Business

The debate over software patents is getting dramatic. For some, more than just lines of code are at stake. Rather, it is nothing less than freedom itself. As in the apocalyptic "Lord of the Rings trilogy," the armies prepare for war. The battle cry from Free Software Foundation Europe sounds: "Join...

Five months after a preview version of CherryOS was released to cries that it was merely a copy of the open-source PearPC, software distributor Maui X-Stream has done it again. The Hawaii-based company re-released a final version of CherryOS on Tuesday to a similar reception. PearPC, a PowerPC archi...

After months of vehement arguments from anti-patent lobbyists, the European Union could finally approve a controversial draft software patent law on Monday. The decision would signify a possible end to a long battle over the use of such patents in the EU. The Computer Implemented Inventions Directiv...

In the latest development in the ongoing battle over patent law in Europe, the European Commission has rejected a request by the European Parliament to rewrite the Computer Implemented Inventions Directive. The directive was unanimously rejected by the EP in January and scheduled for additional revi...

In a move to expand its support for open-source technologies, IBM announced a partnership with Zend Technologies yesterday that will integrate Big Blue's Apache-based Cloudscape database and Zend's open-source PHP environment. Analysts said the alliance is bound to give both sides competitive advant...

French Linux distributor Mandrakesoft will acquire its Brazilian counterpart, Conectiva, the two companies announced yesterday. Mandrakesoft will buy all of Conectiva's stock for US$2.3 million to take over the 60-employee company, which had $2.2 million in revenue and reached the break-even point i...

Reports that Nokia has replaced 55,000 desktops running Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser in favor of Mozilla's Firefox at its Swedish operations are bogus, according to the company. Nokia spokesperson Chantal Boeckman told LinuxInsider that "the IDG reporter got the information wrong. We ha...

In response to high double-digit growth in 2004 in the number of customers deploying IBM collaboration software on the Linux platform, IBM today announced plans to invest US$100 million over three years to expand Linux support and technology across its Workplace software portfolio. Big Blue said the...

Yahoo today announced the beta release of the Yahoo Toolbar for the Firefox Web browser, giving the Mozilla Foundation's platform what analysts said is an endorsement of the alternative browser that should help it take more market share from Microsoft's Internet Explorer. "The Yahoo Toolbar provides...

In an ongoing battle to keep software patents out of Europe, the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament yesterday voted unanimously to restart the legislative process and request a rewrite of the European Commission's proposed Computer Implemented Inventions Directive. The decision is a ...

Sun is expected to take a step forward next week with its plan to release the code for its Solaris 10 operating system. The company has scheduled a news conference on Tuesday where John Loiacono, Sun's executive vice president of software, will give an update on the issue. Sun's Common Development a...

As the new year begins, the experts agreed that the big story for 2004 in the open-source world -- and one of the biggest in the larger realm of IT -- has been the growth of Linux and its acceptance as a mainstream choice for business. It's a trend that industry analysts expect to continue, even acc...

In a move that illustrates an emerging trend in the mobile market, Japanese wireless operator NTT DoCoMo yesterday announced a US$3 million investment in MontaVista Software, a U.S. developer of Linux software for telecommunications equipment and mobile handsets. DoCoMo will obtain an equity stake i...

PalmSource, the separate company that develops the palmOne mobile operating system, announced today it would buy China MobileSoft, whose Linux technology will give PalmSource an instant foothold in the open-source market. Analysts praised the move. "PalmSource will greatly extend its reach in both t...

A coalition of over 60 European open-source service providers earlier this week united to form an organization dubbed the Open Source Consortium (OSC). The group's stated purpose is to act as an independent reference point to give an unbiased "proprietary-vendor free" voice for all organizations dep...