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It seems that Joerg Schilling finally found the time to create updated BeOs/ZETA binaries of his CD/DVD recording tools. You can find the binaries right here.

You can also read the announcement here. Just a short e-mail to the mailing list.

Update: Well, it seems that Joerg compiled the BeOS binary (direct link) in a R5+bone system, thus rendering it useless for us net_server users.

Fortunately, there is a simple workaround:

  • Create a folder to contain the binary (ie.: ~/cdrecord-proDVD) and move there the binary you downloaded from Joerg's ftp.
  • Create a "lib" folder inside the one you made in [1] (ie.: ~/cdrecord-proDVD/lib).
  • Open a Terminal window and type the following:

    • cd ~/cdrecord-proDVD/lib
    ln -s /boot/beos/system/lib/libnet.so libsocket.so
    ln -s /boot/beos/system/lib/libnet.so libbind.so

    Of course, in the first command, use the path to the directory *you* are using.

    This is hackish, but cdrecord-proDVD does not really require any functions from those libraries (just happen to be linked to them, as it tends to happen, at least, with the old compilers), so it shouldn't create any problems.

    By the way, cdrecord-proDVD require an unlocking Key.

    Update 2: As FinnB posted in the comments, and for those wondering about the key requirement: BeOS is one of the platforms for which the key is provided in the "README" file. So there is no need to read "README.key" in this case.

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    The BeZilla team today published new builds of Firefox. According to Tigerdog these builds might not be published over at BeBits, as there are several issues with builds from the current tree: reordering no longer works, new tabbed browsing interface, slower scrolling. IsComputerOn recommends that the builds are only to be installed by experienced users, and for those of you who actually install one of the three builds, make sure to give input and feedback to the BeZilla devs on their journal. The builds are available from the journal.

    Tigerdog has also made available a new version of his HaikuFox theme.

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    It's been more or less quiet from Axel since his employment perioded at Haiku ended. But today his blog got a great news update. The Haiku dev team now have a working APM driver in the Haiku kernel. APM stands for Advanced Power Management.

    Advanced Power Management (APM) is an API developed by Intel and Microsoft which allows a BIOS to perform power management, such as reducing the CPU speed, turning off the hard disk or turning off power to the display after a preset period of inactivity in order to conserve electrical power. Some of these features are especially important for laptop users. Monitors supporting such APIs are usually referred to as environmental friendly. The latest APM standard, version 1.2, is already almost 10 years old.

    Today's computers do still support APM, but the preferred method for these and similar services is now Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI). Nathan Whitehorn has put down some work in getting ACPI implemented in Haiku, based on Intel's example implementation.

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    BeDoper is doing what they do best, once again. Creating a mild controversy over an insignificant event for no real reason whatsoever. This time ELQ is the target for a change. Again. Sort of. BeDoper - doing what they can to destroy a fragile, fragmented scene.

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    ZBackup is a new backup application for ZETA, created by (a really nice guy) Florian Thaler. He just released version 1.0 and is waiting for feedback from users on what to change/improve.

    With ZBackup you can backup your files/folders to a local drive/disk, a FTP server and (using JABA) you can burn it onto a CD or DVD. There's a guide included to help the user to set up his backups and you can save/load your projects. Also, ZBackup already comes with some presets as to what backup, like your Mail and Downloads folder, among others.

    Here's a screenshot for your voyeuristic pleasure. And of course, the link to download it. The screenshot's in German but ZBackup's available in several languages.

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    Beam 1.0 was released back in November 2003. Since then it's been quiet around the e-mail client. Recently HaikuNews wrote about there being activity again in the source tree. Pleasant was IsComputerOn's surprise when we saw that Oliver Tappe had released RC1 of a new version of Beam.

    IsComputerOn has not been able to give the application an extensive testing yet, but the biggest news in the new version seem to be the implementation of the IMAP protocol and support for both SSL and TLS encryption.

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    I usually enjoy surprises, and in this case, I really enjoyed this one. I received an e-mail from a reader and in it, along with a small description was a png file. What did it show? A Flash 7 file playing under ZETA. You read it right, a Flash 7 movie.

    The player (and Firefox plugin) is a port of the Gnash project, which is, as I'm sure you've guessed so far, a Flash player for GNU. Gnash is free, supports OpenGL and can play Flash movies up to version 7.

    I don't know when the project started nor do I have an ETA for it, but progress is being made, and while work on it, as it shows, is being done under ZETA, it wasn't in the e-mail if it runs on Haiku/BeOS as well. I don't even know who the coder is actually. It's a "wait and see" situation.

    What's that? You want to see the screenshot? Sure, go right ahead and click below.

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    The Hungarian developer Gergely Rózsahegyi (alias RoGer), better known for the web editor Globe, Saturday released a new version of his music application Zenebona (version 1.0.0 RC7) for both BeOS and ZETA. If you haven't tested it before, then please make sure to do so, as a free limited version of Zenebona is available from BeBits. Zenebona is a Hungarian slang word for music (“Mi ez a zenebona?” = What's this music/noise?).

    Update - 29.01.06: Today Zenebona 1.0.0 RC8 got released and except for some bug fixes and minor updates, one of IsComputerOn's requests got implemented. Zenebona now has support for the lossless audio format Monkey's Audio (.ape).

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    Project leader Raymond Rodgers recently announced that the Themis web browser project has been reactivated.

    Sadly there is no additional information about the project, but readers are encouraged to visit the project site and follow the dev mailing list for further information in the nearby future.

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    yellowTAB GmbH has announced a termination of its ZETA distributor agreement with Berry Japan Inc. (CEO: Akihiro Ooba; www.berry-japan.co.jp; also known as Berry OS Japan).

    yellowTAB's decision to terminate the distributor agreement comes as a result of a long standing material breach of contract on the part of Berry Japan. Over the last six months, yellowTAB has made continued efforts to assist Berry Japan in fulfilling their contractual obligations with yellowTAB, including offering alternative payment arrangements, but they have so far been unable to collect any payment for all products shipped to Berry Japan in 2005.

    IsComputerOn, as yellowTAB, recommends our Japanese readers to purchase ZETA from PlatHome Co, as they are currently the only Japanese reseller that has purchased ZETA through legitimate distribution channels.

    For the full story, please visit yellowTAB (English) or ZETA-Zone (Japanese).