Recently Daniel Phillips announced that he is developing a new file system, Tux3. It plans to be a modern file system on level with ZFS and the currently also still in development Btrfs.

While there are many file systems like ext3, Xfs, Jfs and others are available for Linux it currently lacks a modern, new age file system: especially features like versions and writable snapshots are hardly available. On the other hand, other Unixes do have such file systems: OpenSolaris and some BSDs have ZFS, and DragonFly BSD has HAMMER.

To fill this gap the Oracle’s Chris Manson started the development of Btrfs a year ago. Now Daniel Phillips also announced that he is developing a new file system, Tux3. The general aims are indeed close to the general aims of the other mentioned file systems.
Also, Daniel is not new to file system development. Years ago he announced Tux2 as an improvement to ext2 but without journaling. However, that file system never started off due to patent reasons.

The question is of course which file system will make the run: Tux3 is still at the beginning, while Btrfs could see a first beta in the next months. But there are still rumors that ZFS might be released under the GPL, and Hammer could also be implemented for Linux.
Either way, exciting times for file systems on Linux are ahead.

Many people only use their computers to check email, browse the web, do word processing, spreadsheets, etc. For them, many of today’s PCs are overkill, but it’s not clear what a good alternative would be, especially if they want low energy consumption. Enter stage left: The CherryPal, a tiny PC based on a Freescale CPU and the Linux (Debian) operating system. It’s about the size of a paperback book and uses 80% fewer components than a regular PC. To make the trade-off acceptable, the CherryPal will use “cloud computing”, meaning that many applications will run on an online server (same basic concept as web-based email). Read on for more technical specifications.

CherryPal Technical Specs

* Freescale’s MPC5121e mobileGT processor, 800 MIPS (400 MHz) of processing power
* 256MB of DDR2 DRAM
* 4GB NAND Flash-based solid state drive
* WiFi 802.11b/g Wi-Fi
* Two USB 2.0 ports
* One 10/100 Ethernet with RJ-45 jack
* One VGA DB-15 display out jack
* Headphone level stereo audio out 3.5mm jack
* 9vDC 2.5mm 10 watt AC-DC adapter power supply
* 10.5 ounces
* 1.3″ high, 5.8″ x 4.2″ wide

Don’t let the relatively slow clockspeed of the CPU fool you. It has a different design from the current Intel and AMD processors so you can’t compare it directly:

“The MPC5121e processor is built around an efficient triple-core architecture consisting of a Power Architecture core, a 3-D-graphics processor core and a CD-quality audio processor core. The powerful 3D-graphics processor is engineered to provide a graphics pipeline capable of gaming-class 3-D rendering while keeping the DRAM bandwidth requirements to a bare minimum. The triple-core MPC5121e architecture is designed to allow the costly distributed DRAM memory systems within a PC to be merged into a single shared DRAM memory system.”

They even claim it boots in 20 seconds.

The CherryPal is scheduled to come out on August 4th, 2008. No word on pricing yet except that the company says it will be “dramatically cheaper” than something like Asus’ $400 EEE.

Even though UMPCs have been overshadowed by competitors like the Eee and even to a certain extent by all those upcoming MIDs, it looks like Samsung’s staying committed to the concept two years after the Q1 first launched in the US. Jeongseon Euh, Samsung’s “Q1 guy,” recently told Tech Radar that about 100,000 Q1 and the Q1 Ultras have shipped out, mostly to education customers, and that’s good enough for a 65 percent share of the (admittedly small) UMPC market. That’s also good enough for Samsung to keep at it, and Euh says the third generation of the Q1 should land early next year. No word on what specs we might see, but with all the Atom-based action going on lately, we think we might have an idea of where things are headed.

Intel has scored a massive low-cost laptop deal with Portugal’s government to provide primary school students with 500,000 computers based on the company’s Classmate PC notebook design.

Chipzilla plans to deliver the half million machines — which will be manufactured under license in northern Portugal — in the upcoming school year.

In its constant battle with the OLPC, Intel is selling half a million Classmate laptops to Portugal at maximum price of $78 each. An impressive deal…

The deal was inked as a part of an education technology program called the Magellan Initiative, launched today by Portuguese Prime Minister José Sócrates and Intel Chairman Craig Barrett.

“This new collaboration with Intel underscores Portugal’s commitment to advance quickly toward a knowledge-based economy,” Sócrates said. “By equipping our schools with state-of-the-art computing technology and Internet connectivity, we hope to hasten the transition to economic models that benefit our citizens.”

