Everyone is talking about open source, even presenters at BIO 2004, the international biotechnology conference recently held in San Francisco. As the argument goes, if open-source software can be developed in centralized communities of interested parties less expensively than proprietary software, c...

Sun recently announced it would open-source its Solaris operating system. While declining to get specific about timetables and the type of open-source license the company plans to use, John Loiacono, executive vice president of Sun's software group, promised that Sun will "be very aggressive and pro...

The dust from CA World is settling down as end users, analysts and true believers try to come to terms with Computer Associates' sudden interest in the open-source development model. The company has created its own CA Trusted Open Source License (CA-TOSL), not as a rival to the GPL but as a way to p...

Renowned computer scientist Andrew "Andy" Tanenbaum said he doesn't believe the conclusions of a draft report on the origins and legality of open-source software, particularly the allegation that Linus Torvalds didn't write Linux, as is commonly believed, but copied much of it from Minix, a Unix-lik...

What is the safest advice an intellectual property attorney can give clients concerned about potential litigation? "Do absolutely nothing." The truth is that making or selling any products might get you sued for patent infringement. Advertising might get you sued for trademark infringement. And don'...

The SCO Group is amending its federal lawsuit against IBM, changing its legal tactics in the ongoing public drama over Linux software. But contrary to some reports in the press, the company didn't claim earlier in a letter that the Linux General Public License (GPL) was "unconstitutional." Rather, D...

The developer of one of the world's most high-profile, open-source databases, Sweden's MySQL AB, this week launched MySQL Cluster, a new open-source database clustering technology for applications that need continuous availability. The MySQL Cluster combines a clustering architecture with the MySQL ...

Want to know why most business analysts and venture capitalists simply don't get it with respect to Unix? Take a look at the computer books they study while working toward their MBA, financial analysis certificate or accounting designation, and you'll understand that their ignorance isn't entirely t...

Accelerating its delivery of promised networking capabilities by a year, Novell has announced Novell Open Enterprise Server, a combined NetWare and SuSE Linux product. OES will deliver networking capabilities associated with Novell's NetWare platform and the company's newly acquired SuSE Linux and X...

Want to know why most business analysts and venture capitalists simply don't get it with respect to Unix? Take a look at the computer books they study while working toward their MBA, financial analysis certificate or accounting designation, and you'll understand that their ignorance isn't entirely t...

There's nothing like a good legal battle to whip up passions, and the SCO Group-versus-the-open-source-world dogfight is no exception. Rhetoric runs high. From the open-source advocates, it's "you're stifling free thought in the name of greed." SCO allies counter with "you're attacking the core valu...

When it comes to brass tacks, SCO's Blake Stowell, the company's director of public relations, believes the company is fighting the good fight, sticking up for its own intellectual property despite the effect this move eventually might have on Linux, the GPL and the open-source community in general....

Based on arguments that The SCO Group is spoiling its own legal efforts, Linux backer Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) has indicated most companies are ignoring the entire matter. Referring to a position paper written by Columbia University law professor Eben Moglen and published by the Linux con...

Dear Mr. McBride: I guess push is coming to shove, huh? You finally got a court to order release of the AT&T code, so things are coming together a bit on that end. It's an important legal step, and one I'm sure you'll be glad to get over with, despite the crowing going on among those who see it as a...

Wind River, one of the world's top embedded systems suppliers, has joined two key Linux proponent groups and solidified its intention to coexist rather than compete with the open-source operating system. As a supporter of Unix and its own proprietary VxWorks embedded operating system, Wind River sai...

The most significant threat to open source isn't coming from SCO. It's coming from IBM. SCO isn't trying to shut down Linux. That demand for licensing fees from users was just a legal ploy -- one more step in an intricate legal dance to which IBM is calling the tune. It's well past time for IBM to a...

A looming October 14th deadline could result in a widening of SCO Group's legal assault on Linux and distributors of the open-source operating system as the Lindon, Utah-based company mulls plans to pull another Unix license, this time from SGI. SCO laid the groundwork for the move -- which would ex...