Software

The open-source movement has been expanding beyond the world of software development recently into the biotechnology research arena. U.S. BioDefense Inc, based in City of Industry, Calif., is trying to capitalize on this evolving trend by developing an open-source stem cell research platform. The sm...

JBoss' inaugural user conference and exhibition kicked off yesterday in Atlanta with two key announcements that analysts said signify a maturation of both JBoss and of open source. The company launched the JBoss Open Source Federation to offer value-added services, technology infrastructure and mark...

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...

Duct tape is the world's most versatile invention. It makes ducts airtight, holds car parts together, patches holes in canoes and keeps rock musicians from tripping over wires onstage. It rips easily, holds firm even underwater and provides a quick fix for almost any emergency. But sometimes, duc...

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...

On the eve of the second annual EclipseCon2005 user group meeting this week, Eclipse Foundation founding member Borland Software has announced it will take a seat on the organization's board of directors and new members are joining the group's roster. Eclipse is an open platform for tool integration...

The Mozilla Foundation yesterday released a security update to the Firefox Web browser. The patch includes several fixes to guard against spoofing and arbitrary code execution. Firefox 1.0.1 patches several bugs, including a vulnerability in the Internationalized Domain Names (IDN), Web addresses re...

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...

The European Commission recently tolled the death knell for the EU Software Patent Directive, or more precisely, the "Directive on the Patentability of Computer-Implemented Inventions." Like most Americans, I am fairly clueless about the EU political process, and I wouldn't presume to write about e...

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 a matter of just a few years, open-source software has gone from the back room and skunk works to serious contender for corporate budget dollars. No longer is open source just an academic and hobbyist pursuit. Major technology vendors have taken note of its evolution and want to ensure they have ...

Linux software vendor Trolltech says 20 mobile phone and hand-held device manufacturers are working on products that use its version of the open-source platform. Trolltech said some 50 vendors are using the Qtopia platform and other embedded Linux programs that it offers in a range of devices, inclu...

Red Hat unveiled its updated enterprise Linux distribution today and used the occasion to take a shot at rival Sun. "It's the beginning of the end of Solaris in the enterprise," Paul Cormier, executive vice president of engineering at Red Hat, said of Enterprise Linux v4, which the company said is ...

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 spite of his denial of IBM's request for a partial summary judgment, U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball bolstered Big Blue's defense when he questioned whether SCO had any evidence to support the claim that IBM's Linux business infringed upon SCO's Unix patents. "Despite the vast disparity between ...