According to the Associated Press, Socrates said the computer would be distributed to students under the government’s existing subsidized “e-School” program. The cost to students will be determined by the family’s income, with a maximum price of about €50 ($78).

Intel’s pact also fans the flames of a market rivalry between itself and the non-profit One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) foundation. Both companies compete to sell small, cheap notebooks geared towards the education of youngsters in developing countries.

Early this year, Intel walked out of the OLPC project after receiving a frosty reception due to its continued sales of the Classmate PC design.

OLPC’s visionary Nicholas Negroponte slammed Intel before it joined, telling the company it should be “ashamed of itself” for undercutting his own scheme to get affordable laptop computers to children in developing countries.

After Intel joined the organization, Negroponte continued to press for ending sales of the Classmate laptop. After only about six months, Intel was fed up. OLPC denied Intel’s departure was about rival machines, but claims relations broke down because of “a complete lack of cooperation by Intel on software, learning etc.”

EA, better known to some as Electronic Arts, was the publisher behind the most recent PC-melting game on the block, Crysis. In conjunction with the upcoming Crysis Warhead, EA has mentioned that they will be selling custom branded PCs to accompany the launch. Aimed at those who might otherwise be intimidated by a gaming PC purchase, the only problem seems to be that the systems seem tentatively priced for $600-$800. And for $600, you aren’t really running Crysis (a game that can conquer systems that run ten times that) unless Warhead involves intense two-stick-one-ball minigames that are yet unannounced. So higher end models could be in the works, too.

Researchers at UT Austin have devised a new way to create lithium iron phosphate—the compound inside high-density Li-ion batteries being developed for cars and power tools—that uses microwaves to cut costs. The new method requires lower temperatures and less time via the nuking process—just like throwing that Tombstone in the m-wave rather than the oven. This apposed to your laptop battery, which uses lithium cobalt oxide and isn’t capable of the quick bursts of current needed to get something like the Chevy Volt rolling.

Datto earned a round of golf claps with its Backup NAS by bringing comparatively affordable off-site storage to the small businesses of the world, but it’s giving itself a round of applause with the Z Series. Hailed as the “planet’s first on and off-site backup solution to use ZFS,” these units provide up to 1TB of local and off-site storage, optional RAID 1 local redundancy, twin gigabit Ethernet ports, OS X / Windows / Linux compatibility and the obligatory rock-solid stability that ZFS is known for. You’ll also get a rapid recovery promise, which enables you to sleep easy knowing that your data can be restored within 24 hours should disaster strike. The units range in capacity from 250GB ($499) to 1TB ($1,149), while the required service packages demand anywhere between $35 per month to $1,000 a year.

Datto Backup

There it is, right on cue Microsoft’s Surface has gone spherical over at Microsoft Research. Rumored since March, the prototype relies upon an infrared system to detect hands, fingers, and objects as well as an internal (not external like Surface) projection system developed by Global Imagination (and customized by Microsoft) to deliver its multi-touch UI. At the moment, Microsoft is demonstrating photo manipulation, a spinning globe, 360-degree video, and a simple Pong-like game, the latter giving us a taste of future gaming possibilities. Sphere is expected to make its first public appearance Tuesday at Microsoft’s Faculty Summit in Redmond. Ultimately, it will appear in public spaces like lobbies as part of a larger ecosystem of Surface gear. The prototype UI looks a bit jumpy compared to its tabletop cousin — click here to see for yourself.

Engadget Chinese received the slide image above showing ASUS’ Eee PC roadmap. Go ahead count ‘em up, we’ll wait… Right, 23 Eee PCs before they’re done, some of which we’ve already seen. The “extreme slim and light” S101 and S91 models, however, are new and tantalizing Eee PC “Ultimate” series additions and should compete nicely with the Dell E Slim. Really though, 23 models ASUS? Guess we shouldn’t be surprised, after all, this is the same company that offers more than 50 models (not just configurations) of laptops.

Engadget Chinese
ASUS Notebook List

Just over a month after Dell added in a new 27-incher to its (admittedly unwieldy) LCD monitor family, along comes a sibling with a few less pixels and a much smaller price tag. The 24-inch widescreen S2409W checks in with a 1,920 x 1,080 panel, 300 cd/m2 brightness, 5-millisecond response time, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, VGA / DVI / HDMI sockets, and 160- / 170-degree viewing angles. The best part(s)? It’s available for just $379, and it’s shipping within one to two days.