoft .NET - Alright, you Unix and Java purists stop snickering... .NET is a big improvement over the old Visual Studio and its getting better. For those of you who absolutely must develop in a Microsoft environment, moving to the .NET suites makes sense. For Java developers, there is a Java to C# conversion tool, and mercifully, the old Visual C++ debugger is a thing of the past. Microsoft has also, very wisely, embraced and integrated XML into the entire .NET scheme. Definately worth a try.

Yellow Dog Linux 2.3 Released - The servers are usually busy so you might as well wait for the distribution on CDROM, but if you can, try downloading the new YDL 2.3 from Yellow Dog Linux.

Fedora Core Announced - Well this has been coming for a while now. Redhat will now require annual support contracts on Redhat Enterprise and spin off a freely downloadable version called "Fedora Core". Both will be Open Source although you can't obtain the Enterprise distribution or support without paying for it.

Remember when when the entire Redhat distribution fit alongside other Linux distributions on a single CDROM? Now the Enterprise distribution consumes FIVE CDROMs.

Mozilla - I like the Mozilla web browser and Thunderbird email client. Mozilla was in prior-to-1.0 status for years but the 1.X versions were well worth the wait. Linux, Macintosh and Windows versions are available. Mozilla offers a free alternative to Microsoft Internet Explorer and Outlook which are how many viruses attack the Enterprise. Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal raved about the new browser. Download Mozilla and Thunderbird at www.mozilla.org.

KDE 3.0 - KDE 3.0 adds new features and cool new productivity tools to the former 2.0 release. For a GUI packed with features, try out KDE for Linux.

GNOME 2.0 - The GNOME GUI for Linux was pretty shaky on its initial release but now its looking mighty good. Very clean and simple with nice rounded windows and excellent font rendering.