New and Noteworthy: Panther Vs. Longhorn; The death of Netscape; more

Panther Vs. Longhorn Panther, the next version of Mac OS X (to be demonstrated at WWDC), will gain a sizeable lead over Windows on several levels according to most industry watchers. "While Steve Jobs and Bill Gates may both say the desktop wars are over, don't try telling that to the legions of Windows and Mac partisans hanging around the Web... we thought it was worth restating our basic premise: If both companies accomplish most of the competitive feats they're contemplating for their next major OS upgrades, Mac OS X will be running a couple of years ahead of Windows by next fall." More.

The death of Netscape According to a Microsoft Watch article, Microsoft and AOL deals announced Thursday could be the final nail in Netscape's coffin. As a result of Thursday's comprehensive antitrust settlement and technology agreements between Microsoft and AOL Time Warner, Netscape Communication's future looks even dimmer than it once did. "As part of the agreements announced by the two rivals, AOL has agreed to license Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) browser. Microsoft also agreed to pay AOL Time Warner $750 million to settle a year-old private antitrust suit lodged by AOL's Netscape unit against Microsoft." More.

OrbiTouch keyboard has no keys ExtremeTech reviews the OrbiTouch keyboard, which has no keys or buttons of any sort. "Imagine a keyboard with no space bar, no letters, no numbers? no keys at all. In fact, forget the entire idea of a keyboard, as you know it, altogether. Just reach down with both hands and grab your knees (assuming you have two knees), and close your eyes. Only subtle differences exist between this sensation, and the experience of first lowering your hands and gripping the OrbiTouch Keyless Keyboard. But why would anyone design a keyboard like this? In one simple word, comfort. But comfort comes at a very steep list price of $695." More.

Amazon vs. Apple in music downloads? Amazon is shaping up to be Apple's biggest potential rival in the digital music sales business, according to a CNET report: "At a company shareholders meeting Wednesday, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said the e-tailing giant has plans for new stores in the works. He declined to comment on whether those plans include a music-download store, telling the Reuters news service that the idea has been under consideration 'for years.' Amazon did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment. But analysts put the company at the top of the list of potential Apple rivals." More.

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