kossico asks: "For any Mac users that have needed to run Windows(tm) applications, Virtual PC has probably helped them a lot. Does anyone know of any free/opensource projects that attempt this on Mac a la Wine? If not, who wants to start one?"

Kelly McNeill writes: "A recent editorial appearing on osOpinion.com (and linked to here on Slashdot last Thursday) dealt with comments made by Mac creator Jef Raskin and his opinion of Apple's upcoming next generation operating system OS X. The somewhat controversial editorial generated a ton of mixed response both here as well as on the publishing site. As it seems, Mr. Raskin's thoughts on OS X (and Unix) were very misunderstood and he has since stepped up to the plate to clear the air and responded to the technology community at large."

An unnamed correspondent writes: "Looks like Apple is at it again, according to this ZDNet article Apple is now going after anything that looks like OS X, regardless of having the Apple logos removed. I couldn't care less if Apple releases OS X for Intel, I will not do business with a company that behaves like this. Better be careful, they might sue slashdot for using the OS X-like Apple icon."

drfalken writes "Interesting piece here about OS X from Jef Raskin's point-of-view (he was one of the wizards behind the original Mac GUI). He thinks that even the concept of an OS is a hold over from an older era, and that work should be done to get the user closer to the app. I dunno if I agree. "

FusionJunky asks: "There has been some talk surrounding Apple's OS X and its potential to be released for the x86 platform. Sites like OSXonIntel.com have been trying to get the message to Apple that we feel the consumers are ready to see OS X on x86 boxes. I'm wondering what the Slashdot community thinks this would do to Apple, would it adversely affect their hardware sales? Could Apple move away from selling G4s from Motorola and start producing Intel Macs. Do you think Apple should release an x86 version of their next gen OS?" We asked earlier whether you felt if Linux would be threatened by OS X, with the possibility of OS X working on x86 machines, has your answer changed?

Coolvibe writes: "Apple has updated their Mac OS X page. There's screenshots of the final version there. I myself am still running the Public Beta and the stuff that's shown there is just a *tad* different than what I am using right now :) For instance, the dock now has a context menu, as shown here." And speaking of Apple's core, Justin0407 directs your attention to this NYTime article on Steve Jobs, in which "Jobs gives us his insight on how he's going to save Apple and try and keep it afloat. Building on other's ideas of a PC or Mac being the 'hub' for all digital appliances, Jobs says Apple will embrace this concept."

wmulvihillDxR asks: "I'm getting ready to replace our DNS box which serves about 15 zones but will soon grow to more. The current DNS box (a x86 box) gets hit pretty heavy sometimes. I'd like to know if any /.ers have had any success running BIND on any of the PPC Linux distros. We have a multitude of Mac boxen sitting around doing nothing (Yes, I work in a Mac shop, but use Linux on x86 for our servers). I'd prefer to put it on a x86 box but we don't have many of those handy. Are there any reports on using PPC machines for DNS? Any recommended PPC Linux distros?"

mikey writes: "vnunnet.com has an interesting article about Steve Jobs; his love for cubes, a bit of a history behind NeXT, why it failed, also why it was so way ahead of its time, also some Bill Gates stuff. All in all, a great piece, and to give Slashdot readers some insight into what was NeXT, and how now it has basically taken over Apple."

An unnamed correspondent asks: "Does anyone think that the release of Mac OS X will threaten Linux? A UNIX-based OS that XFree86, the GIMP, Apache, etc. run on, and is easy to use and maintain for a beginner, might not bode too well for the little OS that could. I'm not talking about techies -- I'm talking about people who might use Linux on their desktop (companies who are deploying it, etc.). Why would they want to use Linux instead of OS X?" It's not a new question, but it won't go away, either. Anyone out there planning to jump to Mac OS X from Linux or one of the (other) BSDs?

