Software

While I was handing out candy on Halloween, a trick-or-treater came to the door dressed as an open-source project. There was code everywhere and volunteer contributors were coming out of his ears. It was a clever costume, but what made it really scary was the giant fork he was carrying. Open-sourc...

In a move to steal market share from Microsoft Windows, Novell has unveiled Linux Desktop 9. The company claims the new release is robust enough to offer a viable alternative for enterprise Windows users. At the same time, the company also announced of settlement of its antitrust suit against its de...

In a move to diffuse Microsoft's "Get the Facts" campaign that openly slams open source, Novell has launched a Web site bent on "unbending the truth." This comes at the same time that open-source advocate Chris Stone, Novell's vice chairman, office of the chief executive officer, unexpectedly left t...

While Sun is hyping the impending release of Solaris 10, the newest version of its Unix-based operating system, debates about the company's plans to launch an open-source version of its software are reaching new heights. Some analysts are calling it a risky move, others are calling it a no-brainer i...

Recent low-key efforts by Adobe Systems to bolster its presence in the Linux community makes good business sense, according to one analyst who covers the company. Adobe, which makes well-known software brands Acrobat, Illustrator and Photoshop, is keeping all its bases covered by expanding its Linux...

It's not clear whether or not industry watchers were holding their breath for the SCO Group's planned November 1 launch of its legal information site to counter the popular Groklaw.net site. But if they were, they may be blue in the face before they see the site that was supposed to chronicle SCO's ...

Expectations are high that Sun Microsystems will make some significant announcements this month about an open-source version of its Solaris operating system. Reportedly, key pieces to the open-source project could be revealed as early as November 15 when the company has scheduled its quarterly SunNe...

Richard Stallman, president of the Free Software Foundation, started a revolution over printer drivers. According to the official history, he couldn't get permission or source code to modify a printer driver to suit his needs, so he wrote the General Public License (GPL) and a compiler. Eventually,...

Sleepycat Software opened the doors of its first European office today in the United Kingdom. The office marks the company's official expansion into European markets and will provide sales, marketing and support of Sleepycat's Berkeley DB, Berkeley DB XML and Berkeley DB Java Edition database system...

Amazon subsidiary A9.com today released its new A9 toolbar for the Mozilla Firefox Web browser. The toolbar enables Firefox users to search the Web using A9.com bookmarks, site history, A9 lists and A9 diary features. Users can download the A9 toolbar in less than two minutes from the A9.com home pa...

Computers are becoming pervasive learning tools in K-12 education, whether in individual classrooms or in a shared media center. Both Apple and Microsoft have donated millions of dollars worth of equipment to schools in order to aid education and spread their doctrine. But what about the growing inf...

Mandrakesoft is giving the penguin a makeover with its latest Linux release, complete with extended support for mobile devices, enhanced hardware compatibility and major application upgrades. Company officials said Mandrakelinux 10.1 Official will become the basis for a large part of the software pu...

Linux could be poised to take another big step into the public sector overseas, thanks to a new report from the UK Office of Government Commerce (OCG). The OCG study concluded that open-source operating systems such as Linux are "viable" and could "generate significant savings." The UK joins other E...

In a move that gives Linux greater play in the data center, Dell has reached an agreement with Novell to certify Novell SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 on Dell PowerEdge servers. The companies said the deal would give customers more choices for fully-supported Linux platform developments. Dell Servic...

The world's largest distributor of Linux expects 50 percent of its revenues to be coming from overseas sales within the next year -- a revelation one analyst sees as a bit of a capitulation. "It's our goal that within the next 12 months, 50 percent of our revenues be from sales outside the United St...