Siqnal 11 writes "Wired has a feature about Jobs meeting with resellers at the expo, and how honest he was with them. To quote the article 'Jobs gave frank and honest answers to tough questions in this time of trouble for the company and its partners, they said. "

ntac writes "After the recent unveiling of the nVidia cards for the new line of G4's, my graphic design co-workers and I have been debating which card has the most bang for the buck. ATI seems to have burned a lot of bridges within the Mac community. Does the GeForce2 have the juice to replace the ATI Radeon? I've also noticed that Mac drivers are available for the 3dfx Voodoo cards - is this another viable option? As designers, we are looking for high performance in Photoshop, Illustrator, Quark, Flash, and Premiere. Any help would be greatly appreciated."

Therlin writes: "As this article explains, LinuxPPC 2000 Q4 succesfully boots on Apple's new PB G4. The Linux Kernel, X Windows and the LinuxPPC work. They also indicate that the internal modem and ethernet will probably work, but it hasn't been tested yet." It's really sad to see such a sweet machine crippled by lack of proper mouse buttons.

active8or writes "During hit keynote at MacWorld San Fransico, Steve Jobs introduced the new tools from Apple. One, iDVD was a very powerful tool for making DVDs at home, and iTunes a powerfull MP3 and music ripping, writing, playing environment....for free. This seems to follow their new "killer apps" strategy. In addition, a 733 MHz G4 was introduced, and the entire line got a update. ". The new powerbook looks awesome (if only it had 3 mouse buttons).

batobin writes: "In the PowerPC industry, MacOS is the mainstream OS. When a user needs features that the mainstream cannot provide, they seek alternatives. In the past years, many Mac users have sought out Linux for a number of reasons. Whether they were looking for a system that was open source, faster, or more reliable, Linux was a viable alternative. But now Apple is close to releasing MacOS X, and it solves many of the problems that drove Apple customers away from MacOS. Will these LinuxPPC users switch back to Apple's OS when OS X comes out? This article tackles the subject."

i, Mac writes: "Apple just updated the APSL to version 1.2, removing most (if not all) of the requirements that irked the Open Source community. You no longer need to distribute modifications made for personal use, you no longer need to notify Apple of your modifications when you distribute them, and the suspension of the license clause now reads more clearly - See for yourself: " The FSF has a response to the previous iterations of the license if you're curious.

MasterOfDisaster writes "According to c|net, and this article on maccentral.com, Apple will release "four new, single-processor Power Mac G4 models, all using a 133MHz system bus, and ranging in speed from 466MHz to 733MHz" as well as MacOS 9.1 and several other things, next Tuesday at MacWorld Expo in San Francisco."

Don Giovanni writes: "Apple Computer, Inc. has finally filed suit against the Freetype Project for violation of US patents #US5325479 and #US5159668. Linux Today has the story." This from the company that actually licensed Amazon's One-Click patent. Update: 03:30 PM EST by C :We're sorry. The link referred to in this article is incorrect. We're checking up on this information, and if we have any more to report, we will. However as of right now, the consensus is that this is a hoax.

Ryan writes: "LinuxPPC 2000 Q4 includes the "first graphical versions of the yaboot and miboot boot software" and the installation CD-ROM is now "bootable on all PCI-based Apple Power Macintosh computers, including the dual processor G4, the G4 Cube, and the FireWire PowerBook" (previous versions would only boot on older Macs)." They've got a press release up and everything.

A couple of people wrote in noting that Themes.org has had to comply with a request from Apple that they remove the following themes: Aqua, AquaX, eMac, and eMac-GTK.

edibleplastic writes: "Wired is running an article about how many beta testers of Aqua are hacking the software in order to return it somewhat to its previous appearance. From the article: '"The most distressing part is feeling like a complete novice again." McIntyre said. "I've been using and programming Macs for ten years, and now I'm sitting in front of it going 'What? Huh? How do I launch an application? Where did my icons go?' Talk about disorientation."' Among the hacks are a desktop trash bin and the OpenStrip, an Open Source version of the Control Strip."